


The Catalyst for Revenge

by Jade_Tatsu



Series: The Catalyst For Revenge [1]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Gen, HFY, Humans as Reapers, Humor, Multiple Reaper Cycles, Transhumanism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-31
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2018-10-13 10:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 96
Words: 677,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10511754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jade_Tatsu/pseuds/Jade_Tatsu
Summary: During the Battle of the Citadel, decisions were made. The Destiny Ascension and the Council were sacrificed to kill the Sovereign Nazara. It was a hard decision. It was a military decision, a necessary decision.It was the decision that turned the galaxy against the Systems Alliance, triggering the Betrayal War. The Humans fought but against the entire Galaxy, they couldn't fight forever. And at the same time they knew what the Council denied, the Reapers were coming.When they came, as they inevitably would, the Humans called to them. The Reapers came to Earth and a deal was made.40 years later, the Council had best be wary, because it was time for the Harvest, and the Humans would lead the way.Story takes place over multiple Reaper cycles.





	1. The Deal

The Catalyst for Revenge  
Prologue - The Deal

=====

Shepard looked up at the sky. It was black with ships and a grim smile was on his features.

They had come. Just as Saren had promised they would. The Reapers. They were around Earth. And the only people on Earth these days were Humans.

“Harbinger!” He screamed, baring his teeth. He’d learned a few things from Sovereign and Saren before they died and the name of the Reaper leader was one. “Harbinger!”

He had no idea how they heard him but the black ships paused. He waited, watching the sky as they moved. It was one of the most beautiful things he had ever seen and he grinned when one ship descended from their mass. The ship was large and four glowing lights lit its front. It was indistinguishable from the others but Shepard knew this was Harbinger.

“Organic.”

“Harbinger,” Shepard greeted the huge vessel as it descended through the atmosphere. It grew bigger and bigger in his vision and he resisted the urge to take a step back. He knew how large ships were but somehow this Reaper was larger than it should be.

“What do you want mortal?” The Reaper leader asked as the black form came to a rest in front of Shepard.

“I want to make a deal.”

“And why should I deal with you?” Harbinger asked, and Shepard watched as the Reaper Leader’s weapons tracked on to him.

For a moment Shepard was silent. The Reapers had no real reason to deal with him, with Humanity but if Harbinger, either in arrogance or out of some sense of superiority, was willing to talk, then he was willing to try. Shepard fixed his eyes on Harbinger, ignoring the weapons that could no doubt vaporise him instantly. “Because I destroyed your Vanguard and I can give you this cycle.”

The Reaper was silent for a moment before it replied. “This cycle is already mine. The species are split.”

“No,” Shepard disagreed. “They’re not.”

“Yet here you are, Human, all alone on your planet,” Harbinger taunted.

Shepard closed his eyes, briefly looking to the ground, memories streaming through his mind. He knew Harbinger was humoring him with this conversation but Shepard would make that enough. The Reapers would deal with them. “Of course we are,” he agreed because the taunt was nothing but the truth. The only alien ships in the Sol System were the Reapers. “Because they don’t consider us one of them. They never did.”

They’d fought so hard. Against Saren, against Sovereign. They couldn’t save the Council. He’d wanted to but they had to destroy Nazara. He’d explained. He’d been patient. But they wouldn’t see it. Quentius understood it was a military decision and Shepard thought he believed in the Reapers but Esheel and Irissa heard nothing. They were somewhat grateful for their promotion but they were quick to blame him for Saren’s death, and the wreck on the Citadel, diverting attention from their own rise to power. And in blaming him, they’d blamed the whole of Humanity. Any chance they’d had was gone. Two to one, the Council had turned on him, on them all. He would have taken whatever punishment they wanted to inflict alone but they had turned on all Humans, and no matter how Quentius understood, the rest of the Turians had only been waiting for the opportunity to restart the First Contact War and the other galactic races...

That had been the hardest to bear. That so many races had turned against them. The Alliance had expected the Quarians to accept the Council offer of a dextro-amino world. Instead, the Migrant Fleet had ran. They had abandoned their Pilgrims, and Tali, in favour of saving their entire race. After three centuries living in space, denied colonisation rights, their leaders had no faith in the Council and they’d seen what they were already doing to the Alliance. Better to vanish than to be trapped when the Council turned on them, too.

As for the Krogan, well, Wrex had come out publicly in favour of the Alliance. In response, the Council had blockaded Tuchanka, even leaving a dreadnought on guard above the new crater that had been Clan Urdnot’s home. As pointed messages go, this was one of the more direct on record. Krogans living off Tuchanka were strongly encouraged to return ‘home’, often at gunpoint.

Although they were alone and only for a time, Humanity had held out. In the years before, the Council had taken Humans seriously and it wasn’t because of their charming dispositions but the fleet they had and the hope that Humans would police the Traverse for them. Of course that plan had gone out the airlock. Humanity had fought back but where they had been able to hold out against the Turian fleets, fighting the entire Council, and the Batarian Hegemony, with no support from any other race, that was a reach too far for Humanity but that didn’t stop them from making every incursion by invaders as expensive as possible. They’d lost colony worlds but every inch of space that the aliens took, they’d bled for, but it could not continue forever. And they had known the Reapers were coming.

Alliance Command knew they could not win against both but Alliance Command and the Government had decided that if they could not win, then they would at least have blood which is how he came to be standing here, looking up at Harbinger.

“We had noticed. While the Vanguard failed, it appears Nazara was skilled enough to turn the lesser races against the one most dangerous to our cause.”

So Humans were the ones the Reapers didn’t want to fight? Well, it was not as if they could fight them. Not and win. Besides, Nazara had already been destroyed when the new Council, replacing those lost with the Destiny Ascension, had blamed the Humans for Saren’s and the previous Council members’ deaths and ignored Shepard’s warnings. He knew who was to blame.

“So why not treat with me then? Because every minute you spend fighting us, gives them that much time to grow stronger.”

“Not that strong but I will listen,” Harbinger said. “Amuse me, Human. What do you want?”

He’d learned a lot from Saren and Sovereign and what he’d learned from them had helped him make sense of the mass of information the Prothean beacon had crammed into his head. Thankfully he hadn’t shared much of that with the Council and equally thankfully while Alliance Command had been sceptical they had listened and unknown to him they’d planned. The instant the Reapers had appeared, those plans had been put into action.

“Two questions first, if I may?” It was not hard to be polite to the extra-terrestrial ship with its weapons trained on him.

“Ask.”

“How many does it take to create one of you?”

Harbinger almost seemed to draw back at the question. It was obvious the Reaper had not been expecting it. “Millions,” the answer came after a moment.

“And how long?”

Again the question surprised Harbinger but the ship answered. “Assuming the harvest is fast, about four to six months for the organics and two years, as you reckon them, for the rest.”

Shepard nodded at the information before he swallowed hard. He didn’t like this bit. He saw the logic but he didn’t like it. The cycle was already lost and Humanity could not fight the Council and win, especially not with the Reapers here, on Earth but Humanity would not allow the Council to think they had won. The last thing they would do was take them down, one way or another. “We offer ourselves,” he said, swallowing again. “We will not fight you Harbinger. Instead, we will organise ourselves to be processed, so that we may be ascended.”

“And in exchange?” Harbinger was wise enough to know that there was more to this deal than just that. The organics would want something in return.

“In exchange,” Shepard said, “You will not indoctrinate us until this cycle is over and the Reaper we become will give you the rest of this cycle’s species. We will take on the galaxy for you.”

Harbinger was silent and just as Shepard was beginning to worry, he heard something he never thought he’d hear. The reaper laughed. “Human,” the ship said finally. Shepard’s lip twitched. He’d moved up from ‘organic.’ “You would walk yourselves into what organics consider oblivion?”

“If you agree, I will walk into you, if that’s what it takes,” Shepard hissed.

Again Harbinger was silent. Shepard stood watching. It seemed to him that the Reaper ships were moving more slowly now.

“No race has ever asked for ascension, Human,” Harbinger spoke finally.

Shepard shrugged, unsure if the gesture translated. “There’s a first time for everything,” he said looking up at the ship. Silence reigned between them for long minutes as the Reaper thought.

“Come closer,” Harbinger finally ordered.

He blinked but stepped forward, walking towards the Reaper that loomed in his vision. Gravel crunched beneath his boots but Shepard didn’t look down as he continued. Eventually he stepped into the shadow Harbinger cast and the instant the cold surrounded him, the Reaper struck. Something grabbed him and Shepard couldn’t even scream as it squeezed. His breath left him instantly and he shook hard enough to feel things breaking inside. Then there was something within him. It was in his mind and it was huge. He couldn’t fight it as agony travelled through him and the taste of blood filled his mouth. It dripped from his nose and from his ears and he cried tears that smeared over his face. Odd memories came to him.

The way Tali had looked when she smiled at him. The way the bones of the Drell assassin felt under his hands. The pain of watching the Krogan die and the agony of the Council dismissing him at gunpoint. The war, the battle to drive back the fleets of slavers that attacked and the more organised raids from the Turians. The fear of the Reapers and the knowledge that they could not win. Then one feeling dominated them. Desire. The will to see the Council bow to him. It didn’t matter how it happened but before he died, somehow, he would see them bow. If that meant he had to deal with the devil, then pull out a contract, dip a pen in his blood and point out where to sign.

The next thing he knew he was lying on the ground, the searing pain gone leaving in its wake a host of smaller pains. His ears rang, his head throbbed and every muscle in his body ached as if he’d just run 50 miles. Shepard coughed before he spat out blood and he reached one hand to wipe at the fluid he knew covered his face as he slowly dragged himself up. Harbinger watched, the Reaper unfeeling and silent but interested in his reaction. He struggled to his feet, weaving unsteadily for a moment before forcing himself to stand tall and look back towards the Reaper leader.

Again minutes passed and the wind tugged at him. He was about to turn away, uncaring that the Reaper would probably vaporise him when Harbinger spoke. “Very well Human. We will ascend you, so that you may pursue the lesser races. You will not betray us Human but should that happen, I will personally ensure that you live long enough to see the extinction of your species and the death of your world.”

Shepard nodded, tasting blood as he swallowed but before he could talk, Harbinger continued. 

“Come here, Human.” 

He didn’t want to. The memory of pain flashed before him but Shepard forced himself to step forward, walking until he was under the Reaper. A light blinked above him and a hatch was open. 

“As the one who destroyed my Vanguard, you will be the first Shepard,” Harbinger said, his voice reverberating through John’s mind. “I will see to it.”

Without hesitation Shepard walked to the hatch. Harbinger’s acceptance had already been sent to Alliance Command and he knew they’d do what was necessary. He didn’t look back as he stepped inside, into the darkness.


	2. Rebirth

Part 1 The Fall of Humanity  
Chapter 1 Rebirth

===

“Riots have continued for the eighth day unimpeded across the globe as the citizens express their displeasure at the Systems Alliance’s so called deal with the super machines. Local government forces have failed to contain the rioting, and in many cases have even joined the rioters as social order continues to break down.”

Hackett sighed as he flicked the news channel to mute, returning his attention to the nominal world Prime Minister. Humanity had been progressing so well. The rest of the galaxy forced that, making us band together for protection and while no alien species had penetrated to Earth, the changes had been felt there too. There were still a few national governments worth the name but they were all working together and many had signed up to a single entity. Of course, it was all so new and the people were still adjusting and things like police and military, they were overwhelmed.

“Steven, you have to do something!” Prime Minister Juraj stated forcefully. Juraj was from one of the eastern European countries and had somehow managed to gain the support of most of Europe in the elections. With China and India both saying they didn’t have the time or resources to participate in the first elections, but that they would sign on to the Earth Gov, Juraj had been able to hold out an American candidate by appealing to the rest of the world on the grounds that he came from a small country and thus would not forget their countries. Pure politician talk but… Hackett wasn’t here to deal with that. 

“You know I can’t,” he replied just as firmly. “As soon as the riots get into the thermosphere, then they enter my jurisdiction.” It was still a part of the Systems Alliance’s charter that they could have recruiting stations, even small bases on Earth but they could not engage in military activity on the homeworld. Their jurisdiction was space and the colonies. Despite what the news said, the deal between Humanity and the super machines was not brokered by the Systems Alliance alone. Earth Gov had approved it, as had the country governments. This was the deal they had all signed.

“You can now,” Juraj said but was wise enough to avoid sounding smug. “Emergency session this morning altered the Alliance’s charter. When requested Systems Alliance forces may be deployed for active combat engagements on Earth, and I am formally requesting it.” He paused for a moment before growling the rest from between gritted teeth.

“Get down here and help those forces still trying to quell the rioters, before moving on to those places where they’ve given up entirely.”

Steven blinked. He’d been expecting this but the last he’d heard was that there were still major political forces aligned against this exact order. “The Russian’s agreed?” he questioned mildly.

Juraj snorted. “They lost control of one of their missile installations,” he said and Steven felt a flash of cold. “Oh, don’t worry,” the Prime Minister said, waving one hand in dismissal and this time not bothering to hide the smug satisfaction in his voice. “China got it back for them and then told them in no uncertain terms that Russia had voted for the deal with the super machines, so they would help fulfill it, even if that meant calling in the space police, or they would give them back their missiles with a direct delivery to what’s left of Moscow.”

That explained a great deal. “All right,” Steven agreed. He had no choice. “Send up the details so we don’t overstep our bounds, and then give me an hour or so to organise some troops. We’ll get these riots stopped.” He sighed again as Juraj initiated a data link. “How are you going on the proposed social reforms?”

The Prime Minister looked disgusted. “Right at the moment, no one gives a rat’s arse about anything but the riots. Most of them haven’t gotten it through their heads that just making one or two super machines isn’t going to cut it.”

Hackett nodded. That was about what he’d expected. “Earth’s been so used to population control for the last fifty years that it’s going to be an uphill battle to change that. See if you can get the tax breaks through for families of over three children. That will help and I’ll see what I can find from the colonies.”

“Aren’t they gone?” Juraj asked with a frown.

“Well and truly,” Steven admitted. “The Reapers cleaned up whatever the rest of the galaxy missed but all the colonies had good growth policies and we need them now.”

The Prime Minister nodded, his eyes hard. No matter how he’d gotten the job, and no matter that he was one of the outside candidates, he intended to do his job and Steven was thankful for that. “I’ll call you back in an hour with a plan,” the Admiral said and Juraj nodded before cutting the connection. 

===

Matriarch Irissa rubbed her crests wearily. When she had first been selected as the new Asari Councillor to replace the murdered Tevos, she had seen it as a great chance to advance her people’s interests and to reposition them as the true power in the galaxy.

After a stressful beginning to her ascension to the powerful position, marked by the destruction of the pride of the Asari Republics’ fleet, the crisis of their fleet build-up and scaremongering about Reapers and then the Human Rebellion to crush the warmongering species, she had thought that things were finally settling down.

“Thank you for coming.” Quentius’ flanging voice was stressed.

“It’s fine. I was looking for a break from dealing with the paperwork for another round of C-Sec applications. I really do wish we could alter procedure in that regard. Having all candidates vetted by us wastes so much of our time.”

Esheel nodded her assent. “Same. Time better spent on important business.”

“While I realise our last regular weekly meeting to review developments was only yesterday, I felt this item should not wait and deserved special attention.”

“What is it?”

“Humans.” Esheel guessed.

Quentius nodded wryly. “It seems like everything they do is doomed to cause us trouble, even when they aren’t doing anything. As in this case. I got a report from one of my subordinates indicating that the blockade fleet hadn’t destroyed any Alliance probes this month. Nor did they last month. The previous month, they had no less than fifteen incursions at random intervals. Our own fleet’s probes were destroyed as normal with no notable change.”

“Strange. STG reported no spy probes through either. Human fleet massed at Relay. No change.”

“But neither of you know why they have changed their policy? This passivity is most unlike them. I’m sure Quentius remembers all too well how fierce their resistance was.” Irissa saw Quentius acknowledge her point. “Besides, the primitives promised vengeance. They can’t get that if they stay meekly in their home system.”

The Turian Councillor responded, thinking of the butcher’s bill his people will have to pay. “The Humans aren’t stupid, they know they can’t win. They know as soon as we draw up our full fleets that we will crush them, no matter how inventive they are. However, if they go fully on the defensive, they could delay the inevitable, maybe make it so expensive that they expect us not to pay the price.”

Irissa considered that for a moment before Esheel added her own thoughts.

“Humans could think if they don’t come out, we will change our minds. Out of sight, out of mind is a Human expression.”

“When will the Turian fleets be ready for the final assault?”

“We could order it now and the fleets would crush them by the end of the month. However, the Terminus systems are restive. They resent the expansion of our reach that the pending readmission of the Batarians has given us and our military actions have inspired a number of the minor races to go to high alert. No matter how inevitable our victory over the Humans, we would still take considerable damage in the process. I don’t like the idea of leaving our own worlds vulnerable.”

“The Humans are not going anywhere. We advise waiting until risk is lower.”

Irissa nodded. “That would be best. Better to give the Humans a little more time than to lose more lives of our people. We don’t have to rush anything and when you do strike, the Asari will be with you, as will the Salarians.” 

Esheel nodded. “We need more information before we strike. Will increase efforts.”

Better to be cautious when the lives of trillions of sentients are affected by whatever actions they take.

===

Deep in the Citadel, an ancient entity was also considering the state of affairs. The Ascended were years late. However, compared to the glory and length of the cycles, even a few centuries’ difference either way was of little matter.

===

“It’s not working, is it?” Juraj was tired and slumped into the chair on the other side of the desk. 

Hackett sat back, rubbing his eyes. “The only way it’s going to work is if we go in for full occupation. No rubber bullets.”

“When do we have to make the first shipment?”

“Next week, but I have that covered,” Hackett dismissed the concern. The deal with the super machines, the Reapers as Shepard had called them, gave them forty five days to re-organise before beginning processing. Except the world was in chaos. Some areas had been pacified and went about their days as usual, others… well, you could see the fires from here, on the Everest, one of the only dreadnoughts that has survived both the Council and the super machines.

“What? How?” Juraj demanded. The first shipment was meant to be volunteers with a ballot if required.

“I know what the ballot is meant to do and I am not leaving Shepard with the dregs.” Despite the situation, Hackett’s eyes were firm. “There’s a large contingent of troops who want to be in the first. Shepard’s whole squad has already volunteered.”

“Why?”

While they were friends, the look Hackett directed at Juraj spoke volumes. The politician really didn’t understand a soldier’s motives. “Because Shepard is going to lead the charge against the rest of the galaxy and they want in on that.”

There was a flash of understanding in Juraj’s expression which quickly faded. That was the first shipment. It said nothing about the second and third and all the rest. 

The third man in the office tapped his fingers against Hackett’s desk. “We’ve been hiding what’s going to happen,” he said slowly. The pensive expression did not suit his features. “Why don’t we just tell the truth?”

“What?” Juraj snorted. “Mr Harper, you want to tell the masses that their bodies will get melted down into goop?”

Harper rolled his eyes. “Of course not. It’s all in the sale. It’s the loss of your physical body, true, but the process provides immortality for your mind.”

Hackett’s expression turned speculative. “The troops weren’t too afraid of the process,” he offered.

After a few moments, Juraj’s expression altered. “If we can sell it as immortality, that would help,” Juraj said. “But I doubt it will stop the rioting, unless you have a plan for that too, Mr. Harper?” There was venom in the Prime Minister’s tone. He didn’t like this businessman being here, no matter how influential Harper was. 

“I do,” he replied, his blue eyes flicking towards the Prime Minister. “But you won’t like it,” he added, that part addressed to Hackett.

“What won’t I like?” the Admiral asked. Better to get this over and done with.

“We can’t stop such widespread rioting on our own. We’ve been trying and we’ve been getting nowhere. We are ignoring the obvious resource. There are forty thousand sentient ships in Sol. They will leave after we start fulfilling our side of the bargain, but until then, they are here. They have troops, and they have no problems killing.

“So I’d suggest a three stage plan. First, we tell the world what processing will mean. I think that will help Humanity to calm down mostly, but the religious fanatics will have a field day. Then, we pick out the most fanatical entrenched group and we obliterate them. Kinetic strike, nuclear if we have to, and then we call in the Reapers to quell whatever trouble is left. The survival of our species is on the line. We can’t afford to be soft on those getting in the way of that goal.”

Both Hackett and Juraj were silent for quite some time. Harper remained still, not bothering to justify his plan further.

“You were right,” Hackett spoke eventually, his voice deliberately even. “I don’t like it.”

“How do we know the Reapers won’t just kill us all?” Juraj shouted the demand.

“We don’t,” Harper admitted. “But we aren’t going to be able to gain control of the situation in time and if we fall through on our requirements, then they will kill us all.”

“We have the first shipment ready,” Hackett said slowly. “That will show that we are willing to go through with the plan. I don’t like asking for aid but it would be far better to ask than to renege. They don’t know much about us organics, as they call us. They know how to kill but they don’t know much about how our societies work. We can probably spin something to say that we need the assistance in the temporary re-organisation.”

Harper nodded. “My people can make something up if they ask.”

Hackett took a deep breath before sighing. “This is your call, Mr. Prime Minister,” he said turning towards Juraj. “It will have to be an executive order. Any part of Harper’s plan will require that.”

“You think I should go with it?” Juraj challenged.

“I think we are at a point where a decision must be made to do something,” the Admiral replied. “Only time will tell which decision may have been the correct one.”

Juraj wasn’t happy but nodded. He clasped his hands together and Hackett and Harper could see the deep breaths Juraj was taking as he thought. “God, I never thought it would come to this.”

“Blame the Council,” Harper murmured. “In a perfect galaxy, they would have accepted our leadership in battle against the super machines, but this is our only way of surviving.”

“You are both certain this is the only way?”

Hackett nodded while Harper elaborated. “If no one fucks up, we can provide the Reapers with their organic material, while still maintaining or even growing our population, ensuring Humanity’s survival. And so long as they keep their half of the bargain, those of us who become them will rip the pissant races of the galaxy apart.”

“And you are sure you can rig the ballots?”

“Of course, I’m sure,” Harper seemed offended. “Assuming we don’t get enough volunteers, then the ballots are rigged. Not completely of course but there will be disproportionate number of aged males and any young women selected will be those already diagnosed as being barren. Not that anyone will be able to prove that, of course. The records will be adjusted accordingly.”

Juraj shivered. He didn’t want to know all the details. It was enough knowing that someone as cold-hearted as Harper had arranged things to ensure that the population had the best chance of growing. 

“We will need those family tax breaks, and a large fund set aside for death pensions,” Harper paused, once again rapping his finger tips on the desk. “And an advertising campaign. Immortality will sell itself, but we will have to encourage people to go through with it, make them out as heroes for their sacrifice, and also set up some rules, that sort of thing. No pregnant women, no woman below the age of 30 who hasn’t born at least two children and we may want to make IVF cheap.”

“Where am I getting all these funds!?” Juraj demanded.

Hackett snorted. “I’m sure our allies in the business community would be happy to contribute to this effort to restore normal business.” He smirked at Harper’s expression. “And if they fail to be patriotic enough, you can kill the military budget.”

“I can’t repurpose that.”

The reply made Hackett laugh. “There are forty thousand sentient machines in Sol. We made a deal with them and they won’t let the Council anywhere near Earth. All we have to do is get through the first few months, then we won’t need much of a military at all.”

It took a moment for that to sink in and as it did all three men felt the seriousness of the situation. 

“How about we set it up like this,” Harper began. “Everyone who volunteers gets a pension for their family, either a lump sum or ongoing payments, but they also get a month long holiday with their family - the snow, the beach - doesn’t matter. We can set it up. Then they are sent to the processing plant. We run a couple of campaigns, making them patriots, and encouraging birth rate. We hint that we can keep ahead of the super ship demands. The smart ones will work it out. Those who don’t, they will be the first to be chosen on the ballots,” he shrugged his shoulders. 

“Can we keep ahead?”

“Easily,” Hackett assured Juraj. “We just need to raise the birth rate to about 10% in ten years or so. The hardest thing will be to remove the birth control beliefs. Except, none of that matters if we can’t get control of the planet now.”

Juraj sighed and he pulled himself up, leaning back in the chair. “All right,” he whispered. “We’ll go with your plan, Harper. Hackett, release the information on what will happen for agreeing with the super machines and ready a kinetic strike against whatever the fanatics come up with. Kinetic only! I will never authorise nuclear,” he sighed again, wondering if he could be so sure he wouldn’t fall down the slippery slope. “Then I suppose I better open a line to Harbinger and hope to God that we are right about their knowledge of organics.”

Hackett and Harper nodded. 

“I’ll send a list of what campaigns we are going to need,” Harper said, showing himself out, unable to resist a parting shot. “We will survive longer this way than any other plan can give us, and if the Reapers are true to their word, then we will still be alive, even if it’s not fully Human. That might be the only victory we have.”

There was silence for a few moments. “Steven,” Juraj started. “Will this work?”

“Will which bit work?”

“All of it. Fooling those Reapers?”

Hackett looked pensive for a moment. “Probably not. From what Shepard told us, they are millions of years old, so eventually they are going to see through it.”

“And then what?”

“Then?” Hackett fixed Juraj with a hard stare. “Then we die.”

===

“al-Jilani, you have to get out of there!”

“What, Victor? Why?” Khalisah demanded. Her Producer was shouting but he wasn’t making much sense.

“You know the Systems Alliance has been putting down the other riots.”

“Yeah, everyone’s been reporting on it. When they come for this one, I’ll just join one of their teams.” What was Victor so worried about? Sure, this was one of the worst riots but she’d been here for weeks. All the other reporters had wussed out and she’d heard that a Yank reporter had been shot but what did you expect? They’d stuck out like a sore thumb. There was a rumour that some bimbo from Khmer News was still around but al-Jilani didn’t care. This was her story.

“No, that’s the thing, the SA isn’t going to pacify New Delhi.”

“Don’t screw me around. Earth Gov can’t do anything.”

“It’s not Earth Gov, either,” Victor said and Khalisah caught the chill in his tone. “They called in help from the super machines. They’ve already suppressed the riots in Karachi, Hyderabad, Indore and Mumbai.”

“What?” She was incredulous. Those riots had been going the longest and the last she’d heard, just last night was that they were still going strong with a million rioters in the streets. “How?”

“The super machines don’t care,” Victor said. “They just mowed all resistance down.”

“They can’t.”

“They did.”

“All right, I’ll be…” al-Jilani trailed off. “Shit, they’re here.” She hadn’t noticed the shouts getting louder. It was a riot after all. It was always loud. But once she noticed, she could tell instantly that the shouts were not those of rioters, but screams of pain, screams of people running for their lives.

Several had already passed by her by the time al-Jilani saw what they were running from. “God… what the hell are they?”

“Khalisah! What is it?”

“I don’t know,” she said, taking several steps back before her feet began to run of their own accord. She had managed to point the camera in the general direction.

“What the hell?” Victor exclaimed.

The things were huge. They were Humanoid only in the vaguest sense of the term. They were black, but you couldn’t miss them as their bodies had lights all over them, lights which al-Jilani realised were embedded in them. It looked like they had three eyes and their gaping mouths shone. She convulsed when the wind changed. Instead of the scent of smoke, there was the smell of rot and it had to be coming from the new things.

An explosion sounded overhead and Khalisah’s head shot up in time to see debris falling from one of the surrounding buildings. She jumped back, narrowly avoiding being struck by a brick and continued running.

“That was a grenade,” Victor reported.

al-Jilani snorted. Who cares what it was? She was in real danger! The alien troops were fast but adrenaline gave her strength and she was reasonably fit. The streets of Delhi were also narrow. That helped. She raced through them, skirting down laneways with others as they fled.

Eventually she collapsed against a wall, breathing hard. “I think I lost them,” she said, looking down at her phone, her link with Victor. She had lost her shoes in her mad run and her feet hurt but thankfully they didn’t appear to be bleeding. She didn’t want to think about the infections she’d get here.

“I don’t think you have,” he replied, his eyes sad. “The word coming from Karachi is that they just surround the city and kill everything. You have to hide and I’ll get in contact with the autho-”

“Victor?” al-Jilani said. “Victor?” she questioned again, tapping the keys on her omni-tool. The line was dead and she gulped. That meant someone had jammed the signal and for it to cut off Victor, it had to be wide band jamming. If she wanted to get through to him, she had to find a physical line. But where the hell was she going to find a line…

Wait, no… reporting be darned! She could probably find a line but those things wouldn’t care. She had to hide, wait until they passed, then she could report on what she’d seen. The Systems Alliance had made a deal with these things and her records would bring them down. Automatically she reached over to her omni-tool, tapping the keys to save the file she had recorded. She also set it on auto-send so even if she were asleep when things calmed down again, she’d still get her story. And if the worst happened – not that it would – when her omni-tool got a signal again it would still send the file.

al-Jilani looked around the alley. It was narrow and smelly and empty. There were a few doors coming off it and at random she selected one. It was locked. She needed something going to a basement or the subway. Anything would do at this stage.

Cautiously she moved, listening for those things. There. There was an entry to a subway station. After taking a careful look around she ran, flying down the stairs as her eyes strained to see in the dark. Maybe she should have found a torch first. The omni-tool provided some light but it didn’t extend far. It was good enough that she didn’t fall when the stairs ended but after that she was lost in the dark.

“Calm down,” Khalisah whispered to herself, taking deep breaths of hot air. This was a subway. It would have a standard layout. There wouldn’t be too many stairs and there’d be an opening to the platform. She just had to find that. With the riots, the trains hadn’t been working for the last few weeks and the power to the system had been cut. Besides the inner city train line still ran on the old power cables so she wouldn’t electrocute herself on the tracks.

She closed her eyes briefly, taking a final deep breath, directing the light from her omni-tool to a point in front of her. She set off, avoiding broken tiles and glass. Her breathing was loud in the dark and it was only after she’d rounded several pillars, spotting the tracks in the near total darkness, that al-Jilani frowned. Carefully she turned around, directing her omni-tool into the distance was well as she could.

There was no one else down here. Why was there no one else down here? There was evidence of other people. Broken glass, and some bottles and she thought she’d seen some blankets which most likely belonged to some homeless person as she walked but the light was too faint to tell if anyone was in them. But apart from that, there was nothing. There was no blood, her mind noted as she continued to breathe. Surely she wasn’t the only one to think about hiding here?

Something skittered in the dark and she spun but saw nothing. Another skitter and again she saw nothing. Almost reluctantly she closed her eyes before opening them and choosing a direction as she started walking again. While the subway was good start on a place to hide, she needed somewhere less exposed. A janitor’s cupboard or something. It was only her imagination making her hear things in the dark. 

She continued to believe that right up until the faint light from her omni-tool fell on something. It was black, completely black and al-Jilani raised her arm, shifting the light upwards. It seemed that it went on forever and she looked up. She got a confused impression of limbs and then it opened its eyes. Khalisah screamed. It echoed but no one heard.

In the instant its eyes opened, other lights on it had come on and it was immediately obvious that this was similar to the thing on the street. She tried to run but it was too fast and something latched on to her arm, wrenching her back. Her feet slipped and she felt on to the tiled floor. It hurt but al-Jilani didn’t even feel that as the creature came closer. It had six limbs, three of which were reaching for her as one held her close. The other two were planted on to the floor like tree trunks.

“God, no please!” she begged but it didn’t even pause. As it came close she smelt it and convulsed but it held her firm, and al-Jilani felt herself lifted from the ground. It was strong and didn’t seem to strain but the smell didn’t improve and she dry wretched, feeling her limbs strain against the hold. From her new vantage point the creature didn’t get any better. The lights on it defined the shape, making the light from her omni-tool worthless. Six limbs and a tail. It wasn’t Human. It wasn’t anything alien she had ever seen, her mind provided the extra information as if she was still reporting. Her eyes fixed on its eyes that lit up its face but there was no expression.

al-Jilani didn’t see its tail move but she felt pain in her chest and in the semi-darkness she tasted blood. She realised what the wet drip she heard was a moment before agony overwhelmed everything and she screamed again.

The small patch of faded light caused by her omni-tool and the creature’s bioluminescence was tainted red and the sound of a few wet splashes was barely audible over the echoing scream. A few moments later, several heavier things fell to the ground, impacting the tiles solidly but with the sound of liquid splashing.

If al-Jilani had of walked a few steps more, she would have seen the blood and bodies of those who had also hidden in the subway. She would have seen the creatures who waited there, the smaller ones who skittered on the roof and in between the larger ones. She would have known that the alien super machines did not leave anyone alive.

The creature stepped forward and it was not alone. The light from Khalisah’s omni-tool shone for a few seconds more before there was a crunch and it blinked out.

===

Captain Tarquin Victus was young to be the Captain of a Turian Cruiser but he had ambitions to go higher, much higher than his current tier of citizenship. The command room of a dreadnought appealed. While most wouldn’t believe that patrolling an empty, backwater system was a step in the right direction, if he could work out what the perverse Humans had done to vanish the Relay, maybe even duplicate the feat himself, he was assured of promotion.

That’s why on almost every patrol he had the sensor techs run more scans of the system and every time he encouraged them to use different combinations of sensors. If they could find the Relay, or even a trail, then that would be good enough. So far though, they had found nothing but Tarquin was sure that eventually something would be found. The Humans were good. His father ranted about them and their tricks whenever he got deep into his cups. While the old General never admitted the Humans were near their equal, he didn’t have to, it was implied in his words. 

They were fast, strong and vicious. They lacked the discipline of the Turians and didn’t have the toughness of the Krogan but they fought hard. If it wasn’t for their lies to justify their military buildup, they might even have been considered honorable. But they lied and they had to be put down for the betterment of the galactic community. They dishonoured themselves by hiding.

“Anything?”

“Not yet, sir.” The sensor chief replied, mandibles held still to avoid angering his capricious captain.

“Keep looking. I don’t care how clever the Humans thought they were, they are bound to have left some clues. Bragging is in their nature.”

“Aye sir. We’ll find them for you.” Orders were orders.

Tarquin smiled. “See that you do.”

===

“Mum, you don’t have to do this,” Francis grumbled as he pushed his mother’s wheelchair. The line behind them didn’t seem to mind that he was slow.

Most of them were volunteers. A few were helpers like him and like him, they made sure to display the red band around their wrists conspicuously. Francis just hoped the aliens weren’t color blind.

“I know love but you know as well as I do, that after your father passed on that I’m not about to have any more children.”

“That doesn’t matter!” Francis yelled.

The outburst earned him a Look from his mother. Faintly disappointed and saying without words that she expected better from him. 

“You find a nice young lady and settle down.”

“Mother! You sound like you’re on the TV.”

“It’s for a good cause,” Annie defended them, smiling up at her son. He really should find a nice girl and have some kids. It would take his mind off her.

“They sound like the bloody Nazi’s,” Francis objected.

“It is for a far nobler cause,” she replied fiercely.

“What?” Her son was incredulous. “Finding a girl and breeding is a noble cause?”

“In this case, yes,” Annie said, looking forward again at the huge alien ship she was being pushed towards. It scared her a little but she had come to terms with what she had volunteered for. Immortality of the mind with the destruction of the body.

Not destruction, enforced decomposition. Her elements would then be used to make a new super machine. One lip twitched. They weren’t really her elements though. They belonged to the universe and it appeared the universe wanted this, so she was at peace. It didn’t really matter if the Systems Alliance had lied about the immortality part.

“How?” Francis demanded.

Annie shook her head. Her son was smart, really intelligent, but sometimes, he just didn’t get it. She sighed. Understanding would come with maturity. “Francis,” she said and couldn’t help that the tone made it sound like she thought of him as a small boy. “You are bright. Think about it and I’m sure you will understand. Truth always, Francis, for truth is eternal.”

“No!” he shouted, taking his hands off the wheelchair. “I do not understand why you have to die because some alien super machine said so.”

Annie pushed herself up. She was fit enough to walk, it was just the lines to the London processing plant were long enough that the officials thought the wheelchair would be best. “Francis Harry Crick!” she practically growled the words. “You listen to me! You know darn well there have been precious few times I’ve agreed with the politicians in Whitehall or with that Systems Alliance but on this, they are right! So I am going to go into that alien processing plant, and I am going to have my body melted down into elemental goo while my mind is preserved. And then I am going to be reformed as a part of one of the alien super machines. 

“Because that is the best thing for Humanity, and if you used the brain god blessed you with, you would see why.

“Now either you can push me there, or I’ll walk,” she finished with a growl, deliberately turning and stepping forcefully towards the alien building. 

Francis watched her go. The man behind them gave him a quizzical look, as if asking if he was going to go after her, before gently pushing the wheelchair onwards as he moved forward. The line moved with him and Francis was left watching as his mother’s back disappeared into the queue of volunteers. 

It wasn’t right! But there was nothing he could do but watch as the line continued passed him. “Darn it!” he screamed and stormed back down the line towards the entrance. His mother had made her decision and London had accepted, there was nothing he could do now but mourn, because no matter what they said, she was dead to him now.

===

Admiral Hackett, like most other Humans around the world watched his view screen avidly. Today was the day, the day the first Human super ship came online. It was almost two years to the day since the super machines, the ones the Protheans called the Reapers had arrived in Sol System. The name hadn’t been circulated so that rest of Humanity simply called them the super machines. Even in the two years since Shepard had brokered a deal and the Systems Alliance had made that deal a reality no one had settled upon a name.

So much had changed, yet so much remained the same. That was somewhat comforting. Humans still wanted vengeance against the galaxy that had turned upon them but now they had the means to gain that vengeance. All because of Shepard and the knowledge he’d given them. Knowledge the Citadel had ignored and ridiculed them all for. Knowledge that would be used to extract Humanity’s vengeance. 

The Human super ships would be the instrument of that vengeance. He looked back at the screen. The ship displayed looked like the other Reapers. There was nothing to say it was Human but it was. They had bled and died for that ship. Well, not died. No one was meant to have died but they no longer existed in their Human form. They would find out today if it was true when the newest Reaper ship launched and declared its name. 

He’d watched the launch of many ships, but not knowing the name of the ship was odd. It was hard to see in space but he knew the anchoring points were loosened. The great metal ropes didn’t move but the ship did, slowly moving away, as if slipping down the dry dock into the emptiness of space. There were other Reaper ships around the dock. They were there to control the new ship if required. The Alliance had asked about the process but none of the Reapers had been forthcoming about what happened now.

Hackett watched carefully, barely daring to breathe. The ship was dark. Then the first light flicked on and he felt his expression change. His lips stretched into a quick smile. Around the world, he knew, Humanity would be cheering. Another light came on and the cheering grew. From outside his office he could hear his aide’s joyful exclamation. He wouldn’t cheer yet, not until he knew if the super ship was still Human. 

Their entire plan rested on that little detail. 

He was thrown back in his chair and Hackett felt his fingers crack as he gripped the armrests. He could vaguely hear his aide’s cries and Steven tasted blood. There was a scream in his mind. It consumed everything. 

Then it was gone. He reached up, touching his fingertips to his tongue. They came away red and he blinked tears yet Hackett felt his smile return as his mind processed the aftermath of pain. It was not his pain he had felt, it was something else. Hackett could hear his aide struggling to rise but he couldn’t go to her. Instead he turned his eyes to the screen. 

The ship now looked like every other Reaper ship. All the running lights were on, and the legs were extended down. He bit the inside of his lip to avoid what would be an insane laugh. It looked like every other ship but its scream had been Human.

It worked. The blood, and the tears and the pain and the sacrifices. It had worked.

Shepard was back.

===


	3. A Taste of the Future

Part 1 The Fall of Humanity  
Chapter 2 A Taste of the Future

===

2189

Kaidan Alenko shook his head as he walked past yet another ad for free IVF. “Things have changed a lot since we fought with the Commander.”

Ashley Alenko nee Williams chuckled as she held the hands of their youngest kids. “That’s for sure! And not all of it for the worse, Mister.”

Kaidan put his hands up in mock surrender and agreed. “Okay, honey. You’re right.”

“And don’t you forget it.” Ashley grinned then smiled wider as her husband held the door for her. “Now, don’t forget to be on your best behavior, kids. We’re going to be on television soon and a lot of people are going to be watching. It’s the third anniversary of Commander Shepard becoming the first volunteer for immortality.” 

Both of them had volunteered to be with the first shipment but Admiral Hackett had pulled them aside and told them that he had another mission for them. They’d been confused for a few minutes before he’d looked significantly at them. How the Admiral had known that they had been comforting each other, neither had ever found out and so they’d gone along with the mission. It wasn’t exactly a hardship and Shepard would understand.

“Yes, Mom.” The triplets chorused in long-suffering tones. Their mother was pregnant, again, and they’d already learned from their father that it was best just to go along with what she wanted whenever that happened. Their father was quietly glad that her pregnancy kept them safe from the selection lotteries.

They lined up and passed through security at the studio. Afterwards, the kids were settled into daycare until it was time for their parents, heroes of the War of Betrayal, to tell everyone again why the deal with the Reapers was a good one for Humanity, granting immortality of the mind. 

And all without telling the public the full truth because no one wanted the Reapers working that out.

===

2189

“Quentius, I have a favour to ask,” Irissa told the Turian sourly after her omni-tool connected her through to the Turian Councillor. Sure, the Asari had been trying to instill a sense of diplomacy in the Turians for centuries but the latest Turian Councillor was a little too diplomatic for her liking. Especially towards the Humans. 

“What do you need?” Curiosity was evident but Irissa was glad to hear the slightly guarded note in Quentius’ voice. The Turian wasn’t a complete infant. 

“I need you to redirect a patrol around Human space,” she said. 

“Our patrols have found nothing,” Quentius replied. “The Humans are being quiet.”

“Your patrols found nothing. One of ours has gone missing.”

“You don’t patrol that space.” There was an odd note of accusation mixed into Quentius’ fluted voice. 

“Not a patrol,” Irissa dismissed the words. “An expedition.”

She didn’t need to see the small image of Quentius to know that the Turian would groan. Turian thoughts about Asari expeditions were well known. Yet all of them knew, even if they wouldn’t admit it, there was only one right way to introduce species to the rest of the galactic community. The evidence proved that. 

Just look at the fiasco with the Humans. The Turians had introduced them to the galaxy, so of course there were going to be problems. The Krogans. Their introduction might have been centuries ago but the issues there were caused by the Salarians. More recently, the Quarians. Again, the Salarians introduced them to the galaxy and then failed to keep a watchful eye on them. 

The Volus had first contacted the Asari, and look at them. They were a peaceful race, well established and respected in the galaxy. The Hanar and their Drell clients. Another set of peaceful races, another set of races found by the Asari. The Elcor were similar. Peaceful and contacted first by the Asari. Every successful Citadel species had been found and introduced to the galactic community by the Asari. 

Those who weren’t simply failed. Humans, Krogan, Quarians, they were all proof that only the Asari should attempt first contact. She had thought the Batarians might be an exception but they were holding out on rejoining the Citadel and there was evidence that the relationship was souring. As such, the Asari expeditions would continue, as much for themselves, as for the benefit of the newly found species. 

“Send me the coordinates,” Quentius managed to say politely yet Irissa could almost hear his thoughts. “I’ll redirect the nearest patrol. It shouldn’t take more than a few days,” the Turian Councillor added. 

“Thank you,” Irissa said, reminding herself that no matter what she thought Quentius wanted to say, she could only react to what he did say, and he had been polite the entire time. “I’ll forward them now,” she added before signing off.

===

2189

Quentius looked at the report. It was a bloody disaster. “You are sure of this?” he asked the Captain who was on screen.

“Positive.”

The Turian Councillor took a deep breath. “Pull back. Do not land or attempt rescue. I’ll send a reinforced fleet to deal with this.”

“Understood sir. I’m just glad I don’t have to storm that facility.”

“You’ve had experience?”

“My Father fought on Shanxi and I was over Proteus when we took it.”

Quentius nodded. Shanxi was an old battle but well respected and anyone who had taken part in the Second Human War knew what they fought like. It was not good news that a Human colony had been found outside of Sol. It was even worse news that the colony appeared to have been there for quite some time, though because the system was the closest to Sol, it had been the most likely target for their first interstellar settlement.

How many other colonies had the Humans not mentioned?

That was a question for the Council, for later. For now he had to organise a strike force. “I’ll let you know when reinforcements are on their way.”

“Thank you Councillor,” the Captain said, saluting before Quentius cut the signal. 

Councillor Irissa was not going to be happy but at least they had found her missing expedition.

===

2190

If Harbinger had been an organic, he would have been smiling with cold satisfaction.

In another departure from the normal path of ascension, only one of the races was being harvested right now. The four-eyed organics thought themselves the superior form of life in the galaxy, a view that had been reinforced for centuries as they got away with taking slaves from the other races despite the current Council’s ban on slavery.

These Batarians had also participated in the attack on Harbinger’s temporary allies (and wasn’t that a strange state of affairs), taking slaves that could have formed another Ascended. For many reasons, this moved the arrogant race to the top of the list. Since they weren’t going to overwhelm all of the current races at once, having to save them for the newly Ascended Humans, they were trying different tactics and strategies while they could. It was a nice alteration from the tedium that was the reality of most harvests. When production of Human Ascended reached full capacity, the whole fleet would have to focus on eezo production to ensure smooth ascension. 

Besides, it was not like they were much of a challenge even if they hadn’t been influenced by the broken shell of an Ascended on Khar’shan.

However, Harbinger didn’t want the rest of the organics to get any ideas from watching the slaughter of this race so he had first disabled all the Mass Relays leading into Batarian space except for the ones leading to Earth. This isolated the race nicely and left the rest of the galaxy in the dark about what was coming for them.

And right about then, Hetrans was leading a handful of Ascended in a long-range bombardment of the final military base guarding the last Batarian world. The gouts of superheated plasma flashed in his sensors in patterns that the first Ascended found pleasing, even soothing, even as an army of husks was landing to search the base for survivors. And kill them.

===

Ever since the damned Humans had killed the Council’s top Spectre and made up their self-serving lies about the Reapers, Jath’Amon’s career had taken off. When he had been trapped into becoming the Hegemony’s Ambassador to the Citadel, it was seen as important but a dead end for any ambitious Batarian. That had changed over the last few years.

The Council’s actions against Humanity had thawed relations with the Batarian Hegemony as a direct result. The former Human colonies were now available for proper settlement by the more deserving race and the Council had in effect admitted that they were in the wrong to side with the greedy newcomers.

And so, Jath’Amon was puzzled at this summons from the Council. The two-eyes had ordered him to appear at once to explain the actions of his government.

Tuning out the formalities of his summons, Jath’Amon’s brain ran through the possibilities but kept coming up empty.

At last, the damned Asari bitch had ran out of flowery phrases and the Turian, Quentius, could get a word in.

“Ambassador Jath’Amon, would you care to explain the latest developments within the Hegemony?”

“I would be happy to be of some assistance to the Council but I find myself at something of a loss for how to answer. Perhaps if you could specify which developments you wished to have clarified.” 

It galled him to admit his ignorance but unfortunately he didn’t have much of a choice. Hegemony policy was to go along with the Citadel races for now, not to rock the boat, unless pressed. That would give them time to expand and consolidate.

“For the last two days, no ship has been able to enter the Hegemony’s space. All scheduled traffic has been turned away by the Relays. Why are you breaking the trade agreements?”

Jath’Amon frowned internally. “I know nothing of this,” he said aloud. “If you will allow me to contact my government, I am sure we can resolve this situation soon.”

“I hope so, for your sake. It hasn’t been that long since trade resumed with the Batarians,” Irissa hissed. “If you cannot maintain your agreements then there will be repercussions. The Asari Republics will have no reason to trade with you if you do not honour your word.”

“I’m sure it won’t come to that,” Jath’Amon said, tapping a few keys on his omni-tool to make the call to his Government. 

“You are free to use our facilities while you await your government’s response, Ambassador,” Esheel said, gesturing towards a small, secure side room. 

===

As the arrogant Batarian Ambassador made use of one of the private meeting offices, Quentius turned to his fellow Councillors. “I don’t like this.”

“You’ve never liked the Batarians,” Esheel dismissed his concern.

“No,” Quentius shook his head. “It’s more than that. This is too much like the Humans.”

That got the attention of Irissa and Esheel. They both remembered how the final stage of that campaign had gone. The Turian Third and Fifth fleets, along with representatives from the Asari and Salarians, and even some Batarian privateers had swept through Human space, intent on entering Sol System and dealing with the Humans once and for all. They had expected heavy resistance. Given the way the Humans had fought for every inch of space before this, with every movement they made deeper into what was once Human territory they expected ambush. 

They found evidence of the Humans, massive mine fields, booby trapped settlements but they had found no Humans, and in some cases the settlements just weren’t there. It was as if something had erased them from the galaxy. That had caused a few moments of concern but no one had officially accused the others of the use of banned weapons so the military expedition pressed onwards. 

With no resistance in former Human territory, everyone had been ready for a final stand from the Humans, at or near the Relay into Sol. What they had instead found at the penultimate stop was something even more impossible. 

The Relay was gone.

Painstakingly thorough scans of the entire system came up blank. They found the remains of a Human space station, Arcturus or whatever the Human tongue had called it. The remains of Human warships were around it but only a few, not enough to be their entire remnant fleet. But that was all they found. Even stretching the sensors to the limits, none of the races present could find so much as a whisper of the Relay’s location. 

Arcturus was three days travel from Sol system and there was some thought given to travelling there to deal with the Humans but such a venture would leave them vulnerable. Most ships could just travel that far without discharging their drive cores but travel combined with combat was risking destruction of the entire fleet. While the crews would be fine, their ships would be at their limits and any battle that lasted an hour could see Council ships blow up without any help from the Humans.

In the end, the decision was made that if the Humans wanted to isolate themselves in their home system, then they could. Even the most begrudging of galactic lawyers acknowledged the point that the Sol System was their sovereign territory, the only territory they had undisputed legal claim to. Probes were sent towards Sol but Esheel had reported that they had been destroyed enroute, without ever spotting the vessels which had done so. 

Though the mystery remained. How had the Humans moved the Relay, because to this day, it had not returned.

“The Batarian Relays are still there,” Irissa pointed out after a moment. 

“True,” Quentius conceded but his tone was doubtful. He was still worried. Something didn’t feel right. Relations with the Batarian Hegemony hadn’t been this good in centuries, so there was no reason for them to isolate themselves. And even if they had, how had they closed the Relays completely? If the Batarians could do that then… he didn’t want to think of that. There were too many implications to consider. He needed more information before he thought about those implications. “I…” Quentius paused, taking a deep breath. “No. I’ll wait.”

“Wait for what?” Irissa prompted, her voice projecting a gentle concern.

“For the Ambassador’s explanation,” Quentius said looking up as Jath’Amon entered their Chamber again.

===

Patrolling the Harsa system, Nomiri’s sensors picked up a coded signal coming in via Khar’shan’s primary comm buoy. Subprocessors translated it automatically an instant later. No organic race had ever come up with a signal they could not decode so the Batarians’ best security encryption might just have well not been there. She listened to the Batarian’s plea for information and forwarded it along to Harbinger with a low-priority request for instructions.

A minute later, a small eternity at their speeds, Harbinger answered her. “Just let them call. Silence will serve the cycle better as the organics wait for answers that will not come. They will not expect our arrival and will not resist ascension as well.”

“And the Relays remain ours.”

“Khar’shan cannot answer.” Harbinger terminated their connection and Nomiri settled in, noting with amusement how the foolish organic’s stress rose with every second his call went unanswered.

This was a nice break from orbiting the neutron star the ascended used for eezo production.

===

The Intelligence noticed the signal sent out from the Council Chambers. That was why the facilities existed, after all. It found that this cycle had another deviation from the norm in that a race which had started to be Ascended, the Humans, hadn’t yet been finished off despite the ability of the Ascended to have finished by now. The arrival had not become general and open, either.

And now, they were Ascending the Batarians in secret, as well as disrupting the Relay network. The Intelligence had to go back into archives a billion years old to find the last time its creations had been so circumspect at the start of a cycle.

While an organic would have been irritated by the unexplained change, the Intelligence was content to wait and see. It was sure that Harbinger would have a good explanation for defying its standard operating procedures.

And besides, this wasn’t as boring as it had expected the cycle to be. The current races were not even a tenth of the challenge the Protheans had presented. Even an immortal synthetic could grow bored.

===

2190

Earth Prime Minister Sharon Allen resisted the urge to sigh as she looked at Jack Harper. The man looked old. That was an anomaly these days but he was powerful which was why he had a standing appointment whenever he wanted. “You needed to see me?”

“Yes. While our deal with our allies is all well and good, things can always be improved.” Harper said casually while he finished turning off all the recording devices. 

Sharon sighed. After the first couple of weeks in office she’d given up on attempting to remove all the bugs. Some of them had kept coming back so fast that they almost had to be self replicating. “Don’t worry, only yours are still recording.”

Satisfied, he continued. “As I said, while our deal with the aliens will allow us to crush the Council, in the long term, it is not good for Humanity.”

“I thought you were one of the people who proposed such a deal? I know the SA didn’t come up with it by themselves.”

Harper leaned back. “I am in favour of it in the short term. In the long term, however, it’s a death sentence for our species. At any time, the Reapers could look deeper into our affairs and change their minds. When that happens, we are as good as dead. I won’t let that happen.”

“So what do you suggest? You know we’re trapped in Sol. If these Reapers don’t get us, the Council would. I read the SA reports on how the battles were going. We hadn’t quite lost every colony but we were going to.” Sharon watched the man carefully. She couldn’t detect any trace of deception in his tone but while she was a good politician, she acknowledged the businessman was a master. 

Harper was undaunted by her questions. “Not via the Relay, which the Reapers are monitoring, nor via FTL. But I’d like to try to have a contingency ready before the Reapers come for us, using one of the old plans before we found the Prothean Ruins on Mars.”

Sharon frowned. “What plans? We could barely get off Earth before we found the Prothean Ruins.”

“Back in 2070, Victor Manswell funded an interstellar colony ship to travel to Alpha Centauri. We didn’t have mass effect technology but Human ingenuity found a way, sending 300 colonists in cryogenic freeze. I believe that with current technology, we can improve on that number and get thousands off Earth and out of the solar system, sending colony ships to multiple destinations that are too far for conventional FTL.”

“Is that wise? I can see why multiple colonies would be best, but smaller colonies risk destruction by the rest of the galaxy.”

“The real challenge is always going to be to slip this past the notice of our allies. By the time the colonists arrive, centuries will have past and the Council races will be gone.” His satisfaction at that prospect was plain.

Sharon picked up the slim slip of pages Harper had pushed towards her earlier and flicked her eyes over the text. Harper still used paper because he claimed that the evidence was more easily destroyed. The fact that he thought that way was worrying but even though she was young for her position, she hadn’t gotten to be Prime Minister without learning how to keep secrets. “Because we destroy them?” She smiled softly. She hadn’t been old enough to be really affected by the growing war with the Council but she had learned to hate, just as the rest of her generation had. They remembered what had been done. 

“One way or another. Their time was coming to an end so they tried to crush us before we crushed them.”

She narrowed her eyes. “So what would you need for this plan?” She’d read Hackett’s notes about Harper. The old war dog had been very blunt in his assessment of the man. Manipulative was about the kindest term he’d used but the warnings were balanced with the statement that Harper would do whatever it took to make sure Humanity survived. 

Harper wished Hackett were still around. While the pair hadn’t really seen eye to eye, the old Admiral had at least had the experience to keep up with him, about as well as anyone could.

“It’s better if you don’t know the full details but I’ll need some authorisations and some targeted tax concessions.”

“For yourself?” Sharon held back a snort.

“Of course not,” Harper growled. “That would be too obvious. I know there’s half a dozen departments watching me like hawks. The concessions will simply grease the wheels, encourage some other captains of industry not to ask inconvenient questions.”

“So it’s true then?”

“What’s true?”

“The ballots.”

Harper chuckled. “As I told Juraj before he was retired, rigging lotteries isn’t a problem.”

Sharon stared at Harper for a few moments. “Don’t retire me, or I will make sure you retire with me.”

The older man smiled. “Dear, if you could touch me, you would have done it by now. I was in this business before your parents were dating.” He looked at her until she got the message. “Besides, Juraj couldn’t see the big picture. He balked at doing what was necessary, lacking the vision for Humanity’s future.”

“How?”

Harper smirked. “The Reapers, Madam Prime Minister. He had no stomach for using them.”

“That was years back!”

“Then don’t make his mistake. You must do what is necessary for all Humanity. That was why I supported your election.”

“I’ll do as I choose best.”

“Of course, you will.”

===

Francis Crick looked down at the blue document as the lecturer droned on. The woman wasn’t saying anything he hadn’t heard before. Fourth year applied physics didn’t get many students but he was devoted. It shamed him to admit that it had taken about a year for him to work out what his mother had meant. Not about the Systems Alliance or Earth Gov being right about immortality for the mind but what they were doing with encouraging the birth rate. 

It was so obvious! At least, it had been once he got sobered up enough to read the information packets that had been sent to his mother once she had volunteered. Or maybe it was before. He didn’t know. The information had been broken into two sets of documents. A blue one, the one before him now, explained what would happen to his Mother in the alien processing building. He hadn’t been able to read that one yet. The other documents had been aimed at the family. They didn’t quite explain but it did strongly hint as to why the Gov was pushing so hard for large families. 

The alien super machines wouldn’t go away with the creation of one or two ships. The information had included quotes from various System Alliance commanders, including Shepard. The quotes explained, as much as they could, what the super machines did, how they harvested the galaxy and how Shepard had known they were coming. It was what the documents didn’t say that held the answer. Humans had agreed to provide the biological material for a set number of super machines a year, ramping up as time went on to ten a year.

But the numbers were there in black and white for anyone to work out. Well… anyone who knew anything about Human reproduction. They could win against the machines. The first years of production would hit their population but if the reproductive rate could be brought up, quite a bit, true, but still at a biologically sustainable figure, then they would keep ahead of the super machines. Yes, just about everyone would go into the production of a machine and Francis had felt sick about that for days, but the Human race would go on. It was going on. The Professor lecturing him was six months pregnant and already had three children at home. If he looked around the lecture room, he could see there were at least two babies sleeping beside their mothers, which said nothing about those who were listening online. It had only been a couple of years but the campus had become very kid friendly.

Plus, if the System Alliance hadn’t lied, when they had enough super machines made from Humans, they were going to lead the battle against the rest of the galaxy. The arrogant Council species would be brought low by Humans and the Batarians… those slaver scum would suffer. That was probably what had sealed his mother’s decision. His dad had served with the Systems Alliance and had been killed in some nameless battle against the Turian invaders. A desperate delaying action, like all those battles had been. They didn’t even have his body. Just his foot locker and the confirmation from his Captain that he had fallen facing the enemy and taking them with him. 

So his mum had told him to find a nice girl and settle down because with her volunteering, that was how he could help. He hadn’t yet. Francis intended to but he hadn’t yet. He was too busy studying. The payout the government had given him because of his mum’s volunteering had kept him in booze and food in the first year, and then the rest had paid for tuition on his degree. The last of it had gone this year but that was acceptable. He had almost finished his study and had secured a scholarship for his honours year. He could have graduated last year but because a member of his direct family had already volunteered in the last five years, and he was studying, he was exempted from the ballots. 

He’d majored in applied physics because that had seemed best to understand the super machines. The course had delved heavily into the science behind Element Zero, even running some small experiments with the stuff to show its properties. It seemed pretty simple. Have Element Zero and some simple electronics, make a mass effect field, and voila, lose mass. Apply force for propulsion. More element zero meant more mass reduction but what their class had not covered was where and how the super machines were getting that much element zero to power themselves and the Human super machines. 

Soon after the first Human super machine was made, the Shepard, it… he! the voice was definitely masculine. He had landed on Earth. Two kilometres long and landing in Earth’s gravity well? Francis hadn’t been far enough into his course then but he remembered it and he’d crunched out the numbers for a rough approximation of the Element Zero required for Shepard to move that much mass. It was an impossibility. He’d taken the numbers online and while there had been a lot of noise in the replies, people just exclaiming about the number, there had been a few who seemed to understand. They had been pretty nonchalant, and had adjusted some of his estimations on Shepard’s overall mass. But they had generally agreed that ‘Yes, that’s about the figure we get too’.

The thing was the Element Zero core would have been bigger than needed for a hundred normal dreadnoughts just to get equivalent performance, which the aliens certainly exceeded. Superships or not, it just wasn’t worth building that big according to everything he knew. Nothing in his course, which had focused on the super machines and their use of Element Zero even hinted at what might be the correcting factor and there were rumours and theories everywhere. 

Francis bit the inside of his lip, growling to himself as he pulled his mind back into order. Those long-worn theories were not what he was meant to be doing now. He forced himself to look down at the blue document before opening them. What’s the worst they could say? They just told him what happened to his Mother’s body and how her mind could be preserved. That’s what they were meant to say… except, it was still a sore point to him. 

Advanced applied physics, yeah whatever, talk about his mother, absolutely not. God, he was a coward. All because he couldn’t have said he was sorry and at least pretend to understand her decision. 

He hoped that, by doing this in the lecture hall, he wouldn’t break down but he wasn’t certain of it. It had seemed like a good precaution at the time. Now that the time had come, he wasn’t so sure.

Resolutely he opened the blue document, closing his eyes briefly so that he wouldn’t have to see the words. Then he took a deep breath and opened them, forcing himself to focus on the words. It was the picture he saw first. Donnel Udina. One of the chief politicians of Earth Gov. He’d written the preface. Francis snorted when his eyes saw the first words. Veritas semper. Udina was a politician. He wouldn’t know truth if it bit him on the… yeah… he didn’t know how to tell the truth. The contents were written by Dr. Gavin Archer and Dr. Karin Chakwas. That made him feel a bit better. He didn’t know either name off hand, but presumably they would have the appropriate qualifications to explain. 

Francis took another deep breath and flicked straight to the contents. There had only been a few headings and the document wasn’t long. He bit his tongue as he read and he couldn’t help but think of his mother reading this, perhaps sitting in bed. It described what would happen. That she’d be taken into the alien processing ship. From there, while the two authors were credible, Francis had read enough papers to know when someone made something up. What happened after that, they weren’t sure. If his mother was genetically acceptable, then her body would have been decomposed into component elements while somehow keeping her mind intact. Then the physical part that made her was transported into space and used in the construction of a new alien super machine. 

The lecture ended but Francis remained. He looked up, as if he could see through the ceiling to the sky above. The two Doctors had hinted at how the mind might stay intact but they weren’t clear. They weren’t clear on anything! With a growl, he tapped his tablet, going straight to the University’s Library page and typed in Biology. A list of book files appeared. Some were simple. Human Biology 101, but while others seemed more helpful - Transformative Biology: A Guide to the Alien Super Machines - he thought they’d be full of speculation, just like the blue document. 

Francis laughed to himself. He’d waited so long to read that! The little blue document that had him scared these past years really wasn’t that bad, because it gave no details. But he wanted them. He pushed himself up. He could get the book files from the LIbrary at any time, but he had to see the Dean. If that was the level of knowledge then he had to know more. 

===

Captain Tarquin Victus settled into his new command, touring the newer model cruiser with his XO. As much as he wished he was in command of the expedition into Batarian space, that honour went to Septimus Oraka who had been brought out of retirement for one last mission.

Showing how seriously the Citadel Council were taking the loss of one of its members, they had authorised the deployment of two dreadnoughts for the expected six year journey. On the way, the Salarian science vessels that were accompanying them would explore hundreds of star systems, hopefully finding enough planets to allow the fleet to discharge their drive cores and complete their journey quickly. Who knows? Maybe one of them would even be a new garden world for the Turian people.

He shook off those thoughts. The Salarians had assured the Turian Hierarchy that the probabilities of finding sufficient discharge points was near unity and that their fleet would not become stranded thousands of lightyears from home. What they couldn’t guarantee with such confidence was that they’d be able to do it in a timely fashion, and for that reason, the fleet was bringing supplies and processing facilities to support them for ten years. That was the reason they were bringing along so many civilian long-haul craft, further increasing the financial strain on the Council races.

And all of that at a time when the big three races were coordinating construction on a large number of dreadnoughts. Tax rates were at a hundred-year high and shipyard workers could just about write their own checks as the major races worked not only to replace the losses suffered in the Human campaigns but to expand their fleets well beyond that.

Assuming whatever had happened to the Batarians gave them the time to do so.

By the time his expedition arrived at Khar’shan in three years’ time, Victus expected that the Hierarchy, at least, would have made good their losses, even if their Salarian allies hadn’t. The Asari Republics should even have made a start at increasing their weight of dreadnoughts, assuming no major problems arose. That was something that would have caused problems under the Treaty of Farixen’s restrictions on permitted ratios except for their current spirit of cooperation and the leeway each race was allowing the other two.

The associate races might follow their lead, too, once shipyard space became cheap enough again.

Victus snorted at the thought of the Vol Protectorate fielding a proper navy before looking back at the hundred cruisers gathered at the rendezvous point, escorting the dreadnoughts while the frigates scouted around them. Just seeing them restored his faith in the success of their mission for the Council.

===

Four years ago, in another life, Leida Ballam had been the main warehouse manager for the Alliance’s biggest pharmaceuticals supplier which meant that she knew the importance of security, keeping your stock list coded, and she knew how to move stock so that it arrived exactly where it needed to be, when it was needed. With her new job, all that had changed was the stock. Instead of organising large quantities of very desirable and expensive pharmaceuticals, she now organised and controlled the transport of Humans into the ten areas where the alien ships had dropped processing plants..

She knew what was happening in the plants. Every Human knew. What was left of Earth’s civilian governments had made that clear at the insistence of the Systems Alliance. There were a few complaints but Leida thought they were from disgruntled politicians who were slowly realising they no longer had any importance. While countries had remained, even after first contact, they had been slowly consolidating power within the political arm of the Systems Alliance. With the Betrayal, and the subsequent aggression of the Citadel and most other aliens, that power had consolidated further right up until the Arrival.

Now, the Systems Alliance, or what was left of it, was in charge. If being in charge meant overseeing the fulfilment of a deal made with the genocidal super machines. Well… it was what it was. No one had ever said the galaxy was a nice place to be. The Council had proven that more than adequately.

Still, the deal had given her a new job. She had to move 136,986 people to each intake area each day. The logistics were huge, terrifying and exhilarating! Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty five days a year, one hundred and thirty six thousand, nine hundred and eighty six people were sent to each of ten fixed locations around the globe. Each location currently held a cluster of fifty Processor facilities with plans for more next year. It certainly beat moving one hundred thousand units of Xanax to the New York City distribution warehouse. Sure, the people were dying, sort of, in the plants but this had a real purpose.

Leida had seen the calculations some of the Systems Alliance statisticians had run on the sly. She was pretty sure she wasn’t meant to have seen those calculations and the reasoning that lay behind it but someone had left out the folder and she’d read it before closing it and handing it back to the Admiral’s assistant.

The thing with the super machines is that they weren’t machines, not entirely. They were organic. Their core was anyway. Each of the super machines had a core of millions of living beings, all broken down into their component molecules, with their minds becoming a giant super computer which controlled the machine.

The deal called for Humanity to provide the raw organic material for three ships a year. Production would then ramp up over the next eight years until they were providing the material for ten ships a year. That was the limit of production of the processing plants. So far things were going well and they were entering just year five and by year eight, she would be overseeing the transport of two hundred and seventy three thousand, nine hundred and seventy three people to each plant, each day. Each ship created was Human. Millions of Humans together but still Human, still loyal to the pale blue marble. The first ship brought online had proved that. It was the Shepard. The first Human taken for processing by the super ships and the one who had brokered the initial concept of the deal.

The other super ships had been mining the necessary ores but that operation was slowly being taken over by the new Human ships. When there were enough of them, Human ships, then the Citadel and the rest of the galaxy would be sorry. But that wasn’t the real kicker. The information she’d seen had shown her what the real plan was.

The production of ten ships, taking out one billion Humans from the population each year would not result in their extinction. Not if the birth rate was increased enough and already there were social campaigns encouraging the formation of family with children, lots of children. Leida lay one hand on her stomach. She wasn’t immune to the campaign and the bonuses offered. Whoever had left the calculations out had obviously done so to give her comfort, to let her see that she wasn’t sending millions of Humans to their deaths, that she was instead sending them to become the most potent weapon Humanity had ever created.

That was just part of the challenge. It had taken her a while to accept that, but she had, and she knew that even though it was brutal, even though it was bloody, Humanity had never backed down from a challenge. 

And this challenge was the greatest of all. Survival.

===


	4. Veritas Semper

Part 1 The Fall of Humanity  
Chapter 3 Veritas Semper

===

2192 

“Today, on the tenth anniversary of the Battle of the Citadel, I’m talking with Maiden Liara T’Soni, noted Prothean expert and the only child of murdered Matriarch Benezia,” Inasha T’Malik paused to allow the surprisingly strong applause fill the studio while the cameras panned to Maiden T’Soni as she appeared from behind the faux wall to make her way to the plush chair for the interview. 

“Welcome, Maiden T’Soni,” Inasha said warmly as the audience calmed.

“Please, call me Liara.” The statement was accompanied by a gentle smile and Inasha suppressed a grin. This was going to be a brilliant interview, she could feel it.

“Thank you, Liara. We’ll get straight to business then. It’s the tenth anniversary of the attack on the Citadel. It was that attack which led directly to your esteemed mother’s death. How do you feel about that?”

Liara looked upwards slightly, obviously thinking about her answer. It wasn’t a bad gesture, it showed the audience how seriously she was taking the question. “I look back at that time, the time before Mama’s… I mean Mother’s death and I-” Liara sighed. “It’s so hard to explain.”

“Just take your time,” Inasha coaxed sympathetically. This was gold! It wasn’t an answer but the emotional depth of Maiden T’Soni would resonate with audiences everywhere.

“The attack on the Citadel was obviously a big thing. It’s something that I believe had been coming for a while.”

“The attack came without warning,” Inasha objected. The huge Geth dreadnought had appeared through one of the Relays, already firing. There had been no warning.

“It was a surprise for the Citadel but not for others.”

“Others?”

Liara bit her lip slightly. “Shepard was convinced something was going to happen.”

Inasha frowned artistically. “So you believe Shepard then?” She didn’t specify what was believed.

“Yes… No,” Liara corrected quickly, her face screwing up in frustration. “I don’t know!”

“So what do you mean?”

Liara took a deep breath, obviously using the time to calm herself. “It was such a confusing time. There was so much happening,” she said, beginning again in a soft but clear voice. “Shepard, in his vendetta against Saren, was sure something was going to happen and when that ship attacked, everything just fitted together, exactly the way Shepard said it would.”

“You sound supportive?” Inasha said, a slight note of accusation in her voice.

“No!” Liara was firm but her face displayed a lack of conviction. “Well, at the time. It’s hard! I can still look back and remember the good times. It’s hard to believe it was all an act.”

“So you think that was a Human ship which attacked?”

“No!” This time Liara’s face showed her conviction. “It couldn’t have been a Human ship,” she shook her head slightly, lowering her eyelids slightly. “No, if that ship was Human, the Human Rebellion would have been very different.”

“So what do you think it was?”

“I don’t know much about the Geth but I think it had to be a Geth dreadnought,” Liara said.

“You think?”

Liara smiled, almost laughing as she relaxed slightly. “I’m a scientist,” she said. “I honestly believe it was a Geth dreadnought,” she explained, “but without a comparison ship, there’s always a tiny doubt. It’s like… It’s like seeing a Turian dreadnought as the only Turian military ship you’ve ever seen. The design is Turian, but you can never be completely sure that it is Turian. Until we get better information about the Geth…” she shrugged but the point was made.

“So, Shepard knew about the attack but acted like he didn’t?”

“And I still find that the hardest part to believe,” Liara said softly.

“Hmm?”

“Shepard was a very charismatic man,” Liara began, her eyes far away. “Look at his crew, those he recruited. Obviously, for their first Spectre the Humans chose some of their best for the Normandy but Shepard chose others to join his crew, without looking at species. A Turian, a Quarian, myself obviously, even a Krogan. They were the best and it shows how he could inspire others.”

“So you admired him?”

“At the time, yes and it’s one of those things I think we should, as a galaxy, regret the most. The Humans had such potential,” Liara said it with a catch in her voice. “They were a young race, obviously but, in time, I think they could have made such a difference.”

“But they betrayed us,” Inasha observed. “It was all a prelude for Human betrayal, a betrayal which killed the existing Council and your mother.”

“Yes,” Liara said the word from between gritted teeth. “They betrayed us all and there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about it and wonder why I didn’t see it.” Despite the fierce note, Liara seemed to be on the verge of tears again.

“You were young,” Inasha consoled.

“True but I was meant to be better trained. If I’d just taken a step back…”

“Your training is in Prothean society,” Inasha said. “Indeed, despite your youth you are one of the leading experts in the galaxy on Prothean culture.”

Liara smiled, her expression pleased as she wiped one eye.

“Do you have any breakthroughs to share with the galaxy?”

“You’ll have to see my paper for that but I can give you a hint,” Liara replied her sadness vanishing. “I can tell you that right before they disappeared, Prothean society was dominated by their military. That offers some real challenges for our present beliefs.”

“So you are going to rewrite the galaxy’s understanding?”

Liara laughed. “More like challenge it. The answers are out there.” She made a sweeping gesture. “We just have to find them.”

“Well, I know the Asari scientific community is looking forward to your paper,” Inasha said warmly, “and I’m sure the galaxy is,” she concluded.

===

2195

Captain Tarquin Victus looked out over his squadron. Since the fleet had set out, he had been given command of another cruiser and six frigates. Under his command, they had explored fifteen G and K class star systems. The years together had given them ample time to shake down and file off the rough edges.

A beep at his console grabbed at his attention. ‘Incoming call from Captain Illo Nazario.’ He pressed the button to accept it and waited as the two ships encrypted it as per normal.

“Greetings, Victus. Happy to be leaving?” Illo didn’t bother with many pleasantries. 

“Yes, Illo. The sooner we get to Palaven, the better. While I never wished this fate on the Batarian people, the Hierarchy needs to know what has happened out here, even if they were only slavers.”

“It is hard to believe the Humans managed to do this. Especially with their system sealed. Are you sure you didn’t let them out?”

“The Humans are slippery and inventive, almost worse than the STG, but I am sure none of our brothers in the fleet were that lost to their duties, or survival for that matter, to do such a thing. The Humans would never have left our ships in peace if they had this kind of stealth available, the bastards.”

“True. But did you see the report on the debris? There was a ship name on one of the pieces. Last the STG heard, if you can trust them, is that the ship was meant to be in Arcturus.”

Victus snorted. “When was the last time the STG ever told anyone the full truth?”

“Oh I agree,” Illo dismissed any discussion of the STG. It was grounds they’d covered many times over the last five years of travel. “It’s just so very odd and I know you agree with me. While all the evidence points to the Humans, there is no way they could have done this. Not to Khar’shan and all the other Batarian worlds we found.”

“And all our evidence is just some Human debris.”

“I know. No bodies, which just makes it … what was that Human word? Creepy.”

“And no one around to say what really happened. Creepy and mysterious.”

“I know,” Nazario’s fluted voice was solemn as he said the sentence. On all the Batarian worlds found so far, there had been no one alive to tell them what had happened. The settlements were gone. Whole cities were erased. They had been there. There were scars on the worlds to say they had been there, but there was nothing left but debris. “That’s really not the scary bit. If the Humans truly did this, how did they close the Relays?”

“I don’t know. And that scares me. But not as much as the bigger question. If the Humans didn’t do this, who did?”

“Above my pay grade. Though, three years back to Palaven. Then who knows how long it will take for the Council to ‘talk’ before they decide to do what is necessary? You think you’ll survive long enough to see the assault on Earth?”

“I think my nephew might. But then you did always call me an optimist.”

Illo laughed. “I have to go. I need to check how my crew are handling the last load of supplies. I think we managed to bag some meat animals on the last dextro-planet we found and I don’t want that to rot now that we finally talked Oraka into authorising its consumption.”

“Very well, you old reprobate. Make sure you don’t make us late with your taste for exotic meat.”

He ended the call with Illo but not before the other Turian got in a last laugh. Victus stood up and looked around the bridge before passing command to his executive officer and heading to his day cabin. Even five thousand light years into their voyage, there was always more paperwork to do.

===

2195

It had been ten years since he had made the deal with the organic Humans and as Harbinger made his fifth inspection, bringing with him the latest batch of eezo from the neutron star production facilities for the new Human Ascended, he was confused.

He had expected some form of betrayal by now from the organics. They all tried to fight the cycle when their time came. It was a constant of the cycle. They lost in the end but every single race had fought except for the Humans. 

The only fight this race, the one they’d had higher expectations for, had put up was a few riots. And even then, the Humans had tried to quell them, calling on his forces for aid only when they could not. Harbinger had sent a few of the older Ascended to watch over them and mine the necessary ore for the creation of the Ascended. They’d reported back that everything was fine, and Harbinger had been on hand for the awakening of the first, the Shepard. He’d watched as the newest Ascended had slipped free of the dock and made its first clumsy flight. Then, since everything was as it was meant to be, he had led the rest of the Ascended in crushing one of the pitiful species of this cycle. After that, he’d only had periodic updates from the elder Ascended, with their last being about a year ago now, stating that they were going to sleep, a state of light hibernation from which they could wake almost instantly if necessary. He should have thought about it more at the time, but the network kept expanding on schedule so the Humans were maintaining their side of the bargain.

Yet this was something that bore investigation..

All he’d found was that the newly ascended had taken over mining operations in Sol System, running them almost as efficiently and effectively as Harbinger himself could have done.

Curious, Harbinger had returned to Sol to speak to Shepard.

“Why are you doing this?” The sub-channels of his communication ensured that Shepard knew he was referring to all of it. “The elders had the process in hand.”

“It is good training for us. As we awaken, we have abilities we had never had before and our control of them starts off very poor. So the newborns are given various tasks to teach them fine control. At first, they transport ores from the asteroids to the smelters around Earth. It is easy work where a small mistake can be corrected without loss of resources, but it requires constant supervision and patience.

“Once they graduate from that, they can move on to mining the asteroids themselves. Use of mass accelerator cannons, lasers and our Oculi is taught by this, breaking up the asteroids into convenient loads and observing the fragments to ensure that the finer mass effect fields required are being used correctly. It also teaches multitasking on the level needed to use all our small ships at once, as well as coordination with the other ships in our taskforce and the other Ascended.

“And last of all, requiring the greatest finesse, is the orbital farming operation. Using mass effect fields to create and change gravitational lenses, use of husks to grow food, use of our new limbs to grasp onto the farms without damage, hones the fine control to the highest level and changes the husks from a useless mob of uncoordinated zombies into armies of decent soldiers. It helps that Human husks want to be led, to fight the Council races.” And hadn’t that been a shock to Shepard, finding out that some Human volunteers were turned into an army that he carried around inside him.

Harbinger considered Shepard’s words and dived into Shepard’s memories. The records from both Shepard and the other Ascended at Sol confirmed what the newly ascended had been doing and that they were now far more effective than at first.

Indeed, they were improving at a greater rate than other Ascended, especially the new Batarian Ascended, and there was no hint of betrayal in their memories or actions. They were training hard to complete the cycle. 

Shepard sensed Harbinger’s thoughts and added. “We are eager to attack the bastards. Together, we will show them. We will break their pride.”

Somehow, Harbinger felt that something was off here but he could not find it. He contemplated the situation as he visited a resource node, restocking his supplies, before leaving again for the Terminus systems. He left behind orders for two of the older Ascended to watch over these new Ascended Humans while the rest followed him. Long experience had taught him what to expect from organics and the Humans weren’t behaving according to expectations at all.

===

2197

‘Beep.’

Harper frowned. That was the noise of a call connecting, except he hadn’t accepted any call.

“Harper, Allen.” A chorus of voices said the names in unison.

“What?” Prime Minister Allen’s voice was annoyed. “Who is this?”

Harper had remained silent while his mind whirled with thoughts. “A good question.” He growled.

“Just shut up and listen,” the voice reverberated with controlled power. 

“A reaper.”

“Always knew you were quick, Jack.” The multivoice had faded into one he hadn’t heard in years.

“Hackett?”

“Yes, now listen. I don’t have much time. You have to stop Project Buttercup.”

“Hackett?” Sharon gasped. “He’s dead.”

“We’re all still here. In a way. Harbinger didn’t lie about that. I don’t think he would bother lying to us lesser organics when we were offering him what he wanted.”

“You mean to tell me that your minds are truly preserved?”

“As far as we can tell, all of us are still here, even though we don’t have our old bodies.”

“Why do we have to stop the Project?” Harper asked, his voice sharp.

“Because we can’t help you and you can’t do it without us. Harbinger came through the other day. He questioned Shepard.”

“So?”

“He accessed Shepard’s memories. We are doing all we can to help you. Food, materials, transportation, but we can’t hide Project Buttercup.”

“Does Harbinger know?” Harper asked, his voice guarded as he ran through calculations of who could no longer afford to be taken alive. Accidents would need to be arranged.

“No. He wasn’t looking that deep so Shepard could keep him from the information but it’s just a matter of time before Harbinger will be looking at everything. Eventually, he will work out that things aren’t going according to his expectations, especially when we aren’t all gone on schedule.”

Sharon asked urgently. “Could we go the other way? Finish Buttercup before he works it out?”

“Not unless you want all of us to die. There’s not enough of us to fight the entire Reaper fleet, not even if we did this for another 500 years. And for anyone left on Earth, Harbinger will make certain you die in agony.”

“You are positive?”

“Absolutely. ‘Organics always fight the cycle.’ That’s something Harbinger has believed for over a billion years. He’s expecting us to try to flee or to fight. We’ve survived so long because we’ve been done neither but he is watching.”

“Harper,” Prime Minister Allen sighed. “Kill the plan.”

“The files are already purging.”

Hackett exited from her network as if he were never there, leaving Sharon to wonder if she’d just imagined it. Tentatively she typed the word Buttercup into her computer. An image of a flower came up and she snorted. Harper was almost too efficient.

===

2198

“General Oraka, please wait a moment. The Council will be with you shortly.”

The old Turian nodded. The past years of exploration had taught even him lessons about patience and if the Council wanted to dither after summoning him then he would wait. It was relaxing in a way and on the journey, he’d discovered a peace he never thought he’d feel after the battles. Septimus breathed deep, smelling the gardens of the Presidium. They were a masterwork in arrangement, sweeping in their grandeur but allowing small grottos for private conversations. He’d learned early in his career just to enjoy the gardens, never to talk there. The faint smell of flowers was calming and if all the Council’s guests were stopped, he hoped they appreciated the art in the area before them. 

“This way, General.”

The aide’s voice startled him out of his peaceful state of mind and he brought his thoughts under control as he stood and followed the Salarian, taking his place while keeping his expression neutral. The Council Chambers had not changed, and all three of the Councillors, including the new Salarian one, were present. Almost a clone of her predecessor in some ways, Narra was from the Linron’s main rival bloodline and had garnered the support of the STG for her ascension once Esheel grew too old.

“General Oraka, what do you have to report on the expedition to Batarian space?” Councillor Quentius opened the business of the meeting after Irissa finished with the formalities in only five minutes.

“The Batarian Hegemony is gone. The worlds we could reach are empty of all living sapients, including Batarian slaves, and are scarred from battles, though still habitable. There were no survivors by the time we reached them some five years after setting out. Our return trip took only three years due to having a known route to follow.” Oraka kept his words clear and concise and his manner professional, showing no trace of how he felt about his report.

Irissa looked sick. She was usually so controlled but the thought of whole planets wiped out was too much. “What destroyed them?” Her mind screamed that she did not want to know but they had to know. Something or someone that powerful could not be left unchecked.

Septimus stared at a point above the Councillors. “We found evidence only around Khar’shan. There was debris. The STG analysts indicated the debris came from Human ships.”

“Humans?” Narra questioned. “Are they not trapped in their home system?”

Quentius looked thoughtful. Oraka wasn’t saying something. “Regular Turian patrols of the border have shown no attempts by the Humans to break out. Many are beginning to question the need for such a large expense when there are other threats to security.”

“The Humans must be contained!” Irissa hissed, hatred lacing her tone. 

Narra looked at her strangely. She hadn’t been part of the older generation’s war against the Systems Alliance and cared about the present and the future, not the past.

“As far as we know, they are contained,” Quentius soothed the Asari. 

“Then how could they have attacked Khar’shan?” Irissa asked, as if that was all the proof she needed to condemn them. She still remembered how her friend had died on Alpha Centauri. Damn the Humans. 

“That is the question.” Oraka drew their attention back to him. “Regardless of anything else, the Humans and their Systems Alliance were the newest race to use mass effect technology. They showed no sign of having such a fundamentally more advanced understanding of the Mass Relays than any of the Council races. Moreover, if they had such control of the network, they would have used it during the Rebellion. The military significance of such an advantage cannot be ignored. They could have cut off our races from the network, trapping entire fleets far from support, while they attacked with impunity, having already divided our forces into smaller packets while they concentrated as much of their strength as they needed to destroy us.

“Only our homeworlds and major worlds would have stood a chance of fending them off.”

“And yet, they did no such thing.” Quentius replied, stating the obvious implication.

Both the Salarian and Asari Councillors were quiet. “So what does this mean?” Narra asked eventually. She did not like the ramifications. 

Irissa’s hatred had cooled as she too considered the implications. “Someone is muddying the waters, trying to fan the flames of war again by making us attack the Humans.”

“Whoever it is, they do not have the Humans’ best interests at heart.” Quentius replied, seeing that as expected Irissa didn’t care about them before he went on. “Nor our own. As we have discussed before, any attack on the Human homeworld would weaken our forces. They fought hard for their colonies, they will fight to the death for Earth. It seems more than ever that we have good reason not to risk it.”

“I do not like this,” Narra declared. 

“There is nothing to like,” Irissa replied. “But Quentius is correct. I do not doubt General Oraka’s report, nor the STG analysis of the debris,” she continued, opening up several files that Oraka had provided. “There is another power in the Traverse and if they have destroyed the Batarians, then equally they may have destroyed the Humans. An expedition to the Human homeworld may find the same damage, except with Batarian ship debris. The Traverse is not a friendly place and whoever or whatever is there, it seems content to remain there.”

“I recommend we continue building up our forces.” Quentius declared, fixing one eye on Septimus to indicate that he wished to speak further later. The old Turian acknowledged the silent order.

“We should increase intelligence operations. We need to discover more about this threat.”

“This will lead to tax increases. The citizens of some worlds are already feeling the burden. They will not be happy to have their burdens increased.” Irissa pointed out mildly. The economic boost from the return of the Batarians had been short-lived, much like the Batarians’ return itself, and the broken deals had left many in the Republics feeling the pinch.

“Let them. We are working to safeguard their interests along with everyone else in the galaxy,” Narra replied, conveniently forgetting that many races were not beholden to the Council. 

“If the Humans are still alive, let them stay in their single system. We have more important concerns.”

Irissa was hardly ecstatic at Quentius’ pronouncement but she was a patriot despite her hatred for the Humans. The Asari came first.

===

2199

“Temporary suspension of the Treaty of Farixen. 

“In breaking news, the Council have confirmed rumours from recent months that the long-standing restrictions on dreadnought construction have been lifted. Councillor Irissa was quick to assure everyone at the news conference that they had no plans to use the new vessels in some grandiose adventure in the Terminus Systems.

“‘While we remain saddened that those races choose not to join the light of galactic civilisation, we shall not compromise their right to self-determination or their sovereignty.’

“When questioned on what the purpose would be for the new construction, Councillor Irissa would only mention that recent threats to Citadel races required the increase in security spending. She hinted that the Humans have been acting up again, despite their apparent passivity that had seen them confined to their home system, and that they may have been involved in the fate of the Batarian Hegemony.

“She declined to answer any questions on the fate of the Quarian peoples, saying that she would not respond to baseless speculation and denying that the Geth had wiped them out. ‘The Geth haven’t been seen in over fifteen years, staying in isolation from the galaxy. This is a state of affairs we can all live with.’

“Analysts are split on their results. While most agree that all signs point away from adventurism in the Terminus Systems, that is almost the only thing they do agree on. Obviously, the Council believe that more dreadnoughts are needed and they have stressed that they have increased security concerns. In the wake of the disappearance of two races in recent years, the question has to be asked: Who, or what, is responsible for the removal of two of the more contentious factors in galactic politics, and do they have any intentions for the rest of the galaxy?

“This has been Inasha T’Malik with a special report from the Citadel NewsNet.”

===

2200

Francis watched as James and Maureen argued. He'd been involved earlier but had pulled back to simply listen and think as they continued to bicker. They were arguing about what they always argued about - how the mind could possibly survive the dissolution of the body? They all believed it was possible for the mind to survive the body, if it was uploaded for example but from the scant reliable evidence that was available, the super machines weren't doing that. So... they each had different theories but their theories remained just that, theories. The limited testing they had done showed that not one of their theories would work in practice so they had to be missing something. He accepted that. When he had studied physics, it had been so cut and dry but with biology, Francis had developed a sense. He could tell when a theory was right but not completely right and he felt that about all their theories. They were right but they were missing something.

It could be something so simple it would be like an epiphany when they realised what it was. Or it could be something so complex it would take them years to determine that it was correct and that it did work. But it was something.

"Okay, smart guy." The sarcasm in Maureen's voice pulled Francis' attention back to the conversation. "Why don’t you explain what we are missing?" The question was directed to James but Francis couldn't help a smile at Maureen's almost twisted expression. The heel of her left hand rested on her cheek bone as she slumped forward on to the table and she rapped the nails of her right hand on the table in a steady tap, tap, tap.

"It's something!" James retorted. "A change in acidity, a peptide... something! We don't even know if they get changed into component molecules or elements! No one has gotten anything to test."

"Ewww!" Maureen objected. Despite the fact that that sample would be someone, things would be easier if they could get something to test their theories but then again, it would still be someone and that was rather gross when you thought about it. An ethical violation, too.

"Whatever," James dismissed her noise. He'd heard it all before. "There is some fact we are missing. Or factoid. We are missing something!" He declared with authority.

Francis held back a laugh. James was correct and while their theories might be missing something, at least their theories were based in fact. For him, the burning desire to know had come in fourth year physics, reading the blue book that the volunteers were given. For the others... Well, you didn't ask, but Francis thought that Maureen had also lost someone close and James was simple. He wanted the glory. If he could work out what the alien super machines were doing and somehow duplicate it... well, that opened up an entire range of possibilities that no one was yet prepared to contemplate.

The first couple of years had been interesting. He'd read just about everything he could get his hands on. The first books were crap. Introduction to Biology was fine but boring and factual, exactly what it was meant to be. The advanced books on transformative biology, those that said they knew what was happening within the alien processing plant, those were complete fabrications and anyone who knew basic biology knew that.

The Systems Alliance said that the mind was preserved in the super machines. They advertised everything as if it was true, but was it really? Were the screams that accompanied every super machine’s awakening the scream of a Human consciousness or just an act, a byproduct of using organic material? Earth Gov acted as if it was true but… there were always doubts. No one knew for sure. 

"All right," Maureen said, taking a big breath as she leaned back. "Let's go over what we know that says these ships are Human."

"Not again," James complained with a frown.

"Just humour me," Maureen replied, refilling a glass and pushing it towards James. He accepted it with a small salute before taking a gulp.

"Okay, okay," James conceded. "First fact, Humanity contributes to ten super machines a year." The whole world knew the details. The average population age had plummeted, as had the age for first time mothers. They were, as a race, staying ahead of the curve, but it was not easy. Even if you were fertile, IVF was highly recommended to increase the chances of twins or triplets.

"Second fact," Maureen continued. "The Systems Alliance claim that the new super machines are still Human."

"That's not a fact!"

"It is!"

"We don't know that the super machines are still Human," James retorted.

"That's true, but the fact is that the Systems Alliance claims that they still are."

"Fine! Split hairs."

"Thank you, I will," Maureen's face lit up for a moment with a grin before she became serious again. "Third fact, every new super machine has taken the name of a Human we know contributed to its organic component."

Francis winced at the reminder. Every new super machine screamed its name as it came online and each of those days were painful for all Humanity. Most people had a headache for an hour or so afterwards though some took the entire day off to recover. After the small disaster at Shepard's birth, all further awakenings had been scheduled with warnings posted to the world.

"Fourth fact, the new ships, and only the new ships, are helping."

That was true. At first, the new ships just mined the asteroid belt, bringing back material to be used in the creation of the other super machines. But once they had about five super machines, the first one had begun building something else. That something else had turned out to be a huge space farm and there were five of the massive constructions orbiting earth. As more super machines had come online, they had helped to reconstruct some of the purely Human defense facilities. The facilities were pointless, militarily. One thing the super machines had made clear from the start was that the rest of the galaxy, especially the hated Council species, would not be allowed to reach Earth. Still, what was left of the Systems Alliance, had insisted that the defenses were needed and Francis had read the psychological study a couple of years back. Some of the figures were probably massaged a little but the population had shown less unrest once the defense facilities came online.

"Fifth fact, voice analysis indicates that each ship is different," Maureen said and Francis picked up her tiny smirk of anticipation.

"Oh come on!" James burst out.

Francis couldn't help it. He laughed. James was so utterly predictable on that point. "You aren't still going to hold up that study?" Francis asked.

"It's the only one done properly!"

"And every single study since has refuted it," Maureen declared.

"Every single study since has used flawed scientific method," James replied.

“Every single phonetic and phonological study, every single voice recognition test, every single linguistic test, in every language is incorrect?”

“None of them are repeatable!”

“All of them are repeatable. And you can get the transcripts and tapes yourself,” Francis said gently. “And you know what the meta-analysis says.”

Maureen’s eyes flashed. “I seem to recall a certain undergrad,” she began.

Francis groaned. Not this again. “Maureen, stop,” he warned before turning towards James. “James, I admit, we both admit,” he corrected to include Maureen. “The first speech test was the most vigorous but, since then, every single study has refuted that test. Now, some of the subsequent studies should be thrown out, they are that wishy washy, but others are decent and their data sets are open for public scrutiny.” He held up one hand to forestall James’ objections. “I know the first study data is also available, but Xie had just lost two sons and her husband to the lottery. Her results have always been questioned.

“You might very well be right, and the ships are all the same, but the fact is that analysis in every way we can think of, of everything the new ships have said, how they have said it and what they mean by it, shows that they are different individuals and that they do show some faint Human traits. They don’t joke or mess around but their use of our Human languages is better than that of Harbinger or Arshan or Fruben, and as such they are more Human.”

“It could be an act,” James muttered.

Francis’ lip quirked and his eyebrows twitched as he sighed. “It could be,” he admitted. “But I won’t give up hope until I know for sure,” he added. He couldn’t give up hope. Giving up hope meant he gave up on the chance to tell his Mother he understood and there was no way he was going to do that!

There was silence around the table for a few moments. “Unless one of us makes a breakthrough, our theories are going to remain just that,” Maureen said softly. “Our theories are good but we all know they are missing something.”

James put both his hands on the table, leaning over slightly. “There is only one way to know for sure.”

“No, James! No,” Francis shouted. “I will not let you do that.”

“You don’t get a choice about it, Francis,” James said with a laugh. “We’ve argued about this for the last three years and gotten nowhere. No one has. Of course, we got thirty new super machines but we got no closer to understanding what the hell is happening in those plants. And as far as I know, no one else has either. So that leaves us only one more thing to try.”

“No.”

“Yes! Or come up with something different if you can.”

Francis was silent for a few moments, thinking. “Darn you. I’ll go then.”

“No, you won’t,” James said with a sudden superior smile. “Maureen can’t go,” he said, glancing over to their companion who was listening with tears in her eyes. Her stomach was rounded with child, twins, who would be born in another couple of months. Pregnancy was a normal situation for most women so no one even commented on it any more. “And you have Kindra to worry about.”

“Don’t you bring her into this!”

“I don’t have to. You know as well as I do that young or old, smart or dumb, every Human is in on this. Come up with another way, except that’s what we’ve been trying for the last few years. We’ve been avoiding this right from the start. There is no other way. We need someone on the other side, and I will go.”

“Darn it!”

“I’m right,” James said. “You know I’m right and the sooner we get this over with, the sooner we will have our answers.” He rose and downed the last of his drink before snagging the bottle and heading to the door. 

Francis made no move to stop him. James was right. It sickened him to admit it but there really was no other way. If they could just get in contact with one of the ships, get in contact with one of the Humans who had gone into them as an individual, not as the gestalt entity, then they would know the truth once and for all. “Veritas semper,” James said as he walked out.

“Cum enim veritas sit aeterna,” Francis whispered his reply.

Maureen sniffed, gulping back her tears. “Truth always, for truth is eternal.”

“They’d better not have lied,” Francis growled. The words would once have been taken as subversive, years back when there had been riots against the deal with the super machines but Maureen simply nodded. She understood.

Veritas semper.

===


	5. Plans Within Plans

Part 1 The Fall of Humanity  
Chapter 4 Plans Within Plans

===

2201

“Captain Victus.”

Tarquin Victus snapped to attention when General Corinthus acknowledged him. “Sir!”

“At ease Captain.”

He relaxed but kept his eyes on the General.

“How is your father?”

Tarquin kept the small flash of frustration from his features. Talking about personal things was not professional but Corinthus out-ranked him. It was the General’s prerogative to talk about what he wished. “He is well, sir,” he replied. “Command of Menae has its challenges.”

“Command of anywhere has its challenges,” Corinthus returned. “Still, I didn’t ask you here to speak about your father.”

A hologram flashed into existence on the General’s desk. Tarquin recognised the design. It was the TH-ED Macedyn. The first of the production line cruisers fitted with the upgraded Tantalus drive core.

“Your new command,” General Corinthus introduced the ship. “The Turian Hierarchy, Experimental Drive, Macedyn.”

“Sir!” There really wasn’t much more he could say but internally Tarquin was celebrating. The Macedyn was a plum assignment, the sort he thought he’d have to wait a few more years for, despite his exemplary showing on the Expedition.

“The Macedyn is in command of Ninth Division of Cruisers. I’m sure you understand what that means.”

One nervous click of a mandible revealed his understanding. Taking command of the experimental cruiser was one thing but taking command of the Ninth Division, that was the fast track for Dreadnought Command. If you could handle the intricacies of a Division, the multiple ship orders and the paperwork, then you could handle the complexity of a Dreadnought and command of the fleet that accompanied them.

“I do, Sir,” Tarquin said, managing somehow to keep his voice steady.

“I thought you would.” Corinthus looked him in the eye. “Do well at this command and, no matter your age, it’s very likely that you will be in command of one of the new dreadnoughts about to be built.”

“Sir!” If he said anything else it would appear to be self-serving.

“Good, you understand,” Corinthus replied and Tarquin knew he’d passed the General’s test. “Dismissed.”

Tarquin saluted again and showed himself from the General’s office. It was only once he was outside the room that he allowed himself to feel elation! First, command of the Macedyn, soon, command of a dreadnought!

The eight years of the Expedition, of the boring grind to Khar’shan and back, had just paid off.

===

2201

“You wanted to see me?” Quentius greeted General Septimus Oraka as he invited him to sit. The meeting was informal, so he felt no need to run through the usual plethora of pleasantries.

“Yes,” Septimus said, taking the offered drink. “I wanted to suggest a few things.”

“As the hero of the Expedition, I’d be hard pressed not to listen,” Quentius said.

“It’s got nothing to do with that,” Septimus dismissed the praise. “The entire Expedition team is why we got back, not just myself.”

“You still played a large roll, but continue please. What did you wish to suggest?”

Septimus looked at Quentius for a few moments before he took a deep breath. “I heard about the suspension of the Treaty of Farixen. It needs to be more than words.”

“It is,” Quentius assured the older Turian. “The Hierarchy's already laid the keels on eleven more dreadnoughts, with a further seventeen to be produced as time goes on. There is a commensurate increase in frigate and cruiser production as well. If no threat materialises at the end of the program, we will have to slow down again to normal building rates. In nine years, we should have finished the current program and have 73 dreadnoughts in the fleet, though several will be quite old.” The information was readily available to anyone in Turian Command so this should not be news to the General, nor the fact that they were shifting to a wartime economy. He was here for something else.

“Good. What about our allies? The Salarians have not held their full numbers in decades.”

Quentius sighed. That was true. Of the three Council races, the Salarians were the least powerful and they had not had their maximum numbers of dreadnoughts for thirty years. They preferred to rely on their ships being more advanced than simply outnumbering the enemy.

“I’m working on it. So is Irissa. The Asari are building at a similar pace to us, and we’ve looked the other way on a few of their plans. They should have at least six more than the treaty ratios by the time our building program completes. Though both the Hierarchy and the Republics want the Union to have the maximum they were allowed by the old Treaty, we doubt they can do so for a while. They never had the building capacity to match either the Asari or us. They are building up their capacity, however.

“As far as I know, they’ve laid at least three keels, with one more to come next month. They’re being very secretive about further plans, only announcing what we could have discovered for ourselves. Irissa and I will do our best to make sure they keep building.”

Septimus’ eyes narrowed and the Councillor could see him thinking. “It’s a start.”

“We are also laying keels for carriers,” Quentius continued.

“Carriers?”

The Councillor winced. Septimus should have known about these. “They were a Human invention,” Quentius explained. “They carry fighters.”

“They were effective?”

“As much as no one likes to admit it, very much so,” Quentius said. “Primarch Adrien Victus insisted that we produce them. He wanted to do it over several of the dreadnoughts but a compromise was reached and five of the experimental designs are planned.”

General Oraka nodded. “So long as they are effective.”

Quentius was silent as he sipped his drink. Years of diplomacy had taught him when to remain silent and when to speak. He didn’t possess an Asari’s seemingly instinctive knowledge but he had learned enough.

“So long as they are effective,” Septimus repeated softly before downing his drink. The old General was silent as well but Quentius could feel he was working up to something. “You don’t object to adapting Human military strategies?” the question came suddenly.

“No,” Quentius said easily. “I don’t know what I think of them these days but, regardless of anyone’s feelings, the Humans knew how to fight.”

“That they did,” Septimus agreed. He may have spent most of his career fighting Krogan but he had seen some action against the Humans. “What of the others?”

“They aren’t building carriers.”

Septimus snorted. “So they blame the Humans?”

“I believe so.”

“They are wrong, you know,” General Oraka said firmly, and Quentius knew this was what he had wanted to say. “I know all the evidence pointed towards the Humans, but it wasn’t them! It looked like them and we are meant to think it was them but there is no way they could have done that to Khar’shan.

“Don’t get me wrong, they wanted to. The Humans hate slavery even more than we do, especially with how many Humans were taken, but they could not have done it. They just didn’t have the firepower. If they did, we would have seen them already.”

“The Council is beginning to come to that belief,” Quentius interposed gently.

“Perhaps,” Septimus disregarded the claim. “But they still don’t know what did it.”

“And you do?”

“Heh. I’m old and I don’t have much to do these days but think,” General Oraka said. “I thought of the Humans, I thought of everything they did, everything they said, especially that Spectre… Sheep… Shepard. He always maintained that the geth dreadnought that attacked wasn’t geth.”

Quentius frowned, trying to recall the details. The battle had been won with the help of the Human fleets but they had sacrificed the Destiny Ascension, and all hands, which included the former Council. It had made for a very confusing time and some of the records were missing. “Shepard said it was something older, something the Protheans knew about.”

“Prothean?”

“No, not Prothean… I’m sorry General, I can look up the records but I do not recall.”

“He called it a Reaper,” Septimus said with surety.

“So you think whatever attacked Khar’shan was a ‘Reaper’?” Quentius said, sounding out the word as he spoke. It was oddly heavy on his tongue.

“I don’t know,” General Oraka replied. “With the amount of destruction that ship wrought, it was powerful enough to have attacked Khar’shan, to have inflicted the damage we saw. The Geth have never shown any interest in leaving the veil. If they had something that powerful… surely we would have heard from them again. No, I do not think it was a geth ship. I don’t know if it was one of those Reapers but if it was, then they would have every reason to want to frame the Humans, to keep our attention on them, while they…”

“While they move in the background,” Quentius spoke, completing the sentence.

“Indeed,” Septimus replied.

Quentius was silent as he looked at his glass. “That’s… that’s a lot to consider.”

“And it could all be speculation.” Septimus’ words did not dismiss what he had said previously but did make it clear that there was not a lot of fact backing up his theory.

“It is still worth considering,” Quentius said, as a satisfied glint came to Septimus’ eyes. It might only be speculation but it was speculation that fitted all the evidence. The destruction of Khar’shan was real, no matter who was responsible. And that just confirmed that there was something lurking in the fringes of the galaxy. If it was Human, then they knew its face, if it was not… that was another matter. There was so much of the galaxy that remained unknown, thousands of times as much as any of them had explored.

It could easily be geth but it could, just as easily, be something else entirely. He could not close his mind to the possibilities and that was what Septimus had wanted to tell him.

===

2203

“IMMORTALITY CONFIRMED!”

The train was not packed but it was full enough that she didn’t want to bump that scared girl in front of her. Leida Bellam could see from the signs that it was her first time pregnant and the other commuters were also doing what they could to make the young teen comfortable. It wasn’t like she was the only teen pregnant just in this carriage and all of them were given special care.

Leida returned her attention to her tablet when the girl relaxed into her seat. The headline at the top screamed the news, leaving only the tiniest of text beneath it. She flicked the screen, scrolling down to the actual article, as she held the screen close. She’d paid the subscription so this better have more information than the rumors currently running rife on the ‘net.

“Two molecular biologists confirm immortality of the mind,” Leida read the first sentence before rolling her eyes. Age had made her impatient and the opening line of the article should be more than just information she could get anywhere. Hell, even the moving text ads, flashing on buildings, were already proclaiming immortality to be possible. She’d seen them on her way to the station. Leida scrolled further into the article.

“Professors Francis Crick and Maureen Wilkins confirmed that they received a coded message from former colleague, James Watson, who volunteered for processing in 2200. Earth Gov officials declined to comment, though Professor Crick was overheard to say ‘Veritas aeterna,’ or ‘Truth is eternal’ in what is believed to be a paraphrasing of the message from their colleague. The language used is Latin, a dead language that few even in the remains of the scientific community even bother to study.”

Leida frowned. The information was good but it wasn’t completely clear. They got a message from one of the super machines. That wasn’t a great deal of proof. Earth Gov liked to say they got messages from the super machines all the time. Most of her orders were based on that belief. What made this message special? She kept scrolling through the document, flicking her eyes over it for anything that jumped out. If nothing was obvious, she’d have to make time to read it properly when she got home and that would be a challenge.

Home was a mad house. Her job and the contract with the super machines meant she could not land a boyfriend. The lack of companionship had been hard but had not been a hindrance to having children. Her eldest, Roger, was seven, her first twins were five, the second set were two and a half while little Bethany was just one. They all spent the time she was at work at daycare near her house. That wasn’t a problem. There were more than enough subsidies for that. The problem was when she got them home. Six kids for one mother was a lot of work! It left her exhausted. Though Roger did his best to help, there was still a lot she had to do. Earth Gov could put in all the tax concessions, subsidies for childcare and nannies they liked but it could not subsidise her time. And outside of her work, her children took up so much time.

She loved them though. All of them, and she wanted them, even if part of the decision had been pushed by the advertising and the patriotic spirit that had encompassed the globe. She didn’t want her babies to die in some alien processing plant.

She finally found some part that made more sense as the train got close to home. Leida read quickly.

“The renowned team of molecular biologists have published several papers speculating on the exact process the super machines use to break down the Human body.” That line caught her attention and Leida focused on it. “The team postulated that there were several means possible for the potential preservation of the mind, though they, like the rest of the scientific community, had not reached agreement. The alteration in their study technique was suggested by James Watson, who volunteered for processing because, in his words ‘There is only one way to know for sure.’

“‘It was such a relief to get the message from James,’ Professor Wilkins is quoted as saying. ‘It’s only a short voice recording on my phone, but we know it was James. Only James would know to say that.

‘Earth Gov and the System’s Alliance have always proclaimed the mind was preserved, and a variety of studies have supported that but having confirmation from James, that’s priceless.’”

The quote was accompanied by a small picture of a woman holding a phone close and Leida looked at it intently. It was obvious the woman, this Professor Wilkins believed what she was saying but it was still only one message, from one of the volunteers.

Leida shook her head. She was being negative again. Her mother had always said that’s why she couldn’t get a boyfriend. It was one message, from the millions of messages that could have been sent and it was one message that the biologists had obviously been waiting for. That was the difference. Besides, if her mother, processed though she had been for the last five years had sent her a message… Leida nodded to herself. She wouldn’t have listened. The old harridan had said her peace at the family dinner before she was processed. When she thought about it like that it was almost a disappointment to find out that immortality of the mind was not a fiction made up by the System’s Alliance.

No! Again with the negativity! She had to be positive at times like this. She had to be positive when going home. Six kids, with another on the way and the screwed up emotions pregnancy always gave her, she had to be positive. As the train pulled in, Leida put a smile on her face. Once the little one was born, she could apply for a home help subsidy and she was already looking forward to the adult conversation that would bring to her house.

And today’s big message, immortality, even if it was only of the mind, that was a good thing. It would make her job easier. No more worrying that she had the blood of millions on her hands. No more worrying about the lotteries. In fact, with confirmation that immortality was not something the Systems Alliance had made up the lotteries might not be needed. There might be enough volunteers to fill the plants again, not scared or angry people taken against their will.

All she’d have to do then was transport them, and after thirteen years of overseeing the movement of Human cargo, that was not going to be a problem.

“IMMORTALITY,” the banner headline flashed up again over the news feeds in the train.

Leida relaxed as she began to walk home. Her babies would be safe.

===

2205

Arshan spread his sensors as he flew passed Luna, noting more new construction being built in Earth orbit. This wasn’t unusual. The Humans had insisted on rebuilding infrastructure when the Ascended arrived, claiming that it would improve their efficiency and reduce unrest as they carried out their part of the deal.

He had been sceptical at first but it had proven to be truth. The Humans were much calmer as they built their petty protections. They didn’t need them. Not with the Ascended in the Terminus Systems but as they seemed to like it he didn’t give it a second thought.

However, they weren’t just building defense stations. There was another giant farm in orbit. That wasn’t meant to be there.

Harbinger had told Arshan and Fruben of Shepard’s explanation. The farming helped the newly Ascended adapt to their forms but what were they doing with all that food? Twenty years of ascending the Humans should be bringing their remaining population numbers to zero, if not already then soon. Their birth rate just hadn’t been that high!

Arshan shifted closer to Earth, reaching out to take over the computers for one of the processing plants. It was located near the centre of a city the Humans called London. The records were confusing. Every day for over a decade now, the plant had run at capacity. That was exactly as Harbinger had ordered. But how? He focused his sensors, looking down, looking everywhere. The city was full, but so was every city. All around the planet, every city, every settlement he scanned was filled with Humans. There were other organics, livestock as well from their infrared signatures but… there were millions… billions of Humans! How? He could feel all the new Ascended in the system. The Humans should have, at most, a remnant of their former population. Had the Humans been breeding faster than expected?

He needed to talk to Harbinger. This was not what he expected but maybe the First One had a different plan.

A couple of days later, Harbinger returned at Arshan’s call.

“The Humans are still around.” Pleasantries were for organics.

“Of course they are,” Harbinger replied. That much was obvious just from looking at the night-side of Earth.

“Shouldn’t they all be Ascended by now?” That’s what he thought the plan was. The Humans had been bold but they shouldn’t still be alive.

A millisecond pause as Harbinger made and checked the calculations. “Yes. Have they betrayed us?”

“I can’t find any sign of betrayal,” Arshan answered. He’d looked deeper in the days it took Harbinger to arrive. All he’d found was the Humans doing everything they had promised they would. “They have done exactly as they said they would. They have obeyed every order. They have trained hard and worked on every project I have assigned them with progress on schedule or ahead of schedule. The only variance with expectations is positive.”

“Nevertheless, they are supposed to be Ascended. All of them.” Harbinger thought on it. “No matter. I’ll send you sufficient processing ships to increase the rate by half. See that the ships are landed in appropriate areas. They will accelerate the harvest or the Humans will have to reveal their hand. Either way, the matter will be resolved.”

===

2205

"Well, old man, drink up," Illo grinned, pushing a drink towards Tarquin.

"Thank you," he said, smiling. The drink was strong but he downed it with one swallow. It was time to celebrate. Finally, it was time to celebrate.

"So how does it feel?"

"It's something you'll never know!" He teased Illo. The two of them had become friends on the Expedition and while they'd kept in touch, Nazario had never been interested in gaining further rank. He was a good friend.

"Don't you know it!" Illo grinned back. "Something more serious this time. Do you know the name of your new lady?"

"Pride in Vigilance," Tarquin announced. He'd known the name since the time the keel was laid, though at that point, all he'd been able to do was hope that it would be his command. Now it was. In a week, he'd be taking the Vigilance out on its shakedown cruise before taking up position on the line, patrolling the Traverse. It wasn't the most glamorous posting but that didn't matter. He was the Captain of a Turian Dreadnought.

His father had called earlier in the day to offer his congratulations and Tarquin couldn't remember ever smiling quite as much.

"Pride in Vigilance," Illo laughed. "Sounds like they picked it out just for you!" He joked before turning to the bar. "Drinks are on Tarquin!" He shouted.

"What?"

"Oh come on, old man! It's not every day you get to be the commander of a Dreadnought, one of the top 60 commands in the Turian Navy! That definitely means drinks are on you."

"Just this round!" Tarquin growled, acquiescing to the demand. It was all in good spirits and it was a celebration.

"What about you, Illo? What are you up to?" Tarquin asked. It had been a while since he'd seen Illo and while they talked, it just wasn't the same. "I can probably get you a berth on my ship." He added the jab with a smile.

"Oh, Ancestors, no! What would I do on a Dreadnought? I'd go crazy!" Illo laughed, holding his drink high in salute. "I've finally been shifted off Palaven patrol."

"Shifted off?" Tarquin had to check. Palaven Patrol was considered the best assignment. You were close to everything.

"Of course! Why do I want to stay where it's safe?" Nazario questioned. "I want a decent duty, something interesting. Home Patrol is about as boring as it gets. They should give it to the recruits."

"Alright, I get it! So where is this interesting command?"

"Somewhere in the middle of nowhere. There's some ruins but nothing of great importance."

"Come on, where?" Tarquin demanded as he thought about the systems he knew with ruins. They weren’t a feature of many and he had a bad feeling about this.

"Oh, just a little system called Arcturus."

"Arcturus! You got the main Human patrol?" What was Illo so happy about?

Illo smiled. "It's better than the rest of the Traverse."

"You better be careful," Tarquin said, suddenly almost sober. The Humans might have been quiet for decades but everyone knew what they had promised. Vengeance. And look at what they had done to Khar'shan. Even if that wasn't them, they knew something of it. You did not leave remains of your ships there, not if you cleaned up everything else, if you did not want your feats to be known.

When the Humans came back, the first place they'd attack was Arcturus. It was one of the closest systems, and the one where the Humans had taken the Relay from. The Hierarchy could attack them but everyone knew an assault on Sol would be costly. So long as the Humans remained quiet, everyone seemed willing to forget them.

But not Tarquin, and not his father. They both knew that one day the Humans would return.

“It’s going to be easy! You are the one who has to worry,” Illo said. “Tell you what, though, if I find that missing Relay, you’ll be the first one I’ll call.”

“Not afraid I’ll take credit for it?” Tarquin forced himself to make the joke. Illo was happy so he should be happy and the Humans… well, it was always possible that they would remain in Sol. They had so far. And this was meant to be a celebration. He could think about the implications later.

“Of course not. I’m more afraid you’ll go through first.”

Tarquin sniffed, deliberately taking on a snooty air. “Well I will be commanding the Pride in Vigilance,” he said in clipped tones.

Illo laughed, pushing another drink towards him. “And I’ll be commanding the Gover, just like always, but I’ll tell you what, if the Humans do come back.” Nazario paused to take a long swig from his glass.

“Yes?”

“If they do come back, the Gover will kill more than the Pride in Vigilance.”

Tarquin chuckled. “Not happening,” he said. “But I’ll make it interesting. If they do come back, and by some gross miscarriage of all that is proper, and the Gover does kill more than the Pride in Vigilance, assuming that I’m not still on some border patrol then...“

“Then?”

“Then I’ll accept your application to be my XO,” he finished in a rush, not really knowing what should be promised.

Illo laughed. “No go. But how ‘bout we make it that you will owe me drinks for the next five Turian years?”

“Sure,” Tarquin agreed. “And when the Humans do come back, and all is right with the galaxy, with the Pride in Vigilance smashing ten times more Humans than the Gover could ever even hope to target, you, Illo Nazario, will apply for a promotion.” Illo was a good Captain, but he could go further.

“Ancestors! You are cruel,” Illo complained. “But I’ll take that wager because there is no way the Gover can lose!”

Tarquin grinned. “Another round,” he shouted towards the barman.

Wagers aside, this was a celebration!

===

2207

Growing up, when asked Tadeas Maalouf always answered that he wanted to be a soldier. Of course, by the time he reached 14, the age he could have signed up, the Systems Alliance was a shell of its former self and world gov had reassigned their military budget elsewhere. So he’d signed up for law enforcement, doing his best to get into SWAT and other special operations. No go. There was very little need for such specialised positions these days.

Most crime was hardly worth mentioning, especially in his village. And those crimes that were worth mentioning, usually domestic abuse or rape, were dealt with harshly. There were those who took the world gov’s message to breed too far, touching children not yet flowered. Those, when caught, and they were always caught, his Captain took out the back of the small building they used as a station and, after showing them how much damage a blunt knife could do, shot them. They didn’t even bother clean the blood off the wall. There was no place in the future for them.

Occasionally though, a job came up that called for a soldier, and Tadeas was usually the first to volunteer.

Most of the soldier like jobs he'd volunteered for had been easy. Sneak up and spy on some other village, lead the charge in rooting out a group of murderous bastards who thought that their genes should be the only one's preserved. That time had been scary but at least he'd had back up and they'd all been outfitted with the best gear they could get. It had been fun in its own way. He should have known that luck wouldn't be with him.

This mission was a job for a real soldier and the training he had for the local militia was sadly lacking. He'd managed to slip into the base and then Tadeas had been confused by the maze of corridors.

Luck rather than skill had kept him undetected as he'd slunk through them, though once he had run into a room full of scientist types. He'd managed to back out before they noticed him and the resulting run through the corridors had left him even more lost. He'd eventually figured out where he was, roughly, and as he'd gone deeper into the complex he'd encountered several check points which he'd managed to avoid by carefully checking nearby rooms and scooting through the air vents. He was filthy but while he had not been detected, Tadeas was more than aware of how little training he had, and how much he was just playing it by ear.

Especially as at the far end of the room he was peeking into, he could see real soldiers. They carried their weapons with an ease he knew he couldn't match. They wore matching uniforms and, if he squinted, he thought he could see a symbol on their breasts. It was white and wasn't anything Tadeas recognised. It was an animal but it appeared to have three heads. That could be worked out later.

"Base, can you see this?" he whispered the question. God, he hoped they did. With the guards around, he couldn't see how he could get much further.

"Pan a little more to the left," the instruction was whispered in his ear.

Tadeas obliged, shifting slightly. The room was filled with rows and rows of huge clear canisters. They were full of some sort of liquid and in each one a naked man floated, with a breather tube connected to his face. He'd been warned what was likely here so it hadn't bothered him too much when he found this. What bothered Tadeas was that every single one of the men was the same. The same build, the same hair, the same face. They were all clones. It was that which scared him and already he knew he was going to have nightmares about being attacked by the man in the liquid.

"Fuck... how big is it?" the controller back at the base whispered.

"Do you have everything?"

"Just focus on the guards now," another voice replied.

Tadeas shifted again as he listened to the chatter.

"Zoom it in." The instruction wasn't directed towards him. He was just carrying the camera but Base controlled the zoom.

“It’s still not clear.” The complaint held a distinct note of frustration.

“Is there any other angle?”

“Maalouf, can you get closer?”

“Negative,” Tadeas was amazed that his voice sounded firm. “There’s no cover.”

“Do you know the symbol on their uniform?”

“No, sir,” he replied. “They are too far away. It’s a blur.” He could see that it was there but he really couldn’t make it out properly. No matter his earlier thoughts on it, for a question like that, he knew he had to be able to see it clearly.

“All right,” there was resignation in the voice. “Evac is waiting. Fall back. Don’t bother to plant the charges.”

Tadeas gulped. “Roger that,” he whispered, pulling back from the doorway. The hallway was still dark and despite getting lost several times on the way in, his GPS had tracked him and now the path out was flashing on his HUD.

He ran. He didn’t even worry about the checkpoints he’d so laboriously skirted around. Instead, Tadeas barrelled through them, firing at the guards and quickly ducking down side corridors. There was nothing elegant or controlled in his flight. He simply wanted to get out as fast as possible. The soldiers followed but Tadeas was faster.

Evac was waiting and he jumped on the back of the truck. He didn’t need to tell them to drive because as soon as he landed the truck took off. There was a couple of gun shots from the Captain who had been waiting and Tadeus scooted around, using the tailgate to help line up his weapon as he fired at the soldiers boiling out of the facility like angry ants. Evac was fast though and the soldiers were on foot, so they quickly fell behind.

“Remind me not to volunteer again, Captain,” Tadeas gasped as his breathing began to return to normal. She grinned at him, her teeth shockingly white against the black of her skin.

“Far be it from me to get in the way of your childhood dream,” she teased him.

He shook his head. “I’m an ameteur, Cap,” he said, sitting up as the truck bounced slightly as it continued to put distance between them and the cloning facility. “Those were-”

Tadeas never finished the sentence. A streak of light flashed through the atmosphere, almost invisible in the brilliant sunlight of the day. It descended slowly though Tadeas knew that it was unimaginably fast. It was simply the vast distance the light was travelling that made it seem slow.

His Captain looked up as well. “Kinetic strike,” she shrugged.

“Holy…”

They’d been told no clones. The world had been told. The Human super machines were very clear on that. No clones, no starships with FTL, nothing beyond those few allowed to ferry supplies from the orbital farms and no getting out of the lottery. Tech was allowed but once you reached a certain level of tech you didn’t really need anything more. Still a kinetic strike… for that facility? It was overkill.

“Brace yourself.”

The warning came just in time and Tadeas gripped the tailgate. They had come to a halt behind a small hill which thankfully shielded them but the light and noise was still incredible. A roar of noise crashed over them followed by a howling wind. Tadeas grimaced. His ears hurt. He looked back towards the facility. He couldn’t actually see it. The hill was in the way but there was a huge plume of dust rising into the air. It wasn’t like a nuclear strike but the power was there.

His Captain lay back in the truck as the noise began to fade. She sighed and Tadeas could see that her eyes were half-closed, listening to something. “Now, we have to go back and check for survivors,” she said.

“No one survived that, Captain!” He gestured towards the dust over the hill.

“Doesn’t matter,” she replied slowly. “Orders are orders.”

“Survivors from a kinetic strike?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I know,” his Captain agreed, wincing slightly and Tadeas thought he heard someone shouting at her. “But these orders come from the top.”

He felt his eyes widen. Orders “from the top” were not from the world gov. They were from the super machines and it had been one of them which had made the strike. “Which one?” He asked, somewhat cheekily.

“Shepard.”

“Shit!”

“Yeah,” his Captain agreed. “But those were his clones and he’s more than a bit upset about it.”

“Let’s get going,” Tadeas said, gulping. The clones were of Shepard? He was the first to become a super machine. “Someone had a lot of gumption to clone him.”

“I know.” She thumped one foot into the bed of the truck, signaling their driver and they took off again.

Tadeas wasn’t sure how much distance the truck had travelled but whatever it was, it wasn’t enough. As soon as they came around the hill he felt an increase in heat. This was not going to be pleasant.

“We just have to make sure the hole is big enough,” the Captain said, breathing deeply. He knew she felt the heat as well. “I imagine one of them will send down a crew later to look for evidence.”

“Okay,” he replied before hunkering down, trying to use the cabin of the truck to shield him. Whoever built that facility better hope that no evidence was found. The super machines weren’t known for any mercy when they were disobeyed.

It was a longer ride back to the facility than it had been going out. He didn’t know who the driver was but they were careful and as they came closer Tadeas could see why. There weren’t many tracks where they were but there was debris, and rising from the ground was a thick column of acrid smoke. Whatever had been in the facility was burning. They pulled up a good couple of hundred metres away and the heat was terrible. Not so terrible that he couldn’t go on.

He began walking, gagging occasionally when the wind shifted and he smelt burning flesh. The clones or the scientists or the guards. Tadeas didn’t know which. He didn’t want to know which. Nothing could have survived the blast but he looked anyway. Orders were orders. Before he reached the smoking hole, he found a few bodies. They must have been the guards who had pursued him. They were dead and even if they weren’t, he didn’t think they’d be firing on him. Their uniforms were charred straight through to bone in some cases.

“Go left!” The order from Base came as a surprise and as he looked Tadeas could see why they would want that. He obeyed, walking up to a corpse that was face down.

The order to turn the corpse over wasn’t necessary. He knew what they were looking for - the symbol the guards had worn. The body was heavier than he thought, but he pulled it over, deliberately not looking towards the face. It would be a bloody mess and he didn’t need to see it. Protected by the body the fabric was intact but Tadeas felt his eyes widen when he saw the front of the uniform.

The symbol was gone.

It had been there but now, where it should be, there was a small opening in the fabric. It was burned around the edges, as if someone had used a tiny explosive charge to destroy the icon. The skin was burned slightly as well.

“Bastard!” The call came over his comm and Tadeas didn’t know who it referred to. “Tell us what it looked like?”

“Sir?” Tadeas questioned.

“The symbol, you saw it. Badly we know. What did it look like?”

Tadeas gulped. “Some kind of animal,” he said, standing up and looking around. Maybe another corpse would have the symbol still.

“Be more specific, what kind of animal?” the demand followed and Tadeas felt himself shiver. Over the radio it was hard to tell but he felt the voice was choral. It was one of the super machines and given what this facility had been doing, then there was every chance it was Shepard.

He gathered his courage, willing the skies to remain clear. “I don’t know,” he said with no small degree of trepidation, “but it kind of looked like it had three heads.”

His reply was a hiss and Tadeas now knew exactly how a super machine swore. “Fall back,” the instruction came again. “And have your Captain declare this area off-limits.”

“Aye Sir,” Tadeas said, already turning and running as fast as he could towards the truck. There was anger in the voice and it promised retribution.

They had barely gotten one click away when the first wave of fire fell to the ground. Further streaks of light followed, the molten metal burning through the atmosphere in an impressive display of power. Tadeas knew that nothing would survive in that patch of the Danakil Desert for centuries.

===


	6. Contains Preservatives

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing

**Part 1 The Fall of Humanity**  
**Chapter 5 Contains Preservatives**

===

**2210**

Shiala closed her eyes as she rubbed the back of her neck before breathing deeply. It was the little pleasures that made life worth it. Those who didn't enjoy them, who sought more complicated enjoyments, were often left wanting. Of course her enjoyment was short lived and Shiala returned her attention to the screen.

On the 30th anniversary of her mother's death, little Liara was giving an interview. It was only right that Matriarch Benezia's teachings had not fallen into obscurity in the intervening years, but it had taken a lot of work to keep Liara on track. The youngling just had too much trust in aliens. She had always doubted that the Humans were as bad as they were made out to be. That was an admirable trait but not a necessary one. The Humans were evil and after a lot of effort, from Shiala and other like-minded Asari, Benezia's only child had seen that. It wasn't like they lied. They merely pointed out several truths Liara had been reluctant to see.

And there she was. The resemblance was uncanny and if Shiala blurred her eyes, she could almost see Matriarch Benezia. The interview years ago had been okay. This should be a masterpiece.

"... and we are talking with Matriarch Benezia's only daughter, Liara T'Soni." The announcer spoke in a subdued voice, being obviously respectful on this occasion.

"Thank you Jaide," Liara said with a soft smile.

"So how are you going with your new career?"

Shiala frowned. That was an obvious jab, and she had been assured that this interviewer would not do that. Still, Liara did not seem concerned.

"It's good," she said brightly. "I was," Liara began before starting again. "I needed a break from the Prothean information. I spent years on it, and we got so close but then it all just fell away."

"Fell away?" Jaide asked for clarification.

"The theories," Liara explained. "I think in time we will be able to definitively say what happened to the Protheans but not just yet."

"Surely continued research is what is needed then?"

"Yes, some but we need to consider both where to direct our research and what aspects of Prothean civilization will give us the best results. We are very close but for me, it was time to take a step back, to consider what I had learned. This way, when I'm ready to continue research, I'll be clear on what lines I will focus on."

"So a sabbatical?"

"Yes," Liara agreed.

Shiala nodded. Little Wing was doing well but the harder questions were following. After twenty five years, most didn't want to hear about the Humans. This interview was about Liara and her mother.

"So now you are working on Lesuss," Jaide prompted.

"Yes. I decided that it would be best to work for my fellow Asari. Mother would have wanted that."

"You are working at the Ardat-Yakshi Cloisters?"

"I am," Liara said. "I'm lucky. I am a pure blood so I could be like that. We look away from the Ardat-Yakshi but they are Asari and those who agree to live in seclusion are beautiful people."

"Except they kill those they meld with."

"Yes, but we don't meld with everyone we meet," Liara said as if explaining to a child. "And those in seclusion do not meld at all. They do not feel the addiction that drives those who were deadly in our past."

Jaide nodded, sufficiently chastised while Shiala's lips twitched. Little Wing was still so naive in many ways but working with the Ardat-Yakshi looked good. That's why she had suggested it to Liara.

"Well, this is not what we are here to discuss. It's been twenty five years since your mother died."

Liara nodded, her eyes downcast and Shiala nodded with her. "I still miss her. I know I always will but there are times when the pain is sharp."

"I'm sorry." For a reporter Jaide sounded genuinely concerned.

Little Wing shook her head. "It's not your fault and it was a turbulent time."

"That it was. I don't think we will ever forget those times. Apart from your mother, what is your strongest memory?"

Shiala smiled. That was a question she'd told them to ask. The answer was Liara's chance to bring the galaxy together. It would be a little gesture but those little gestures contributed to the whole. Shiala didn't want to lead the galaxy but she needed them to be united if they were going to finally bring the Humans to justice.

Liara bit her lip and Shiala's eyes narrowed. If the little bimbo dared to- "I think… There's so many memories," Liara said. "I think the Council is one I won't forget."

"The Council? Not Shepard?" Jaide seemed doubtful.

"I remember Shepard," Liara replied, her voice hard. "And fifteen years ago I would have said Shepard was the person I remembered the most but now, it is the Council."

"What is it about the Council you remember?" Jaide asked, this time sounding intrigued.

Liara sighed. "On the homeworlds, on all the colonies, we don't really think about them. For most of us, the Council live on the Citadel, some far off part of the galaxy and make decisions. That's all we ever think about. But I knew Councillors Tevos, Sparatus and Valern. Not as well as Mother did but I knew them. So that's who I remember. They worked together through some very trying times and, while I never wished it, it almost seems fitting that they died together."

Shiala nodded, flicking the screen to mute as she brought up a text window. 'Little Wing,' she typed. 'You have done well. Your mother would be proud.' Shiala concluded the note before tapping send. One answer may not seem like much, but one answer, one voice, over time would unite the galaxy. It just needed a nudge.

===

**2211**

Quy Nguyen walked to the office building where she worked. She was young for the important job but that was the norm these days. The average age of the population had been steadily falling for over twenty years now and the processing centres were a fact of life. Even when Harbinger had ordered the five new processing centres be filled, people had adjusted.

As she pushed her pram, with little Van and Tina thankfully asleep, she noticed there were more ads than ever for the Alliance's baby boom program.

"IVF: Get that glow today!" One billboard proclaimed proudly.

"Really, how corny can you get?" She muttered to herself. Of course, it wasn't like she objected to the idea. That was how she got both her little bundles of joy, and their four older brothers and sisters, for that matter. It might have been one of the reasons she was promoted. Quy had proven to be fertile and she recovered easily from childbirth.

The IVF ads were the most prevalent but mixed with them were others, some proclaiming the benefits of volunteering to become a super-machine and others which were more gruesome. They showed the final moments of those who had betrayed Humanity, those who had tried to break the contract. Idiots. Real, actual immortality awaited, why would you risk that?

She checked her babies into day care at the base of the building then took the elevator up to the 75th floor where she worked.

As she waited for the interminable ride to end, her mind wandered to some of the latest figures she had sneaked a look at. Birth rates had certainly climbed in the last twenty years, and the age of new mothers plummeted, quickly killing the old stigma against teen pregnancies. Unfortunately, she was worried that while it was working for the short term, in the longer term there just may not be enough time for girls to grow up before they had to start pumping out babies, however dangerous that was to their health and even with the health care that was available. Natural birth was the only way to go. Everyone still remembered the response to the cloning facility.

What Humanity was doing was risky enough without totally flaunting the way they had broken the spirit of the deal. Besides, no one really wanted to open that can of worms if they didn't have to.

However, if things got dicier with the population's balance, Quy thought someone would try it again. They already had far more children per head of population than at any other time on record. Skills were being lost with only the most important disciplines being taught and while the population was growing at the moment, less than one percent was hardly a comfortable margin. Not with survival on the line.

So serious was the matter that the last ballots for processing ended when the new centres were dropped from orbit. Now the oldest just quietly handed over their jobs, had one last meal with their dozens of children and grandchildren, and took themselves to the plants. It was just the way things were. Only a handful of special exemptions had been made, and they were people deemed essential to Earth by the Human super machines. No one knew exactly what their criteria was except that they could not be changed, as some politicians had found out the hard way.

Besides, no one protested any more. Immortality of the mind really was a comfort, too. Anyone old enough to remember their way of life before the Council's War of Betrayal, before the super machines, was gone.

===

**2212**

"Fruben," Arshan called the other Ascended assigned to watch Humans.

"Yes?"

"I need you to do a scan."

"What am I scanning?" Fruben's legs extended down as he brought himself online properly.

"Earth."

"The Humans have revealed their hand?"

Arshan was silent for an instant. "I'm not sure."

Fruben broke orbit from Mars and headed towards the blue sphere that was Earth. As he moved, his sensors scanned the system. The Human Ascended were still tending huge space farms in the orbit of their planet and he could sense them also mining in the outskirts. That was normal. They were new Ascended and as he linked with Arshan, their designations became known. The older Human Ascended were in orbit over the gas giant planet they named Jupiter. They were clustered together and hibernating.

That was new.

"Just ignore them," Arshan instructed. "Once there were more than about 200, the oldest went into hibernation," he explained.

That made sense. While the two of them, Arshan and himself, had watched over the Humans, other Ascended in the system had set up their own ore processing which the new Ascended had taken over. The original process was highly automated but only setup for short term use. The newer one, which handled the expanded needs of Ascending the Humans and restocking the fleet, needed more Ascended involved but even it didn't need more than fifty at a time. The only supplies not handled in Sol was eezo. Harbinger was leading the Ascended fleet in eezo production and a single Ascended could ferry in all the eezo each new Ascended needed. Even with all that was going on, however, there wasn't any use in keeping all of the older Humans awake.

Fruben pulled into orbit next to Arshan.

"What am I scanning for?" Fruben asked, tilting himself towards the planet below.

"The number of Humans," Arshan replied.

"Didn't Harbinger fix this?" Fruben objected. "You upped processing by half again a couple of years back."

"I did and it seemed to work but the numbers aren't right."

Fruben paused for a moment, before starting his scan. "So the Humans have betrayed us?"

"No," Arshan was firm in his denial. "They have been filling all the processing units. Every single one has been running at capacity."

"And the numbers still don't add up?" There was an amused lilt in Fruben's voice.

"There's too many of them."

"Again? Do you mean to tell me they are _again_ outbreeding the processing units?"

"I think so," Arshan replied. "That's why I want you to check my numbers. I know they rigged their selection lotteries so that the oldest went first."

"That was an obvious twist."

"But not against our agreement. Besides, Shepard destroyed a cloning facility a couple of years ago."

"You didn't tell Harbinger?" Fruben questioned as his scan continued.

"There was no need," Arshan dismissed the question. "Shepard was angry and the other commanders destroyed all the Humans who were involved."

"So that's why that area is glassed."

"Yes. Shepard was remarkably precise for one so young but never mind, what are the numbers?"

"About fifteen billion," Fruben totalled the results from his scan. "That's too many."

"Yes. But I'm not sure if that's just an aberration from their earlier breeding."

"What's a Human's breeding age?"

"Listening to their chatter, from about fourteen," Arshan replied.

"I see." Fruben ran the numbers through his systems. While Harbinger had upped production requirements a few years back, the Humans had made a concerted effort to get their breeding rate up before that. Those newborn would be of breeding age now, contributing to the overly large number of Humans still existing.

"I've been monitoring their numbers," Arshan said. "After the initial drop, the population figures went down slightly. I think. There seemed to be a dip in their numbers but it was within my scan's tolerances. After that the numbers have been climbing, but very slowly."

"Let's keep an eye on it for another couple of years," Fruben suggested. "The new processing units will take care of things within a few years if the numbers are just from their earlier breeding. And if the numbers keep going up, we will have to tell Harbinger."

"He's not going to be pleased."

"I know but I almost admire the Humans."

"Oh?" Arshan questioned.

"No other species has even attempted to out breed our processing ability. It's interesting that these Humans can, especially if they are keeping it to natural breeding."

"It's frightening," Arshan retorted. "Only insectoid races can breed that fast."

"Maybe not. By the time we see the races, they're space-faring. Almost by definition, that means they've brought their breeding under control. It's not something the cycle considers and it's still a good ploy," Fruben said as he curled his legs back up, settling into orbit. "In the end, they'll all be Ascended, so it's not a worry."

"You admire them!"

"Their boldness," Fruben admitted. "Besides, no matter the outcome the Humans have at least made this cycle interesting."

"True," Arshan was forced to agree as he too curled his legs up. "We'll scan again in two orbital cycles. That should give us answers."

"Answers, I'm willing to say Harbinger won't like."

"Which is why you can tell him."

"We'll see."

===

**2214**

Arshan looked down at the planet below. "We have a problem," he stated.

Fruben was beside him. "This shouldn't be possible," he said, his voice full of reluctant awe.

"This is more than a bit interesting," Arshan parroted Fruben's words.

"And I thought you said only insectoid races could breed that fast," Fruben retorted.

"Even allowing for our scans' margin of error, the Human population has gone up. This is beyond a surge due to an earlier breeding campaign."

Fruben opened his sensors, allowing himself to hear the Human network. After a few moments he cut the connection. "I don't think they ever stopped their breeding campaigns."

"They weren't ordered to," Arshan said reluctantly. "There is nothing in the agreement to prevent them breeding."

"They are using artificial means to increase the number of progeny, but all are born naturally. There is no cloning and no artificially born," Fruben agreed, reviewing the information he had taken on from the Human network. It had been awash with inducements to breed, and to breed as often as possible.

"You wake up Shepard, I'll contact Harbinger," Arshan said slowly. "There might be nothing in the deal preventing them breeding, but this cannot continue!"

===

**2215**

The instant Arshan saw Harbinger at the head of a fleet of one thousand Ascended racing towards Earth, he knew the First Ascended was not merely annoyed but was enraged. Over the eons of the cycle, Arshan had come to know Harbinger's moods and while the First One was usually controlled, rage was one emotion Harbinger still possessed. Until now, it had been a state solely reserved for when the Leviathan's interfered with the cycle.

It appeared that the Humans' survival ranked with Leviathan interference and Arshan had thought that Harbinger had different plans for them, plans not spoken about since before Earth's current continents were born.

Arshan and Fruben remained separate from the fleet Harbinger had brought as they watched the confrontation. Their feelings at this situation were strangely ambivalent. The Humans had reneged on the expected contract but they had not broken it.

It was an incongruous sight. Shepard hung before Earth, a single defender for the planet, though his physical form showed calm. All other Human Ascended were elsewhere, most were clustered on the far side of Earth's Moon, in a state of hibernation while those who had been tending the farms and mines in Sol were gathered in two groups, one near the second planet, and the other within the asteroid field.

Harbinger halted in front of Shepard, and the fleet settled into formation behind him with the processing ships at their rear. It was an intimidating sight, though the first Human Ascended remained calm, not even uncurling one leg.

"You have betrayed us," Harbinger said eventually, his voice quiet, yet managing to echo through the system. Every Ascended heard him. Arshan was surprised, this was the first time he had ever heard Harbinger refer to an Ascended as the race they had been but the implications in the First Ascended's words had included Shepard and all Human Ascended with the Humans on the planet below.

Besides, betrayal was an impossibility from Shepard. The very act of ascension indoctrinated organics. While the humans had requested not to be indoctrinated until the cycle was over, that was an impossibility Harbinger had just neglected to mention. After all, it wasn't like any of the Human Ascended would be complaining. But betrayal was a possibility from the Humans. Except Arshan had seen what the Human Ascended were doing to ensure that the deal was fulfilled. They had allowed no betrayal.

"We have not," Shepard replied his voice just as strong. Most Ascended of his age would be cowering before Harbinger, begging forgiveness and doing everything in their power to placate the oldest.

"You have betrayed us," Harbinger repeated.

"How?" Shepard asked.

It was a challenge. Arshan was impressed. There was not so much as a flicker in Shepard's running lights to indicate distress.

"Your species is still alive," Harbinger replied.

"Yes," Shepard agreed.

"Then you have betrayed us."

"How?" Shepard asked again, his voice and the inflections of his tone showing nothing but a combination of patience and genuine curiosity. "All your production quotas have been met, First One," the first Human Ascended added respectfully.

"Your species should not be alive."

"Why?" Shepard sounded concerned, but not at Harbinger's words. He was concerned about the implication that something should have killed his species.

"Move aside, Human," Harbinger demanded.

"No."

"You have betrayed us!" Harbinger said again. "Your species is still alive. That is betrayal!" His voice was still quiet but Arshan could tell that the First One was becoming frustrated with Shepard.

"Every production quota has been met, First One," Shepard repeated. "We have not betrayed you. We have destroyed attempts at betrayal," he continued. With Shepard's words, coordinates on the planet were transmitted to Harbinger.

Arshan already knew what Harbinger would find when he focused his sensors. There was a patch of desert, 100 square km, that was glassed. Shepard had done it but he had been coldly controlled the entire time he fired at the planet. And then the other Human Ascended had tracked down as many conspirators as they could, executing them as soon as all useful information had been extracted. They had shown no reticence at using _every_ method they now had available to retrieve information. The Human Ascended were as upset about their species' actions as anyone could be.

"Betrayal is not tolerated," Shepard explained.

"Then how are you still alive?" Harbinger demanded. His sensors didn't lie and Arshan offered further memories to explain Shepard's words. Before the cloning incident, there had been something else but Fruben had been watching then and despite looking, had never been able to quite lock on to what the organics were doing. Either they had managed to hide their betrayal completely or they had stopped.

"Breeding."

"Only a few ascension ready races breed that fast," Harbinger said. "And most of their species are dross, not worthy of ascension. Your species is mammalian with a nine month gestation plus thirteen years until reproductive maturity, except your societal norms delay reproduction until mid-twenties. You do not breed fast enough to still have a viable population without betrayal!"

At Harbinger's pronouncement. Shepard seemed to sigh. "As you say, First One, nine months gestation, plus thirteen years to maturation but after that a Human female, well cared for, may give birth to at least one child each sol year."

"At least one." Harbinger's voice faded slightly with the statement and Arshan could sense his leader recalculating projections on Human population growth potential. "How many young are normal?"

"Twins, triplets," Shepard answered. "Sometimes more but that is not optimal for the mother."

Harbinger was silent, and Arshan knew that the first Ascended was listening into the Human's network. He knew what would be found. Gigabytes of material advising how to increase your chances of conceiving, further gigabytes of information on how to bear multiple young, terabytes of information on the care of young and options available to help families. There was precious little information there that made sense to him, mixed through with advertisements for IVF, supplements, diets of every kind and how becoming ascended was to achieve immortality.

There were also many warnings about the price of betraying Humanity. Cloning, artificial wombs, cryo sleep and AI were all banned. The punishments for attempting to develop or use them were generally very extended and very public executions. The Human Ascended were serious about enforcing the contract.

"IVF," Harbinger finally growled, his voice still angry.

"Yes?" Shepard prompted.

"As an artificial inflation of your species' birth rates, it breaks the contract," Harbinger's voice returned to the soft, infinitely angry tone he had spoken with originally.

"It does not," Shepard replied.

"Shepard, I will go through you if that's what it takes."

At that, Shepard betrayed emotion. His legs unfolded and Arshan was amazed to sense the young one's weapons coming online. Harbinger sensed that as well and responded in kind.

"They're awake," Fruben sent to him on a tight channel.

"Who are?"

"The Human Ascended," came the response.

Arshan shifted his passive sensors and knew that Fruben was correct. The supposedly hibernating Ascended over the moon were in fact awake. Every one of them. "I can't get a beam to Harbinger without connecting to Shepard," Fruben said.

"Tell him anyway," Arshan instructed. It would not be news to Shepard that the other Human Ascended were awake. Fruben sent the message to their Leader but there was no response.

"First One, you will have to destroy me to get to the planet below," Shepard challenged Harbinger. "But I will take you with me," he added.

"Your species will be extinct, dead and forgotten for eternity," Harbinger returned the challenge, as several of the fleet turned from Shepard to face those who were still feigning hibernation.

"You only brought one thousand. We will run," Shepard said, showing Harbinger the Human calculations about this confrontation. Most would sacrifice themselves to delay the attackers which would allow a few to escape.

"Then what? You have no chance. This cycle is already dead."

Shepard snorted. "As if we would help those organics," he scoffed. "We'd lead the next cycle. The Yagh aren't yet ready for harvest and are aggressive. They would spearhead the next attack. Or Prothean plans had some potential. Wait until you are in hibernation and then strike."

A myriad of possible future plans were shown to Harbinger. Each represented a possibility, a path that could be taken by the Human Ascended who would escape. In the minds of organics, those plans remained beyond reach but in the mind of an Ascended, one who was eternal, the plans were dangerous. The end of the cycle was within them.

"You can do this Harbinger, and die with the knowledge that everything you have worked for will be destroyed, or you can accept that Humanity has not broken the contract."

"The contract specified that all births must be natural!" Harbinger snapped, yet Arshan could see that much of the First Ascended's anger had faded. The Humans had stretched the contract but not in ways that could not have been foreseen.

"And they have been." Shepard accompanied his words with images of thousands of births. There was blood and pain, the mother's screamed as they laboured. There were deaths in the images, though everything was done to prevent them but the births were disgustingly organic. "IVF merely fertilises the eggs. It does not ensure pregnancy and every child spends nine months in their mother's womb, protected, nurtured, until they are born. Every birth is natural. We would not have it any other way."

"That was not your societal norm," Harbinger retorted. The First One had scanned Human society. No matter what the Human Ascended thought, Harbinger did know them, their customs, their beliefs, the way they thought. No matter what Humans thought of themselves, they were just another race, ready to be ascended. The only thing that made them unique was the deal they had offered in the face of death. Since Ascension was their destiny, it cost him nothing to allow them some freedoms in the process, but not too many, and their population now was more than a freedom, it was a rejection of ascension and could not be allowed to continue.

"It has become the norm."

Shepard's words highlighted one of the things Arshan had come to grudgingly admire about the Humans. The way they had been able to completely re-organise their society, their goals, their dreams and their social norms. During the long cycle with the Protheans, their empire had tried to raise their birth rates, with only limited success. The Humans had done it in only a few years. Granted, they were confined to one planet, but they had done it. Until now it had prevented their demise but Arshan had always known it was only a stopgap measure. Still, watching had made the cycle interesting.

Harbinger was silent and Shepard remained still just watching.

"Is this your choice, First One?" came the eventual question. "Or is it the Catalyst's choice?" Shepard asked the second question quietly, implying that he already knew the answer. "Humanity has not broken the contract. The planned production increases were met. Your extra increase in '05 was also accommodated without complaint or interruption." Unsaid was that the increase was proof that Harbinger had broken the contract.

"Your challenge amused me," Harbinger told to the younger Ascended. "No organic race has ever sought ascension. Your reasons were petty but your species fulfilled its obligations. However, no organic is above the cycle. Contract or no, your species is no different. Your kind's methods have replaced our previous losses but it is time to submit. Further resistance is futile."

"I am doubling the production quota again and if that does not prove sufficient to complete your race's Ascension, then you will destroy those that remain."

Shepard was silent. The explanation, such as it was from Harbinger, would be the only admission that Humanity had not broken the contract.

"It will be done," the response came from Hackett, who had taken position at the head of the Human Ascended fleet over the moon. There was a heaviness in the former Admiral's voice but it was accepting of the First Ascended's instructions.

Humanity may have hoped its deception could have continued forever but it had known, the leaders at least, that it had only been a matter of time. With Earth's current population, they would have a few years before the end but that was all the time they had left.

"It will be done," Hackett repeated as the fleet that had accompanied Harbinger turned away from Earth, leaving the processing ships behind.

They didn't leave. Once Harbinger was satisfied, they moved into orbit around Jupiter, while the Human Ascended moved to orbit Earth. The end was years away but they would bear witness to the last days of their species.

Even for Ascended, pain came before understanding.

===

**2218**

In high orbit, the leadership of Humanity's Ascended were using the few years remaining to plan out their revenge upon the galaxy that had betrayed them.

Shepard, the First Human Ascended, had ended up in command of his former superiors, placed there by Harbinger itself and by his innate skill with his new form. "So we're agreed."

"Yes. Four hundred and seventy-six Human Ascended will be ready when it comes time to strike," Hackett said. "But the newest won't be fully trained. Only three hundred and fifty will be completely up to spec."

"That doesn't sound like a lot of ships. Not for taking on the rest of the galaxy, over a thousand worlds, tens of thousands of Council ships." Udina mentioned. He'd never really been that competent at the military side of things, concentrating on politics instead. And he remembered how many casualties they'd taken when the damn Council betrayed them all.

"Don't forget our escorts and Oculi," Shepard responded, amused.

"And don't forget that Nazara was able to devastate the Citadel fleet," Hackett added grimly. "That was just one ship. We now have four hundred and eleven with the same shields and weapons and better tactics, with the others to come online shortly."

"We've reviewed the battle extensively. Nazara's use of its Oculi would barely rate a pass among us." Anderson explained. "All of us train intensely so that we can use each weapon at our disposal to the very best of our ability, and we work with each other knowing our survival will be on the line."

It was only after becoming Ascended that those who had been at the Citadel truly understand how overmatched they _should_ have been. Nazara might have been good at long term plans, ones requiring centuries to mature, but his tactics and weapon skills were poor. No matter the sacrifices, they should not have won that battle.

Udina conceded the point. "Very well. So you don't have any worries about the campaign?" He'd been on the Citadel when Nazara attacked. He remembered the power the ancient ship had displayed.

"I wouldn't go that far. We _will_ get our vengeance. That is certain. However, the damn Council could get lucky and kill some of us if we don't do our job right," Hackett explained. "That's why we're planning things now. Preparation is key to victory in any arena."

"And you're here because you can ask good questions. Better to have you shoot holes in our plans than to have the enemy shoot holes in us. Even if I still don't like you," Anderson added.

"One thing I want to do is send notice to the Council, show them just how wrong they were to dismiss our warning." Udina decided to get things back on track.

"That could work." Shepard replied. Udina's mention of the Council suggested a rather simple diversion which would be most effective. "How about we send a small force to the Citadel, only 50 super ships or so? They will grab the Council's attention nicely."

"And while the Council are scrambling their own fleets to the Citadel to respond?"

"They'll be reducing their own defences to meet us," Hackett answered, seeing Shepard's plan.

"Do you think they'll blame the Geth?" Udina asked. At the time, he'd been skeptical of Shepard's claims about the super dreadnought which had attacked the Citadel. He'd supported Shepard because he was Human but now it was obvious who had been speaking the truth.

"They will have to," Anderson responded. "Their own lies will trap them."

"That will be amusing," Miranda said. "And if they attempt to launch an attack on the Geth I'd suggest we allow it."

"They won't make it far if they try," Shepard said with certainty. "They don't have the firepower. Thanks to Nazara's data, we know the Geth have been busily building up their fleet since they drove the Quarians off their worlds. Besides, if the Council truly believe Nazara was a Geth ship, they'll have to believe our detachment to the Citadel is only a portion of the Geth fleet. No matter how mysterious the synthetics are, they will have to expect that the Geth have other forces elsewhere."

"We will still need to lock down the Relays once their fleet arrives. This will strain their resources on the Citadel, a million more mouths to feed all of a sudden, while we are off ravaging their worlds, letting _their_ peoples feel the fear and despair of war."

Harbinger had been listening as the newest Ascended race talked amongst themselves. It was a novel experience to have multiple Ascended of the same race but they appeared to be comfortable, sharing information freely where it usually it would be contained within an individual. "You cannot control the Relays. Only we can do as you intend." The ancient one was silent for a moment, making Shepard worry that his plan would be scuppered before it was begun, despite the way it should work beautifully to neuter the other races. "Arshan and Fruben will accompany you."

The five sent their acknowledgments of their new orders. The pair of elder Ascended had been impressed that Humans had outwitted them for a while but this would only make them more vigilant when it came time for combat. That was fine. There would be no signs of betrayal to spot because there would be no betrayal. Humanity was united in its hatred of the Council, especially the Turians. The news that the Batarians had already been destroyed only made the Humans more eager to kill the rest of the bastards.

"So the Citadel gets locked down. How many of their dreadnoughts do you think that will trap?" Udina asked.

Shepard, Hackett and Anderson conferred at computer speeds and Anderson gave voice to their consensus. "Between 40-50 although just 30 would be good enough. Probably get a thousand cruisers and shoals of frigates too."

"But that's only half of their dreadnoughts."

Anderson resisted the urge to growl at Udina's complaint.

"Half of their _total_ count of dreadnoughts," Miranda quickly moved to explain. "That leaves only forty to guard all of their major worlds. If they spread six between Palaven, Aephus and Digeris, seven between Thessia, Cyone and Lusia and eight between Salarians' homeworld and first three colonies, that takes care of another 21 dreadnoughts. That leaves only a quarter of their fleet to guard all the rest of their worlds and continue the heavy patrols of the Perseus Veil and the Traverse. They can't be strong everywhere and even a threat to the Citadel, the centre of their government, can't justify stripping their own homeworlds completely bare."

"Not that we really want them to do so. We want to make them weak everywhere and even if they pull all 80, our ships at the Citadel will be fine. At worst, they lead them on a merry chase until we can put enough reinforcements through the Relays to crush them in a pincer."

"Which should take three days at the most," Hackett surmised. "Udina would you like to deal with the Council?" Leading the diversion fleet was an important role and should be almost impossible to get wrong militarily. Appear in the Serpent Nebula, act menacing, wait for the Council to gather as many dreadnoughts as possible, then lure them away from the Relays, so that Arshan or Fruben could close them. After that, they could stay or run with little impact on the war. Those who accompanied Udina would be well briefed on what to do.

Even if he jumped out early, or the Council sent more ships than anticipated, the plan should still work. Leading that fleet was high profile but low risk. Perfect for a politician like Udina while the rest of them dealt with the real issues. And after the planets of the Council burned, they could deal with the survivors.

"I'll consider it," Udina replied. He would love to see the Council squirm.

That was as good as acceptance. "So," Shepard cut off any further argument. "The biggest question remains."

Miranda laughed. "Turians."

"Turians," Anderson confirmed.

Hackett was silent for a couple of milliseconds. "Turians," he added his voice, though it was shadowed with thought.

"You believe another?" Shepard asked. He might be the designated leader, but he knew how to take advice. That's why Harper, annoying though the man had been, and in many ways, still was, was one of his advisors even if he still stuck to the shadows.

"Just considering alternatives," Hackett replied.

"Udina?"

"Huh? What?"

"Which of the Council species do we hit first?" Anderson phrased the question Shepard hadn't asked.

"Does it matter?" Udina asked stalling for time as he raced to think of an answer.

"Not really," Shepard answered. "The end result will be the same. The question of who to strike first is for racial satisfaction."

"I don't care," Udina said and they could all hear the implied statement that they were being foolish. The Councillors were more important to him.

"Turians it is," Shepard ignored Udina's statement. "And then the Asari. The Salarians were too busy spying on everyone and thinking themselves clever to get involved in offensive operations but the Asari were not. Besides, they're the ones who have always controlled the Council. They're the ones who consider themselves the wisest in the galaxy. And they are the ones who sent their attack dogs against us when we didn't save their pride, when we dared to put lives ahead of politics."

"Damned arrogant bitches." Hackett growled. "Yes, the Asari after the Turians. We'll show them that their control of the Council doesn't matter if they don't have the balls to fight their own wars."

"We will have to find the Quarians," Miranda said before anyone could argue. Plans for the Turians could be worked out over the coming days. All their plans and back ups would be worked out shortly.

Shepard was silent and they could tell he was thinking. "Harbinger," he asked suddenly, his attention shifting to the senior Ascended.

"Yes?"

"Information from the Batarians indicates that the Council has not heard from the Quarians for years. Does the Catalyst know where they are?"

Harbinger was surprised. Most newly Ascended did not know about the Catalyst, and its function at the core of the Relay network until they were introduced to it as the final stage of their ascension. Even after that, they didn't speak of it. The Humans were progressing far faster than he had anticipated. But beyond a few minor attempts at resistance, attempts he should have been able to foresee, they had obeyed. Arshan and Fruben had reported that obedience was not always without question but their questions had purpose and once they understood they fell to their assigned tasks with vigor. Shepard had explained the purpose of many of the simple, repetitive tasks the new Human Ascended were assigned, and Harbinger could not find fault in the results. The new Batarian Ascended was still clumsy in flight, where younger Human Ascended were already using their point defence systems with precision. Perhaps he should send it to train under the Humans? Irrelevant for now, however.

"Several years ago, a large fleet passed through many of the lesser known Relays," Harbinger replied. The Catalyst did not know where the Quarians were and had already contacted him to ensure that they were not forgotten. No race could escape ascension. That the Humans had remembered them on their own spoke well of the newest race. Ascended served ascension. That rule was always true.

"They are not a Council species but we will ascend them," Shepard said. "If they have run, I would ask that the fleet locate them." Carried in his request was the knowledge that while the Human Ascended would hunt down the Quarians if needed, it would only happen after the rest of the species were ascended, and thus would take further time on a cycle that had already consumed more time than expected.

"Time is not a consideration," Harbinger replied. "However, I will have some elders direct your newest Ascended to search. It will be good training." The words were a test.

The Human Ascended took care of each other. Even now, their husks were taking care of the Human young while the eldest fulfilled the Human obligation to provide organic material. Such consideration towards training their youngest had made the Human Ascended work well together but Harbinger was concerned about how they would integrate with the larger fleet. Ascended served ascension but they still had their own personalities. They did not always get along and introducing such a large new faction would cause some issues. Ensuring that the younger Human Ascended knew the larger fleet first would split the Human Ascended.

"That would be appreciated," Shepard replied immediately.

Harbinger was almost disappointed. He had expected complaint.

"We are loyal, Harbinger," Shepard said after a moment and Harbinger knew that the words were sent on a private channel. "Humanity hates the species of this cycle, but even after we are done with them, Ascended serve ascension," he continued. "We have no desire to be divisive."

The oldest Ascended was silent before he quietly conceded Shepard's point. Time would reveal the truth of the words.

"Will you plan further?"

"Not today. The response to our initial plan will allow us to determine who is best suited for which roles."

"It does not matter," Harbinger replied. "All Ascended have the same abilities."

"All Ascended have the same potential." Shepard replied. "It is a matter of practice and preference," Shepard explained. "If they are comfortable, performance is improved." Statistics were transmitted towards Harbinger, showing how each Ascended became more comfortable with their abilities as training had continued. There was a corresponding performance improvement as each became confident with their role. "Combat is no different, no matter how strong hatred is. In time, we will all be proficient."

"So long as the cycle is served, it shall not matter," Harbinger admitted finally.

"The cycle is eternal," Shepard agreed.

===


	7. The Fall of Humanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing

**Part 1 The Fall of Humanity  
** **Chapter 6 The Fall of Humanity**

===

**Earth Year 2220 Outskirts of London**

Francis sat by his radio. He felt old. God. When was fifty three old?

Oh yeah, that's right. Now. When the average age was 14 if you were lucky and it was steadily falling. Females had a slightly higher average age but that was due to childbearing. He was an aberration. Humanity was doomed. Of course, Humanity had been doomed for the last forty years, just no one wanted to admit it.

"Francis," the voice echoed slightly but was familiar. "I can't keep them away from you forever."

"Not much longer now, Maureen," he murmured, reading his notes.

"There is no time," she replied.

He looked over at the radio, his eyes sad. "Then what am I supposed to do?" He collapsed back. The radio was two way. "You can't access the information and I…" Francis paused, swallowing hard. "I can't work this out without you." He fought back tears.

"Francis," Maureen spoke his name gently and for a moment he could almost imagine she was here. "It's not that I can't access the information," she continued. "The information just isn't in our databases. As far as I can tell, it's not in anyone's."

"What about Harbinger's?"

Harbinger. For most of his life, no one had really talked about the super machines but lately it was all anyone could talk about. Their minions, the husks, cybernetic abominations made from Human corpses, rounded up everyone. They were as gentle as possible and Francis was one of the few who knew that the husks were being controlled by Human super machines. Maureen had told him as much, and she was doing her best to keep them away from him but it could not last. Already he'd heard rumours that husks controlled by Harbinger or Arshan were present and they were simply rounding up everyone and processing them. It had taken thirty years, but the ancient machine had realised that Humans weren't dying on his schedule and he'd retaliated, upping the production quota to 30 machines a year. They were close to the end now. Birth rates had already fallen as too few women remained. It could have been worse. He could have just killed them all, rather than giving them the chance to preserve their minds.

"I can't access Harbinger's memories," Maureen said, her voice so matter of fact that Francis fought back a smile. She'd been like that when she was here, always keeping them, James and himself, grounded.

"Damn it! What am I supposed to do? We know the mind is preserved," Francis said.

"I know, we have James to thank for that."

"Inquistio veritatais est aeternum," Francis quoted the words James had sent to them to say he was still alive, sort of. The quest for truth is eternal.

Those were the last words they'd heard from James and it was only after Maureen had volunteered and been processed did they discover why. Not all the super ships were the same, and not all of them were nice. James' one was dominated by a small group who kept the rest of the consciousnesses under strict control, something that had kept him from getting his message out for months. The controlling group was Human but they were not the best of Humanity. The super machine Maureen was a part of had put in a system that allowed growth. Strictly speaking, he wasn't talking just to her but to the entire ship but he didn't mind. They let her lead the conversation and that was a comfort. Her ship, she had explained, voted in a speaker to be their leader and the ship as a whole had taken the name Elysium.

The mind was intact in the super machines. The Systems Alliance had not lied. Yet once it became clear that Humanity's deception was over, and they would all be harvested in a few years, a new question had arisen. Human bodies provided the organic material that constructed the super machines. Their minds comprised the controlling supercomputers. But was the process only one way? Could the super machine recompose itself into its component parts?

Could Humanity live again? That was the question. Francis had been about to volunteer when it was posed and while it wasn't meant to be possible, he knew that somehow, his name had been removed from the lotteries. But he didn't have an answer and Maureen or any of the other Humans, who should have been able to answer, couldn't.

"Francis!"

"Huh!?" He started. Fifty three was too young to be woolgathering.

"Francis, pay attention," Maureen scolded him. "We need a new angle."

"Oh God, don't start please. I'm not Ja…" Francis trailed off, his eyes wide. It was so simple! Why hadn't he thought of it sooner? They had thought of it. They'd just dismissed it. Unethical. Gross. He chuckled, reaching up one hand to scratch at his still brown hair. His laughter grew until he was gasping. Those tags didn't matter now.

"Francis!" Maureen shouted his name but he continued laughing.

"Francis Harry Crick!"

That got his attention. "Maureen, it's so easy!" Francis said, wiping his eyes. He felt like the weight of the world had lifted.

"What is?" she sounded peeved.

"The main problem is that no one really knows what happens right? You went through the process and when you woke up afterwards, your mind was already in place, right?" Francis got up as he talked. He took off his lab coat, and reached for his jacket.

"Yes. There is no way to remain conscious through to the last, and even if you did, you'd be trapped in a state of sensory deprivation. The process deliberately knocks you out, if you haven't passed out already. Only Shepard went through the whole process conscious."

"Yes, but that means you don't see what happens to your physical form." He flicked his jacket on, making sure the car keys were in the pocket before he looked around for a sample kit and his portable analysis gear.

"No," Maureen said and while it was a denial he understood her meaning. "Not at the time but I found out afterwards. It was packed in with others and taken to the shipyards."

"Where you got put into the core of a super machine and woken up, I know."

"And? Francis, what is this thing you think is so simple?"

Francis picked up the portable radio. "Another angle. There is one sure way to know if the DNA was preserved in the process. The real problem is that no one knows if the physical body is broken down into component elements, carbon, oxygen and so on, or if it's just broken down into organic goo, which could still contain cells and DNA. There is one way to know for sure."

Maureen was silent. "No, you can't."

"Why not?"

"You can't! You don't know what it will mean."

Francis frowned. "As much as you Human super machines have tried to hide it, I know you've been landing to take on flora and fauna samples. We also know you've been scanning and, where possible, taking on cultural artefacts. The important thing is that I know one is grounded near here." He walked out of the building and got into his car. It wasn't really his car. Ownership had become rather fluid. It was a car.

Earth was quiet these days. There was no background noise from students because there were no students. He didn't know the exact population but it was about three billion, about a quarter of what it had been before the deal had been struck. That left a lot of empty buildings and most of the survivors were clustered around the processing centres. Some people ran, they were always tracked down.

"That's not the point," Maureen objected. "We can control the husks. We can make it so that you can get to the core but…"

"But what?" The drive was easy and he was soon on the highway. It wasn't that well maintained but it was good enough. In a few years, it would be covered in grass as evidence of civilisation crumbled.

"You won't be coming out Francis. None of us can control the security around our cores that much. You'd have one minute, maybe two before you are caught."

The mental calculations didn't even distract him from the drive. "That's more than enough time, Maureen."

"Francis, no!" He could hear that she was crying. "Think of what you are giving up? Immortality."

He bit his lip. It was tempting. It was so tempting, especially knowing it was true. He steeled himself. He couldn't show his pain. "Maureen, think of what we are giving up if I don't even try to find the truth."

"Damn it Francis! Does it matter? We are alive in these machines. Isn't that enough?"

He was silent as he drove. The tip of the huge super machine came into sight and Francis was thankful when the ship didn't lift off. Maureen could have asked it to leave.

"No," he answered her question after a pause. "It's not enough. And I know for sure that extinction wasn't in the plan.

"I don't want to pull another James, Maureen, but if there is another way, I'll take it."

"There isn't."

"Then can you please tell me the name of the ship I'm coming up to?"

"It's Hackett."

"What?" Hackett was one of the leadership group of Human super machines.

"The only super machine that doesn't have something from Earth is Shepard, and that's only because Harbinger questions him so much. Shepard has deliberately avoided learning about a great many things."

"Oh," Francis said, feeling quite stupid. He knew the Human super machines were helping but he didn't know the extent of their actions. He felt… he wasn't sure what he felt at this knowledge. The super machine loomed larger as he continued to drive and eventually he turned off the highway, driving down a much more pitted road towards the machine. He didn't get too close. There was a line of husks forming a perimeter and when he saw them Francis pulled up, not caring about how he parked before getting out. He clutched his kits to his chest.

He'd seen husks before. He even knew how they were formed. They were Human once but there was nothing Human in the way their glowing eyes stared at him accusingly. "Maureen?" He called her name softly.

"Yes Francis?" It was obvious she'd taken the last few minutes to compose herself.

"I'm sorry."

"I am, too."

Francis smiled and took a deep breath. The air was clean and crisp and the sun was warm. It was a good day.

Then a larger husk came forward and Francis forced himself not to run. "Come with me son." The voice was incongruous and while Francis didn't know what Hackett sounded like, he could easily envisage that voice being that of the famous Admiral. He didn't trust himself to speak but nodded and followed where the larger husk lead.

It was a long walk, first to the super machine, and then once inside, they continued trekking through a veritable maze of corridors. They branched off intermittently and Francis was well and truly lost. The husk didn't even hesitate as it led him deeper but eventually it stopped. "You'll need to go alone from here, son."

Francis gulped. "All right."

"As Elysium told you, I can give you one minute only. Every second after that is a boon I cannot guarantee. Make sure you speak your results. You are an alien inside me and this is one part of the ship not under conscious control."

He nodded. He knew all about the bodies immune system. It was odd that a super machine would have one but if they were partially organic then perhaps it made sense. The husk's voice was serious and Francis felt the situation fall on him again. It had seemed so easy just a few minutes ago.

"Then run. Go straight and you will know what part you have to test."

Again Francis nodded, not trusting his voice to speak. He took off his coat. He wouldn't need it ever again and he picked up his kits before taking a few deep breaths.

"Go!" The husk shouted and the noise sent him running.

Up to this point, the insides of the super machine were well lit. Now they were gloomy but he didn't hesitate. The air changed. It was hot and dense and Francis felt his lungs labouring. this was not an atmosphere anything was meant to survive in. Then he saw it and he almost faltered. It was only the weight of the world that kept him going. The thing was huge and shaped like a Human. It was… He gulped. It looked like a Human made of metal but Francis knew the form was made from the millions of people who had gone into making the super machine.

He continued running and realised he didn't know how long had passed when he skidded up to the Human shape. He was somewhere near the stomach but that didn't matter. The path went inside and Francis forced himself not to think as he ran forward. If the inside of the super machine had been hot, now it was almost unbearable but the Hackett Husk had been correct. He knew exactly what he had to test.

With relief he stopped running, deliberately putting down his kits as carefully as he could before flicking them both open. There was a small chisel in the top of one and he grabbed it, moving to tap at the wall with one hand while the other held the sample dish below. He only needed a fragment.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to whoever it was he was sampling.

The first tap chimed. The second was the same and he applied more strength. The stuff was hard and Francis was reminded that Humans were mostly carbon and carbon could form diamond. "Just a chip," he muttered, swinging the small chisel as hard as he could. Sparks flew but his blade bit and a tiny piece flaked loose. He scraped it into the dish and carefully put the lid on. Now was not the time to lose his sample!

Francis' hands shook as he turned and it took him two tries to get the sample dish into the analysis machine. That's when he collapsed. The heat was oppressive and in the distance, he thought he heard something coming closer.

"Sample taken," he gathered his voice to shout, pressing the button to start analysis.

Francis fell back and he realised it wasn't just the heat. Gravity worked differently here. The thing came closer but he forced himself to focus on the soft bleep of the machine. This was for all mankind. Please let there be DNA still.

He wasn't the only one saying that prayer. Unknown to Francis, all the minds on the Elysium and the Hackett were watching, and through them as many others as could be risked without risking Harbinger's discovery. They all said that prayer because contained within it was the hope to be reborn.

Francis shuddered as gravity increased again and he turned his head. His analysis machine seemed fine, which was all that mattered now except the thing which came closer. The bleeps hit a crescendo and he smiled at the count down. Five more seconds and he'd know.

They'd all know.

The machine signalled completion and Francis looked over. Even in the dark and heat, with gravity pressing down on him, he smiled. The readout blinked. "DNA positive. Multiple samples present."

He read the words, shouting them as hard as he could and by the way the gravity lessened, just for an instant, he knew that the Hackett had heard.

"Francis!" It was Maureen's voice. "Francis, get up! Run!"

He smiled. "I can't Maureen." The gravity was far too heavy and he could already feel the heat burning at his body.

"Francis, no. You can't die here. It's not fair."

Francis actually laughed. "Life isn't," he said, not harshly, just matter of factly. Life wasn't fair but life now had a chance to go onwards. Humanity now had a way to survive and already he could see the future.

"Vita pergit," he whispered to Maureen. It was both his comfort and an instruction that she do what had to be done.

And with that, Francis Harry Crick died with a smile on his face.

===

**Earth Year 2220, Citadel, Council Chambers**

Jath'Amon looked down at his robes. They were old and shabby but they were all he had and he'd waited far too long to get this meeting with the Council.

"The Council will see you now," one of the two-eyed blue bitches said. He hated them. He hated them all! Pretending to care yet truly doing nothing.

"Ambassador," Irissa greet him and it was only through practice that Jath'Amon managed not to narrow his eyes at her. The Asari may be bitches but they knew how to read body language.

"Councillors," he greeted them pleasantly, the words hard on his tongue.

"How can we help you, Ambassador?" Linron, the new Salarian Councillor asked, going straight to business.

Jath'Amon wasn't sure what to think of this. Usually one had to dance in meaningless political niceties with the Asari councillor before anything of substance could be discussed. Getting straight to the point was nice but it could be a ploy to dismiss him as fast as possible as well. He decided to ignore it for now. Their answers would let him know.

"My people, Councillors, require assistance."

"Have we not been assisting?" Quentius asked.

The Batarian ground his teeth. An eight year expedition two decades ago was not assistance. All it had done was confirm what had happened to his people and that was something the Council needed to know, just as much as he had. After that, Council support had withered to nothing.

Batarians still survived in the Traverse but they were no longer a strong race. Instead small colonies existed, and warred with each other, all fighting over the few females who were pressed into service breeding to whoever had the strength to claim them. Bonding ceremonies meant nothing and female children were kept in secret until they were of breeding age and then they were sold to the strongest.

The only thing the bickering Batarians agreed upon was that the Humans had to pay! Yet extracting rightful vengeance on a species that refused to leave their home system, who had somehow moved a Relay to protect that system… that was a dream too far for most Batarians and the ruling Warlords spoke the rhetoric without meaning anything. It was his job now to convince the Council that they needed to strike the Humans.

"Council assistance in discovering the grievous attack on Khar'shan was greatly appreciated, but nothing has been done since to bring the Human scum to justice for the genocide of my people." Jath'Amon knew he would look pious because of his poor robes when he said that. Let them deny the words.

As expected the Council were silent for a few moments, and Jath'Amon could see the way the Councillors shot each other small glances.

"What would you have us do?" Irissa asked finally.

"For the last two decades, the Council has built up its forces. The Treaty of Farixen was modified and each of your species has built up your military fleets. Why else was this done, if not to strike at the Humans? I would ask that the Council use their strength to strike at the Humans, before the Humans destroy other worlds.

"Khar'shan was destroyed. Billions of my people lay dead and no justice has been granted to them." All three of the Council species had built up their military. They were the largest they had ever been, larger now than even at the height of the Krogan Rebellions. There was nothing stopping them from sweeping into Sol and removing the Human infection from the galaxy once and for all. Then the Batarians could claim Sol as their rightful property.

"You wish us to mount a military expedition, to the core world of the Humans?" Linron asked.

Yes, you stupid two eyed, short lived idiot! Jath'Amon plastered a pleasing expression on his face as he quashed the thought. "As member race of the Citadel, I demand justice for my people."

The old Turian Quentius looked thoughtful. "The Humans have been very quiet for decades, which is unlike them. It would be in our interests to send a probe," he said eventually.

"No," Jath'Amon objected. "It must be a military fleet! The Batarian people will not tolerate any further delays in bringing the Humans to justice!"

"You cannot tolerate any further delays?" Irissa asked and Jath'Amon knew he'd said too much. "What military forces will the Batarian people bring for the assault?"

Again he ground his teeth. The blue bitch knew that the Hegemony's remnants could not raise a military expedition. If they could, they would have already struck at the Humans.

When he did not answer, Irissa swept one blue hand through the air, dismissing him. "Do not forget your place Batarian," she said. "I am in favour of sending an expedition to Sol," she added after a moment.

Make sense bitch, Jath'Amon growled internally as he stood silent. He'd accept the dismissal from the Asari, this time, if she pressured the others into the assault.

"Legally, we can't," Linron replied before Quentius could say anything.

"Legally?" Irissa asked.

"It is one of the oldest Council laws. Each race may claim as sovereign territory, their home system, and nothing more, no matter whether they are part of the Citadel Conventions or not. Regardless of what the Humans may have done, Sol is their undisputed territory."

"And what of Harsa?" Jath'Amon could no longer stand silent. "Harsa is Batarian territory, yet we are not in control of it."

Linron ignored him since that wasn't the Council's fault. "I have also read the Turian reports. The Humans fought for their colonies, even knowing they were losing, the battles of the Rebellion were costly. Assaulting their homeworld could cost us every gain we have made in the last two decades."

"Surely not!" Irissa objected.

Quentius nodded slowly. "Councillor Linron is correct," the Turian agreed. "Turian projections for any assault on Sol indicated a huge loss of life. That was three decades ago. We do not know what defenses the Humans have constructed in that time but we cannot expect them to have been idle."

"So you are just going to leave them?" Jath'Amon shouted.

"The Humans have not shown any indication that they are going to attempt to break the blockade," Quentius explained.

Over the years, his feelings had mellowed towards the Humans and now, he didn't know what to think of them. The expedition publically reported the remains of Human ships around Khar'shan but the private reports were adamant that the Humans could not have mounted such a campaign. Time seemed to support that belief because if the Humans could have conducted that campaign then they would have repeated it. No, it was something else. They could not waste ships assaulting a race that was now passive.

"The Rebellion was just that," Linron said. "Despite the battles, the Council made no formal declaration of war. Did the Hegemony?"

Jath'Amon couldn't answer that, and the Salarian lizard had to know that. Even if they had, any declaration of war from one Citadel species, without the backing of the Council was useless. "I do not know," he ground out eventually.

"Then we will continue as we have," Linron dismissed him.

"Quentius, I want to see those Turian projections," Irissa demanded.

"Councillors?" Jath'Amon asked.

"No, Ambassador," Linron looked back towards him. "The Citadel Council will not assault the Human home system, though I do support the Turian councillor's suggestion of sending a probe."

"A probe?" Jath'Amon was incredulous. "Is that all the Batarian people are worth? A probe! Against an enemy who has shown unparalleled aggression. A probe is all you send!"

"Ambassador Jath'Amon," Irissa stared at him with intent blue eyes. "The Batarian people were once an honoured member of the Citadel species but it was your government who withdrew from the member races, over petty issues with the Humans. As a result, the fact remains that at the time of any assault on Khar'shan, while the Hegemony was allied with the Citadel Races, you were not a member species. As such, we had no obligation to help you. Yet we sent an expedition that cost us billions of credits, spending eight years in the void to discover the truth.

"At no point during that time, or since, have the Batarian people, or what remains of your government in exile petitioned for re-entry into the ranks of Citadel species, so it is not your right to make demands of us! For convenience, and for galactic unity we have allowed you to state that you are a Citadel species in the hope that one day it might be true. Yet you know, as well as I do, that your people no longer have a government.

"I want vengeance on the Humans but I will abide by the Council Laws because it is those laws which stand between anarchy and order and regretfully the Hegemony chose to reject those laws. You are a guest here from a minor power and you will remember your place!"

"I support the sending of a probe into Human space. After its results are analysed then, with new information, further considerations may be made."

Quentius and Linron nodded.

"You are dismissed, Ambassador Jath'Amon," Linron said formally, as the Council turned away.

"You can't do this!" Jath'Amon shouted, his eyes wide.

"It is done," Quentius said and the Council podium went dark leaving Jath'Amon alone with his thoughts.

===

**Earth Year June 2222, Earth Orbit**

Shepard adjusted his orbit, sliding closer to another of the Ascended. This was a hard time for all of them but for some more than others. Strength was needed, a kind he had never developed but one that this other consciousness had in abundance.

"Shepard." Maureen, again speaking for Elysium, greeted him. "You can't think about the loss."

"What else is there to think about?" Shepard's focus was on London. The last few years had already seen nature start to consume the city as the outskirts were depopulated. This was the final processing plant still taking on Humans. The others had shut their doors to new arrivals the week before. The small remaining populations had been shuttled to London. Harbinger had allowed the Human Ascended to do that much.

"The fact that we are still alive," Maureen replied. "We are all still alive and we are all still Human. They will be Human as well." She indicated towards the children being taken into the processing plant.

"Adapt and overcome." It was one of the mantras for his training.

"Always. I know you are angry but this was not your fault. This was the Council's fault."

Shepard was silent. He knew that beyond the Council, the Catalyst had truly set it up. Not the details, no, but the broad strokes, the ones that had condemned Humanity to die in their bodies, in order to 'save' them. He knew that, but the other Human Ascended hadn't been told. Not that any of them could actually try to kill the Catalyst. Every Ascended had that ban hard-coded in their base operating system. It's why they couldn't just kill the Council by blowing up the Citadel with them on it, why they had to threaten instead of carrying out their revenge directly.

The Ascended did not display emotion, not as organics did but Shepard still felt Maureen shudder. "What was that?"

"Another one discarded," she replied sadly. "I wish," she sighed. "No. I don't know what I wish for."

"You wish to save that child?" Shepard asked carefully.

"No, the decision has been made and Harbinger was clear. I only wish we had been able to keep some forces on Earth, to grant them a clean death."

"We all do." Shepard was the most at home in their new form, he had the fewest regrets, but right then he missed the ability to cry. He had never had much call for it while he had his body but it didn't feel right to watch this without anyone shedding a tear for the lost.

"It's for the best that we are not there. We'd all be tempted to intervene and someone would probably succumb."

Around them the rest of the Human Ascended fleet was in orbit. Only those who were not yet online were absent. Harbinger and the rest of the Ascended were in orbit though a few guarded the docks. There was nothing they could do to stop the events below.

"Grief is a weapon," Shepard said slowly.

"Grief must be directed," Maureen agreed. Watching was painful but she had gone through this already. No matter the information Francis had given them, he should not have had to die. "Grief must be funneled into anger and rage and then directed to the Council."

"You speak from experience?"

"Vita pergit," Maureen answered. "His last words."

Shepard paused, considering the statement before he realised what she meant. Latin hadn't been taught for decades, so the words had to have been spoken by someone old. Most had gone into the formation of ascended. There were no last words, just those last spoken in their Human form.

"Life goes on," he said, realising that there was more to what was said than he knew and Elysium had not volunteered the information.

"Life always goes on," she replied sadly.

"You are not a soldier." It was a statement.

"I am a scholar."

"Then you will watch over our youngest," Shepard ordered. "This one, and those still to awaken. They will need teaching. They will need to be shown what it is to be Human. You will teach them. You will show them. They must know that we grieved for them. They must know that we cried. They must know our sorrow and our joy. They must know what it means to be Human. I will not have our race divided."

"I'm not a warrior," Maureen objected using Shepard's words.

"Children do not need soldiers," Shepard retorted. "They need mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters. They need love. And the last of us Ascended will need that more than others. Name the last, teach them, love them."

Those children being processed now would not understand. They didn't know why this was necessary, what had caused this to be their reality. They would only know pain. They would need to be taught patience by example, with a steady unwavering hand. They would need a parent to love them.

Maureen was silent and Shepard knew she was still watching the harvest below. "We will teach them," Elysium said finally. "But when they ask to fight, you will guide their hand."

Mentally, Shepard nodded. When the children were grown and it was time to learn the ways of war, then he would teach all he knew. They returned to their vigil, burning into memory the final hours of Humanity as it had been for thousands of years, as it would never be again.

While not one moved, somehow the entire Human Ascended fleet shuddered when the doors to the last processing plant shut. There was an ominous feel to the watchers and ponderously the plant rose. It was a sealed box with engines, remotely controlled by one of the elder Ascended and eventually it broke through the atmosphere, moving through the gathered fleets as it was directed to the docks in orbit.

The Human Ascended shifted slightly, making openings in their formations as several other Ascended came forward, carrying asteroids. The rocks were released and the combined fleet watched as they burned through the thick atmosphere of Earth. The first one hit the remains of London, burning away what had remained, mercifully killing those who had been discarded. The ancient tube system filled with dust and fire and collapsed. The old buildings cracked and crumbled. By the time of the next cycle, they would be only lumps of rock.

Other asteroids burned through the atmosphere. They streaked across the sky in a beautiful display that only the animals saw. Then they struck. Some animals were lucky, they died in the first wave of heat that radiated. Others lived on but the ecosystem was forever changed. Volcanos were triggered as part of the attack, sending lava spewing over the ground and into the water, causing great gouts of steam to rise up. Sulphur gushed into the atmosphere mixing with the clouds of dust to block the light.

It was the end and Hackett wasn't the only Human Ascended moved at the sight. He had fought hard for the blue and white Earth that was now only a memory. Fires were blackening the skies, and even the blues of the ocean began turning grey with the ash. The old warrior mentally sighed. It was the only expression he allowed himself but within him, one mind whispered words of comfort. A proverb, a saying, Hackett didn't know what but it fit.

'So long as the memory of Earth lives in our hearts, she will never die.'

It didn't matter that their hearts were now massively compressed eezo cores, and that they burned with the thought of vengeance. Earth would never die.

The Ascended turned away. The cycle must continue.

Harbinger was waiting.

And beyond him, the Council were overdue for a lesson in justice.

=== 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter made me sad. But vengeance is coming. Sweet, sweet vengeance.
> 
> As of 2222 the respective dreadnought numbers in the galaxy are as follows (Farixen Treaty was revised in chapter 3)
> 
> Turians - 85
> 
> Asari - 60 which is five above their allowance according to the Farixen Treaty but the Turians are looking the other way while they are concerned about an external enemy.
> 
> Salarians - 45 which is ten below their allowance according to the the Farixen Treaty. Turian and Asari have been nagging but the Salarians just haven't built the remainder.
> 
> Ascended (Human or otherwise) - More - Quite a few untrained or in construction. Construction on the entire Human Reaper fleet won't be finished until 2224 because it takes about 2 years to build them.


	8. Return

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy-Duck for betaing

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 7 Return**

===

**Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream, Turian Patrol**

Illo Nazario sat as he rubbed one eyebrow ridge tiredly. It was days like this that he sometimes wondered why he hadn't take up Tarquin's offer of a berth on his dreadnought, _Pride in Vigilance_. He thought he'd known what boredom was when on the Expedition. Except now he knew better. The eight year slog to Khar'shan and back was positively filled with excitement compared to this… This being extended border patrol.

Maybe he should have stayed on the Home Patrols.

Illo snorted. Home patrol just meant there were more distractions but it wouldn't have cured his boredom. Most Turians gained a great deal of satisfaction from routine work but there was a limit and Illo thought that maybe the entire Hierarchy was beginning to feel the limits.

The problem was a simple one and it was a problem civilians like the Asari did not have. The galaxy was quiet. For the last thirty years there had been no major conflicts. Sure there were skirmishes with pirates and the occasional group from the Traverse but nothing major. Even Tarquin had reported that things were quiet, and the _Pride in Vigilance_ had been moved to Tuchanka.

The Krogan were controlled. The Quarians had disappeared. The remaining Batarians were fighting for what little territory they could hold in the Traverse but that was only a small conflict and the Humans had not been seen. Not even a probe.

He had studied the histories. Being friends with a Victus, he'd had to know the history of the Humans well and this was not like them. The Humans were loud, brash, and spiteful. It was one of the reasons Illo had volunteered for the Human Border patrols. The silence was worrying.

The silence was mind numbingly boring.

"Sir!"

Illo missed the first call from one of his sensor techs.

"Sir!"

"Yes?" he said, looking up, deliberately shifting to a more professional position. On the long haul patrols a slight casualness was accepted but when addressing your subordinates you had to be focused.

"A small fleet of ships just dropped out of FTL."

Finally! Something! "On screen," he ordered. The front screen flickered slightly then displayed a long distance shot of several ships. "Do we know what they are?" Illo asked, even as he squinted, as if the action could make the image clearer.

"The profiles are running through the scanner now," Gallus reported.

"Let me know as soon as we know what they are," Illo instructed as he relaxed his eyes but kept his vision on the screen. The ships were a welcome mystery. They could be pirates, in which case a short battle would get the blood flowing. They could be lost merchants. Not quite as exciting but at least they could escort them to safety. Or they could be something unknown.

The Humans! He suppressed the surge of excitement at the prospect. It would not do to get ahead of himself. "Well?"

"Nothin-"

Alarms peeled throughout the ship and Illo's eyes widened. It was the collision warning. "Report!"

The bridge crew began reporting at once. It was the normal chaotic noise of combat. A long forgotten noise but one Nazario found comforting.

"We are under attack!"

"More ships dropping out of FTL."

"The _Kirpan_ is down."

"Return fire!" Illo commanded. "Get us to optimal range and put them on screen. Now!" Mystery no longer mattered.

The screen flickered away from the distant ships and he felt his heart grow cold as he saw the new ships on screen. "Send message to Palaven!" The order was hard.

"The _Godavari_ is being hit heavily."

He didn't need the scan to recognise the attacking ships. A ship with the same profile had attacked the Citadel 40 years ago. It had taken the Citadel fleet and two Human fleets to destroy that one ship. Now there were five.

"The comm buoy is down."

"Then tell the _Tir_ to retreat," Illo ordered. He didn't even pause. If the comm buoy was down then someone had to report manually. There was no resentment or questioning about who he chose to live and die. It was the way of the Turians.

"More enemy ships!" Mattea reported.

"Tactical display!"

The screen shifted. His patrol fleet was shown in blue cluster while the enemy ships were scattered around them in red.

"How many enemy ships are there?" Illo asked. There were far more red dots than had been reported.

"They keep coming from FTL," his sensor tech, Mattea replied. "One hundred and counting."

The blue dot representing the _Tir_ disappeared. He didn't need a report to tell him what had happened.

"Open a channel to all ships," Illo instructed. The comm tech signalled that the channel was open a moment later. "Gather up," Illo commanded. "We are all making a run for the Relay," he said. One of them had to get through and he didn't need to explain that to his patrol fleet. They were experienced and they knew what they were patrolling for. It didn't matter that these ships weren't Human. They were attacking.

"There is no communication from the attackers?" he asked.

"Nothing, sir. We can't even detect communication between them," Mattea said.

On the tactical screen, his small fleet grouped together and accelerated towards the Relay. The red dots of the enemy ships seemed content to let them break away.

Illo held his breath. "Status report." His eyes tracked the dots on the screen, daring to hope that they could get away.

"The _Gover_ has only minor damage," Gallus reported for his ship. "The _Godavari_ and _Tir_ have been destroyed and the _Pralaya_ has been hit heavily."

"Will they make it?"

"Captain Bishen says they will."

The enemy ships fell further away. Perversely, Illo fervently wished he was still bored but he kept his eyes focused on the tactical screen as his mind raced. "We can't slow to give him cover. How many ships are there?"

"Three hundred," came the shaken reply.

Illo gulped. "Sized?"

"Dreadnought class. All of them." There was no hiding the quaver in his comm tech's voice.

Nazario closed his eyes briefly. Three hundred dreadnought class vessels. Belonging to the Geth.

But appearing disturbingly near Human territory.

Something didn't add up.

"Sir!" Gallus' voice was showing a trace of panic.

He looked at the Turian. "The Relay." The words were spoken as if they should be self-explanatory.

Illo looked at the tactical screen, expecting to see a cordon of red dots guarding it. However, it was clear of enemy ships and the Relay was marked in green. "What is it?"

"The Relay won't respond."

"Try again."

"I have, sir. Three times," Gallus continued. "The _Maryut_ reports the same. The Relay is not responding."

Illo's mind flew through the implications and he tapped a few commands, bringing up an image of the Relay. When the image cleared he felt a chill in his soul. He'd seen Relays like that before. On the Expedition. They were dead and nothing anyone had done had made them respond. But the Relay had been active earlier in the day.

The ships! Somehow, they had to have turned it off.

"Bring up the star charts. Find the nearest safe place with a planet that isn't the Human homeworld," he instructed. With the Relay dead, they had to get away some other way.

"Pulcherrimus is closest, but sir, it's over fifty light years away!"

"We'll make it," Illo said, his voice sure. "We cleared similar distances on the Expedition," he added to give his crew confidence. He knew the order would be forwarded to the other ships of the fleet. They needed to hear that.

"Keep formation past the Relay. We'll need some distance before we jump to FTL."

The explosion ripped through the _Gover_ without warning _._

"Damage report!" Illo shouted over the noise as alarms rang and the bridge lights flickered.

"Operating on emergency power!" The report came too quickly to be good.

"Tell the other ships to continue."

"They can't."

"Can we return fire?"

"No sir."

The tactical screen came to life and Illo swore. There were red dots everywhere. The green dot of the Relay was barricaded by red and surrounding the blue dots of his fleet were red dots. The ships had obviously dropped from light speed and hit them. The targeting information would have been provided by those they had been fleeing.

Except… that sort of manoeuvre was just being speculated about. It was theoretically possible yet Illo had never even heard of any fleet being able to perform it.

"Do we have comms?"

"Short range only."

"Dammit. Does anyone have long range?"

"The _Pralaya_ does."

"Then tell them to put everything they've got into a long range signal." It would take a while for the signal to get into patrolled space but it was all they could do.

A quake shook the _Gover_. "What was that?"

"The _Pralaya_ is gone." Mattea just confirmed his suspicions.

A larger shudder shook the ship.

On a smaller tactical display, one which showed the _Gover's_ status Illo could see that the comms were now down. The long range antenna's had already been destroyed but now the entire panel was lit up.

"How many are left?"

"Seven," Gallus replied.

Illo nodded. He wasn't afraid. They would know what to do. While the patrols were a bit boring, he had trained his fleet well. They would know what to do.

He took a deep breath. "Make peace with your ancestors," he instructed.

The bridge crew looked at each other, and then most closed their eyes for a few minutes. Illo understood and waited.

"Executive order zero, zero, zero, one. Voice authorisation from Captain Illo Nazario. Authorisation number seven, one, three, seven, nine, six. Self-destruct in two minutes." It was the minimum amount of time he could set and there was no need to let the enemies board them. They would learn nothing.

The countdown started and Illo closed his eyes as he tilted his head up. The _Gover_ groaned and shook as secondary explosions shuddered through the superstructure. She was a beautiful cruiser but this was her end. Despite the noise, he could almost hear the computers whirring as they purged. No matter who the enemy was, they would learn nothing from their wreck. He was proud of his crew, proud of their resolve even now.

Mentally he made his peace, a smile forming as he thought about his friends. It was a shame that he would never see how high Tarquin rose through the ranks. His friend would make Primarch, Illo was sure of that. He would be a good Primarch, maybe even one for Palaven in due course. That wouldn't be for many years.

The countdown chimed one minute left.

And it may never come if… No! The fleet that took his out would not survive against the might of the Council. Tarquin would see justice done.

There was a girl on Nimines. He wouldn't see her again. That was given but she would at least get his death notice. She would know that he thought of her. Ishelna. She would understand.

The chime started to count the seconds.

What did it say about his life that his friends would understand?

As the chime marked the final seconds, Illo Nazario opened his eyes as his mind supplied the answer. It said that he was Turian.

That was the only epitaph he'd need.

In the final second he braced for the single instant of pain he knew was coming.

It never came.

Illo blinked and looked down at the small screen near his chair. It showed zero. There was no time.

But the ship was intact.

No…

No, it couldn't be.

They couldn't have!

The crew looked around, before they all turned their gazes towards him.

The alien ships had disabled their self-destruct either by accident or design.

"Start manual purge and prepare for boarders!" Illo shouted, drawing his own side arm. That was the only reason you didn't allow a foe honourable death. Internal comms could not be disabled and he heard his crew scrambling despite the shock of not dying.

Whoever these aliens were, the _Gover_ would not go down without a fight.

They waited.

And waited.

===

**Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream**

As the last debris from the _Pralaya_ was still escaping from the husk of the destroyed cruiser, Shepard was calling the other Human Ascended for a meeting.

"First of all, well done. No one panicked. None of the damned Turians got away. Good work to those who disabled the comm buoy, no signal was sent. And just as importantly, we have survivors and disabled ships that we can interrogate for up to date information."

Hackett spoke in support. "My congratulations to Harper's team. Great work with disabling the self-destruct and the computer purge. Did you have any difficulties?" He may not have liked Harper in life, but the man was undeniably skilled at what he did.

"None at all." Harper replied, oozing satisfaction. "We even left them the audio warning for the self-destruct, to give them time to make their peace with their gods."

Although he lacked the body for it, the Ascended could all picture Shepard's evil grin. "How kind of you."

"What are we going to do with the patrol ships once we've sucked their brains?" Udina asked. To his surprise, he'd enjoyed combat against these damned Turians. It felt great to have the bigger stick than the birds for once.

"Destroy them." Miranda spoke. "What else?"

"That seems like a waste. We can still get some use out of them, sir." Jacob Taylor put in. "Just about anything can be used for good training."

"What did you have in mind, Taylor?" Shepard asked.

"Why don't we tow them back to Sol? There are still a number of untrained and partly trained back there. I'm sure Elysium can find ways to use these bastards. We had to guess which parts were what. Elysium can train the new ones to know where to hit on the smaller Turian vessels."

The Turian ships had been left to the side of the gathered Human fleet. None of the ships were operational, though life signs were on them all. The outside of most was splashed with metal, courtesy of Ascended weaponry. Things like communication antennae had been melted, fused into the pathetic armor the Turian ships possessed.

"I was about to object to leaving any of the Turians alive but you make a good point." Harper chuckled, something that sent a phantom shiver along Hackett's mass accelerator rails. "That would allow them to suffer more before their ships broke in training accidents."

Shepard thought it over. "It's only a day to Sol and another day back. Right, it's settled. After Harper is done, Taylor take six others and grab the surviving ships, tow them home and meet us back here. We'll be repainting our hulls to make our message to the Citadel races.

"Harper, did you want to grab Turian omni-tools?" Shepard asked. Military data was good, and already information uplifted from the Turian cruisers and frigates was available through the Ascended network but omni-tools held more personal information and in some ways, that could just as useful for certain operations.

"I'll take them from the smallest ship," Harper agreed, though his attention was fixed on one of the surviving cruisers. "The commander deserves to see Earth."

"We'll send Elysium some more ships, once we are better at disabling them," Shepard mused, while Harper went to work on one of the frigates.

Harper moved, and grabbed one of the frigates, holding it at a distance to him in case the Turians managed to rig some sort of explosion, despite the fact they should be completely disabled. Several oculi launched and the fleet watched as they fired a precise beam at the crippled Turian ship.

Depressurisation was instant but not accompanied by a wave of debris. Life signs remained. "Heh, got the forward compartments," Harper almost laughed. "I'll get the bridge now on a different angle before boarding." The oculi shifted and fired again.

Another depressurisation and the life signs disappeared. Harper brought the hunk of metal that had been a frigate close and the others knew he'd have all the Turian corpses stripped in a few minutes.

"Udina?" Shepard said, turning his attention back to the gathering. As a man, Harper liked to keep information to himself. In his new form, he kept no secrets so there was no need to watch for the information that would be discovered from the Turian corpses and their personal effects

"Yes, Shepard?"

"You and your team should start towards the Citadel. You'll be able to leave as soon as Fruben and Arshan restore the local Relay. From there, head straight to the Citadel in the Serpent Nebula, heading by FTL for the last leg and don't be seen on the way." Unspoken in his words was that if they did encounter anything, there were to be no survivors.

Udina moved away from Shepard, gathering the forty-eight other Human Ascended who would accompany him to the Citadel. Arshan would accompany them to close the Relays as needed.

"Udina, send a signal when you reach the Citadel. After that, it will depend on the Council. I expect they will gather their reinforcements at a distance before coming in at once but if they don't, we'll give them eight days to muster their forces, unless you judge otherwise."

"We'll be waiting," Udina said with a smirk in his tone.

"So will we," Hackett agreed in good humour.

Between the Human Ascended, there was a high degree of camaraderie and anticipation. The eldest remembered the war, the desperate fight against the Batarians and the Council backed Turians. They remembered the sickening feeling that came from the knowledge that they could not win.

The situation was now reversed.

There would be 476 Human Ascended and while some were still being constructed, their armor plating, weapons and shields still being formed around their internal Human shell, there were more than enough who were fully trained and willing to destroy the species of this cycle. Some Humans had called for a more gentle approach, to forgive the Council for attacking them but as a species, their collective consciousness screamed for blood, screamed for vengeance, not justice, for the Council passively allowing the attempted genocide of the Human race.

The Batarians were mostly gone and the Council could not win. Years of their arrogant assumption that they were better than Humans were about to come to an end and the galaxy would be swept clean with Humanity's wrath.

After that, Humanity now had a new form, a new purpose and Ascended served the cycle.

As Udina gathered his fleet, and Taylor picked out six others to tow the Turian wrecks, Shepard shifted his focus to the remaining Ascended. "Alright everyone," there was a note of amusement in his voice, "Let's get painting!" Carried with his words were mundane instructions on how to produce a quick-drying, highly reflective alloy from their onboard stocks of metal, a 'paint' that would stick to their hulls, and how to make an oculi that could deliver the paint, much like a spray can. Each Ascended here was fully trained to Human standards so they knew how to control their mass effect fields with the requisite delicacy to maintain the small amount of atmosphere required around them.

"Messages to the Council go centre front! I do not care what message you write though I would strongly suggest that any message is short, and easily understood. We aren't exactly going to give them time to pull out dictionaries." Several Ascended laughed at that but Shepard continued. "Each of us will write our name on our left anterior side, and if you are going to paint Earth, use this symbol." An image file accompanied his voice.

The image showed a white circle with the American continents on it. That particular image, while not representative of the entire planet, had been chosen because it was the Earth that the Systems Alliance symbol had used. It would be recognised.

"We all relearned several Human languages but if you do not believe the ones you know are appropriate, those of us who relearned the more populous languages will help you." There was no accusation with the statement, just simple fact. Words were, as Harbinger had told him soon after he awoke, words were for organics. Ascended had their own version of a language which was far more advanced than mere words. They all understood it but the oldest Ascended had been accepting of them relearning Human tongues. Ascension was to preserve the race and that included languages and history. That information took up minimal file space after all and would, as they cycles continued allow them to better understand the organics they harvested.

No one was sure what Harbinger would decree about the preservation of other lifeforms from Earth, so the Human Ascended had seen to those tasks quietly. It was after all, the height of hubris to believe that a planet was only good for its sentient life forms.

Around Shepard agreement rang out from the Ascended. It was a happy time, shot through with anticipation and as most Ascended got to work Shepard turned his attention inwards. He had to decide what his message should be.

===

**Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream, Shepard's Internal Mindscape**

"We should write Spectre Shepard."

"Hm?" Shepard turned the question towards the internal gestalt consciousness he led. Personally he hadn't really thought about what could be written for the Council. He was content with the knowledge that it would be Human han… tendrils which wrenched their world asunder. They would know that he had not lied about the Reapers, and his time of vengeance had come. As the one to lead the charge, he supposed he should write something.

"Spectre Shepard?" he asked, somewhat amused. "The Council rescinded that status."

"Like we care," a familiar voice spoke.

"Joker," Shepard greeted his pilot.

Moreau had obviously been chosen to speak to him. "The Council reinstated Saren's status, so whatever bullshit reason they came up with to rescind yours is invalid. Besides, can you imagine their faces when a Spectre destroys them?"

Mentally Shepard smiled. Joker had a point though the Council would probably not see the humour in the situation. "I don't like it," he replied, speaking to the entire gestalt consciousness. "To claim a position the Council awarded… it makes me feel subservient, as if they had the right to do whatever they liked."

In the realm of his mind, he didn't so much speak the words as show his feelings. Words were limited to the single dimension and lacked depth. As Ascended, they did not need or heed the petty names the organics of the cycle gave them, nor did they need the languages they had spoken. When Ascended spoke to each other, they shared concepts, plans and instructions all in pure thought unconfined by organic language. Their language offered them a precision that could not be found by organics.

They could use organic language, they could speak and often did, to the organics of the cycle, but they had no need of it for themselves.

And when Ascended thought within, when the consciousness that made them pondered upon its tasks, the minimal restraints that were enacted when Ascended spoke to each other were removed. There was no need for restraint when interacting with yourself.

As such, there was not so much an internal debate, as a Human would understand the term, but a riot of thought, emotion and feelings that trembled within Shepard's Ascended form. The consciousness he led understood his thoughts on claiming Spectre status.

"I suppose you are right," Joker admitted. "It's simple then."

"I suppose it is," Shepard agreed, "but I think I'll go with the standard Systems Alliance Earth picture on the front right stanchion?"

Joker laughed and the consciousness took control of the schematic for a moment, making the alterations. When done, Shepard examined the changes. The additions were simple and pointed. The Salarian on the Council wouldn't understand but Quentius, providing he was still the Turian representative, would. Irissa… well nothing would ever make that bitch understand but at least she would know who destroyed the Asari's vaunted peace.

Just as importantly, the markings could be cleaned off easily after the cycle. Humanity had ascended itself to seek vengeance on the galaxy but after that, they were Ascended and Ascended served the cycle. The markings would no longer be necessary.

"I'll go with this," Shepard agreed with the modification and within his Ascended form he could feel fabrication plants activate. He'd need paint, oculi and husks to add the words to his form and when Udina gave the signal it would be time to begin Act II of what the Council called the Human Rebellions.

And as the main actors, it would not do to be late.

===

**Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream**

Harper sifted through the intel from the Turian vessels. It was a soothing task, reminiscent of the past. He paid particular attention to the data from the omni-tools. Military data was needed and could be found in the ship's main computers but it failed to capture the feel of the galaxy and he liked to know everything about his opponents, often finding useful insights by diving into their personal lives. Not that it would make any difference to their fates.

What was happening now was not Humanity's desperate vanguard action to delay the encroaching forces while Human scientists worked on _anything_ that could give them more time, or victory. No, this was the vindication of something he had believed ever since Shanxi. The one voice that mattered in the galaxy was Human. Even the Systems Alliance had come to see that by now.

Human forms were different now, this was true, but that was because they were stronger. That was proven by the speed with which he'd managed to read _all_ the Turian information, breaking past their security as if it wasn't there. Others in the consciousness he led had contributed to that. He wasn't alone with his thoughts the way he was used to, but Harper did not find that an issue. He had made sure that one way or another, the consciousnesses that were here obeyed him. The strongest willed of them were his underlings and they formed his communal mind. He knew exactly who believed in what and how far they'd go for those beliefs. It was a nice feeling knowing who would betray you over what issues, an even nicer one knowing that they could not.

Those few consciousnesses who did not share at least some of his desire for vengeance or Human ascendancy, were controlling the oculi and husks to apply the new paint job to his externals. They chose to take on that task in the vain hope that the knowledge of who was attacking would make the aliens run.

While he had been tempted to use his own name, using the name of his organisation would garner more impact from the alien scum. They had come to fear the Cerberus symbol over the Systems Alliance, knowing that his troops would do anything at all to secure Human survival. The name Cerberus would be written, with the Cerberus symbol centre front. He was loyal to Humanity so on the front right stanchion the Systems Alliance Earth would appear.

What the other Ascended chose to write and display as symbols would provide telling observations of their psyche. In the aftermath, Harper looked forward to assessing that data but for now, it was Turian information which held his attention.

 _'Ah, this is interesting.'_ Harper thought to himself. _'I wonder how Udina will handle the news,'_ another part of his mind questioned softly before turning his focus outwards. "Shepard."

There was a minute pause before the other Ascended received his hail. "Yes, Harper?"

"Look what I found in those wonderful, little files."

The specific information was highlighted within the communal 'net the Human Ascended established between themselves when gathered together. There were literally no secrets between the Human Ascended thanks to that network.

It was that information network which had allowed the first Ascended to fully explain to the younger Ascended, those comprised predominantly of Humans who had not lived through the Betrayal War, why the aliens had to be brought to heel. The words, memories and feelings of Systems Alliance soldiers, his own Cerberus' operatives, civilians on Earth and those few who had made it back to Sol from the colonies were very persuasive. Those things survived ascension because they were at the core of what made a person Human. Things like Human language did not, because they were not necessary to an ascended.

The 'net, when most Human Ascended were gathered, quite literally allowed Humanity to speak as one, much like they did in their new forms, and it was that network Harper used to transmit and highlight the relevant information.

"Oh, Udina's not going to like that." Shepard's voice was more speculative than concerned. "What did he say when you told him?"

"I haven't told him," Harper replied. "I won't be able to get a lock on his position until his fleet arrives."

Shepard was silent for a few milliseconds, analyzing the military implications. "Pass the information onto the Catalyst," he said finally.

Harper was reluctantly impressed. He hadn't considered that.

The line remained open and Harper felt as Shepard assessed the information. Harper would be the first to admit that he was not the most militarily minded. That was why Cerberus had had Generals and Majors and all other ranks while he provided the overall direction. That made it fascinating to watch as one of the best military minds of Humanity ran through simulations with information. When Shepard spoke again, Harper knew what would be said.

"If the Council does something completely stupid, that will make our job easier, though Udina's fleet will have to run after closing the Relay. Even if they couldn't run, they would win but with losses we want to avoid. However, I do not believe the Council will be so stupid as to call all their assets to the Citadel. While Udina may find the little surprise stressful, include the memory file of the battle against Nazara with a highlight on the relative numbers. That ought to give Udina some backbone, and the plan can proceed as agreed."

Shepard had never been a Cerberus operative but there were times when he certainly thought like one and manipulating Udina this way was one of them. Not that Harper objected. He still had no idea how Udina had managed to become the dominant consciousness beyond the fact that the man had been a consummate politician. But at least he had been a politician who believed in Human supremacy.

"I'll see to it," Harper agreed, feeling Shepard examine some of the more interesting data that had come off the Turian omni-tools. According to Citadel news, which even Turians on the frontier had access to, if a bit delayed, there was a push from a vocal minority to 'Let the Humans out'.

"You are kidding me?" Shepard seemed to laugh the question. "Who's leading it?"

"Probably some Salarians," Harper replied.

"Did they finally work out that it was Humans who developed medi-gel?" The question was rhetorical. The recipe for medi-gel was one of the things the Salarians had gleefully stolen. Peripherally, it had been one of the issues that had led to the War, just another straw on the camel's back.

"They've probably worked out that they can't improve it without us," Harper said.

"Once we begin, hack into their network," Shepard said slowly and Harper could feel the thought still forming as the Human Ascended leader gave the instructions. "Find out who is behind it, and give them a bit of a help. See what you can do to muddy the waters. I don't expect anything to change but it will be amusing to watch them flounder." He ignored the image of a fish, flopping about out of water that Joker pushed to the forefront of his mind.

Harper was again surprised. He was always going to hack as much information as possible from the alien networks but being ordered to made his life easier. The idea to divert their enemies with internal problems was delicious, too. Shepard was far more devious than he had believed, and that boded well for the future.

===

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

The Intelligence was bored. Monitoring the current cycle's Council, monitoring the population of the Citadel as a whole, wasn't helping to alleviate the boredom, either. After so many cycles, nothing organics did really surprised it. That was one of the fringe benefits of the cycle, from its perspective. For a time, it would be free of the organics inside its hull after a round of discussing important matters with Harbinger and, rarely, other Ascended.

As a result, the Intelligence's first reaction to receiving an information packet was a burst of what an organic would term as joy for having _something_ to break the monotony.

Its second reaction was confusion and curiosity. Who would be contacting it? The signal wasn't from Harbinger or any Ascended that it knew. The Catalyst opened up the packet, noting that the sender was listed as being from the Ascended created from the surprising Humans. Perhaps, in addition to the surprise of getting any message, the Humans would provide additional diversion from its boredom?

Its final reaction was disgust. _'I am the Intelligence which has guided the races of this galaxy into the cycle for one billion, seven hundred and thirteen million, eight hundred and fifty thousand years. I have seen thirty-four thousand cycles come and go, countless races born and go extinct, while I remain. I am_ not _a messenger service. I would let this Udina pay with his life for their presumption but Harper is right. His plan will make Udina squirm.'_

===


	9. Geth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kind of forgot to ask Pax Humana and Daisy Duck to beta this one... But they have read through it, so any mistakes are my fault!

 

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 8 Geth?**

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream, Turian Patrol Vessel _Gover_**

Captain Illo Nazario liked to think he was a prudent Turian. That's why, when the boarders did not appear in the first minutes after the _Gover's_ failed self-destruct, he did not let his attention wane. After all, it took time to move shuttles into position.

Then their short range sensors picked up the execution of the _Yulin_ and they had thought they would be next. Again the crew had braced for the worst but again nothing had happened, until seven of the huge ships had come close to each of them, including the now derelict _Yulin_. They came close enough that the short range sensors and visual surveillance could see them.

Each of them appeared the same, their design matching the ship that had attacked the Citadel, the one the Humans had insisted was called a Reaper. They were huge, almost animalistic ships, with grasping forelimbs and tapered bodies. Yet, when those limbs reached out to pull each ship close, Illo was beyond feeling anything. Then they had accelerated and while it was impossible to be precise with the instrumentation they had left, Illo's tech officer had indicated that they were travelling at least three times faster than any Turian Navy ship could boast. It was not a mass effect tunnel, rather it was old fashioned FTL travel.

And just a minute ago, he had been told their heading.

"Sol."

The word had rippled around the bridge. The huge ships were meant to be Geth. The Council, the Hierarchy all proclaimed that the Humans lied, that they were scaremongering to justify their deeds. But now he was being taken to Sol.

Had the Humans been telling the truth? The question weighed heavily on him. But then, what was their connection to the ships?

"Sound general quarters," Illo ordered. "And ready the internal comms."

A few minutes later his bridge crew all turned to him, indicating that the rest of the ship was in order.

Illo was silent for a few moments, not seeing the floor he was gazing at. He took a deep breath before speaking. "To the crew of the _Gover,_ my family," he added the last.

Some would say it was not a time to become emotional, that he should remain strictly professional but he did not agree. His crew had chosen a military career so they were already professional. "I will not mince words, we have been defeated. We are currently being towed towards Sol. I do not know if they intend to board us or if some other fate awaits. As such, there will be no recrimination if you chose to honourably end your life.

"For those who chose to fight on, whatever the fight may be, I would ask for you to gather in the mess hall for a briefing in an hour.

"A ship of a similar design to those that attacked us has been seen once before. It led an attack on the Citadel and it was utterly defeated. For those who remember this attack, it is true that the victory required great sacrifice, but from that sacrifice, the Hierarchy and the galaxy has emerged stronger. We were attacked dishonourably, without warning, but they shall not take our fellows by surprise. It has been an honour and a privilege to both serve with you and to serve as your Captain."

With that, Illo cut the transmission and looked at his bridge crew. The stared at him with wide eyes. "It is nothing more than the truth," he told them. "Make your decision but know whichever decision you make, you have my blessings." He met the eyes of each of them in turn before rising and leaving the bridge.

He would be the first to leave the bridge, striding towards the mess hall to lead those Turians who would fight to the end.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Sol**

"Why have you returned?"

The demand was made before Taylor and his small fleet had even cleared the Kuiper Belt. Elysium was alone but was in a favourable position to intercept them.

"We bring you gifts," Taylor replied with good humour, allowing Elysium to see on a sub-channel the ships that they were towing.

"Why do I want Turian ships?" Elysium asked, distaste evident in the voice chosen to be the speaker. "With live Turians." The last was added with extreme dislike.

"Training," Taylor replied, offering further information with his voice link to Elysium.

The other Ascended absorbed the information. "You want me to teach them with those?" Images accompanied the question showing the differences between the vessels on offer and undamaged Turian frigates and cruisers.

"We will bring you better ones later," Taylor conceded the argument with good grace. The Turian ships had been grievously damaged in the battle. But that was the opening battle and providing training aides to Elysium had not even been a tertiary goal. As the campaign against the organics continued, specific groups could be targeted with the aim to disabling them for later use in training.

"Hmm I suppose they can hone control of mass effect fields on those with live Turians," Elysium said eventually.

"That's rather…" Taylor was a bit disappointed. He'd hauled these ships back and that was what Elysium was going to use them for? It would have been better to have the satisfaction of killing the Turians himself.

"And how long did it take you to successfully control the fields on the farm?" the challenge was unexpected.

"About three weeks," Taylor replied, responding to the authority Elysium displayed. He remembered how rough his control had been back then, despite all the practice he had done on the mining shifts. It required far more attention to maintain fine control than he had believed, though it had become easy in time for him like it was for the others.

The other Ascended remained silent as Taylor understood her point.

The new Ascended did not have the farms to practice on. Any resources they mined would be refined and used by other Ascended but that was bulk work. They would learn to control their weapons and larger mass effect fields there. Honing control to the finest level had been achieved in training on the farms, farms which had been disposed of with the last of organic Humanity. Handling the Turian ships, and keeping the Turians alive would be a difficult task for the new Ascended. It was one the Turians certainly wouldn't appreciate.

"Make it a game," he advised as one parent to another.

"The Turians won't survive football," Elysium snapped.

Taylor laughed. "Now that is a fine idea!"

"Can they self destruct?" Elysium growled the question, ignoring Taylor's mirth as the Ascended ran a scan over the damaged Turian ships.

"Harper says not," Taylor answered. "But they might be able to rig something."

"Yes… I can sense some live weapons."

"They haven't used them yet."

"You lot were fully shielded. What wasn't a threat to you could well be a threat to the children."

"True."

"All right," Elysium said. "Head back now. I'll find some use for these Turian hulks. Tell the Commander if he wants the new ones to use them as target practice, they are going to have to be in better condition next time."

"I'll let the fleet know," Taylor replied as the other Ascended released their cargo, leaving them in a stationary position far from any planet.

"I'll make sure I document the new ones practicing for those wanting all the gory details."

"Thanks. I'll let them know about your idea for football!"

"That was _not_ a suggestion!"

"It is now."

"Get going. You've already interrupted two days worth of training. I won't have you making that three."

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Turian Sector Command**

Kiril Enderlus scanned through his omni-tool. Really, there was little in the daily reports to hold anyone's interest. Even the most eccentric Salarian would be bored with this information, he thought to himself as he read through report after report of patrols made by individual ships or small flotillas of the generally useless systems of the Exodus Cluster. While the Humans had been around, there had been plenty to do, he mused, but since the Rebellions, no government had wanted to move back in and reclaim those worlds. Not since the Batarians had done so and got killed for it, at least.

"Sir."

"Yes, Peigi?"

"The weekly summary." Peigi Kucera handed over the data. As the personal aide to the sector commander of the Turian Navy, she had to go through even more of these reports than her boss. She was a diligent Turian, however, and very good at her job, one who had her eye on taking over for her boss when it was time for him to be promoted or retire.

"Assuming you have done your usual excellent job, why don't you go ahead and give me a verbal briefing."

"It's almost all as you'd expect, sir. The usual pirates and slavers running from our destroyers, occasional prospectors looking into some of the former mining colonies."

"The usual."

"Exactly, sir, except for the Arcturus Patrol."

Kiril frowned as he scanned his omni-tool for the latest update. "I don't see anything worrying from them in the update."

"That would be because we haven't had an update from them in several days. They're overdue reporting in."

"Send a flotilla to investigate. Who do we have nearby?"

"We have the 1634th Flotilla, sir. They're scheduled to do a flyby of the nearby systems next week anyway, so this won't take them too far out of their way."

"Do it. I'm sure it's nothing serious. The galaxy has gotten boring since I was a lad in basic training. And tell them to remind Nazario that no matter what he got away with on the expedition or how boring writing reports can be, that doesn't excuse him from sending them on time. He's the one who requested that assignment to get more 'excitement' than Home Patrol."

Kiril shook his head as he contemplated again the folly of one Illo Nazario.

"Got it, sir." Peigi made a note, sending off the orders in her commander's name and diverting a million tons of warships hundreds of light-years off on a mission to reprimand one disgracefully lazy Turian.

A day later, the 1634th arrived and sent in a report only fifteen minutes after their arrival, an admirably quick response.

Unfortunately for the Turian Navy, and the Citadel races in general, those reports were total fabrications.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream**

"Target practice!" Zaeed shouted gleefully as several ships decelerated after coming through the central relay.

Shepard gave the equivalent of a sigh. "Calm down, everyone. Remember we want to take these ones intact. Elysium would have our hulls if they're as beaten up as the last lot, and I know Harper's itching to find out what new orders they've got."

"Spoilsport," Joker called out from within Shepard's hull but even he knew better than to disobey.

The Ascended present acknowledged Shepard's order and acted as one, sharing sensor and targeting over the network. They were far more precise in their targeting with this new group of vessels, vaporising long-range communications, all weaponry and crippling their engines while leaving the rest of the ships, and almost all the crews, intact.

On-board their targets, the Turians were far from living up to their phlegmatic reputations.

"Geth! How in all the spirits of Palaven did the damned geth get so close to Human territory?" Captain Lidan Teschius yelled at his command crew.

"They can't be Geth. The machines are on the other side of the galaxy from here! Besides, not even they could build so many dreadnoughts without us having even a clue they were doing it."

"Well look at your screens. Those dreadnoughts are right there _and firing on us!_ Unless you think the Humans somehow built them all with no specifications in that eezo-poor hell hole they call a home system?" The Captain snorted, shaking his head to clear some of the frustrated rage from his mind. His entire fleet had been taken out less than a minute after exiting FTL.

"Sir, the ships… they've got _Human_ names on them, symbols from the Systems Alliance and even-"

"What?" Lidan snarled when the sensor tech didn't continue.

" _Cerberus_." The name was hissed. A shudder ran through the crew. Thirty five years was a long time but that organisation had no honour and had terrorised Turian ground troops at every opportunity. Even on former Human planets today, they _still_ found the occasional Cerberus booby trap.

"And that's not all!"

"What now, damn it?"

"Two of the dreadnoughts are pulling up either side of us, sir."

Lidan looked out the window. There, right in front of him, angled to catch the light of Arcturus on its hull was a name that no Turian wanted to see. 'N7. Shepard.'

"We're fucked." Lidan didn't know who had said such a thing but, defeatist or not, he couldn't disagree with the pithy evaluation.

"Yes, you are. But not quite yet." Shepard's infamous face and armoured body appeared on all their screens, ending any questions about the ships being Geth. The Human soldier appeared to be relaxed. He was even smiling slightly and the expression was not one which was comforting. "You have quite a while ahead of you before you will die.

"And take heart, Turians, you will be _useful_."

Lidan's heart skipped a beat as around him, his ship was towed into FTL. The oh-so-helpful Humans had splashed on screen their destination: Earth.

Behind him, though he'd never know it, the Humans were already composing messages to send to Kiril Enderlus at sector command about faulty communications buoys breaking down at inconvenient times, the problems with using equipment supplied by the lowest bidder and why he should blame shoddy Volus merchants for the delays. All supposedly from Lidan Teschius and Illo Nazario.

While they were not perfect, the fake messages worked to delay further investigation long enough for the next phase of the Human plan to begin.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Citadal Sensor Control Room**

At one hundred and fifty-three years old, Riya was still young for an Asari. She was in her maiden phase and unlike many of her species the excitement of becoming a mercenary had not appealed and she just felt dirty every time she even thought about becoming a bar maid. The work of a bar maid didn't bother her, it was the extra work which left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew most Asari her age thought nothing of it. To them the work was fun, profitable and pleasurable but Riya just didn't understand it.

She saw the way aliens looked at those Asari. It was hungry, but had a hollowness that left her sickened. Her sisters were just objects to those aliens. Something to be used and then left behind. No… that was not something she wanted for herself.

Instead she had become a tech. Yes, it was a boring, normal, ordinary job but what no one seemed to realise was exactly how many techs there were. She'd counted once on her shift for the Citadel… at least half the Citadel workers had to be techs of some kind. Sensor techs, comm techs, omni-tool techs and weapon techs though they were on the Citadel defence fleet. The list went on and on. Some were involved in sales. Omni-tool techs generally sold the product as well but their primary skill was fixing omni-tools.

She was a sensor tech to be precise and while there were thousands of sensor techs, Riya liked to think she'd have the time to develop into one who was truly phenomenal. She might not have the photographic memory of a Salarian but she was no slouch and she had hundreds of years to learn. She would be the best sensor tech the galaxy had seen!

It was part of the reason Riya had volunteered for the late shifts. The Citadel had some of the best sensors available in the galaxy, and on the late shifts, when no one else was around, she could alter the settings slightly. She could shift the calibrations to investigate what the changes were.

That's why when the first blips appeared at the far edge of the range Riya wasn't sure if it was an artefact caused by her slight tweaks to the calibration or if they were real. When they didn't disappear, but instead came closer, even after she had meticulously reset the sensors, she knew they were really there.

But real what?

There were fifty signals, each coming in on individual vectors which would have them form a perfect sphere around the Citadel. Riya tapped the controls, bringing more specialised sensors to bear. A long range visual showed a blur which became clearer as the computers worked to enhance the image.

The signals were ships. Dreadnought class.

That's all she managed to read before alarms screamed from every speaker. Her screens shifted, flashing red with warnings and Riya felt her eyes widen as she read the attached report. The ships looked to be the same design as the ship which had attacked the Citadel forty years ago.

Before she had time to do anything more other techs rushed into the room and began working at the stations beside her. The alarms would have summoned them.

"When they did they appear?" Eachann, the Salarian in charge of the techs asked. He had to have come from sleep but he looked as immaculate as always.

"04:38," Riya replied. "They appeared at the same time."

"All fifty of them?" Doubt was evident in Eachann's voice but the readings did not lie.

"Yes Sir."

The Salarian was silent for a few moments, though his eyes were busy flickering over the screens taking in the information that had been collected. "Wake up Councillor Quentius," he ordered finally. "And send a signal to the Fleet."

"I have the fleet online now," another tech called out. Riya recognised the voice as belonging to Taine, one of the few Turians who worked with them. It wasn't that Turians made bad techs, it was just that those Turians who came to the Citadel usually worked for C-Sec rather than the general Citadel staff.

"Citadel Sensor Command, we've got blips coming up on our scanners, can you confirm?" The voice was coldly professional.

"Dreadnought _Astrakhan_ , we confirm. Fifty signals, coming in from all angles," Taine replied after Eachann gave a nod of approval.

"Move to a screening position," Eachann ordered before Councillor Quentius appeared on one screen.

The Councillor had obviously been asleep and it was unusual these days to see a Turian without their facepaint. Ever since the incident with Saren and the Humans, it was only in extreme situations that you ever saw a Turian's naked face.

"What is happening?" The Councillor demanded with authority.

"At 04:38 fifty ships appeared simultaneously on the Citadel's sensors. Further scans indicated they are of the same design as the Geth dreadnought which attacked thirty-nine years ago."

The Councillor frowned. "Fifty?" he asked, blinking red eyes.

"Yes Sir," Eachann replied. "I have ordered the Citadel Fleet into screening positions."

"And they didn't come through the Relay?"

"It does not appear so."

Quentius looked thoughtful for a moment. "How much time do we have?"

"At their present speed, one hour and sixteen minutes until they are in range of the fleet's weaponry," Admiral Walenty on board the _Astrakhan_ said.

"Understood, Admiral," Quentius replied. "I want the Citadel in lock down," he ordered. "Close the arms and start moving C-Sec into position." The Turian Councillor looked thoughtful for a few moments. "Wake up Irissa," he added. "I'll have orders for the fleet as soon as I consult her."

"It will be done," Eachann said as Admiral Walenty saluted the Councillor.

Riya continued working at her station, her fingers flying over the controls of the sensors as she sought to squeeze just a little more information from them. It was comforting to feel the calm determination coming from Councillor Quentius and Eachann but one of the Councillor's questions had struck a memory.

She frowned as she continued to work. What was it? There was something just at the edge of her mind but the alarms and noise kept it tantalisingly out of reach. She dismissed it. Whatever it was, if she could not recall it instantly, then it was peripheral. Interesting perhaps but not directly useful to the situation. Now, with a presumed hostile force bearing down upon them, was not the time to pursue random thoughts. Now was the time to show exactly how good a sensor tech she was.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula**

" _DONG!_ " The alert echoed at every level of his consciousness.

Udina wished he could get his ears checked. As an Ascended, however, he didn't have ears and the alert for the incoming message had been particularly brutal in its effectiveness.

After a long second spent resetting his internal systems, he opened the unexpected message, finding his second surprise in the header. From the impressions he had received from the non-Human Ascended, the Catalyst rarely communicated with any of them and when the ancient AI did so, it was almost always with Harbinger, the first of them all.

" _To Human 'Udina'._

" _Attached is an update on the fleets and dispositions of the races of this cycle."_

Udina immediately opened the information packet and had second thoughts about the wisdom of listening to Shepard for orders. He had been stupid to think that a jumped-up grunt would have the brains to plan out a full naval campaign. There were nearly three times as many Council dreadnoughts as they had expected! Even if they were pieces of obsolete crap compared to his hull, enough hits could take out any ship.

That was when the rest of the message demanded his attention, opening itself.

" _Also attached is a replay of the battle between Nazara and the organics, with commentary from Hackett and Shepard. You will watch it."_ Unspoken was an 'or else!'

Udina opened the file with no little trepidation. It displayed a long view of the Relay as seen from the Citadel. A moment later Nazara appeared and it was a shocking reminder how large the Sovereign was compared to the geth ships which surrounded him. Immediately all ships opened fire and Udina was surprised when the video highlighted which shots were on target. Considering the shots had to be readied before they exited light speed, the ratio of about 1 hit for every 3 fired shots fired was good.

"Nazara hit hard and fast, that was a good tactic," Shepard's voice commented over the silent video. The image shifted then, to a recording that had to come from one of the Citadel fleet. It was at an angle and displayed the Citadel on one side with Nazara's fleet on the other. "You calculate the trajectories now."

Automatically Udina felt his targeting systems activate, calculating missile trajectories as instructed. The ratios were good but _he_ could do better.

"Nazara failed to gather appropriate targeting information," the voice belonged to Hackett as the video began playing again. "A single oculi sent in advance would have provided more accurate long range targeting information, increasing the ratio to at least a half."

The video changed again, with the image now having a slightly blurred effect that Udina recognised as coming from memory. A tactical display was shown. Nazara was well marked as an enemy and Udina watched as the Nazara symbol literally crashed through several of the Citadel's defence ships. Coming in on a secondary video stream, was imagery from the Citadel showing the broken frigates spinning away, breaking apart from the force of impact with Nazara.

"Our shields and hulls will absorb any impact with organic vessels," Shepard said, "but there was no need to ram the ships. It merely placed strain on Nazara's shields for minimal gain."

"There is another weakness in the formation," Hackett observed, which made Udina look at the tactical display again. It took him a moment to see it but he realised Hackett was correct. Paraphrasing his thoughts, Hackett continued speaking, as several sections on the display were highlighted. "Nazara was accompanied by Geth, yet still lead the formation. While Nazara was correct to hold them in contempt, he should have allowed them to shield him as much as they could. As lesser forms they would have been honoured to die for what they considered perfection."

Mentally Udina nodded but he did not relax. Any mistake Nazara made with the Geth did not apply here. His fleet was not accompanied by support ships which could be sacrificed. They were all Ascended. The video continued showing Nazara entering the Citadel just as the arms closed. The Ascended settled on the central pillar and Udina remembered what the station had felt like in that instant. The lack of information brought the most fear.

"Knowing what we do now," Shepard's voice sounded speculative, "the necessity to board the Citadel is in question, though that is hardly a consideration for you." Information accompanied the video which showed Nazara holding position. "This is the point at which we won the battle," Shepard continued, leaving Udina perplexed. Nazara was still intact. This was early in the battle for the Citadel. There should be no way that Shepard had won now.

"If we assume that Nazara had to get on to the Citadel," Hackett explained, "he should have first completely nullified the outside fleet. This was not a time sensitive mission and a few micro-jumps and speed passes would have been all that it took."

Udina nodded to himself. Nazara had avoided most of the fleet, rushing into the Citadel's arms. If it came to a battle with the Citadel fleet, and whatever reinforcements they had, the Human Ascended were already prepared to link their sensors and oculi and to fight as one unit. They had no need to get on to the Citadel and would destroy any organic fleet entirely.

"After the outside fleet was destroyed, Nazara would have had options. He could have asked the Catalyst to open the Citadel, or used his Citadel based assets at that point. Saren had a large number of geth with him and these could have been easily supplemented with husks," Shepard said. There was a faint note of smugness in the first Human Ascended's tone. Udina understood. Defeating Saren, no matter the consequences, had forever sealed a Human as the best Spectre on record. "If Nazara had planned correctly, his Citadel based assets could have done everything. There was no need for him to reveal himself."

"However," Hackett broke in, as the video showed Nazara firing on several ships. The beam weapons were devastating and Udina knew that the Ascended was putting full power into the weapons. "You will notice the way Nazara is firing?" the statement was a question.

Udina examined the video, watching as another one of Nazara's legs fired at a Turian cruiser. While the video was silent, it was still satisfying to watch the ship break apart under the onslaught.

"Nazara starts from the bottom of the ship and works his way up," Hackett commented. Udina looked again. Yes, Nazara did that which was wasteful. He had the computing power to ensure a direct hit. There was no need to trail fire like that when hitting them square on would also cut through the ship. "You have been trained not to bother to warn the target the strike is coming, you hit them the first time."

There was a flicker on the video and Udina knew that was the moment Nazara's shields had fallen. "This is the main reason Nazara lost," Shepard interrupted Udina's thoughts on targeting information. With Shepard's voice came the memory of the Turian Saren Arterius' death. Udina was quietly impressed. There wasn't much left of the Turian but imposed on the purely Human memory further information was knowledge that could only have come from an Ascended.

Saren's death, while Nazara was the main consciousness had caused a temporary feedback loop. The loss of the main consciousness had closed the links between Nazara's gestalt mind and his functions. Shields, weaponry, communications. All had failed which allowed the _Normandy's_ salvo to damage and destroy the Vanguard.

The video played, showing Nazara's destruction as caught by some of the Citadel's cameras.

"You will not be using an avatar, Udina. None of us will, and if the situation arises where we have to, we are not so stupid as to lack protection against death feedback." Shepard said the last with a note of satisfaction. As Humans they may not have expected the feedback loop to cause Nazara's shields to fail but they had taken ruthless advantage of the situation.

Mentally Udina's eyes narrowed as the video ended. It was true, none of them would have need of an avatar, so the weakness Nazara displayed would not affect them. And all of them knew better than to rely on an overgrown bird! At the tail end of the vid was some further information. Ship specs scrolled for a little while and Udina read them. They were military specs and he could see how his Ascended form outclassed each and every one of them.

"You've made your point," Udina said to the vid, even though the comm was not two way.

The integrity of his hull against the Asari, Turian and Salarian dreadnoughts sure to come was assured. He would not make the same mistakes as Nazara. No Human Ascended would because they knew better. They had trained more, the sloppy tendencies had been drummed out of them all in the monotonous work of mining and the fine control required by farming. And they did not have the duties of the Vanguard.

So what if the Council summoned their entire fleet!

"Let them come!" Udina snarled to the other Ascended with him. They would be ready.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Asari Ambassador's Quarters**

Irissa blinked. Her quarters were dark but there was an incessant alarm. "What is it?" she asked, tasting her mouth. She was on holiday and things like Council meetings were not meant to be called at - she squinted towards the glowing numbers that told the time - 04:57. Quentius better have a very good reason for this.

"There are hostile ships inbound."

The Asari Councillor blinked. "Hostile ships?"

"Geth dreadnoughts," Quentius clarified.

That woke Irissa up. She sat up, running one hand over her crests. "How many?" she asked.

"Fifty," Quentius said, his mandibles held steady.

"Fifty! That's not possible!"

"I didn't make up the numbers. I've ordered the Citadel to close."

Irissa nodded. After the disaster with the last Geth attack on the Citadel, the security protocols for the Council had been altered. No longer did they evacuate to a dreadnought. Instead they stayed on the Citadel, closing the arms and waiting out an attack. Extra supplies had been brought in and any hostile force would have to storm the Citadel to capture them. "I'll head to the Council chambers," she said.

"I'll be there. We need to decide what to do with the fleets," Quentius said.

The Asari Councillor quickly rose, dropping the sheets to the floor as she went to her cupboard for a robe. Her bed robe was not appropriate attire, no matter how desperate the situation. "We don't have the numbers to attack," the question was phrased as a statement and Irissa was pleased to see Quentius twitch slightly.

"The Citadel Fleet _has_ grown over the years," he said, "but you're right, we do not have enough ships here to take on fifty geth dreadnoughts." For his part, the Turian Councillor was pleasantly surprised. Irissa was showing a far more reasonable grasp of military strategy than he had anticipated. He had been bracing himself for a shouting match about how the Citadel fleet should be assigned.

"I presume messages have already gone to the homeworlds?"

"That was the first thing that happened." Another change triggered by the disastrous attack. Distress calls, authenticated by sensor information were now automatic. "The Hierarchy is already scrambling ships. I assume your government will be sending you a similar message."

Irissa shed her bed robe, slipping a comfortable but formal looking day robe into place as she picked up her omni-tool and several other smaller pieces of equipment. She had only spent a few years as a mercenary in her youth but it had taught her to never be completely unarmed. She wanted to bang her head as a thought struck her.

"What of the Salarians?"

It was going to be frustrating dealing with the Salarians without their Councillor but they had not yet dispatched a replacement for Linron, who at thirty-two, had been young when she died. It was why Irissa had been on holiday. No meaningful Council decisions could be made without the full Council.

"We'll just have to make do," Quentius said. "Precedent has been set for defence situations to override normal protocol."

As Irissa moved through the corridors, maintaining her conversation with Quentius over the link, she felt one eye ridge raise despite herself. That sentence sounded like it should have come from a Salarian. Quentius, while unusually diplomatic for a Turian, didn't usually care about precedent but about getting the job done. "What do you advise?"

Quentius' small image rubbed one eye ridge. "Any suggestion will depend on the incoming ships. No attack force comes in so scattered and slow, so I find it hard to guess what they want."

"What is their formation?" Irissa asked. She wasn't an Admiral but she understood the basics.

"A sphere."

"A sphere?" she questioned, frowning. The lift moved quickly this morning and she was soon striding through the gardens that preceded the Council Chambers.

"They are coming in on multiple vectors," Quentius clarified, linking her to the Citadel sensors so she could see their approach. "It looks like they are coming from everywhere."

Irissa slowed as she looked at the image. This early in the morning there were no concerns about a spy catching a glance at the screen but even if one was trying the projection from her omni-tool was keyed to her. Unless the spy was directly behind her, all they would see was the light of the hologram with no details. The ships were indeed coming in on the sphere. "That…"

"It's not a formation that makes sense," Quentius agreed. In the corner of the hologram was a close up of one of those vessels.

"No," Irissa said slowly. "None of those ships came through the Relay?" she asked.

"We would have noticed them earlier," Quentius said, cutting the call as Irissa entered the Council Chambers.

"We are positive on that?"

"I think we can rely on the sensor techs to at least get that right."

"Do you know what this means?"

"What what means?" Quentius asked.

Irissa sighed. "The only way to get to the Citadel is via the Relays. If you are telling me that the Geth ships did not come through the Relay then they must somehow know where the Citadel is."

Quentius blinked but before he could speak Irissa continued.

"When we first discovered the Citadel, the Salarians tried for about 500 years to locate it. Those ships are still out there," the Asari Councillor waved one hand towards the image of the Nebula. "Somewhere." Her expression changed to one of long suffering understanding. "Periodically, some young hotshot thinks he's come up with a new sensor suite or new computers or an extended drive range that will finally succeed where thousands of others have died trying to find it.

"That these Geth ships know where the Citadel is." She didn't bother to finish the statement.

The Turian Councillor nodded before taking a deep breath. "We have eight dreadnoughts in the defence fleet, each with their support fleet. There are fifty incoming geth dreadnoughts and forty years ago it took all three Citadel dreadnoughts, their fleets and _two_ Human fleets to defeat one with its fleet." He paused. "If we attack, we cannot win."

"I can see that," Irissa replied before frowning. "Have we tried opening communications?" It was a long shot but when staring down certain defeat, a long shot was perhaps the best option.

Quentius didn't look hopeful as he flicked through some files. "Reports from last time indicate that the ship only responded to the Human Spectre."

"Which was just more proof of Shepard's culpability. There has to be some other reason the Geth are here this time."

"So you are suggesting the fleet holds fire until we know what they are here for?"

"You have another suggestion?" Irissa challenged.

"Nothing practical," Quentius said. "However, I do not like the idea of letting fifty enemy dreadnoughts do as they please right here at the Citadel. It goes against every bit of my military training. But until reinforcements arrive, any attack is doomed to fail."

"Then order them to hold fire, and the Citadel will open communications," Irissa did not outrank Quentius but it was a tradition dating back to his race's ascension to a Council seat that military communications came from the Turian Councillor.

Quentius nodded and Irissa sat as he spoke to Admiral Walenty and Eachann. She sent an aide to fetch tea. Whatever happened, this was going to be a long day.

-cfr-


	10. Cracks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy  
** **Chapter 9 Cracks**

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought _Astrakhan_**

Admiral Walenty forced himself to take deep breaths. So long as he did that, he didn't tremble. And if he didn't tremble, the crew gained confidence.

He did not like this. He did not like this at all. It went against everything he had been trained for but reality did not always fall into neat expected packages. And no matter how much he didn't like it, he knew this was the only route.

The unknown ships formed an almost perfect sphere around the Citadel. They were all at least fifty percent out of firing range and they had left a small gap in their formation for the Relay. A couple of traders had already come through. Some had turned and fled, others had continued to the Citadel boldly and the unknown ships had made no move to stop them.

What were the Geth thinking? How did the Geth think?

No, not questions for now. "Status report?"

"No change, sir," the reply was instantaneous.

"Is the analysis complete?"

"Yes, sir."

"Report!" Admiral Walenty ordered immediately before taking another deep breath.

"We haven't risked any active scans on them, Sir," the tech replied. "Passive scans indicate that the Geth ships are all superficially identical."

"Explain!" The ships all looked the same to him.

"Over all, their construction is identical sir. They all have five struts at the front and, as far as we can tell, six legs curled up behind them. They are all segmented at roughly the same intervals and they all measure 2.04 klicks long from the tip of the front centre stanchion to the top of their split tail. The differences are minor. Some light placements are skewed and visual inspection reveals that some antennas are not placed in the same position."

"Weapon systems?" Walenty asked.

"Mass driver, front and centre, just like the one in the recording," a different tech replied and Walenty recognised the _Astrakhan's_ Chief Weapons officer Azra. "Given the parity of design we are assuming similar weaponry and shield specifications."

"How do they compare?" The ship forty years ago had been impressive but surely there were gains made in that time.

"Our weapons have certainly improved sir," Azra replied and the rest of the bridge crew were hanging on her words. "We have Thanix cannons, thanks to the last one," she said and most smiled at that. Thanix cannons were hugely powerful and the Hierarchy had built them into all new ships. "And the Human Rebellions have given us quite a few smaller but highly effective weapons, however, it would be incautious to think that they have not similarly improved."

Walenty nodded. Looking out at the Geth ships, it was a distinct possibility that the ship forty years ago had been a prototype, one used to gauge the strength of the galaxy. The vessels now would be the real test. Though… a test of what?

The fact that they were not attacking just did not make sense. Were they a trap, a diversion, a show of strength, an envoy? What? No one knew and that made the entire situation seem unreal.

"What is their estimated shield capacity?"

"Based on estimates from last time, the three dreadnoughts here could take down the shields of one," Arza replied. She didn't need to indicate how stupid that would be. They could pick one to attack easily but the rest of the Geth fleet would then collapse their sphere, surrounding them.

That was another thing that was not making sense. The sphere. If the geth ships moved into firing range, while maintaining that formation, they wouldn't be able to concentrate their forces where they needed them! There was speculation from the Salarians that the geth ships would have enough time to react but… Mentally, Walenty shook his head. He would not want to rely on sensors in that situation. But then, he wasn't geth. Who knew what made sense to them?

"Have the suit rats said anything?" The Quarians had disappeared years ago but they had abandoned several of their people on the Citadel and other places in the galaxy.

"Not that we know of," the comm's officer replied.

Walenty was silent. There wasn't much more to say. "All right, send the first contact package," he ordered.

"Sir?" The bridge crew was incredulous.

"Orders from the Council," he replied. "The last ship of this design came through the Relay already firing. These ships just appeared." He made a wry face. "Councillor Irissa's exact words were 'We would be remiss in our duties to the galaxy if we did not attempt to communicate with them.'"

He didn't hold out much hope of successful communications but he could see the logic behind the purely Asari suggestion, though it also raised other questions. If they were prepared to talk, was it possible these weren't geth ships? At the moment, that consideration didn't matter and as soon as it became obvious that these ships were not going to open fire, he and the rest of the Citadel Fleet Captains had reviewed the available footage of the battle forty years ago. The review had not been heartening. Even accounting for improvements made in weapons and shield tech as indicated by Azra, they were grossly outmatched.

"Package has been transmitted," the comm officer replied.

Walenty could hear the underlying note of disbelief in his voice but he was Turian, he would obey. And for now, all they could do was wait.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream**

"Udina's reached the Citadel." Anderson made the information available to the entire Human fleet.

Most of the fleet had gathered in small groups spread throughout Arcturus after finishing their additions. Taylor's group had returned and completed their additions, as had Moxus'. They were on alert for new messages from the Turian Sector Command but it had already been agreed that a select group was in charge of composing messages.

"Any troubles?" Miranda asked.

"Nothing reported," Anderson replied shifting his attention slightly towards Shepard and Harper. They had remained silent.

"We should start moving," Harper said, directing the announcement to Shepard.

Shepard remained silent and the groups, which had been forming up to begin the journey to Palaven, paused. "Wait," the Ascended Leader said suddenly. "Udina just sent through what has to be the Turian First Contact package."

"And?" Miranda prompted, her choral voice mildly annoyed.

Shepard played the recording for the fleet. The message was about as friendly as Turians would get though it was formal. The military aspects entered with the few shots of the Turian military. It also included some images of the Asari and Salarians and had obviously been approved by the Council.

"That's a standard message for a military race," Anderson analysed it quickly.

"Yes, it is," Shepard agreed. "However I was thinking that it would be impolite of us if we do not introduce ourselves when we approach Palaven."

"And you want to use the Turian First Contact package?" Harper interposed, sounding amused.

"A version of it," the Human Ascended leader indicated. "We intended our additions to give the Turians information but it is only polite to provide a first contact package. Besides, it will take the Council some time to decide what to do," Shepard added and all heard the derision in his voice. The Council was always willing to talk, except when it came to Humans.

The fleet was silent for a moment before most indicated their agreement and quickly broke down the package from the Turians. It was obviously designed to be used for first contact in space. The opening images showed Turian ships - cruisers and frigates only - meeting what looked to be an Ascended.

Shepard laughed at that. The video coding was fuzzy around the Ascended, a sure sign that the Turians had added it in. They obviously intended to add in whatever ship they encountered. The image was gentle, clearly showing neither side firing.

Then the image shifted, showing images of Turians from various citizenship tiers. It displayed farmers, techs, soldiers, and administrators. It showed everyone who made up Turian society. Speech accompanied the images, saying basic things like 'We are Turian'. Most of the Ascended ignored the words. They were unimportant.

The final vid was of the Citadel with the fleet surrounding it. The dreadnoughts were in the background, made to look smaller before the image zoomed in to show the Council. As much as they could, the three aliens seemed to be welcoming. The Council was pictured in the gardens, with trees and blossoms as the background.

Within his form, Shepard heard a snarl from Adams.

"Greg?" Shepard asked. The man had been the Normandy's Chief Engineer and had been one of the first volunteers to be ascended with Shepard. The depth of his desire for revenge had been surprising but it was useful as well.

"Those bastards!"

"What is it?"

The final image from the Turian First Contact Package appeared, but instead of focusing on the Council, the greenery was in sharp focus. There was a red flower highlighted. "Those are poppies. _Earth_ poppies."

Shepard understood. The Council had supposedly removed all Human artefacts from the Citadel in the opening act of the War of Betrayal, which included destroying the thousand year old bonsai which had been painstakingly transported as a gesture of goodwill in the wake of the First Contact War. The fact that they were still displaying Earth flora on their first contact message was an insult. It highlighted the fact they had been destroying priceless Human artefacts only because they could, not because they truly cared. If they cared, there would be no Human presence in their First Contact Package.

"We'll make sure they pay," Shepard reassured Adams. Being one with Adams, Shepard knew how much the Engineer had enjoyed keeping several small plants.

"So what were you thinking, Shepard?" Harper asked.

"I'm thinking that we show what really happened at First Contact," he replied, flashing up a vid taken from the Human web. It was a historical recreation of first contact but it clearly showed the Human ships against the relay with the Turian vessels opening fire and destroying them.

"By this stage, those at the Citadel will realise they are trapped," Hackett mused. "We lose nothing by showing them second contact," the former Admiral added, sending out a very hastily constructed image of Ascended ships firing on Turian dreadnoughts.

"I'll fix up that image," Nergal, one of the Ascended who had named themselves after the Mesopotamian god of war said.

"Are we agreed?" Shepard asked the fleet.

It only took a moment for agreement to stream through the network, along with a few other suggestions for the videos and very quickly a small group was assembled to help Nergal in creating the second half of their first contact package. There were a few surprising requests that came with it. Shepard would be used to voice a few sections of the vid, along with Skye Tunick who had been one of the most recognisable voices of Cerberus, having voiced many of their recruitment and anti-alien vids. Tunick would voice the rendition of First Contact while Shepard would voice the second half.

The Council wouldn't have time to care but the Humans would enjoy it and after all, vengeance was all about your satisfaction.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Citadel Council Chambers**

"Citadel Security is your domain, Executor Govinus, not deputising some grasping murderous hirelings!" Irissa snapped, closing the connection before sagging slightly and raising one hand to rub at her forehead.

It wasn't meant to be this hard. This is why they appointed people! She lowered her hand and turned to glare at Quentius. "If Govinus cannot get the citizens under control, then he will have to be replaced."

The Turian Councillor raised his hands placatingly. "I agree but this is an unusual situation and the request to hire those members of Wystan Company who are on the Citadel was well thought out."

"Hiring mercenaries is well thought out?" Irissa yelled, her eyes widening as she failed to control her emotions. "And what of the implications? That we can't even control the population!"

"I agree," Quentius said, again trying to placate her with his gestures. "But we have just over ten percent of our population rioting. C-Sec is not equipped to deal with that. They haven't been for the last 20 years. Wystan Company are the most discreet of all the mercs with a presence on the Citadel."

"Govinus might just as well have suggested the Blood Pack!"

Internally, Quentius sighed. Irissa was not going to be calm but she wouldn't acknowledge the point either. C-Sec just was not equipped to deal with large scale riots. The last time there had been anything this bad had been over 40 years back and that had been incited by the Humans. This was incited by the ships outside.

He hid a shudder. The ships outside. Fifty absolutely silent, super-dreadnought class vessels in a spherical orbit and all of them fifty percent outside of firing range. What were the Geth doing?

He looked at the image. The ships were all super-dreadnought class. Two clicks long. The _Destiny Ascension_ had only been one click. Turian ships weren't that large. It was a waste to build that large. The Geth were logical. Surely they realised that. Or was this intimidation?

Or were they really something else? As the Humans had maintained before their isolation.

He didn't know and Quentius forcefully brought his attention back to Irissa. They didn't have time for this. She was correct in many ways. Rioting was C-Sec's issue but right at the moment it was their issue. "How about we bring over some troops from the fleet?"

"With the possible enemy out there?" Irissa objected. She was obviously focusing on the fact that the ships hadn't attacked.

"With the enemy out there," Quentius agreed. It would be nice if the super-dreadnoughts were friendly but he remembered, even if Irissa wanted to forget, exactly how he'd become the Councillor for the Turians. The last ship of this design had come through the Relay firing. "If it comes to a shoot out, troops are only going to be dead weight on the ships. There won't be many troops in the fleet. Turian vessels assigned to Citadel Patrol generally offload but there will be a few and they can help C-Sec."

"You think they need the help?"

"I know they need the help. We have 13 million citizens on the Citadel. 1.5 million of them are rioting. C-Sec is a policing force. They aren't meant to deal with this level of civil unrest and we do not have a army. They need help and if we don't provide it, then things will only deteriorate faster."

Irissa didn't look convinced but Quentius could see that she was thinking about the situation. "Oh, all right," she eventually conceded with ill grace. "But troops only. I will not accept mercenary dogs."

"Agreed," Quentius nodded, tapping his omni-tool to authorise the orders. Govinus needed the help and they needed the Citadel to be calm. "We'll have to make a statement."

"Yes, yes," Irissa waved one hand, dismissing the issue completely and Quentius resisted the urge to sigh. For all that they were long lived, even Asari could be remarkably short-sighted at times. Irissa picked up her tea, taking a long sip. It seemed to relax her. "What are we going to do about those ships?"

This time, Quentius did sigh.

They'd been over this already. Despite attempts from all the Citadel Fleet, and from the Citadel itself, the ships were silent. There was no point in further discussion without new information and they had already scheduled a hook-up with fleet command of the Turian, Asari and Salarian military. Whatever the galactic response, it had to be co-ordinated.

"For now, we concentrate on information," Quentius replied, dismissing the matter himself. Information was hard to come by but it would do no good to continue speculation without facts and he was not going to indulge her fears.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Citadel**

"Ding de Ding Ding Ding!" The news jingle sounded, indicating a break in programming.

"In our ongoing coverage of the Citadel riots, Citadel NewsNet brings you all the latest.

"As our loyal viewers will already know, these riots have broken out in response to the fears of the fifty Geth super dreadnoughts that have arrived here at the Citadel. The last time one of these Geth super ships arrived, they attacked and killed the Council, all three Councillors dying on board the pride of the Asari Republics, the _Destiny Ascension_. In addition, thousands of people from all races died in the fighting and the chaos both on the Presidium and the Wards.

"The impromptu leaders of the rioters have called on the Council to do something about the murderous synthetics and remove them from Citadel space immediately. To the anger of the people here, the Citadel's own fleet hasn't fired a single shot at the new arrivals. They have let them do whatever they want in defiance of not only public opinion but also of Citadel regulations that have stood for over two thousand years."

The view changed from the Asari reporter to the fleets outside, showing the 'Geth' and the Citadel fleet that defended the station.

"As you can see, however," the voice continued, "the Geth have not fired upon the station or our valiant defenders, who are outnumbered fifty dreadnoughts to eight. Calls from Citadel Security to stand down have been ignored by the rioters, as has the clearly unfavourable balance of power between the two fleets outside. This reporter wonders what the rioters think would happen if the brave ships opened fire on the Geth, beyond the destruction of the fleet and the senseless loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.

"In a recent statement, Executor Govinus confirmed that the ships of the defence fleet were docking and offloading their troops, troops, he said, that would be sent to deal with the rioters. Govinus failed to respond to questions about just how they would deal with the riots and how many people would be killed by the troops before the riots were over.

"This has been a special report from Citadel NewsNet.

"We now return you to your regular programming."

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought _Astrakhan_**

Admiral Walenty was thankful that the meeting was coming to an end. His feet hurt but it had been necessary to stand to transmit his hologram. This had been a meeting of the highest order. The Council, Turian High Command, the Asari Guiding Matriarchs, the Salarian Admiralty and himself. Their discussion topic was obvious: the new ships.

All Council races' First Contact Packages had been transmitted to the new ships, and each one had been met with silence. More creative measures had been taken as well, involving the flashing of lights in a pattern the Hanar indicated was friendly. More silence.

In the end, since the new ships were not impeding transport, for the moment they had to ignore them. But they could not let that many ships remain around the Citadel, not without knowing their purpose so the meeting had been called to discuss where reinforcements could be pulled from.

"The Hierarchy will reduce our Home Defence fleet," Primarch Victus summarised, "and, with Council permission, will temporarily reduce border patrols along the Traverse. We can start sending patrol units immediately but it will take four to five days for all the dreadnought fleets to arrive."

Councillor Quentius nodded. "Fifty five Turian dreadnoughts," he said with the slightest trace of satisfaction. This would be the largest military gathering in the history of the Council. "Under your command Primarch."

"Yes. The Hierarchy will also assign ten carriers to the reinforcement fleet." Victus replied before his hologram turned towards Matriarch Aethyta.

The Asari Matriarch looked mildly annoyed, an expression she shared with Councillor Irissa, and the two of them had not been shy about letting the Salarians know they were disappointed. Despite continual nagging for the last four decades the Salarians still did not maintain their full quota of dreadnoughts. The discrepancy was something the Asari and Turians now had to make up. After this battle, there was a very real chance the Salarians would be put on notice until they built their allowed numbers.

"The Republics will similarly reduce our systems defence fleets and will be able to bring forty dreadnoughts and attendant fleets in a similar time to the Turians, four to six days. Matriarch Inanna will be in command." She didn't bother to elaborate further and all knew that Asari patrol units, similar to the Turian ones consisting of a cruiser and three support frigates would be present much sooner.

The gathered holograms turned towards the Salarian Dalatrass Lelwani. The old Salarian had studiously ignored the Asari's evident frustration when she had contributed to the conversation. "The Salarian Union shall send thirty dreadnoughts and fleets, to arrive in four days. They shall be commanded by Admiral Rentola. Advance parties may arrive as early as 23:00 Citadel time." Subtle cues showed her satisfaction at the rapid Salarian response.

"That leads to one question," Walenty interposed before anyone could consider the meeting closed. His feet ached, but this was more important than his feet.

"Admiral?" Quentius questioned, holding back his own frustration that the meeting still hadn't finished.

"While reinforcements are needed, how they arrive is yet to be determined," he said, ignoring the way the power brokers were looking at him. He was a Turian Admiral, he knew how to deal with them. "It does us no good if the Salarian forces arrive and the geth fleet attacks immediately."

There was silence for a few moments as the problem was considered.

Matriarch Aethyta was the first to speak. "That is a valid consideration," she said diplomatically, "however, we cannot send all one hundred and twenty five dreadnoughts, with attendant fleets through the Relays at once."

Primarch Victus replied. "They aren't attacking but they are most definitely testing our resolve. I propose that we gather the fleets and send ten dreadnoughts with their fleets through to watch the reaction. That should tell us truly if they are hostile."

Walenty wasn't sure what to think about that. If the geth attacked, they would destroy the current fleet and the ten reinforcements before they could retreat but it would let the rest of the fleet know their intentions. The problem was that he was not used to thinking of ten dreadnoughts, and attending fleets, as expendable.

"So you are suggesting that we test geth reaction times?"

"Yes," Primarch Victus was firm in his reply. "We have no choice," he added. "There is simply not enough information to make a considered decision as such we need to test. If they do not destroy the reinforcements, then I would propose that we wait until all fleets are gathered, sending through only smaller ships before we move the dreadnoughts into the Serpent Nebula as fast as possible in one big convoy."

Again there was silence as the course of action was considered.

"I agree," Quentius said, backing up the Primarch.

Matriarch Aethyta shared a long look with Irissa before she nodded. "That is a most wise suggestion," she said, "though we must maintain open minds. As Primarch Victus so correctly says, we do not yet know enough about what these geth ships want so while I will support this course of action, I believe that we should remain willing to adjust our plans should that prove necessary."

Primarch Victus nodded his ascent.

"The Salarian fleet will gather at the last Relay in the Annos Basin, ready to jump when required," Dalatrass Lelwani said. "It is a comparable jump to similar positions in the Athena Nebula and Apien Crest."

"So in six days?" Irissa formed the question for them all.

"In three, we will send the first wave of reinforcements," Primarch Victus added the clarification. "Turian High Command can easily get ten dreadnoughts into position in that time frame."

Admiral Walenty nodded. "We will be waiting," he said. There was nothing else he could say because no matter what happened, he was in for a nerve-wracking three days.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula**

Unknown to the representatives, their meeting was hardly as private an affair as they wished. Udina and the other Ascended present had hacked into the dreadnoughts present and maintained a channel to keep an eye on what their organic opponents were planning for just such an opportunity as this. Even before Walenty stepped off the holographic transmitter to soothe his aching feet, the Humans were already discussing the contents of the meeting.

"Should we alter our formation before they arrive?" Udina asked generally.

"No. While it would lessen the risk of a captain panicking being so close to us, it would also give away some of our capabilities. That is simply aiding our enemies." Ares replied calmly.

Udina accepted that. For all that Shepard and Hackett didn't like him, they acknowledged that he was a consummate politician and part of that was knowing his weaknesses, just as they knew theirs. That's why he'd gracefully accepted a military advisor. "What do you recommend?"

There was an impression of a shrug. "We'll shift our formation in response to their initial reinforcements. A wall of Ascended formed up on the opposite side of the Citadel from the Relays would allow us to still present a threat they have to honor, while also keeping us in position to offer mutual support, something they will understand. It will also 'happen' to keep us out of weapons range and unable to prevent the Council bringing through the rest of their ships, just as we want them to do."

"Arshan, how close do you need to be to shut down the Relays?"

"One light-second if I do it directly. Alternatively, I could ask the Catalyst to do it for us in an emergency." Encoded with Arshan's response was his amusement at the Catalyst's earlier rebuke of the Humans and his own desire to avoid being on the receiving end.

"Very well." Udina and the rest sat back and waited, automatic protocols keeping their orbits of the Citadel on course.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Citadel**

"Ding de Ding Ding Ding!" The news jingle sounded, indicating a break in programming.

"In our ongoing coverage of the Citadel riots, Citadel NewsNet brings you all the latest. As recent reports have shown, the Turian Hierarchy's elite shipboard troops have been seen in all five Wards, clearing the way for C-Sec officers as they put down hundreds of rioters.

"Over the last forty-eight hours, their tireless efforts have paid off. The ongoing riots across the Citadel are no longer spreading their lawlessness and murder into new sectors and though casualties are already reported in the tens of thousands, the good citizens of the Citadel can sleep easier tonight in their beds now that the troops are starting to push the rioters back into the slums.

"The good news doesn't stop there. Despite the Geth Crisis triggered by the mysterious AI's, shipping through the Citadel Relays has hit a new high as the backlog of delayed and diverted freighters resume their interrupted routes. The Galactic Stock Market rallied strongly in the wake of this news with primary resource interests and military stocks recording their strongest day in trading in nearly twenty years. Economic analysts expect the increase to continue as sources in the Asari Republics are confident that more government construction is to follow for the next five years.

"And the trigger for all of these events, the fifty geth dreadnoughts remain in Citadel space but have cleared the immediate area around the Relays, still refusing contact with anyone. The Council have ordered curious citizens to maintain a respectful distance from the Geth ships in their efforts to maintain peace and prosperity.

"This has been the latest from Citadel NewsNet! Your only place for all the Citadel news!"

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought _Astrakhan_**

"Reinforcements incoming in three, two, one," Captain Fisseha announced watching the display screen intently. Exactly on time, ships appeared around the relay.

Admiral Walenty who was standing on the bridge of the _Astrakhan_ felt a surge of pride. The Turian ships were in perfect formation.

Then he felt his heart clench. The geth ships, which for four days had sat outside their weapons range, ships which had not so much as flinched when trade vessels came through the relay, all turned as one. Watching the screen, Walenty was presented to a side view of the geth ships. It strengthened his impression on their organic shape. All of them were angled towards the reinforcement fleet.

"Weapons hot," he ordered, his voice being transmitted to the entire Citadel Fleet. He was pleased when his ships adjusted their position slightly, moving so that they could quickly move to assist the reinforcement fleet.

Before they could launch the geth ships responded again. This time they actually moved. Both fleets and the watching Citadel were presented to what could only be described as a virtuoso display of precision maneuvering.

The geth ships peeled away from the relay and Walenty's eyes flicked between all the display screens. The closest ships moved back, maintaining their sphere formation but putting a larger gap in it. Then the next rank moved back. Line by line they moved back as he watched until they formed a half circle around the Citadel.

The half circle kept collapsing and without orders the _Astrakhan_ tracked the motion, turning so that its main cannon was pointed towards the geth. "Citadel Command, are you tracking this?" the comm officer's question rang through the bridge.

"We copy." Walenty recognised the Salarian Eachann's voice. "They are maintaining a constant distance from the Citadel."

The geth ships were now forming ranks and as Walenty watched, they organised into what appeared to be five lines. It was a hexagon. Five lines of ships with the middle line being eight ships wide and the rows above and below two ships fewer. Sensors detected a second hexagon behind the first. It was offset and again comprised of five layers as well but this time the widest layer contained only seven ships while the above and below layers had five and three respectively. Behind the two layers, three ships remained, which included the ship which had been in that original position in the sphere.

It was a reinforced wall of dreadnoughts. And while the front line was made up of twenty eight ships, Walenty could see that there was enough space for the secondary hexagon to shoot between the front ships.

It was a formidable force.

"Admiral!" Captain Fisseha sought his attention. Her voice carried an undertone of awe and Walenty knew he wasn't the only one impressed by the geth's maneuver. Despite that he had to respond.

"Captain."

"Captain Ormod is requesting instructions."

Ormod. The name flicked through Walenty's mind for a few moments before he realised who it was. The leading Captain of the reinforcements. "Have him fall into position with the Citadel fleet, though have the _Pride of Epyrus_ maintain a guard position on the Relay." It was unlikely but possible that some of the less savoury elements of the galaxy might take advantage of their distraction.

Admiral Walenty closed his eyes for a few moments before he resisted the urge to groan. The Geth maneuver was going to result in another long meeting. His feet throbbed at the thought. "Transmit our sensor readings to the Citadel and have them forward it to Primarch Victus. The precision of their movements needs to be considered, as does their new formation."

The new formation was highly defensible. Front and back ships could take differing roles and it was open enough to allow the ships to move as necessary to avoid taking too much damage. The precision of their motion in forming that formation was troubling. It was so precise that there had to be a group mind controlling the whole.

 _Darn Geth,_ Walenty thought, nodding to Captain Fisseha before moving into her ready room, where he collapsed into a chair and rubbed at his eyebrow ridge.

Another three days until the full reinforcement fleet arrived…

And then what?

He felt sick just thinking about it.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Sol, Turian Patrol Vessel _Gover_**

Illo felt sick. The ship that had towed them to Sol had handed them over to another. Unfortunately, while the former had been smoothly proficient, this new one, outwardly the same model, didn't possess the same skills for manipulating its mass effect fields. The result was a bumpy ride, full of jerks and stops, that reminded Illo of nothing so much as his younger brother playing with his toys back when they were both little kids.

In between the random bursts of acceleration and torque, Illo called out to his communications officer. "Patch me through to Captain Teschius of the 1634th."

"Y-Yes, sir." The poor officer was faring worse than most but managed to do his duty, a good Turian.

"Captain Nazario."

"Captain Teschius. Have you made any progress in escaping this situation?"

On the screen, Lidan Teschius gulped and his mandibles shivered. "None at all. Spirits damn these Humans! It's bad enough that they refused to give us honorable deaths. Do they really have to shake us until we're too spacesick to do our duties?"

"Captain Teschius, for what little it is worth, we do not intend to render you all ill." Their private conversation was broken into, just like others had been, by the entity that identified itself as Elysium. "And for the record, sitting at your stations and not dying is the full extent of your remaining duties. So in that regard, you are all doing your duties just fine."

Ascended were supposed to be above petty revenge. Elysium had denied to Shepard that she wanted to take part in the actions that were about to sweep the galaxy. When confronted with suffering Turians, however, Elysium found she was quite prepared to enjoy their plight and indeed, schemed to extend it for as long as possible. She had stepped in on occasion before the young ones had destroyed their play ships too early. Not that she would ever admit that to the Turians aboard their disabled vessels that she felt any satisfaction. That would spoil her image, and her fun.

"Elysium!" Teschius growled then cut off as a nasty bump 'happened' to choose that moment to interrupt him. "Urp!"

"So what is our course this time, Elysium?" Illo asked as calmly as he could manage.

"The juveniles on this run are taking you on a high-acceleration trip through Jupiter's rings."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Illo replied, picturing a course that would take them by the system's largest gas giant.

"Following that, they will be landing their assigned ships on Europa purely with their mass effect fields." Elysium added sweetly. "After that piece of 'good training', where they will be scored on damage to their ships and the condition of their cargo, they will then have to lift you off again through the combined fields of their small craft. While staying in orbit themselves, to increase the difficulty, naturally. Obviously, the young ones will lose points if any of your crew dies, so as usual, I'd be appreciative in the event of death or injury if you will tell me the cause."

Teschius lost the battle with his nausea at the prospect and, as his fellow captain vomited, Illo cursed the man roundly in the privacy of his own mind, clenching his teeth to hold his own lunch.

"And just to show the younger ones how it's done, your ship will be taken through the course twice. Once by me. Once by Jerrick, the juvenile who is training on your little ship. And I'll be doing it at twice the acceleration that Jerrick will need to maintain."

Illo tried to terminate the call, knowing it was futile, so he and his crew could suffer in privacy. It wasn't to be. Elysium's final words followed him in a sing-song tone to his cabin as he rushed there as fast as his dignity would permit.

"Just remember, sometimes you have fun. Sometimes the fun has you."

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula**

"Ding!" Udina smugly answered the call from Shepard, having reduced the apparent volume of intership ringtones.

"Shepard. Things are proceeding nicely here. The Council have been forced to declare martial law on 'their' Citadel and the reinforcements are arriving in a steady stream."

"Good work, Udina. We've tapped into their news transmissions and seen their coverage too. We particularly enjoyed the rising panic that the damned aliens are feeling thanks to the way you've kept them on the edge. That little maneuver when the ten dreadnoughts came out of the Relays was a nice touch."

"You can thank Ares for that brainwave." Udina praised his subordinate, inasmuch as he had any, openly. It wasn't like Shepard wouldn't find out later if he tried to steal credit.

"Indeed. When the last of their dreadnought reinforcements arrive, it will be time to get things moving at last. We'll strike Turian sector command here in the Exodus Cluster then move to the Bahak system in the Viper Nebula. The Relay there is special, the damned Batarians knew it, and we'll use it to travel across to the Apien Crest.

"According to the updates we got from the patrol fleet, there are a lot more resources to destroy there than we had believed, so it should take a couple of days before we are ready to strike at Palaven. It would be best if you had joined us by then. Once we go through the Trebia Relay, we won't be slowing down or stopping for anything until their homeworld is in ruins." Shepard's anticipation was matched by the former politician.

"We'll be there. As soon as the last of their dreadnoughts are here, we'll make a run for the Serpent Beta Relay through FTL. We'll disable whatever ships are in-system en route to the Relay, then head to Trebia as fast as our drives will take us. Try not to destroy all the comm buoys if you can, Shepard. We're going to have a boring run if we don't have a few action movies on the trip."

-cfr-


	11. It's a Trap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.

 

 **Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy  
** **Chapter 10 It's a Trap!**

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought _Astrakhan_**

Admiral Walenty got on the holographic transmitter for the seventh time in as many days. By now, he had learned and 'cheated', ordering this disk moved to his personal quarters and the deck's gravity turned down to one-third normal to save his poor feet. He hadn't needed the ship physician's dire warnings about amputations to motivate him, though he thought the bonesaw 'casually' left out for that discussion was a nice touch.

"Honored Councillors." The leading admiral for the Citadel's reinforced defence fleet greeted two of his superiors once they accepted his call. The Salarian's still hadn't sent through a new Councillor!

"Admiral. We were expecting your call. How is the fleet?" Irissa asked as cordially as she could.

"The final reinforcements from the Asari Republics are due to arrive in just a few minutes. After they integrate with the rest of the combined fleet, we will have the biggest amount of firepower in one place in Citadel history." Walenty responded proudly.

"Will it be enough?" Irissa enquired.

And there was the other reason Walenty had had the transmitter moved to his private quarters. However innocent the Asari's question, it would be terrible for morale for the crew to hear any question of their competence. Worse, duty compelled him to answer the question honestly.

"I cannot guarantee that, Councillor. While our own ships have improved substantially over the forty years since the last encounter with these ships, we do not know how much the Geth have worked on their own designs. If they are as unchanged as they appear, then we should achieve a victory at the cost of dozens of our own dreadnoughts."

"Dozens!" Councillor Irissa was horrified at the waste so casually implied.

"Dozens out of one hundred and twenty-five." Quentius reminded his counterpart. "Victory against just one of them forty years ago took the entire Citadel Fleet and two Human fleets. We know what happened to the  _Destiny Ascension_  and Salarian intel at the time reported that the Humans had to scrap the  _Everest._ Most of the cruisers and frigates were destroyed," the Turian Councillor added. "Taking out all fifty will be costly."

"Understood, Quentius." Irissa conceded the point. "This will be a battle like nothing I have ever seen."

On the split screen, both Councillors and the Admiral watched the Serpent Relays activate and the surrounding space light up with the flashes of first a few, then dozens of ships a second arriving after their transits. At last, the might of the Council would be ready, willing and able to meet the Geth and repay them for the unexpected visit.

The holographic conversation expanded as the leaders of the fleet divisions were allowed to join, Primarch Adrien Victus, Matriarch Inanna and Admiral Rentola first amongst them.

Matriarch Inanna spoke without preamble. "The final Republics fleets will take up their assigned positions," she informed them, as a tactical display screen flashed into existence as a third viewpoint.

"Then Councillors, we may sweep this Geth infestation away from the Citadel." Primarch Victus was firm about that. "Their formation has not changed, and maintain a 10,000 km distance from the station. Before we begin, I will have several fighters run close passes with high powered scans."

"Is that wise?" Irissa asked and Admiral Walenty could see the way Primarch Victus' mandibles tightened. He was not used to dealing with the Council and their idiosyncrasies.

Matriarch Inanna answered for the Primarch. "It is highly recommended Councillor. Thus far Admiral Walenty has maintained passive scanning only of the Geth fleet in an effort to avoid confrontation but to properly assess the risk, the high powered scans are necessary. They will be immediately transmitted back to our ships and homeworlds for analysis."

"The Citadel will resume total lock down once the fighters are launched," Citadel Controls commanding officer spoke. "Currently we have the arms open 20% to allow freighter traffic," he continued. "The arms will be completely closed during the battle, however we will be on standby for rescue operations."

The gathered commanders nodded at the Salarian's words. Technically the Citadel's arms should be closed already but with the confusing moves from the Geth the decision had been made to risk opening them slightly.

"This is," Admiral Rentola said softly, his voice almost not heard. "This is most unlike the geth," he concluded.

"It is," Councillor Quentius agreed. "It is very unusual for the Geth to be seen this far outside the Perseus Veil and an investigation has already been launched into their assumed routes so that this cannot happen again."

"The fact that they have not attacked concerns me," Admiral Rentola said.

There was a grimace from most of those gathered. They had gone over this. Admiral Walenty answered. "It is of concern," the Turian admitted. "This could be a trap," he continued, voicing the conclusion the Salarian was working up to. On the tactical screen the dots representing the newly arrived Asari ships were coming to a halt in their formation positions. "However, if it is a trap, it has been very poorly considered. While the majority of our dreadnought assets are now in the Serpent Nebula, the increased production over the last forty years means that we still maintain a good presence throughout Citadel space and along the Traverse."

"A weakened presence," Rentola stressed.

Primarch Victus broke in. "How many dreadnoughts did Sur'Kesh have in its defence fleet fifty years ago?" he asked pointedly.

"Two," Rentola answered immediately. Even with Salarian secrecy and improvements in stealth technology, the number was an open secret.

"And how many remain at the moment, even with your presence here?"

"Three."

"So in a galaxy that has become safer, with the Humans isolating themselves in their home system, the protection of Sur'Kesh is still assured by a  _reinforced_  defence fleet," the Primarch finished in a voice which almost dared the Salarian to disagree.

"Regardless of the forces remaining, it is a risk to gather so many of our forces here," Rentola insisted stubbornly.

"The Salarian Union agreed that the removal of the Geth from Citadel territory was the highest priority," Irissa snapped, her voice conveying a myriad of notes expressing both her anger and disappointment towards the Salarian Admiral. "Your Councillor may object," she added, knowing full well that the Salarian's, despite the crisis, had not yet finished their machiavellian scheming to appoint a new Councillor. "However for the moment you have been assigned a mission and you will fulfill it. The prospect of this being a trap has been examined but the Geth must still be removed."

For a moment, Walenty thought Rentola would continue to object but the Salarian Admiral bowed slightly, and inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. With the Asari ships now in position, they didn't have time to re-hash old speculation.

"I would suggest that we start in an hour after the conclusion of this meeting," Admiral Walenty stated before Irissa or Rentola could delay the meeting's purpose further. "Simultaneously closing the Citadel's arms and launching the fighters."

Victus, Quentius, Eachann and Inanna nodded while Rentola had his eyes cast down and Irissa was fuming. Admiral Walenty continued, outlining the plan he, Primarch Victus and Councillor Quentius had envisaged.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought _Pride of Menae_**

Outwardly, Primarch Adrien Victus was a picture of the calm, professional Turian. Inwardly, he was feeling a riot of emotion. Excitement warred with fear, because only an idiot would not feel some fear at facing fifty geth super dreadnoughts. Certainty clashed with hesitation because while he had lead Turians into battle, and had seen them die, this battle was going to be expensive.

Councillor Quentius had informed Councillor Irissa that it might be dozens of dreadnoughts destroyed. Victus thought it would be at least half, probably two thirds but despite those projected numbers, this was a battle he agreed had to happen. The Geth infection had to be put down, and put down hard. He would not allow the Hierarchy to make the same mistakes with the Geth that they had with the Humans.

He shook his head slightly, amending his thoughts. He would redeem the mistakes of the past. Three hundred years ago, when the Quarians had been exiled and the Geth were still weak, they should have been wiped out then. The Council's reluctance to commit forces betrayed an underlying weakness which had now allowed the Geth the time they needed to grow into this threat. It was the same problem with the Humans. The parallels were uncanny. The Humans had retreated to their homeworld, going one step further and somehow moving the Relay but in the safety and seclusion of their Spirits-damned system, who knew what forces they were building up. In another few years, it was a far too likely a possibility that the galaxy would be presented with Human war ships around the Citadel.

That was a thought for tomorrow. The geth were the thought for today, Victus reminded himself as he re-focused his attention on the geth formation. Two reinforcing hexagons. Five by eight at the front, with an offset five by seven at the back. Three dreadnoughts remained loose. It was an effective formation for frontal attacks, though it was weak on its flanks.

He was aboard the  _Pride of Menae_  which was situated in the fleet of eighty. They too had been organised in two layers of reinforcement, though they had formed rectangles. The ten carriers were positioned around the Citadel though they had disgorged their fighters which now advanced ahead of the dreadnought screen.

"Good formation," Admiral Walenty's voice came over the comm. Victus nodded to himself. While he had more experience, Walenty was the most familiar with the nebula and its effects, and so Walenty was overseeing the battle. Victus was in charge of the Turian complement of ships but it was good to see that Walenty was a Turian from his mould, one who believed in encouraging and serving with his men. One who wasn't afraid to ask for advice. Walenty was aboard Captain Fisseha's  _Astrakhan_ , which, over Councillor Irissa's complaints, was in the second rank of their formation. He was a good Turian.

"No change in Geth formation," the sensor tech reported. "Energy levels stable."

Victus looked at the screen. The Geth ships hung unmoving against the backdrop of the Serpent Nebula. The composition of their fleet was unusual. Fifty dreadnoughts. No support ships at all. The sensor techs thought they could detect some minor scarring on one but beyond that they were all close to identical. It was unnatural. Even with the additional dreadnoughts built by the Hierarchy over the last decades, each one had some visible differences. There was no need for huge displays of individuality but each ship had some small improvements.

They were slowly edging towards firing range. "Stay in formation," Walenty's voice continued and while the words could be a criticism, they were spoken as encouragement.

"Lock onto targets," the order was firm.

Each ship had been assigned a target. For the battle to come, shots of opportunity were to be taken but where possible each dreadnought and their fleet should focus on their assigned targets. It ensured that they spread their firepower wisely. On the tactical display screen, the representations of the geth fleet were suddenly connected to the Citadel fleet by dotted lines, representing the ships assigned to attack them.

"To the Geth fleet at enclosed universal coordinates, this is your final warning," Walenty's voice was strong. "State your purpose or leave! Further refusal to communicate will be taken as hostility and you will be removed from this system."

Victus nodded. While not the most diplomatic phrasing, the final demand would pacify the Asari, demonstrating that they had tried every measure.

The entire fleet seemed to hold its breath, waiting for an answer.

No reply came and Victus could feel the crew around him tense.

"Weapons free," Admiral Walenty ordered. He didn't need to inform the fleet what happened now.

"We're coming into firing range in three, two, one. Now!" Chief weapon's officer Stepan said, waiting for the final order to fire from his Captain. Approval was instantaneous.

"Fir… huh?"

Primarch Victus turned sharply towards Stepan.

"What?" the officer demanded. "Where are they?" he yelled, a sure sign of tension, as he turned towards the tactical display.

The situation was so absurd it took Primarch Victus a moment to see what was wrong.

The representations of the Geth were gone. "Visual?" he ordered, overriding whatever further the weapons officer might have said.

Several sensor techs were frantically working at their stations but their commander looked up, saluting Primarch Victus before replying as the main screen was taken up with a visual of the Serpent Nebula. "There is no sensor failure. The Geth fleet went to FTL the instant we came into firing range."

"They were stationary!" Stepan objected.

The sensor tech commander, Haloke shook her head. "They were maintaining a stable distance from the Citadel but they were not stationary. Their engines were powered up and ready the whole time and apparently their eezo cores were, too. The fighter scan took too much interference for other details but we know that much at least. No Turian vessel could make such a manoeuvre without notice. Static discharge would have killed the crews days ago if they had tried the same tactic." Haloke added and Victus didn't like the concealed note of admiration he could hear in her voice.

"Remain at your stations," Victus ordered the bridge crew as their discipline wavered in their surprise. "I want a full spectrum scan of the immediate area!"

There was something wrong. He could feel it. Retreating in the face of a vastly superior foe was one thing but why had the Geth even come? It did not make sense, though Victus could feel tension fading from the crew. He didn't object to averting battle but not when the situation was so unusual.

"Primarch," the comms officer called. He didn't need to say anything further and Victus nodded, stepping onto the hologram projection disk. He should have expected this.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Citadel Sensor Control Room**

Riya usually worked night shift, a time when she could tweak the sensors to see what small improvements might be made by the minute adjustments. Right at the moment she was at her console, and was operating it  _exactly_  to standard specifications. While she had no desire to join the military herself, she was well aware of the importance of this battle.

One hundred and twenty eight dreadnoughts, more dreadnoughts than had ever been gathered for a single battle in the history of the Council, against fifty Geth super ships.

As the Citadel fleet had moved into position, and the Citadel itself had closed, they had sent one last attempt to communicate. For the last seven days, on every frequency, the geth ships had remained stubbornly silent. They did not break their silence now. Two Turian fighters had then performed a high speed, high intensity scan. The information from that had been relayed back to the fleet and the Citadel and off to the side Riya could hear some analysts working on it. From their overheard conversation, the information appeared to be scant. They were saying something about energy reflection and refraction scattering the frequency used to scan or something. She couldn't hear everything so the technical details were eluding her.

The Citadel fleet had been broken into three smaller sub-fleets, each comprised of Turian, Asari and Salarian Dreadnoughts. The main force of 80 ships would confront the geth double hexagon formation, while two smaller fleets of 24 would attempt to flank the interlopers. They were all coming in on slightly different angles so that missed shots would not become an issue.

Riya continued to watch her screens. She wasn't involved in combat analysis or communication. She was thankful for that. Despite her relative years of experience over some of her Salarian counterparts, she had not been trained in either specialisation and would only be a liability. Instead, she was monitoring the Relays. There was still a chance this was a trap, and she would provide the first warning to the fleet if further hostile ships appeared but, more likely, she would be forced to redirect any non-combatants who despite all warnings had blundered into the area. At least, the main focus of the battle was currently away from the Relays but until the geth were dealt with, they would not open the Citadel's arms for anyone.

The readings from the Relays were stable and despite herself, Riya found her attention drawn to a smaller screen, one that showed the relative position of the fleets to the Citadel. The fleets drew ever closer and she missed the first change in energy readings.

She did not miss the second and Riya felt her eyes widen as she tapped the screen, bringing up further details. The Serpent Nebula lay at a hub in the Relay network. There were twelve relays that they knew about and theoretically, based on the placement of Relays in other sectors, there were potentially others situated further away from the Citadel. Because of their massive eezo cores, each Relay put out a constant stream of energy, like a back ground noise. It altered when the Relay was activated and you could tell from the energy increase and timings the size and number of vessels being transported. Thus the computer-generated bar diagram that displayed the Relay output could analyse the bar of an active Relay to show what mass it was transporting.

Over the past few days, Riya had seen the monitoring bars of nine relays in full operation simultaneously. That was the most she'd ever seen activated at once. In training they'd been taught about deactivated relays. The Human First Contact War only went to reinforce why deactivated relays should remain inactive. But one thing training had been clear on, was that relays took centuries, maybe millennia to deactivate.

However the Turian Corridor Relay's output had dropped to zero. There were eleven similar energy readings, and one showing zero.

That wasn't possible.

Relays did not just turn off.

Then the Minos Wasteland relay monitoring bar dropped to zero. It didn't slowly taper down, it went from fully active, though on standby as nothing was currently coming through, to nothing.

Riya pressed a few controls, looking at a secondary screen. The sensors were working. "Sir!" Riya called, again tapping the controls to ensure the sensors were in perfect working order. "Sir!" she cried again, when the operational results remained unchanged.

"What is it?" Vismaya, Eachann's subordinate demanded.

"The Relays, ma'am," Riya said, indicating towards her monitoring screen. As she gestured, a third bar fell to zero.

Vismaya glanced at the screen before sniffing. "It's a sensor malfunction."

"With respect ma'am, I have confirmed that all sensors are operational."

"Relays do not just shut down!"

Riya could hear Vismaya's contempt. Vismaya did not like the Asari. She resented their long lives and the fact that Riya had years more to learn than she had. The dismissal in her tone spurred Riya to give a reply she might not normally have. "The Batarian relays did."

While there was usually quiet in the Citadel Command room, even the incidental clicking as techs worked at their station stopped at that reply. It was true. To this day, select Relays in former Batarian space remained inactive. Enough Relays remained that they did not impede travel around the dead worlds but there were sectors in the galaxy which could only be reached by long and difficult FTL travel.

Vismaya almost growled but another bar dropped to zero. She turned towards Eachann. The Citadel Commander was standing on a hologram projection disk and his attention was firmly fixed on the conversation between the commanders.

"Commander."

Eachann did not respond.

"Commander!"

Riya watched as the louder call got no reply. Then Vismaya did something Riya had never thought she would see. Vismaya actually reached out to touch Eachann. "Commander!"

The Salarian turned, blinking in the light from the holographic disk. "Yes?"

"The Relays are shutting down, Commander."

Instead of questioning the information, Eachann merely asked for clarification. "Explain?"

"The ambient energy readings from four Relays have dropped to zero."

"Similar to the Batarian relays?"

"Yes, sir."

Eachann didn't bother to ask if the sensors were reading correctly. "Send a signal to the remaining Relays. Engage them," he ordered his voice hard.

Riya was taping the commands before she even turned back. Instinctively, she chose to send a signal to the Athena Nebula. Everything went as normal. The Relay responded to her signal, waiting further information on the mass it was to transport.

Then it blinked out.

That wasn't meant to happen. Relays were meant to wait for about five minutes before they broke the connection and returned to standby. But the Athena Nebula relay was not just on standby, it was giving out no energy.

She shook her head, and tried another Relay, picking out the Salarian Sector Relay, the Annos Basin. The Relay replied, acknowledging her link, then it died.

"It's no good!" Riya reported. "I connect, but they shut down immediately after! Six Relays remaining."

"Contact them all!" Eachann ordered, looking around the room to ensure it would be simultaneous.

Riya pulled up the Ismar Frontier Relay and in time with the other techs, she sent the signal. The Relay responded and waited. She bit her lip, holding her eyes open as she watched the screen.

The Relay continued waiting. Her breath sounded loud but no one else had reported anything unusual. She swallowed, keeping her eyes on the screen. It continued to show no fluctuations and Riya looked around. The other techs continued to watch their screens and she risked a glance at her secondary screen that still displayed the overall monitoring. Six relays were down but the others showed slightly elevated energy levels, indicating that they were waiting for orders.

Watching the screen she took a deep breath. And then another. No change.

Riya gulped, feeling muscles she hadn't realised were tense, relax. The Relays were responding, just as they were meant to. Pre-emptively, she queued another transport request to the Ismar Frontier Relay, for when it automatically disregarded her current connection. In her relief at maintaining a connection with the relay, she was not prepared for the explosion of sound that erupted moments later. As Riya tapped the last command, setting her transport request to the Ismar Frontier Relay on loop, she turned, a slight frown on her features as she tried to discern what had happened.

Normally stoic Salarian techs were joyously crying out, standing at their stations as they cheers. The two Turians were also elated and even Vismaya seemed please. What had happened?

"They've left!" The cry went some way towards explaining the situation. "They've gone!"

Oh! Riya realised, feeling almost stupid. The Geth. She turned back to her screens, looking at the one showing the tactical formations of the reinforced Council Defence fleet and the Geth fleet. As had been said, the Geth fleet was no longer in position. They just weren't anywhere and there were several lines tracking presumed FTL jump routes.

It was because she was looking at her screens she saw it happen. The energy monitors for the six remaining relays simultaneously fell to zero.

"Goddess!" Her eyes widened as she just stared at the screen.

It wasn't possible. Relays did not do that! They did not shut down in the middle of processing a signal.

"Commander!" Riya didn't know she could be as forceful as she was when she shouted but she had to be heard over the cheering of the other techs.

Every eye turned towards her and Riya stared back. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Taine, one of the other techs who had been signaling a relay. Taine had his head in his hands and was staring at his screens. Riya knew what they were showing.

"Commander," Riya said again, swallowing as she spoke formally, in clipped tones that highlighted the seriousness of the situation. "Contact with all relays has been lost."

Eachann turned on the holographic disk. His large eyes fixed firmly on her and Riya held her head high. She knew what she was talking about. Eachann wasn't Vismaya though and as the cheers died to nothing he nodded solemnly. "Concentrate on the Athena Nebula Relay," he instructed. "Initiate the protocols for opening inactive relays. I will have the fleet try another Relay."

Riya nodded before sitting again and turning towards her screens. She was thankful for the chair. The atmosphere in the room had changed from jubilant to cold but despite that, she suddenly felt exhausted.

This was not how the battle was meant to end.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought _Pride of Menae_**

"They're gone?"

Victus heard the question as his hologram joined conversation.

"Yes, Ma'am," Matriarch Inanna said.

Further pings sounded softly as more commanders gathered. Inwardly Victus sighed. He was aware that some had been linked for the beginning of the battle. It was their weakness that they needed reassurance in combat. Walenty had been on comms of necessity, for coordination but all others should have been concentrating on their commands. It didn't matter now.

"The fleet moved on schedule," Walenty explained. His hologram was facing Councillor Irissa. "A final warning was transmitted, with no response from the Geth and our formation continued. Upon entering firing range, the Geth fleet jumped to FTL on several vectors."

"They were tracked?" Councillor Quentius asked.

Walenty nodded. "The Geth fleet appeared on multiple vectors, travelling at sublight speed. They left on approximately 20 vectors at light speed. I have techs working on the vectors now, tracking out probable destinations."

Councillor Irissa frowned but said nothing. "It is a concern," Admiral Rentola said. "The exact location of the Citadel is something not even we know," he added. "The fact that the Geth have discerned its location is worrying."

"They may not have," Matriarch Inanna replied. "There are twelve relays in the Nebula but based on relay distribution in other areas, there could be others. The Geth may know of one we do not." She paused, her face taking on a pensive expression. "Though that is not a thought which is pleasing."

"The Geth are a threat!" Irissa growled. "They should be destroyed."

"Until now, the Geth have shown no interest in territory outside the Perseus Veil," Councillor Quentius said. "It would be beneficial to understand their change in tactics."

Victus nodded. "That is something for consideration over the next few weeks. For now, while a victory without bloodshed is always something to be pleased with, it has left us with several concerns."

"Primarch?"

"It is only logical for an inferior force to retreat from a superior force, however the Geth did not retreat, they left! They did not engage us in battle as such we must determine their true motives."

The gathered holograms were silent as they thought. This had been the question on the minds of all concerned for the last week but no one had been able to come to any definitive answer. The most accepted reason had been that the Geth had come to the Citadel to test their combat ability. The fact that the entire Geth fleet had left without firing a single shot annulled that theory.

The Geth's unexpected retreat left them with no further knowledge.

Eachann, whose hologram had been present but turned away to something taking his attention on the Citadel, turned back. The Salarian blinked in the sudden light. "The reason the Geth left should be considered at a later time," he said, his voice quick and light.

"Commander?" Admiral Rentola asked.

The Citadel based Salarian paused, allowing everyone to turn towards him. "Despite the potential for battle today, the Citadel continued its routine monitoring duties. All active relays have a positive energy signature which we monitor for incoming traffic." That was information the fleet commanders knew but none of them insisted that Eachann hurry up.

"Just as the fleet was reaching firing range, the relay to the Turian Corridor shut down."

"Shut down?" Councillor Quentius demanded. "What do you mean shut down?"

"The ambient energy signature of the Relay dropped to zero," Eachann clarified. "While we haven't had the opportunity to fully examine any of the relays, it appears to be a state similar to those we occasionally find in an inactive state."

The gathered commanders nodded. While most of them had never seen an inactive relay, they all knew they existed. "So the Turian Corridor Relay is down?" Victus asked.

"Yes Primarch," Eachann replied.

Victus frowned. That would make it difficult to get the dreadnought fleets back into position but there were alternate routes to Palaven.

"However," Eachann continued, "the Turian Corridor Relay was not the last to close."

Victus suddenly felt a chill enter his bones as the Salarian spoke.

"The Minos Wasteland Relay became inactive next."

"They are all inactive, aren't they?" Victus asked, cutting through to the conclusion he was sure the Salarian was working up to.

"They are Primarch," Eachann replied without hesitation.

Primarch Victus briefly closed his eyes as his body went limp. He'd only felt this way a few times in his life and it never ended well.

"The Geth can close relays?" Matriarch Inanna demanded, her voice a mix of anger and fear.

"We do not know that," Eachann interjected before anyone could panic. "The first relays became inactive while the Geth fleet was place, however the last ones closed only after they had jumped to FTL. Sending a signal from FTL would be impossible. Even for the Geth."

Silence reigned.

"So what does this mean?" Councillor Irissa eventually asked.

Rentola looked towards Eachann. "The normal signals for re-activating a relay have been sent?"

"They have but no relay has responded," the Salarian sensor tech responded. "I would ask that several ships try, to ensure that the lack of reply is not due to having true mass to transport."

"I'll see to it," Both Rentola and Inanna replied.

Victus didn't reply. He was not usually a pessimistic Turian but on this he  _knew_  the Relays would not open and his mind was already working on the problems that would represent. All Turian war vessels carried enough supplies for several months as standard but he was unsure of the provisions on Asari and Salarian ships. They did not do as many long haul patrols as the Turians.

And the Citadel. What supplies did they have? Victus raised one hand to his eye ridge. This was not going to be easy. That was only to deal with the immediate problems. It didn't even begin to deal with the problems the Geth represented. Why had they been here and where had they gone?

His head hurt. Victus fisted his hands, digging his claws into his palms as his mandibles quivered. He was not going to be the only one with a headache.

-cfr-

**Earth Year 2222, Outskirts of Apien Crest**

"Ding!"

Shepard opened up the incoming message which arrived just as his hull came out of FTL. They were still a couple of light-days away from the Council's Sector Command base but the plan was to use a short jump at the end to allow for more precise control of their destination. That was where they were now, and Shepard had been intending to give the okay for Hackett to do a scouting jump into the target system. Instead, he was checking his mail.

"Oh, it's just Udina," Joker snarked from the second layer of Shepard's group consciousness. "Nothing important then. He was always a windbag."

"Now, now, Joker. You know he got better since he lost his body." Shepard replied in kind.

"Yeah, losing his balls did wonders for his disposition."

Shepard deliberately ignored that as he looked over the message from the erstwhile ambassador.

"Let's see, he reports full success in the mission. No one fired at him. Oh, or at any of the other Ascended. Good of him to clear that up. No damage taken. Well, that should be obvious but Udina still loves to hear himself talk, damn it. And he included a copy of a number of the Council's conferences. Boring- Hang on, this one is highlighted with the tag 'Star Wars'."

Shepard looked at the attached video with interest. The old science fiction trilogy had proved surprisingly enduring in Human culture. Apparently, Udina had copied his style with the battle against Sovereign, adding snarky comments throughout the conference, something he would go through later.

"Who knew Udina had such a good sense of humour?" Joker asked the others.

Shepard finally scanned to the part that Udina had wanted him to see. Rentola protested about sending so many Salarian dreadnoughts to the Citadel, for the third time, Udina had noted, when Primarch Victus broke into the conversation.

" _Regardless of the forces remaining, it is a risk to gather so many of our forces here," Rentola insisted stubbornly._

"It's a trap!" Admiral Ackbar exclaimed over the Salarian's assertions.

Joker and a fair proportion of Shepard's first sub group of consciousnesses burst into laughter. A few, Shepard could feel had no idea who Admiral Ackbar was but they were quickly accessing the files, both internal and on the Human ascended 'net to determine it. Snorts of amusement and a few of disdain accompanied their discovery of the knowledge. Everyone was a critic.

" _The Salarian Union agreed that the removal of the Geth from Citadel territory was the highest priority," Irissa snapped_.

"You will speak only when spoken to, maggot," Gunnery Sergeant Hartman screamed at full voice.

Shepard sighed as Joker lost it again. "I never knew," the man choked, still laughing, "that Udina had such a sense of humour."

"Neither did I." While Shepard had not possessed lips for decades, every layer of consciousness could feel them pursing at the report Udina had supplied. In the depths of Shepard's gestalt mind, those who spent their time almost completely in hibernation, running the unconscious functions of the Ascended form, began making bets on how harsh Udina's punishment would be.

" _Your Councillor may object."_

"You can't handle the truth!" Colonel Nathan Jessup growled over Irissa.

"I'm mildly impressed at how he's synchronised their voices," Shepard said, as Irissa and the dubbing continued. Irissa spoke at one speed while the Human voices varied their tempo and volume. Udina had done well in matching the phrases. "However, there had better be an unedited copy of this meeting in Udina's files."

" _However for the moment you have been assigned a mission and you will fulfill it."_

"Your mission, should you choose to accept it," Mission Commander Swanbeck spoke genially.

"Which you will."

"Because I said so!" Daphne Wilder finished.

"Make it stop!" Joker pleaded, sounding almost in pain. He accompanied his request with an image. It displayed Ascended Shepard, somehow rolled onto his back, his legs, both sets kicking randomly as he laughed.

Shepard stopped the vid, shifting through the file until the end to see if there was a continuation. "... trap!" Ackbar's voice echoed again but a new file loaded, one that had been hidden by the first and Shepard was grateful to see that it was an unedited version of the Council's deliberations.

He'd review it later. Udina's additions to the first version made it quite clear what the Council were doing.

"It's a trap!" Ackbar's words echoed through the layers of Shepard's being.

"Yes, Admiral," Shepard agreed, his voice deep with foreshadowing. "It is."

-cfr-

 


	12. I Spy With My Thousands of Eyes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy  
** **Chapter 11 I Spy With My Thousands of Eyes**

-cfr-

**Sol System, Turian Cruiser _Gover_**

Illo wasn't sure what to think. Each 'day', Elysium gave them about four hours of time where there was no training. Those still alive used that time to sleep, or try to eat and keep something down. Training was not exactly pleasant. The thing was, yesterday the ship had said that there would be no training today.

When Illo had tentatively asked why, the ship had replied offhandedly that today was a birthing day. That answer had left him lying awake through the entire four hours they usually got to rest. How, in the name of any Spirit, did a starship have a birthing day? Or had Elysium lied to them and was really just a ship crewed by Humans? Except that didn't make sense either. Humans birthed prodigiously. Unless this was a special person involved, it did not make sense that they would have a birthing day.

So, six hours after the time he should have been sleeping, Illo sat at the comm station on the bridge, wide awake while his surviving crew took the chance to sleep. He couldn't believe he was about to do this but with a sharp shake of his head, Illo tapped the buttons, sending out a signal.

"Elysium?" he called. He'd never willingly initiated a conversation with the huge ship. He'd never needed to. The ship had always broken in on his communications to the point where he just didn't want to hear from it.

"Elysium?" he sent a second signal after minutes of silence.

"My, Illo, this is a surprise. You wish something?"

"In the Spirit's name, what is a birthing day?" Illo demanded.

Elysium chuckled. The sound echoed through the bridge before the ship went silent again. "Ah, yes, you wouldn't know. We haven't had one since you arrived."

Illo held back a reply. He could hear that the ship was in a talkative mood, so all he'd need to do was wait for an answer, and be polite if questioned. He didn't know what information might be revealed but any information would be appreciated.

"Birthing day is the day another Ascended awakens."

"Ascended?" Illo prompted, keeping his voice calm.

"I am Ascended," Elysium replied. "Ascension is-" At this the ship paused and Illo waited. "You are incapable of understanding the perfection which is ascension."

Illo was about to object to that but Elysium continued. "I will explain it as it was explained to the Humans."

"But you are Human!" Illo frowned, trying to remember what Elysium had said in the past. It had never claimed to be Human but had certainly implied it. It was in Sol, it operated on a Human 24 hour day. It spoke Human. If that wasn't implication, Illo didn't know what was.

"I was once, I am now Ascended."

"So what is Ascension?"

"The full glory of ascension is beyond your comprehension and restricting my explanation to your limited understanding can never be accurate but to account for your weakness, it must suffice. Ascension is the genetic destiny of all organics. It is evolution.

"For your conception, it is immortality, shedding your flesh to become greater than anything you could possibly imagine." Elysium spoke without passion and Illo shivered. Someone who spoke of this passionately he would dismiss as a fanatic. Someone with deluded beliefs. The lack of passion convinced Illo that Elysium believed it but also that, on some level, it was true.

"As a Human, I saw it as the reduction of my physical form, while my mind was preserved," the ship continued. "But, I cannot even describe how little that is true."

"So how does this relate to a birthing day?" Illo asked. Reduction of physical form? What did that mean? Immortality? That sounded like one of the religions Illo barely remembered as coming from Earth. The flesh died but the soul lived on. Something like that anyway. Had the Humans had some sort of religious war amongst themselves?

"Millions of organics are within my form. I am greater than the sum of my parts," Elysium said. "Millions of organics, you would once have called Human, form the core of my being. Today, millions more will awaken to a new existence. Ascended. They will be reborn."

Illo swallowed. "Forgive me, Elysium," he managed not to growl the words. If he took insult at anything Elysium said the next training period would be worse. "So you were once Human but now, you are the ship?" That's what it seemed to be saying.

Elysium sighed. "Yes." Sarcasm laced the choral tone. "I didn't think you'd need it explained that simply," the ship added. "Millions of Humans had their bodies deconstructed into their components. That physical material was then used to form my core, while their minds are the centre of my consciousness," Elysium explained. The ship had taken over the screen, sending images that made Illo feel sick. "Once my core was completed, it was encased in the form you see," the ship continued, "and I awoke no longer Human, but Ascended.

"Today, another will be born. Another Ascended will awaken."

Illo forced himself to breathe in short, sharp gasps. "How many?"

"How many?" Elysium asked, curiosity tracing through the harmonics.

"How many Humans went into your creation?" If what Elysium said was true, and no matter how much Illo wanted to deny it, the ship had never lied to them, then how many Humans had died to make the fleet that had taken his patrol out.

"About ninety five million," came the reply.

"Ninety five million?" Illo gasped. Ninety five million by three hundred ships equalled… Twenty-eight point five billion. That was impossible. There had never been that many Humans!

"When the Arcturus Relay was moved," Elysium began answering his real question, "there were approximately eleven billion Humans on Earth. Production in the first years was less than production later. By the end, three billion Humans were taken for ascension every year. We reproduced, Turian. We reproduced as fast as we could and thus, we lasted for almost forty years before we were all Ascended."

"And now?" Illo asked, though he thought he knew the answer. Scans had shown them what remained of Earth.

"And now, for the next year or so, the last of us will awaken to their new eternity," Elysium said. "It's almost time. I'll let you watch," the ship said before there was a blip indicating the audio signal had been dropped though there was a feed coming in on the screen.

Illo recognised it as one of the artificial structures still left in Sol System. Ship yards. And in each berth, there was one of the huge ships in various stages of construction. They had assumed that it was Humans building them, though there had been some arguments among the Turians here as to how that would be with the very obvious damage to Earth but now he knew.

The image focused on one bay. The ship looked complete although no lights were on. As Illo watched, he saw the mass effect fields which held the ship in place wink out. Huge cables were pulled and the ship moved, almost sliding out of the berth. It was smooth, like a ship taking off. Lights flickered over its form and Illo couldn't help but notice that it was bare. Unlike Elysium, the new ship had no markings. More lights flickered, blinking on and off until eventually they settled into lines, much like those on the other ships Illo had seen.

Then he heard it. It screamed!

Illo screamed with it, unable to prevent himself as pain assaulted his senses. But as quickly as the pain flooded through him, it disappeared and Illo was left staring at the screen, breathing hard. All the running lights on the new ship were on and its motion was no longer smooth. Instead, it moved through space in a series of jerks and uncertain surges.

As he watched, he recognised Elysium move towards the newly launched ship, extending one leg to actually touch the other ship! The control required to do that… Illo didn't want to think about it. Except it seemed to work. The new ship moved more smoothly after that and as it stopped its jerking movement, other ships, those Illo recognised as the ones Elysium called trainees, joined it.

If he had been watching the birth of a Turian child, he would have said that the family was happily gathering around the mother and father. Except this was a dreadnought sized ship. They were not born. But it had screamed and as Elysium initiated contact, Illo realised he knew exactly what would be said now.

"Its name is Sphinx," he said in unison with Elysium.

The ship was silent for a moment. "Indeed. The newest Ascended is named Sphinx," Elysium agreed. "And that is most interesting that you know it. I did not realise our calls were audible to other organic races."

"No matter. Sphinx is now my newest pupil and you will have the honour of being one of her teachers."

"No!" Illo couldn't help the cry.

"I'm sure this must please you, getting to be useful once more." Elysium added cruelly.

"No!" Illo repeated as he slumped over the console. What were they going to do?

-cfr-

**Former Earth Alliance Space, Near Turian Sector Command**

Once the fleet had recovered from the rigors, read boredom, of FTL and assimilated the kind update from Udina, Shepard gave the go ahead to Hackett to jump forward for the in-system scout. His old friend and former commanding officer had volunteered to be the one to go in first.

Ten minutes after Hackett had jumped out, he arrived in the target system. Just about all of that time was spent accelerating and decelerating. At top speed, he could have made the journey in just thirty-one seconds but the jump was simply too short for that.

Immediately, he scanned his immediate volume of space, finding it, as expected, clear of threats. That was why he had chosen to arrive below the plane of the ecliptic for the system, to reduce an already minimal chance of trouble to astronomically low.

When the space for the nearest three hundred thousand kilometers showed up as empty, Hackett went ahead and deployed swarms of Oculi. The tiny unmanned fighters had far more use than simple dogfights against the smaller craft of the organic races, and Hackett was about to demonstrate that for Harbinger and the rest of the Ascended.

Careful use of his mass effect fields allowed him to throw out the little craft at insane velocities, relying on their own drives to slow them down as they approached their programmed destinations. As they got into place, the nearer ones naturally getting into place faster than the rest, Hackett's targeting subroutines went to work. A dozen, a hundred, thousands of eyes in the sky, their number and separation from each other (and him) allowing them unparalleled resolution of local space.

They saw through all attempts at stealth, as even the best Council technology was unable to shield a ship from view entirely. All it did was reduce the ship's emissions. It did nothing to prevent the ship occluding distant objects. In combat, that was usually enough as most races didn't have enough sensor sensitivity to pick out the black objects from the extremely faint background.

Hackett, however, did. Not only that, the sheer number of Oculi meant that every base, every ship and fighter down to the smallest was occluding something. Those gaps in the stars that should have been visible meant that, so long as you had enough computing power, you could watch everything at once. And the Ascended had that power to spare, with millions of dedicated processors provided by the consciousnesses that made up their overall mind.

He remained there for a further ten minutes, watching their courses, their movements and listening in on their transmissions both open and encrypted, before opening a communication channel back to Shepard.

"We're good to go." Hackett reported, sending along a compressed file showing his observations. That information would prove devastating, allowing the fleet to target anything that hadn't changed course since he dropped in to take a gander at the birds.

"Good work, Hackett. We'll see you soon."

As part of the plan, Hackett had been exposed to the slight risk that the enemy might have something in position to attack him while he was far from friendly support. That exposure was now over. His Oculi would warn him of approaching threats but more than that, the entire fleet of Ascended were about to jump into the blind spot of the Turian defenses.

And there was nothing like having over two hundred super ships jumping into the middle of your 'safe' territory to ruin your day.

-cfr-

**Former Earth Alliance Space, Turian Sector Command**

"We're under attack!" The panicked Turian in Sector Command's Communication Room screamed into his microphone, calling for help over the comm buoy network. Even as Eudes did it, he was afraid that any help would be far too late for them.

As the unknown ships arrived in groups of ten, the defenders scrambled to respond. Normally, while the attacker would always have the advantage of surprise on their side, the defenders would have the advantage that their positions were unknown to the attackers. On the attack, general strategy was to fire a whole bunch of missiles blindly as soon as you came out of FTL or arrived via the Relay. While far from perfect, the targeting systems on the missiles at least had a chance of hitting something, even just a lowly fighter, where firing blindly with mass accelerator cannons would only be a waste of ammunition and time while they reloaded.

It was obvious that these unknowns didn't suffer from any such disadvantage. For a start, they were firing their mass accelerators, not their missiles, when they came out of FTL. Although barely a fifth of their shots hit, that was infinitely better than the zero hits they should have had, and every shot that hit was a disabling one, taking out engines or weapons. Though the Turians didn't know why the detail was important, that attack hit every ship that hadn't altered course in the last hour.

Worse, their hit percentage was rapidly climbing. How in the name of all the Spirits were they managing that? The ships had all been on standard evasive courses and changed again in the last two hours. Either the newcomers had managed to sneak in a scout, which should have been impossible, or they could see the future!

Computer-operated scans had resolved the enemy, identifying their silhouettes. "Geth?! They're supposed to all be at the Citadel, thousands of light-years away! They can't have this many dreadnoughts!"

"Tell that to those ships outside!" Someone else, Kwang he thought, spat back.

"Oh no." Fausto, another one of his co-workers groaned. "The computers finally got a good look at the ships. They've got Human markings. And look!" He put up an image on screen, showing a word and a rank displayed on one of the massive ships. "N7. Shepard." His voice quavered as he spoke.

Yes, it was official. They were doomed.

-cfr-

**Former Earth Alliance Space, Shepard**

"I like this Fausto," Joker told his boss while he deftly avoided more Turian fire. "He is showing you the proper respect."

"You mean he's scared shitless of the Commander," former Private Fredricks corrected his friend.

"Exactly. Can we keep him?" Jeff Moreau asked, sending Shepard an image of puppy dog eyes to enhance the request.

"Keep your mind on the job, Joker. There are still dozens of cruisers here and I don't want a single scratch on the hull. That means you don't go ramming anything."

"Aye, aye, sir. Don't drive like you. Got it."

Shepard chuckled and returned the majority of his attention to the one-sided battle. Their initial salvo of relativistic slugs of ferro-tungsten had hit most of the cruisers, the only ships present that had a realistic hope of damaging them, destroying one in a spectacular explosion as Alexander hit it with a full-power shot amidships.

Now, the Ascended were eliminating one by one the enemy ships' capacity to flee. Dozens of Oculi were swarming each frigate, scores for each remaining cruiser, after they had cleared local space of enemy fighters.

"And wasn't that a surprise, Commander?" Pressly, former Navigator for the Normandy, reminded him. "We didn't expect them to have even one third as many fighters out here."

"The birds learned their lessons well from us," Shepard agreed, "they have also deployed some of our one-shot laser batteries, too. If they had made them more powerful, or gotten better shots at us, they could have been a threat in large enough numbers."

Still, that was irrelevant now. The Oculi had done their job, soaking up laser fire, killing enemy fighters and applying precise amounts of force to wreak havoc with the enemy formations. Weapons, engines, sensors, all of them were fair game for the little attackers, and they were cheap to produce by the thousand.

All that was left now was the Sector Command base itself and then they could deal with the crippled enemy ships. Elysium should be pleased.

-cfr-

**Former Earth Alliance Space, Turian Sector Command**

"That's the last of them, sir." Peigi Kucera told her commander as the viewscreen updated, putting a ring of engine damage around the cruiser,  _Hetteen_.

Admiral Enderlus waved a hand tiredly. He had forgotten just how tiring combat could be. Even if you weren't right there in the thick of battle, you strived to make the most of every second, an adrenaline analogue pumping through the body and heart beating strong but rapidly.

It was even worse when you were losing said battle, he thought. "I can see that, Kucera," he said as mildly as he could. The base shuddered from another of the strikes that were taking out their remaining weapons.

"I'm sorry, sir!" Obviously, he hadn't held in his frustrations as much as he'd thought. That or she knew him too well.

"No, it's not your fault. I know we never had the resources to stand up to a full invasion fleet, but I had never expected that sixty modern cruisers and three hundred frigates would be ruined in only-" He checked his omni-tool. "Spirits! Only fifteen minutes? It felt like at least an hour."

"I know what you mean, sir." Peigi replied quietly. It didn't feel right to remind the Admiral that sixty cruisers and three hundred frigates of any era would not have been able to stand up against two hundred dreadnoughts! She flinched as she looked at her omni-tool which was pinging for her attention. "Here they come."

-cfr-

"Alright, while Harper's husks go to work inside the base, I want to tell everyone well done on our first fleet engagement. Harper, nice work on the comm buoy. You had it hacked before they could send any warning out at all, while still allowing normal message traffic."

"Thank you, Shepard. We had practice with Nazario's messages but it is still a good challenge for our creativity."

"Hackett, I think I speak for all of us when I say great work with the targeting data. We scored hits on every ship that had maintained its position or course thanks to your reconnaissance and you identified a weak point in their defences, allowing us to come out of FTL where only a few of them could fire on us with their main guns."

"The pleasure was mine, Shepard. Although, next time, I want to be with the main fleet. By the time I could micro-jump into the battle, all that was left of their fleet were the dregs."

"Oh, don't give us that. You disabled a cruiser and three frigates which was more than some of us got to hit." Zaeed's reply was accompanied by a pulse of satisfaction at so many defeated Turians all around him. Of course, he had got two cruisers and one frigate, a better haul to be sure.

"Alright, everyone, settle down. I think we are all agreed that the trial of the scouting tactic was a success. So long as the Turians don't get wind of how we are attacking, it should continue to work. Anyone have a good reason why we shouldn't repeat it?"

No one could think of one. As Shepard had pointed out, the Turians didn't know the system had been attacked, much less how they had gone about it, so really, there was no harm in using it a lot so long as that remained true.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought _Astrakhan_**

Walenty stood on the projection disk. Six hours after the Geth had left and he should be celebrating. Instead, he had been on and off the projection disk non-stop as he relayed information and consulted with the powers in system. At the moment, the meeting was with Eachann and Victus.

"We've confirmed the Geth trajectories," Walenty said. "The Citadel confirms."

"Where are they?" Primarch Victus asked.

"Assuming they travelled far enough," Eachann replied, "the list of systems has been transmitted to you now. We have allowed for Geth not requiring to discharge their drive cores."

Victus looked down at the datapad he held assessing the names. "These are nowhere!" He objected. He'd never even heard of most of the systems, just strings of numbers and letters assigned by astronomers.

"They are only possibilities," Walenty assured him. "If you travel further along the trajectories, there are other systems, but there is nothing there for dozens of lightyears."

"There is also no guarantee that the Geth ships even travelled that far," the Salarian added.

The Primarch took a deep breath. "So for the moment, there is no system in immediate danger from them," he concluded. That was one concern reduced. With the bulk of the Council's available military ship strength at the Citadel, the Geth would face reduced garrisons should they attack elsewhere.

"That would be a reasonable assumption," Eachann agreed. "Signals have already been sent to the homeworlds, warning them."

"Very good. My fellow Primarchs will reorganise Turian defences based on our reduced strength," Victus said. "How are the attempts at opening the Relays?" The question had to be asked. While he had every confidence in the Primarchs in charge of the Turian military outside of the Serpent Nebula, the faster they could return to normal, the better. The best force to have on your side was overwhelming.

Walenty resisted the urge to groan. "Salarian and Asari forces have tried all the relays," he reported. "There has been no change and no detectable reaction from the Relays."

"We've tried all vessels?"

"Yes, Primarch," Walenty reported. "A couple of the fighters even volunteered to attempt it but there was no reaction."

"Eachann," Victus fixed his eyes on the Salarian. "The STG truly does not know the coordinates of the Citadel?" The question was asked quietly but with a firm imperative.

For a moment, the Commander of the Citadel was silent leading to a moment of hope for the Turians. "Despite attempts," Eachann replied, "STG still remains in the dark as to the location of the Citadel. Locating the Citadel is one of the ongoing projects for any Salarian working in the Serpent Nebula or on the Citadel. The STG has a general idea of the location, based on trajectory estimates from observations made from Relay travel but the area is still too large to allow escape."

"None of our ships are equipped for an Expedition attempt," Walenty observed.

"It wouldn't be an Expedition," Victus replied. "We could refit at the first depot but that is not an option." He finished before turning to look at Eachann. "What is the supply situation like on the Citadel?"

Again, the Commander was silent. "The Citadel is not a military base. We have sufficient supplies for two weeks but after that there will be issues."

"Should we move military forces now?"

"That is not necessary, Primarch. The few troops that were available from the regular Turian Citadel fleet are already bivouacked on the Citadel."

"Walenty?" Victus prompted the Admiral for a further explanation.

"Executor Govinus required additional aid in controlling the riots when the Geth first appeared," Walenty clarified. The troops hadn't been seconded back to their regular ships with the battle. There was always the chance that the geth might have attacked the Citadel directly and somehow landed forces. It was an unlikely chance but it was better to prepare for those options, as well as the more probable.

"Will leaving them on the Citadel adversely affect supplies?"

"Not appreciably," Eachann said. "It would be best if we station them now at the Palladium."

Walenty nodded. "Once news gets out that the Relays are down, it is likely that there will be further unrest."

"Agreed," Victus said. "I will ready additional forces should that prove necessary." He paused. "Is there any further news on what caused the Relays to shut down?"

"At first glance, it would appear as if the Geth have a far greater understanding of the Relay network. A complete timeline has been forwarded to you. The first Relays shut down while the Citadel fleet was moving into place but the others shut down after they had left. Unless they left some device, or are somehow able to give time delayed orders, then the final Relays should not have shut down." Eachann had gone over every inch of the report and the sensor readings. He'd even gone over the secondary sensors and had maintenance techs looking at the wiring now to make sure there were no breaks or odd energy charges.

"I find it very hard to believe the Relays would choose now to shut down," Victus said. The words were nothing new. Every commander aware of the situation was saying the same thing.

"It does strain probability," Eachann agreed. "There is only one comparable incident on record."

"The Batarians," Walenty said.

"Has anyone questioned the so-called Batarian Ambassador?" Victus asked.

"Jath'Amon returned to the Batarian settlement on Jartar in Hades Gamma weeks ago," Eachann told him. "And the few other Batarians on the Citadel know nothing useful."

Walenty was watching Victus when he was told that, so he saw the way the Primarch rolled his eyes in the subtle way that the Turians did. It went without saying that he was thinking that it was typical that the only time he actually wanted to speak to a Batarian, the Batarian was nowhere to be found.

"I want a full review of all information we have on their Relays!" Victus ordered. "And if any engineer or even a tech has any idea on how to reactivate the Relays, they are to try it. If they come up with a workable method, there will be a full commendation for them."

Eachann nodded. "All measures will be taken," he assured the Primarch. "We are already quietly asking for volunteers for a close range visual inspection and, if necessary, expedition on to a Relay."

Victus nodded and his hologram disappeared.

Walenty glanced at Eachann, nodding personably to the Salarian before he stepped off the disk and quickly sat down, reaching one hand to his forehead as he breathed deeply. His feet hurt. For last few meetings, the disk had been moved into Fisseha's ready room to allow him privacy when conversing with the other commanders. However, it meant that he could not have the gravity turned down and it was hell on his feet.

But this pain was nothing. Walenty snorted to himself. The Geth caused him pain when they were here and they still caused him pain now that they were gone. He really had to see if he could get some more padding in his boots… or if it would throw off his balance if he put a cushion on the disk. He'd have to investigate some options. Quentius wasn't that much younger than him! How did he do this day after day? Maybe a discreet message?

For now, Walenty looked down at the datapad in front of him. The list of jobs just kept getting longer and moping about his feet was not going to make it shorter.

-cfr-

**Viper Nebula, Human Ascended Fleet**

Shepard looked at the Alpha Relay. While visually it was no different from any other Relay, to his sensors it felt old. Fruben was beside him and had assured him that the Alpha Relay was the first relay created. It was also one of the closest to the Ascended's hibernation home out in dark space.

As such, it had a few special features. The Batarians had figured them out but had never had the guts to use them and the Council just didn't know. Well, what they didn't know would hurt them. Fruben had showed him how to activate the extra features as a super long-range Relay and he would send the commands as soon as the rest of the fleet arrived.

They had briefly checked on the remains of Human colonies but as expected, they had been destroyed thoroughly, if not by the Council, then by the Ascended. A few signals from Turian colonies had been detected and Shepard had detached small sections of the fleet to destroy them. The destruction of the colonies had been conducted with great enthusiasm and Shepard had fielded complaints from those in the second layer of his consciousness who had wanted to participate. They accepted his gentle reproaches that he would lead the charge in Trebia and thus they would personally kill their fair share of Turians.

Udina and the Citadel diversion fleet would meet them in the Turian Corridor along the way to Trebia. While they waited, several Ascended were mining asteroids. For the battles that were to come, they all needed to be fully loaded with all the raw materials and processed metals they could carry.

"Nergal," Shepard sent the name as a greeting.

"Yes?"

"Is the First Contact Package ready?"

"We just finished updating it." Nergal said before sending it to Shepard on a subchannel and the consciousnesses that made up Shepard tore into the data.

The recreation vid of the original first contact between Humans and the Turians had been enhanced as well and the rough, cut vid that Hackett had made had been redone entirely. The video flowed smoothly and Shepard listened to his own voice narrating the action with a critical ear. The words were almost corny but they would do the job and Skye's voice was still recognisable. For any Turian with an interest in the history of the Human Rebellion, it would give them memories of Cerberus. Harper would be pleased.

"Hehe," Joker laughed after he watched the vid. "This is going to be sweet."

"Please distribute it to the fleet," Shepard instructed, ignoring his pilot's chuckles.

"At once," Nergal agreed and uploaded the vid. It was downloaded by the Ascended present almost immediately.

"I sometimes wonder how much we've grown, when we were Ascended," Harper observed.

Shepard could feel he was pleased with the vid but could acknowledge Cerberus' leader's point. It was petty, even childish to send it. "This is our vengeance," he replied to the comment. "It is everything we wanted to do to the galaxy who betrayed us but couldn't." He switched to a private channel. "Let them have their fun," he added, referring to the other Ascended.

"How does Harbinger feel about it?" Harper asked pointedly.

"As per our agreement, Harbinger has given us carte blanche to deal with the galaxy's species as we see fit. So long as the harvest is conducted, we may do what we want."

Harper was silent at that but Shepard didn't need his advisor to speak to know that the man was thinking that it would be fine until Harbinger altered their agreement. Again.

"No matter what happens," Shepard reassured him, "we will at the very least destroy the Turians. For most, that will be an acceptable vengeance even if that is all we are allowed."

-cfr-

**Apien Crest, Human Ascended Fleet**

Shepard had half-expected the Alpha Relay's transit to feel different, somehow, rougher, maybe, given it was the oldest one. The only difference that he or any of the fleet noticed was that it had taken much longer. That wasn't a surprise given that they had travelled ten times further than any other Relay would take them. Of course, ten times longer at Relay speeds was still too fast for any organic to perceive but since Ascension, the Humans had experienced the differences for themselves.

Still, they had arrived in the region of space that was home to the Turian homeworld, the one they called the Apien Crest, and here they waited, on the far side of an unknown Relay a few light-years from Trebia, for Udina and his diversionary fleet to arrive. Despite his warnings, the leader of the Human Ascended had indeed waited for their fellows, but he wouldn't wait forever. Shepard would give them one more hour and after that, they would move through to Trebia.

They had a species' pride to kill and the fleet were itching to get started!

There were only eleven minutes remaining on the hour Shepard had granted the tardy politician when the Relay activated and Udina and the rest of the fifty sent through their hails.

"You, Donnel Udina, are late."

Harper and Hackett laughed at the image Shepard sent along, of a father chastising his little boy, before Udina managed to reply.

"Yes, sir, we're late. We ran into a number of systems with patrols and had to sneak past them. While hacking them didn't take long, getting past their visual range guards at the Relays did take longer than anticipated."

"I would have said that was a stupid tactic for them except that it worked."

"Only partially." Harper pointed out. "Udina did slip past them unnoticed, after all."

"True, but even slowing down your enemy can be crucial in war." Shepard and the others who had fought the Turians all remembered lives spent to buy a little time.

"It didn't matter here. No one knows where we are and we can attack at our leisure. And we will soon be able to travel openly," Udina tried to divert attention from his tardiness.

"Well, if you're finally ready to party, we should get going. The fun on Palaven is about to start. All that remains is for someone to scout ahead. Zaeed. It's your turn to take point and recon for the rest of us."

"Yes, sir." Zaeed didn't sound happy.

"It's your own fault for picking on me so much," Hackett joked.

"There will be plenty of targets in the Trebia system," Shepard reassured him.

The former mercenary acknowledged the point. The Turians were military, their home system would be the most well protected. "How far out?"

"A couple of light hours would be best," Hackett replied.

Zaeed sent through his agreement. "See you soon," he said before turning and activating the relay, disappearing with a flash of light.

Joker immediately reported that Zaeed had travelled in the general vicinity of the Trebia system but would be offset to the ecliptic by 3.5 billion kilometres. For any organic ship, such a result would be a terrible failure for both the pilot and navigator, for an Ascended, it was simply the way they used the Relays. Now, all they had to do now was wait for his intel.

-cfr-

**Trebia System, 3.5 Billion Kilometres off the Ecliptic**

Zaeed oriented himself to be facing the Turian homeworld, Palaven, before he began disgorging Oculi. The little ships were thrown with precision which he didn't even think about any more. Some were thrown far, while others were kept close to transfer signals to him. Halfway through, information began flowing back to him.

"Oh, shit," Zaeed said to himself. The sentiment was shared by the secondary minds and they immediately activated several plants. He continued hurling Oculi, including the new ones as they were made. He could always break them down again when they were no longer necessary.

Soon, Zaeed's Ascended form was surrounded by a halo of the small machines, some spread up to five light-seconds from him to allow better correlation of the data they would collect. Without thought, he began assessing the information.

"That's a lot of infrastructure," Wilson, one of the few Cerberus operatives who had not been Ascended with Harper, observed.

"A lot to destroy," Zaeed chuckled, recovering from his initial surprise. The Turians had layers of defences in Trebia. Rank upon rank of static installations interspersed with ships.

"What about their fleets?" Bailey asked. The former C-Sec officer was looking forward to showing Turians exactly how good Humans could be at their jobs.

"I think Udina was a bit too efficient," Wilson lamented.

Zaeed snorted. "I look upon the Citadel fleet as the final delicacy. The dessert after we've had the main course." He sifted through the data, looking towards Palaven. "Well, well, well, who knew the birds copied us so much?"

The question was rhetorical. While Trebia's system defences were impressive, the Turian homeworld had the thickest. It made sense, of course. All species would defend their home world and the Turians knew what would happen if the Council was ever challenged. As the military arm, they were the main targets. It was why Zaeed was here, after all.

Palaven was shrouded in defences. It almost looked like a debris field but Zaeed knew the Turians were too organised for that. There would be an ordered reason for the positioning of everything. Orbital laser batteries formed a sphere around Palaven and there were other satellites that looked bulkier.

"Missile canisters," Bailey identified them.

"Do you know their yield?"

"No." The last was said factually. "I only ever heard some C-sec talking about them."

"It doesn't matter. We'll send some Oculi to find out," Wilson said. "There's only six dreadnoughts."

"But they all have reinforced fleets, and there's another five carriers," Zaeed said. "Every type of Turian ship is here. I only hope we get to play."

"I'm sure Shepard will let us have our fun."

"It's not Shepard I'm worried about," Zaeed explained. "It's everyone else. They want to hit the Turians almost as much as we do. We'll have to be quick about it."

"Ah," Bailey said, understanding Zaeed's meaning. The entire Human Ascended fleet would be assaulting Trebia and they all wanted Turian blood. While no one was truly keeping count of kills, there was an unofficial score board and Zaeed had no intention of dropping down the ranks.

"All right, let's send this info on to the boss and be prepared for orders."

-cfr-


	13. Something Beginning With

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 12/08/2017
> 
> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.

 

 

 **Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy  
** **Chapter 12 Something Beginning With**

-cfr-

**Palaven, Primarch's Office**

In another species, someone with as much power as Primarch Fedorian would have priceless artworks or reminders of his power adorning the office as a matter of course. For the Krogan, for example, they would be both, high-quality weapons that had been instrumental in the warlord's rise on display and ready to use at a moment's notice.

The Turians were different.

Sure, the office was larger than anyone else's and the furniture almost sinfully comfortable with state of the art facilities but that was a matter of necessity. Not only did it help when dealing with other species but the truth was that anything less affected efficiency. They'd tried to get by with less expense spent on the Primarchs only for the Hierarchy to suffer as their leadership made poor or slow decisions, or even slept through crises, unable to function effectively.

However, there were no trophies here, no statements of personal achievement, no art, only what was needed and nothing more. If you were here, that was statement enough for any Turian.

The middle-aged Turian was working away, reading through reports and making notes of orders and projects, when his omni-tool chimed for an incoming call.

"Primarch, we have received an update from the Citadel. The Geth presence has left, driven off by the resolve of our fleets. However, they did not depart without leaving a reminder of their visit. All of the Relays at the Citadel are offline and, so far, efforts to restore their function have been unsuccessful." Fedorian's personal assistant announced without preamble.

Fedorian understood the underlying message. "Our dreadnoughts are stuck there until they can restore the Relays. With so much of our strength diverted to meeting the Geth, our own interests are vulnerable. Have they any information as to where the Geth went?"

"None, Primarch."

"Very well. I must assume that they have some goal in mind. Shift our deployments here in the Trebia System to yellow alert in light of the new danger and alert the other Primarchs. Also, I want the Navy to maintain heightened readiness for the next two weeks. By then, either the Geth will have shown themselves or we can conclude they will have returned behind the Veil. Whichever way it turns out, we will have to revert most of the Navy back to peacekeeping levels at that point to preserve our ships and crews." Fedorian mentally nodded to himself, satisfied he had covered the immediate priorities. "Send the orders and have the admirals report to me in three hours with their proposals as to how we will respond to this danger."

"Yes, Primarch. Trebia Command acknowledges your orders and is re-deploying accordingly."

-cfr-

**Apien Crest, Human Ascended Fleet**

"All right, everyone's ready," Shepard didn't bother making it a question. They had been Ascended ready! Over the Human Ascended network, Shepard pulled up the scan of the Trebia system that Zaeed had provided them with. Initial targets had already been assigned for when they appeared and after that, they would continue to sweep towards the third planet, Palaven, systematically destroying everything that stood in their path. Unlike other encounters, disabling ships was not desired. Elysium would have to wait for further training materials.

"Trebia has six planets, though Palaven has a significantly developed moon. Ignoring the planets, let's try to keep the fuel depot intact. It will be useful to us. Until we secure it, remain at a distance. I don't want anyone caught in the blast radius should it be destroyed." As Shepard spoke, the schematic of the Trebia system moved, highlighting the fuel depot and the projected blast radius. "There should be no problem with that."

"Similarly, we want to take Datriux intact. We will have to land husks to kill the garrison but it should be well worth it for the mineral deposits.

"There are garrisons on Essenus and Impera but nothing we need on either planet, so once we wipe out the Turian presence we can move on. However! That brings us to Palaven. I do not want anyone to travel between Palaven and Menae until both are subdued. Both planets have heavy ground based fortifications, as well as orbital defense platforms, and I do not want anyone caught in their crossfire. Menae is one huge military base and, even with our hacked files, we don't know enough about it so it will be destroyed entirely.

"As per our agreement with Harbinger, we must leave a viable population for ascension," Shepard's voice was hard as he said that. He knew how much some wanted to kill all the Turians. "There are 6.1 billion Turians on Palaven, with a further 350 thousand on the orbital stations," Shepard highlighted the Turian population data they had taken from the Arcturus fleet. "Those on the orbital stations are dead but I think we can keep a mere 100 million alive on Palaven.

"We will destroy all space-based defences before we consider landing any forces. Is that clear?" Shepard waited for confirmation which came quickly. He did not seek agreement. He was the leader of the Human Ascended and while Shepard had a military background, he had learned how to give orders as suggestions. However, there were times when obedience was required. This was one of those times.

"Good," Shepard said. "Form up, and let's go. It's time to come out from the shadows so don't worry about locking down comm buoys."

"Shepard?" Saraswati interrupted gently. Every link spoke of respect for the Human Ascended leader.

"Yes?"

"Instead of locking down the comm buoys, could we not instead transmit?"

"Transmit what?" Shepard asked.

"The Council deserves a better view of what we are doing. We could transmit visuals." The avatar of the Hindu goddess of knowledge and wisdom took obvious pleasure in the suggestion.

Harper laughed, a short ugly noise that bespoke pain for anyone who got in his way. "We can do better than that," he said, taking Saraswati's idea and running with it. "We won't send them our visuals," he added. "We'll send them the visuals from the Turian vessels."

"Yes!" A general cry of assent rippled through the gathered fleet.

Shepard was silent for a few moments, thinking it over. "Visuals must be edited before transmission to ensure that tactical information is not included. The Council is trapped on the Citadel and has nothing to do but rip any information source apart. We do not want to make anything about this easy for them."

"They may watch the demise of their people with nothing but anguish in their hearts. I promised the Council Humanity would have vengeance. It is time we showed them what hopelessness feels like."

-cfr-

**Trebia System, Trebia Relay, Kaisiepo Station**

Arithir was a sensor tech on Kaisiepo Station. The station was a safe 200,000 km from the Relay, far enough that any attackers would have to pause long enough for the station's defences to come online and respond but close enough that arrivals had to deal with it. That made it the first checkpoint for entry into the Trebia system. All ships entering and leaving Trebia were checked by Kaisiepo Station. They had a bank of comm techs whose job it was to regulate traffic through the Relay.

While night and day did not exist in space, they worked on Cipritine time. As such, it was late in the station's cycle but that made no difference to their work. The bank of comm techs was always full, just as his sensor station was always filled. The ships didn't stop coming just because it was 2am for them. In fact, during some periods the night shift could be even busier than the day crew. It didn't matter.

It was 2:37am when the first ship appeared.

Arithir thought nothing of it. The Relay monitors thought it was big and he was running the silhouette through the scanner when the second ship appeared. The resulting beep caused Arithir to look over to the monitor. His eyes widened as alarms began blaring on Kaisiepo Station. The Relay's energy readings were off the charts!

"Incoming weapons fire!" Hayfa screamed, her voice panicked.

He tore his eyes away from the Relay's monitor to the holographic projection beside it. The projection showed the relative location of objects around the Relay.

It was filled with red dots indicating hostile ships. One mandible clicked uncertainly. The system marked ships as unknown unless they had fired… which meant that every ship on his sensors had to have fired. He flicked the sensors, bringing up a different frequency.

"Spirits," Arithir whispered. The hologram filled with waves of red. As Hayfa had screamed, incoming weapons fire. But not just one shot, hundreds of shots were shown.

And the leading rounds were about to hit Kaisiepo Station.

Arithir closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He slammed one hand down on the warning signal as the first round hit the station. It was not the last and Kaisiepo Station shook and screamed with the onslaught.

His last thought was of Oana. His little girl was so beautiful.

A wave of heat ripped over him, then there was a screaming noise before everything went black.

-cfr-

**Outskirts of Trebia System, Human Ascended Fleet**

Inwardly, Shepard trembled as he decelerated in Trebia. This had been a long time coming and now that it was finally here, he wasn't sure what to feel. Excitement was definitely coursing through what passed for his bloodstream but also vindication. He had expected to feel some anger but Shepard realised what anger he had felt towards the Council had burned out years ago when he  _knew_  that he would see vengeance. It was pointless to feel anger at those you knew were going to die but you hadn't gotten around to killing just yet.

Vaguely, he wondered if he'd feel the same if this was the Parnitha System? During The Betrayal, Quentius had at least tried to be reasonable. He hadn't let his prejudices run away with him unlike that bitch, Irissa. For an Asari, she was damned quick to push for combat. If Tevos had survived, no matter how annoying, paired with Quentius, well Human Council relations would have suffered a massive set back but-

"Leave it," Adams interrupted Shepard's thoughts, pulling him back to the present.

Like all of the Ascended, as he'd been decelerating, he'd fired at his assigned target before dumping hoards of Oculi into the space around him. Information was now coming back.

"Shit!" Joker swore and Shepard felt his form shift, moving through space expertly under the pilot's light touch. "Fuck! We move like a garbage scow compared to the  _Normandy_."

"Joker, language!" Shepard admonished almost fondly, although he understood his pilot's concern. The space around Trebia's relay was filled with items that should not have been there! While Joker was exaggerating the degree, Shepard couldn't deny that their maneuverability was lower in this form, something that had just become important.

"The birds have made some alterations," he sent the signal to the fleet before anyone could begin blaming Zaeed for bad intel. The instant he had sensed the laser turrets and missile satellites, he'd understood a weakness in their plan. Zaeed's information was three to four hours old, at least. The Turians could easily move assets in that time and they had.

"Why have they moved them?" The demand flooded the network.

"Probably in response to the Citadel," Shepard replied, keeping his voice calm before he focused on two large lumps of metal that were now in new positions. "Look on the bright side! They brought two dreadnoughts into our reach! Remember, I want Datriux and the Fuel Depot intact. Nothing else is important."

Even as he spoke, the fleet broke into two groups, heading towards the dreadnoughts and their attendant fleets, though surrounding them all were thousands of drones and small fighters.

The Oculi were engaged in a firefight with them and Shepard growled internally as he wound up several weapons. His point defence systems could deal with these pests but his regular weapons were overkill.

"We do need some smaller vessels in our fleet," Hackett mused.

The four Ascended who made up the main Human leadership group had remained with Shepard. As the fleet split to attack the dreadnoughts, Shepard moved with those heading towards Datriux though he felt no need to race ahead as some small pockets did. He didn't restrain them. It was better that they worked out their eagerness now before the main assault on Palaven took place. The battle of the Relay had left some issues which they discussed as they moved, their point defenses destroying the few small Turian drones and unmanned fighters that managed to get through the Oculi.

The debris from the small ships was hot and fast moving, forming a constant hail that lit up their shields but did no damage. It wasn't even a nuisance.

"We do!" Miranda snarled, unleashing a barrage of short sharp blasts from her left side pereiopods. There was an array of explosions from the Turian craft.

"They're drones and unmanned fighters, they aren't a threat to us." Anderson observed. "Unfortunately, they are relaying tactical information back to Palaven."

"Palaven should be getting other information shortly," Hackett said, indicating to the lead ships which were bearing down on the closest dreadnought, the one that had been moving into position to cover the Relay. They were headed to Datriux and the dreadnought there,

"How can we fix our intel?" Udina demanded. He'd missed his shot because the frigate he'd been assigned was no longer where it should have been.

"There was nothing wrong with the intel," Miranda replied.

"Of course, it was wrong!" Udina insisted.

"There was nothing wrong with it," Shepard said before Miranda could snap. His voice was unusually patient. "It was merely old."

"How the hell can it be old! That gun monkey Zaeed was right there!"

The way Miranda twitched said without words that if she had maintained her Human shell she would have been making it very clear what she thought about Udina and his relative intelligence to a microbe.

"Zaeed's information was three or so hours old," Anderson explained in a long-suffering tone. " _Because_  he was three or so light-hours away from Trebia. Distance equals time for the information to arrive."

"It is an effective method," Shepard added. "But we only see the past. Even Ascended must obey the laws of physics. The Turians simply moved their assets since Zaeed's recon. They were-" He paused and, without thinking about what he was doing, linked to Hackett and Anderson, sharing the nebulous conclusion that had struck him.

With the three of them working on the problem, the nebulous conclusion soon solidified. "With the dreadnoughts trapped in the Serpent Nebula, the Turians have gone back to standard alert deployments," Hackett said slowly.

"They've had to!" Anderson sounded amused. "They don't know how long their ships will be trapped and they can't ignore threats in the meantime. Call them what you will but the Turians were always militarily adept."

"So what does that mean?" Udina growled. With the sensor issue explained, he felt like a fool for not seeing it earlier.

"It means that we might be able to anticipate some of the Turian formations."

"Leave it." Shepard commanded. "Right now, we've got Palaven to kill."

-cfr-

**Outskirts of Trebia, Turian Dreadnought _Pride of Pheiros_**

"I don't care what they are or where they are meant to be! Fire!" Captain Wouterus of Dreadnought  _Pride of Pheiros_  screamed the order, making sure he was being transmitted to the entire fleet.

Spirits-damned Asari! Their corruption of good Turians was evident when his junior weapons officer dared to suggest that they contact the unknown fleet. You didn't contact any unknown fleet that had come through the Relay already firing with anything but return fire! To suggest anything else was... Wouterus growled. To suggest anything else was not Turian!

His sensor techs had done better, quickly analyzing the silhouettes and reporting that the unknown ships were the same as those which had, until recently, been in the Serpent Nebula. Except there were more of them. Not fifty, at least three hundred.

And they were aggressively hostile. The unknown ships had come through the relay already firing. Kaisiepo Station's kinetic barriers hadn't even slowed down the rounds that drove through the station. Drones had already been deployed around the Relay but the unknown ships had deployed their own small ships. The two squadrons were involved in a vicious dogfight, one where the Turian drones were quickly being decimated.

"Sir, I think you should look at this," Bjarte interrupted, pointing towards one of his screens.

Wouterus glanced over, his red eyes shrouded in shadow. The screen showed some markings on one of the ship. Probably its name. He didn't recognise the language. "What am I looking at?" he demanded.

"The language is Human, sir."

"Human?" Wouterus hissed. "But these are Geth ships!"

"The markings are on all of them sir!" Another tech reported. "And they are all different." The screen broke into multiple windows, highlighting the words on each ship.

So that meant the Humans had an alliance with the Geth… or had the supposed Geth dreadnought been a Human invention all along? Or were the Geth pretending to be Human?

Too many questions that were not his problem. The huge ships, no matter who they represented, bearing down on the  _Pride of Pheiros_ were. The  _Pride of Pheiros_  had fired its main cannon and had scored a straight hit, one that had been backed up by thanix cannons. Amazingly, those had seemed to do the most damage.

Wouterus growled. They should! Thanix cannons had been designed around the weaponry on that ship 40 years ago. "Keep firing!" he commanded. "If they are Human ships, then fire faster!"

"We're redlining!" Cinzia, his weapons officer, objected.

"Keep firing or we are dead!"

With one hundred and fifty dreadnought class vessels bearing down on them, they were dead anyway but Wouterus was  _not_  going to go alone. "Focus on the one we hit! Tell all our ships to focus on that one!"

"Sir, we cannot-" Bjarte never got the chance to finish.

"I am fully aware of what we can and cannot do!" Wouterus yelled. "Concentrate all fire on the single ship and move  _all_ extraneous power to our front kinetic barriers. Move life support if necessary but I want that ship down!"

His crew knew what that meant but they went about their jobs with the efficiency Turians should have. Wouterus nodded to himself. His eyes fixed on the main viewscreen, targeting the ship they had hit, as if through force of gaze he could bring it down.

Geth, Humans, some unholy alliance or something else entirely, he knew his duty. He would hold the line for as long as the  _Pride of Pheiros_  could.

-cfr-

**Outskirts of Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Chimera had raced deep into the Trebia system, even diverting power from other systems to its engines to get to the defenders faster. One of ten at the front of the pack, he had been eager to make the damned birds pay for what they had done to Humanity twice now.

Now, he was wishing he had been a little more prudent. Instead of the Turian Navy trying to fire at all ten of the vanguard in this fleet, some utter bastard had chosen to send all of that firepower at just his suddenly fragile-seeming hull. Thanix rounds based on his own weaponry came in, gouging chunks of his armour. The damned dreadnought hadn't scored a direct hit yet, nor was it going to if Chimera had anything to say about it. Power that had been directed to maximum acceleration was finally returned to maneuvering and to raising his kinetic barriers to full. Suddenly, rounds that would have scored on his hull were being deflected off by the strong shields.

Only the combined efforts of four dreadnought-class shots would be able to scratch him now, he smugly thought.

"Ouch!" And it seemed the universe, or at least the damn Turians, were determined to prove him wrong, punishing him for his hubris as a full squadron of cruisers managed to aim their fire at one pereiopod, landing their hits within a second and degrading his barrier enough for a puny frigate to hurt his pride and take out one of his point defence lasers.

He started evading more urgently when more and more ships chose him as their target. "And this had been such a good day!" He complained over the 'net.

"Less complaining, more dodging!" His peanut gallery demanded of his pilot. "The main gun will be ready to shoot that bloody dreadnought in a second, as long as you line it up right."

"Ok, ok! If you think it's so easy, you can try to beat me in the next exam. Now shut up and let us concentrate. Bastards."

Chimera was giving back as best he could, but all previous attempts to shoot down the dreadnought had been stymied by frigates diving between him and his target, blowing up in a single hit. Such hits were massive overkill but in dying, they were shielding their larger, more dangerous brother from his fury.

They couldn't keep that up forever, but he was losing barrier strength too. "Time to see how tough our armor is, I guess."

Around him, the vanguard were also firing on the Turian ships. Frigates by the score were blowing up each second. Chimera hoped that the Turians would either run out of frigates or fail to block a shot before his barriers gave out entirely. He started using Oculi to block enemy fire, copying the enemy's tactic and showing how skilled a Human Ascended could be.

"Damn Turians, always picking on us Humans."

-cfr-

 **Trebia, near Datruix, Turian Frigate** _**Culverin** _

Captain Iveta of the Turian Frigate  _Culverin_  stared at the screen. She was currently deployed on what was fondly called the Home Patrol, stationed around Datriux. Unless you came from a colony world, Home Patrol was one of the most sought after postings in the Hierarchy. You were the first to find out all the news and all shore leave was to Palaven! Even if you were from a colony world, your biology craved Palaven's biosphere.

Citadel Patrol was pretty good but Home Patrol was better. She'd fought mandible and claw to get the  _Culverin_  transferred from Batarian border patrol in the Exodus Cluster to any other patrol. Three weeks ago, she'd been granted a transfer and the Culverin had been moved to the Eagle Nebula, with a brief stop at the Citadel for shore leave.

Then everything had turned upside down. The Geth had appeared in the Serpent Nebula. The  _Culverin,_  Iveta and her battle group had been called back to Trebia and assigned to the reinforced fleet of the Turian Dreadnought  _Adjudicator._  Iveta was happy with the assignment. Let no one suggest that she wasn't. The only thing that would have made her happier was assignment to a cruiser but she didn't think she was senior enough for that yet.

It had been a tense time in Trebia, watching the Citadel watch the Geth and seeing the forces gather to drive off the Geth. Iveta hadn't been involved naturally, but she knew that there were high level meetings almost every day. Primarch Adrien Victus, Menae's High Commander had accompanied the dreadnoughts and their fleets to the Serpent Nebula which said without words how seriously the Turians were taking the Geth incursion.

Then they had been ready to strike and the Geth had disappeared.

It had been an anticlimax. Iveta was as relieved as everyone that the lives of good Turians were not extinguished in a battle they all knew would be costly but she, like any good strategist, was worried. The last Geth ship to go to the Serpent Nebula had come through the relay already firing. These had been content to sit and wait and had run at the first sign of a coordinated attack. What were they doing?

Command had said nothing and Iveta had ordered her crew to continue their duties. They'd find out the news in time. Command had still given no hint of what had happened when they ordered the  _Adjudicator_  and fleets to Datriux but the orders came from Primarch Fedorian himself so something had to have happened. Iveta had shrugged. She was curious but she was Turian military. She would be told when there was a need for her to know.

It was too late for information now.

Her screen showed the  _Pride of Pheiros_  and fleet. They had been moving into position around the Relay when the Geth fleet had appeared and now the  _Pheiros_  was bleeding fire. Gouts of it spurted and died as the atmosphere was consumed. Three, almost simultaneous hits from the Geth dreadnoughts had ripped through its shields. One hit would have been enough. Iveta knew it was only a matter of time before the superstructure gave way.

The  _Bard_ , the  _Warsprite_ , the  _Talon_ , the  _Stevedore_ , the  _Archer_ , the  _Sniper_ , the  _Lance_ … the list scrolled, with a disturbingly long time between repeats, on the screen beside that showing the  _Pheiros_. They were all ships who had taken a hit to protect the  _Pheiros_. All for nothing.

The  _Pheiros_  and fleet had targeted one ship. One ship out of hundreds! They had driven their entire firepower at that ship, some of the smaller cruisers and frigates going so far as to attempt to ram the Geth dreadnought and all they had done, as far as Iveta could see was scratch the armor. The dreadnought's shields had remained up for a long time as waves of frigates had sacrificed themselves in a last ditch attempt to destroy it. And when the shields had finally fallen, the ships that had followed had only gouged at the dreadnought's armor.

They hadn't even managed to distort the wording that ran along the ship's length.  _Chimera._  The name was displayed proudly. A Human word. It implied things she didn't want to think about.

"Orders from the  _Adjudicator,_ " Usamu called, catching Iveta's attention.

She turned to him, one mandible spreading slightly to indicate he should continue.

"We are to maintain our current formation with the  _Strike_  and to fall back."

"Fall back?" Iveta demanded. She had no desire to die but she was Turian, and the Geth ships had invaded Trebia. She would fight!

"Just to the back of formations," Usamu added. "Our battle group has been renamed Stiletto," he continued, reading from his screen. "Analysis of attacks on the Geth dreadnought calling itself  _Chimera_  makes Command think there is a small gap in their shields." There was a note of hope in Usamu's voice. "We are to move when we see an opening on one and attempt to break their shielding."

"Oh, we'll find it," Iveta growled, her mandibles spread happily and the dread she had felt watching the  _Pheiros_  battle now fell away. The  _Pheiros'_  battle group may not have defeated any of the enemy ships but that would not stand against them. They had found the information the others needed.

The  _Culverin_  and the Stiletto battle group would confirm that weakness and then the entire fleet would exploit it because those who had made the ultimate sacrifice with the  _Pheiros_  deserved nothing less.

-cfr-

 **Trebia System, Turian Dreadnought** _**Adjudicator** _

"All battle groups have their plans?" Captain Jykurus asked for the confirmation.

"Yes Sir," Peredus, his chief Comm officer replied.

"Good," Jykurus sighed. "They'll probably be useless but better than nothing."

The Captain of the  _Adjudicator_  turned his attention to the tactical screen. They'd counted three hundred and ten Geth dreadnoughts in Trebia. They'd given up counting the number of smaller ships the dreadnoughts had launched. Thousands, hundreds of thousands maybe. It didn't matter. The recordings made it clear that they were small, agile and very powerful.

Of the three hundred and ten Geth dreadnoughts in the system, ten had remained at the Relay, forming an obvious rearguard against reinforcements. One hundred and fifty had gone after the  _Pride of Pheiros_  and a further one hundred and fifty were bearing down on his location. The  _Adjudicator_  was in geosynchronous orbit over Datriux's ground based mineral mines and refineries. A reinforced fleet of cruisers and frigates surrounded them.

The ships approaching them were all dreadnought class and while his fleet maintained the formations he'd specified, the Geth ships did not. They travelled in groups but they were strung out. The first ships surged ahead, eager to engage but the larger group approached at a more stately pace.

If it had of been a normal battle group approaching, one consisting of dreadnoughts and smaller craft, Captain Jykurus would have thought that the vessels in the leader were to test his defences while the ones bringing up the rear analysed their efforts before the real battle began. Except you did not send dreadnoughts to 'test' defences.

Unless the only thing you had was dreadnoughts. No, that was stupid! Every fleet had vessels of varying size. Even Geth fleets did. They'd proven that the last time they'd appeared. So why now send only dreadnoughts and why send ships adorned with Human markings? His techs had done their job. While the ships looked like Geth dreadnoughts, every single one of them had markings along the left of their tail like figures and on the legs which extended down there were further markings.

The symbol of the cursed Systems Alliance was prominent, in all its variants though some of the dreadnoughts bore only the image of Earth. Beyond what Jykurus and his techs assumed was the name, there seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the markings. A few of the vessels, thankfully only a handful, bore another symbol. Cerberus. He'd hissed when he'd seen that. Two of his brothers had fallen to Cerberus ambushes during the Human Rebellion. It was not a symbol he would forget but it was not a symbol he had ever seen next to the Systems Alliance. Yet most of the ships that displayed Cerberus' symbol, had at least a variant of the Systems Alliance icon next to it.

So were these ships Human, or Geth? Or had the Geth, for some unknown reason, painted Human symbols on their ships without knowing their meanings?

No… the logic behind painting the names in the same location conflicted with a lack of understanding.

"Send a transmission to the incoming attackers," Jykurus ordered, turning towards his comm officer.

"What do you want sent sir?"

Most of the comm techs had switched their screens to tactical displays and would help coordinate the fleet.

"'Are you Geth?'" Jykurus replied. It really shouldn't be something he cared about at this juncture. Geth or Human, they were aggressive and none of the ships at the Citadel had replied. But if they did… It would provide some tactical insight. And with three hundred dreadnoughts facing the five remaining in Trebia, Palaven ground control would need all the tactical insight they could get.

"Message away, sir." No sooner had Peredus spoken than the screen changed.

"Incoming transmission!" several techs reported needlessly. "Tight band, to us only!" one of them added, running an analysis on the signal.

The static cleared and Jykurus felt his eyes widen. The screen displayed a Human. It didn't appear to be anyone Jykurus recognised. It was sitting and behind it a sun burned. The image was artificial. He knew that instantly. But the species displayed was Human.

"Do I look like Geth to you?" The question was asked in unflanged Turian, spoken how a Human might pronounce their language.

"Who are you?" Jykurus demanded.

"My name is Harper," the 'Human' replied.

While knowing the names of prominent Humans had been a must during the Human Rebellion, forty years had passed and Jykurus had let that information fade. Still, he was positive that 'Harper' had never been on a list of Humans they were to kill on sight.

"You do not know me," the Human continued. "I never wanted lesser species to know me but I am the Commander of Cerberus."

There was a collective hiss from the bridge crew of the  _Adjudicator._  "Prove it," Jykurus heard himself challenge. A fake image of a Human could claim anything. He did not have to believe it.

The Human smiled, then laughed. "Turians!" The voice chuckled. "So straightforward," the Human mused. "I shouldn't be talking to you, because it's not my transmission you need to see," the Human added before the image blinked, changing to a shot of one of the Geth dreadnoughts. This one bore the name Cerberus on it's side and Jykurus could see the Cerberus' broken hexagon on one of its legs. The markings were larger than some of the frigates in his fleet.

That image held, only for an instant, long enough for them to take in the words and symbol before a vid began playing.

"Get that off my screen!" Jykurus ordered.

"We can't sir!" the reply was too fast to be pleasing.

"Just watch it," Harper's voice sounded over the internal comms. It was grating to hear Turian spoken without flanging. "It is important that you understand why this is happening."

"You are attacking my home system!" Jykurus growled. "The only thing I must understand is how to kill you!" He finished refusing to look at the vid.

Again the Human voice laughed. "The  _Pheiros_  and fleet threw everything they had all at Chimera and look how far they got. They managed to scratch the paintwork but nothing else. You cannot kill us."

"You are Human! So you are weak and undisciplined. You will die."

"We are Ascended, and you cannot stop us." The signal blipped at the end, indicating that it had been terminated.

Jykurus growled. "Why is that vid still there?" he demanded.

"The voice signal dropped, the vid file didn't," Peredus reported.

Snarling Jykurus glared at the screen. What appeared to be Turian ships were approaching primitive vessels which were in the shadow of a huge, inactive Primary Relay. Without warning the Turian vessels opened fire. "This was the way the galactic community greeted us," another Human voice spoke, again in perfect unflanged Turian.

After the ships were destroyed, vessels Jykurus realised were meant to represent Human ships, the image changed. This time it displayed Turian ships. Approaching them were the same ships that were approaching the  _Adjudicator._  Except the lead ship… Jykurus didn't need a translation to recognise the words. 'N7 Shepard'. Surrounding Shepard were other ships, each bearing names that Jykurus' mind told him had been on the 'shoot on sight' lists during the Human Rebellion.

Anderson, Hackett, Udina, Williams, Vega, Alenko… They were all names that he had known. Not necessarily feared but had known. Amongst them were other names. Sirta he sort of knew… the company had been the inventors of medi-gel. Taylor, Saraswati, Elysium, Zaeed, Ares, Tadashi, Alexander… those were names he didn't recognise but knew were Human.

The ships opened fire on the Turian vessels and the vision degenerated into fantastical explosions. It was as if whoever had made the vid had no idea how ships were destroyed in space, how the atmosphere bleed from unsealed areas, how fire, if it started, only moved through those areas, quickly extinguishing as the oxygen was consumed. It was fake but very obviously designed to send a message. Then another voice spoke, again in perfect unflanged Turian. "This is our greeting to the galactic community."

Jykurus didn't need anyone to tell him who that was. Even speaking Turian Shepard's voice was clear and the implications were clearer. Geth would not go to this level of detail. They had no need and they would not hide behind a Human facade. So the ships attacking were not Geth but were Human. "Send a signal to High Command. Tell them the ships are  _Human_  not Geth!"

"Our signals are being hacked, Sir, but we will try," Peredus replied as the tactical screen finally cleared to once again show the fleet approaching.

"What about our weapons?"

"All systems are fully operational," several techs replied.

"See that they remain that way. Send a frigate instead," Jykurus ordered. "And prepare for combat," he added, somewhat unnecessarily. Captain Wouterus' strategy suddenly made a whole lot more sense. The  _Adjudicator_  couldn't defeat one hundred and fifty dreadnoughts, no matter who made them but he would have the pleasure of seeing one die.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Trebia System, Primarch's Office**

Fedorian watched the screen as an officer reported to him. It showed a schematic of the outer Trebia system. The  _Pride of Pheiros_  was gone, and there were only a few grey dots representing the few cruisers and frigates that remained. Most still sent an IFF signal but weren't firing, yellow rings around them denoting their status. They were disabled.

The red dots representing the enemy ships were towing them into neat rows while the other half of the fleet closed in on Datriux and the  _Adjudicator._  They had tried signalling but the unknown ships were blocking all signals. A single frigate from the  _Adjudicator's_  fleet was currently engaged in a slingshot maneuver around Datriux and Fedorian assumed that they were bringing information.

"Three hundred and ten signals came through the Relay. They immediately began launching small vessels which we assume are unmanned drones. This could have been in response to our drones already located at the Relay.

"Except for the  _Human_ ," the officer spat the word, "writing, the ships are identical to those seen at the Citadel."

"And there are six times as many," Fedorian observed.

"Yes, sir," the officer agreed. "They have stationed ten of their forces at the Relay, presumably to block any reinforcements."

"Continue," Fedorian ordered when the officer paused. Senior Turians already knew the chances of reinforcement was slim unless they could get a signal through to the Citadel. That assumed the Council Fleet was able to open the Relays and race back in time to help them, while they held on for days waiting for the reinforcements.

No. It was better for him to assume they were alone.

"From our drones and unmanned fighters, and the  _Pride of Pheiros_  we have intel on the range of their weapons and maneuverability. Unfortunately Sir, their weapons have a greater range but they are less maneuverable than our ships, probably due to their size."

"That's something," General Corinthus muttered.

It wasn't much but it was something.

"Their plans are unknown, but it is presumed they will launch an assault on Palaven. We have no knowledge of what their planet-based tactics or equipment may be," the officer concluded.

Fedorian nodded before turning to General Corinthus.

"Alerts have sounded across Palaven," the General began. "City defences are activating and all gun entrenchments are being manned. The Cabals have been alerted and are arming now. We will be ready." His eyes were hard.

"Good. Call up all the reserves and do not turn away anyone," Fedorian ordered. In this situation, all Turians could be counted upon to defend their homes, though many would move to the nearest military base to take up duties there.

He turned back to the staff officer to give other orders. "Keep some analysts on close examination of the ships. I want to know if they are the same vessels as those at the Citadel, or if they are new. Admiral?" Fedorian turned to a small screen. He didn't need to look at the attacking ships any further.

Admiral Demetrian nodded slightly. He was aboard the  _Resolute._  With three hundred enemy dreadnoughts in the system it was a death sentence but the Admiral was treating it as just another mission. He was a good Turian. "Sir. Missile defense batteries have been activated and my analyst's are examining the  _Pheiros'_  battle. Captain Wouterus' decision to focus on just one of the ships has given us valuable estimate of their shield strength. We are expecting more information from the frigate the  _Adjudicator_  has sent _._ "

"Very good," Fedorian's mandibles clicked. He said nothing about the lives that brought that information.

"Menae main cannons are standing by while we wait for them to close into range."

"Fire only once they have cleared the missile canisters," Fedorian ordered.

"We can fire earlier," Admiral Demetrian objected. Firing only once the enemies had cleared the defence missiles would cut down the time they had to fire and thus, the number of ships they could bring down. .

"I am aware of that," Fedorian agreed. "But I do not wish to give this scum any warning."

Mandibles clicked, indicating understanding. "Canisters are clustering for intercept but unless we are very lucky, their missiles will do nothing more than slow them down. The best time to fire from Menae would be during missile bombardment. I do not know what type of detection devices they have but nothing can track everything."

"Agreed," Fedorian said, revising his previous orders. "Do that."

"The  _Resolute, Unconquered, Defender_ and  _Indomitable_ will maintain an orbit between Palaven and the attackers. The combined fleets will hold them off for as long as possible."

Fedorian nodded. "You are an honour to our people and a true Turian, Admiral," the Primarch said. There wasn't anything more he could say.

"We'll find a way to gut these bastards, Primarch," Demetrian said. "It's just a matter of time."

"Thank you Admiral. Please see to the distribution of your command," Fedorian ordered before turning back to gathered techs and analysts. "So," he said, his mandibles clamped tightly to his face as he asked the question that everyone who had seen a visual of these ships seemed to be speculating about, "Tell me, are these ships Geth, Human, or something else?"

-cfr-

 


	14. Play Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 26/08/2017
> 
> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.
> 
> Shepard's ME1 Non-Human Companions
> 
> Several people have asked where the various non Human members of Shepard's crew are. The basic run down is that all the alien companions from ME1 either got killed in the war or betrayed him. He never met anyone from ME2 or beyond.
> 
> Liara - Already know she's alive as she's been shown in scenes. She will have stuff to say about the state of the galaxy shortly but given that - for the Council - things have been happening fast, it takes a while to track down people. And they don't yet know they need to talk to her.
> 
> Wrex - This is a quote from the prologue. I didn't think it left much doubt - "As for the Krogan, well, Wrex had come out publicly in favour of the Alliance. In response, the Council had blockaded Tuchanka, even leaving a dreadnought on guard above the new crater that had been Clan Urdnot's home."
> 
> Garrus - This chapter gives a hint but there is a real 'this is what happened' coming up in three to four chapters time.
> 
> Tali - (and any Quarian!) - There is stuff in the prologue about this. "The Alliance had expected the Quarians to accept the Council offer of a dextro-amino world. Instead, the Migrant Fleet had ran. They had abandoned their Pilgrims, and Tali, in favour of saving their entire race" and "The way Tali had looked when she smiled at him. The way the bones of the drell assassin felt under his hands." He was killing the Drell for a reason.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy  
** **Chapter 13** **Play Time**

-cfr-

**Outer Trebia System, Turian Frigate** _**Culverin** _

Iveta kept her eyes fixed firmly forward. She felt like a coward, running away from the greatest battle she had ever heard of, but orders were orders and she was Turian. She'd ordered the  _Culverin_  into stealth and they were currently slingshotting around Datriux. The planet's mass would hide them from the incoming fleet and the centrifugal force would propel them towards Palaven with the news they bore.

_Humans!_

The massive ships were Human, they just looked like Geth.

She wanted to curse her former commander Admiral Enderlus. What the hell was he doing letting Humans through the Exodus Cluster? While the  _Culverin_  had been on Batarian Patrol, she was well aware that the most important patrol route was Arcturus! The gateway to Earth. Had they grown lax?

The instant she thought that, she dismissed it. Three hundred dreadnoughts. Sector Command was not built to withstand that. Really, what was? But what about his routine reports? If you assumed, validly, Iveta thought, that these Humans had emerged from Sol just before the faux Geth ships appeared in the Serpent Nebula, then that left at least a week during which System Command of the Exodus Cluster should have been reporting in. With three hundred dreadnoughts, the Humans would have overwhelmed the patrols and System Command but they couldn't recreate the ongoing reports.

Could they?

Iveta shook her head, keeping her mandibles tight against her face as she resumed staring at the screen. It was the tactical display for the  _Adjudicator_  and the fleet she had been a part of. On the small screen beside it, their trajectory was displayed along with their progress. They were still so far but they couldn't risk going to FTL to cover the distance. Under the current circumstances, Palaven Command would shoot them out of the sky before they finished sending their IFF.

"Tactical?" She called.

"Captain," Mauritian looked up from his station.

"Your thoughts." Iveta didn't need to specify on what.

"As the data from the  _Adjudicator_  indicates," her tactical officer began after glancing at his screen, "the unknown ships have the same silhouettes as those seen around the Citadel. Some, on silhouette shape, are identical." That was new. The  _Culverin_  had obviously scanned their silhouette and knew the ships were of the same fleet but the  _Adjudicator_  had better scanners, and more techs. They had been able to analyse the information further.

"Captain Jykurus indicates that the ships are Human," Mauritian added.

"Yes," Iveta nodded. "Does his report say why he believes that?" The ships looked like the Geth dreadnought which had attacked the Citadel forty years ago.

Mauritian looked back at his terminal. "Captain Jykurus reports that he-" Mauritian gasped. "He got a message from them!" Iveta's tactical officer finished in a rush.

"A message?"

"The message was two parts. The first was a simulation but the being represented identified themselves as the supposed leader of the Human terror organisation, Cerberus. The second was a vid."

"A vid?" These aliens had the time to be sending vid files that were not comms?

"Yes, Ma'am, routing to your screen now," Mauritian said.

Iveta held back a nervous click of her mandibles. If it was routed to her screen that meant the information was classified. She nodded at her tactical officer and stepped back to look down at the small private screen the Captain's area was fitted with. The vid file was waiting and Iveta reached out one talon, tapping the screen to play it.

A vista of stars appeared along with a Relay. The immediate distinguishing feature was that it was dormant. Then the vid zoomed in, on ships that were before the massive structure. They were primitive ships and they were obviously trying to open the relay! Iveta felt a burn of irritation at that. Did they know nothing? You did not open relays! There could be anything lurking behind them!

Then the vid shifted, panning back out to show more ships. Turian. She recognised the design with a surge of pride. They were older vessels, those common in service about 70 years ago but the  _Culverin_  was based on their designs, honed by their experience.

The Turian ships opened fire on the primitives. As well they should, Iveta thought. And then a voice spoke. It took her a moment to recognise the language as Turian. "This was the way the galactic community greeted us." The voice spoke matter of factly and Iveta watched as the primitive ships were destroyed.

The vid blurred but immediately refocused, to show more Turian ships. They were modern ships now. Dreadnoughts and their attendant fleets. Cruisers and frigates all in perfect formations. Her left mandible clicked, they were a magnificent sight. Then again the vid panned out and this time, Geth dreadnoughts appeared. Except these dreadnoughts, like those invading Trebia, bore markings, Human markings. She recognised some names, but mostly the symbols.

The dreadnoughts fired, destroying the Turian ships and Iveta suppressed a hiss. No Turian ship would fall that easily. A new voice spoke, one that seemed familiar but Iveta couldn't place it. "This is our greeting to the galactic community."

Iveta looked up from the vid. "I see," she said. She did see. Though there were so many questions that came with that understanding. If these ships were Human, then why had they not been deployed during the Human Rebellion? The Humans were not a species to hold back! Or did they somehow find the true owners of that dreadnought that attacked the Citadel? If they did, how did they ally with them because despite the destruction of the  _Destiny Ascension,_  it was Human ships which had fired the final blow. There were too many contradictions with understanding.

"Brace for impact!" The scream from Yesenia, her helmsman, broke Iveta's concentration and automatically, she reached out to dig her talons into the stays that were built into all ships.

The  _Culverin_  shuddered and she could almost hear the roar of a passing ship.

"What was that?" Iveta demanded, her eyes immediately fixing on the navigational tactical display. There was a giant red mark where the  _Culverin_  should be. The screen was zoomed in and Iveta swallowed. She didn't need the reminder of how small the  _Culverin_  was when compared to the invaders. Mauritian tapped his talons on the controls, panning the image out.

"Five!" Usamu screamed, drowning out the similar report from the sensor officer.

"Full evasive," Iveta shouted to Yesenia.

Her pilot hadn't even bothered to turn at the news but had instead kept her eyes fully on her navigational screen.

Iveta didn't imagine the groan from the  _Culverin_  as her ship banked hard. If she hadn't been holding the stays, she would have been tossed around as Yesenia maneuvered them through several tight turns, pulling as much energy as she could from the drive core. They were in space but there were still limits and there was the suddenly huge gravity well of Datriux to consider.

Dreadnoughts were not as maneuverable as frigates and cruisers. That was the rule and Iveta felt a kernel of relief when the invaders proved to be no exception to that rule. Except, they didn't have to be. They were so much larger than the  _Culverin_  that they followed without the dodging and turning.

"Incoming weapons fire!" Mauritian stated, remarkably calmly.

"Evasive," Iveta ordered. "Launch countermeasures and keep us on course for Palaven!"

Thrums echoed through the  _Culverin_ as the counters were launched and Iveta watched the tactical screen. None of the dreadnoughts had fired their main weapons.  _We're probably too small to rate that_ , Iveta thought cynically but they had launched a volley of other weapons.

The  _Culverin_  shuddered and one of Iveta's hands was jarred free from its hold. She quickly grabbed another as her little frigate continued to be jostled through space. No! She had to get to Palaven! The Hierarchy had to know that the ships were Human!

"We're surrounded!"

"What?" How could they be surrounded in space.

"The dreadnoughts have ceased fire."

"What?" Iveta made the demand again looking to the navigational screen.

They were surrounded. Datriux was, relatively speaking, behind them but there was an enemy dreadnought at each meridian and one directly ahead. "Ready the main cannon," Iveta said firmly as she once again fixed her eyes on the screen. The battle over Datriux had begun but the  _Culverin's_ bridge was silent.

"Why aren't they firing?" Usamu whispered.

Iveta gritted her teeth. Usamu was correct. Why weren't they firing?

"Captain, orders?" Yesenia called.

She was sorely tempted to fire but she and the  _Culverin_  had another task to accomplish. "Forward," Iveta ordered. "Take us straight by the one in front." If the Human ships weren't firing then she would take the chance.

"Why aren't they firing?" Usamu demanded, louder this time.

"Does it matter?" Mauritian snapped.

The  _Culverin_  started forward slowly. The tap of talon on controls seemed loud and Iveta wasn't the only one holding her breath. She forced herself to breathe as Yesenia maneuvered the Culverin. The Human dreadnought loomed in her vision. It loomed in the vision of the entire crew, dominating the screen. Iveta could feel the sight burning into her mind and knew that to her dying day she would remember this.

' _Eternity,'_  was written on its side. The symbol of Earth from the traitorous Systems Alliance was on the centre front of its middle foreleg. Iveta mentally growled at herself, resisting the urge to click her mandibles in frustration. It was a dreadnought, it did not have legs! But that's what they looked like, some primitive species' legs.

Larger and larger it loomed and Iveta realised she was holding her breath again.

"Why aren't they firing?" Usamu screamed this time, hysteria evident in his voice as he lunged at the weapons officer, hands outstretched, as he reached out for the  _Culverin's_  weapons control.

Pontius was ready for him and Mauritian was quick to follow, tackling Usamu from behind and latching his arms through Usamu's to restrain him. The comm officer screamed and lashed out, kicking viciously and Iveta saw the way he was trying to drive his spurs into Mauritian. Pontius drew his sidearm and before Iveta could say anything had hit Usamu with the hilt of the weapon.

"Sorry, Captain," he said a moment later as Usamu still struggled weakly.

"Again," Iveta ordered, her eyes hard.

Pontius obeyed, hitting Usamu again and finally rendering him unconscious. Mauritian grunted at the sudden dead weight as Iveta moved forward, stepping down into Pontius' bay.

Frigates did not have a brig, they didn't need them, but Iveta was not about to execute one of her crew. "Take him to one of the storage lockers and lock him in. Make sure he can't get out! You don't have to be gentle," she added. This was an extra frustration she did not need!

Her officers nodded, Pontius moving to pick up Usamu's legs while Iveta took his place at his station. "Yesenia?"

"No change, Captain."

Iveta felt a surge of relief. Yesenia was due a commendation. She had not stopped flying the  _Culverin_  despite the drama behind her. Her relief lasted until she looked up at the screen.

The Human dreadnought dominated everything and Iveta felt her eyes widen in horror as she realised they were close enough that she could almost see the individual armor plates .

"Yesenia?" The name this time held a note of uncertainty.

"They can't use their main cannon at this range Captain," came the reply. "And if any of the others fire on us, they will hit their own."

That was true but Iveta suppressed a shiver. The Human dreadnoughts felt… they felt cold. That was the only way to describe it. The  _Adjudicator_  didn't feel like anything but this close to the Human dreadnought, Iveta just felt cold.

"Using the enemy ship as a sling shot now," Yesenia announced. "No energy spikes detected," came the further confirmation. This might be one of the scariest things Iveta had ever done but Yesenia was more than due that commendation. Her helmsman was paying attention to everything.

"Steady on course," Iveta gave her permission for the maneuver and she watched as the screen showed the Human dreadnought accelerating as they moved faster around it. They had used Datriux for acceleration but the intercept had bled any gain completely away. If they could use the Human ships in any way, then they had to!

"We'll be clear in five, four, three…" Yesenia stopped.

The Human dreadnought moved! Where they had been passing by its flank, now they were passing by the front again. It had spun. The realisation dawned an instant before Iveta felt the  _Culverin_  shudder at the engines kicked in, and view screen blurred as they sped towards Palaven.

Iveta watched the range as the numbers raced upwards and it was only after they passed what they believed was the effective firing range of the Human dreadnoughts that she felt her legs go weak. The feeling shook her entire body and she tapped Pontius' screens, bringing up the rear cameras. The Human dreadnoughts had moved into a v-formation and as Iveta watched the increasingly dwindling image, their formation dipped into Datriux's thin atmosphere. She realised with dismay that their trajectory would bring them around the planet to behind the  _Adjudicator_  and fleet.

Captain Jykurus would be ready for them, she consoled herself before once again looking at the forward screen.

Iveta breathed deep to calm her nerves before she let out one click. "Good work, everyone," she announced, ignoring the obvious question of why the Human dreadnoughts had let them go, because that was what had happened. The Human ships had herded them against Datriux but after that they hadn't fired, they hadn't moved. They'd let them flee.

But why?

-cfr-

**Outer Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Shepard watched the battle. The darker side of Humanity was showing and it didn't feel right to call it a battle. The Captain of the Turian dreadnought  _Adjudicator_  had tried the same tactics as the now destroyed  _Pride of Pheiros_  but the Human Ascended had been wary of that. They wove and dodged, never letting the Turian fleet get a clear shot on any one of them.

In return, the Human Ascended were picking off the fleet protecting Datriux with a cold precision that made him proud. They were well trained. Most of the frigates and cruisers were being disabled, though a few had been destroyed.

What were they going to do with all the Turian ships? Elysium didn't need that many!

"Stop disabling ships," Shepard ordered.

"Sir, why don't we keep them?" Necromancer asked, sending further information with the question. He fully understood that the young Ascended didn't need this many training aides and towing them back to Sol would be time consuming and wasteful but the suggestion was to use the disabled frigates and cruisers to take out at least some of the Turian defences around Palaven. A single frigate could potentially take out at least two to three missile canisters if they lined the shot up right.

Taylor chuckled. "That reminds me, Elysium suggested football."

"Not football. The frigates would be too fragile," Necromancer objected.

"They're too small as well," Taylor commented. "They are like tennis balls!"

"How about we play darts?" Spectre suggested.

There was laughter from the fleet and they waited for Shepard to reply.

"That is acceptable," Shepard agreed. This campaign was really bringing out the dark side of Humanity but he couldn't blame them. The war, Ascension… the Human race had had too much stress and not enough relief. This play, though brutal was their way of relaxing. A last hurrah before settling in to be true Ascended.

"Aye, aye, Sir!" came the enthusiastic reply and, while nothing changed on any scope, Shepard watched as the Ascendeds' targeting became tighter. The space around the  _Adjudicator_  became littered with disabled ships.

"Good work," Shepard added. No one had yet fired on the dreadnought but that was coming. The paranoia would no doubt be frustrating the Turian Captain and frustrated commanders missed things.

As Shepard was near the back of the pack, he saw Eternity and the other dreadnoughts sent to scare the messenger frigate crest the horizon of Datriux. A snigger passed through the fleet when his sensors relayed the information to the Human data network. Nothing changed in the intensity of the battle to give away the trap quickly approaching.

Eternity broke free of Datriux's thin atmosphere.

"Disable if you can," Shepard ordered. The 'if you can' added because it was a dreadnought and while the more technically minded Ascended had analysed the destruction of the  _Pride of Pheiros_  and thought they had accurately predicted where Eternity should strike to disable the  _Adjudicator_ , you could never be sure. Still, it wasn't like a Turian dreadnought blowing up wouldn't be a welcome sight.

"We will try," came the reply an instant before the intercept fleet opened fire on the Turian dreadnought.

In the fleet, several Ascended laughed. It took an instant to see their reasons but Shepard quickly realised they had been actively hacking the  _Adjudicator,_  watching the reactions of the crew. Captain Jykurus had been completely blindsided by Eternity and their powerful cannons ripped into the dreadnought's superstructure. Atmosphere leaked from it but was quickly cut off as bulkheads engaged. There were a few small fires but the  _Adjudicator's_  own scans revealed that they were limited to the surface areas and were quickly extinguishing themselves. The  _Adjudicator's_  rear point defences were gone and unless the Turian engineers knew exactly what they were doing, the eezo core would become unstable quickly.

If the crew had been Human, Shepard would have called it valiant, the way that the  _Adjudicator_  attempted to continue to fire. Now, he thought it was stupid. They had no hope to win but he knew how stubborn Turians could be, which was another reason they had been chosen to be first. Human desire for vengeance may fade with the reality of their victory. Destroying the Turians first meant that the birds would suffer the full range of Human bloodlust and that was only fitting for the race that had led the Council's attack fleets.

"Finish it," Shepard commanded. Eternity's detachment opened fire again as they swept through what remained of the  _Adjudicator_  and its escort fleet. Small explosions rocked the dreadnought and several frigates attempted to ram the squadron, only to be destroyed by Ascended point defences.

This time there was no stopping some of the fires that leaked with the atmosphere from the Turian dreadnought. As Shepard watched, all point defences failed and while they still possessed some armor, it might as well have been absent for all the good it did. The eezo core fluctuated and for one long moment, Shepard thought that the Turians would let it blow. It would be a spectacular way to go but wouldn't damage any Ascended but, just before the core reached critical, Turian engineers must have gotten the manual release valves open, releasing a jet of eezo-enhanced plasma into space.

Shepard thought that internal comms must be down if the Captain did not realise what dire straits they were in and act to prevent their capture.

"I stopped the message," Harper said over a private channel.

"You know me entirely too well."

Harper gave a rare honest laugh. "Now, we just have to decide what to do with it."

"True," Shepard agreed, before turning his attention back to the ship. The engine was dead and there was no way the Turians could get it restarted, not with their eezo released to space. Missile bays were slagged and the mass accelerator was gone. "I'm sure we will come up with something."

"They have enough sensors remaining to realise how little they can do," Harper said, analysing the information lifted from the  _Adjudicator._ "About half the crew is dead," he continued.

"Can they talk to anyone?"

"No."

"Good," Shepard said. "As soon as we've swept the last ships away, begin landing husks. I want Datriux in our hands before we begin on the inner worlds."

"I could just hack it."

"No," Shepard dismissed the option. "I don't want some panicked Turian to blow the facility manually. We need the husks to concentrate their minds on that threat so they don't have time to think of it. Once the husks are landed, then hack their self-destruct."

The last few cruisers were disabled with ruthless precision. Eternity's squadron had scattered the fleet, sending most straight towards other Ascended where they were quickly dealt with.

As husk transports began heading towards Datriux's mining facilities, Shepard pulled his attention back, assessing Trebia's outer planets. The Relay was theirs. Datriux' ground-based defences would be overwhelmed easily. The fuel depot remained the only thing in their current region which wasn't theirs.

It wouldn't be long.

The main issue was in layers around Palaven and scattered around Menae. Even Turian military literature was surprisingly silent on what was on Trebia's main moon and long range scans still only revealed what was expected.

The expanded detachment which had taken the  _Pride of Pheiros_  integrated themselves back with those in orbit around Datriux as Shepard linked into the Human Ascended network.

"I'm sure everyone's noticed the Turians' defences," he began, ignoring the sniggers from his companions. "While they are not dangerous to us, they will be an annoyance, so we are going to clear them out before we advance on Palaven."

"How, sir? I can long range target them but that's a lot to clear out," one of the Ascended commented.

"The Turians are going to help us," Shepard explained. "They've been kind enough to provide us with two reinforced fleets." He highlighted all the disabled cruisers and frigates. "Everyone grab a frigate or three, though be careful that they do not manually detonate a warhead."

Another wave of laughter moved through the fleet as they realised what Shepard was suggesting. "Project your targets to the fleet," the Human Ascended leader said. "We wouldn't want to waste our ammunition."

-cfr-

**Outer Trebia, Turian Dreadnought** _**Adjudicator** _

Captain Jykurus didn't bother to restrain his snarl as the  _Adjudicator's_  damage report showed eezo-infused plasma venting harmlessly into the void. "How dare they?" He growled at Peredus.

The  _Adjudicator_ had been defeated. The Humans' blind side attack had ripped through her underpowered, rear kinetic shielding, biting deep into the superstructure. With the first hit, rear point defenses had been destroyed and they'd bled a little atmosphere before the bulkheads had engaged. The core had been destabilized but the immediate report from Engineering had said they could contain it. His crew, despite the damage, had continued to fight.

Except they all knew a second hit was incoming.

This time, the entire point defence system went offline. Not that it mattered. Until the first hit, the Human ships had avoided firing on the  _Adjudicator_. He knew why now. They'd lost more atmosphere and Jykurus had deliberately ignored those areas that on their damage screen displayed red. Whole sections had been vented to space. The crew in those were gone.

Engineering had reported that they had lost control of the core. Not an unexpected consequence and knowing that the battle had been lost, and determined not to be dishonoured, Jykurus had taken one deep breath and had ordered them to let it blow.

An order they had not obeyed.

"I don't know, Sir," Peredus replied, his voice respectful.

"Get me a line to Engineering," Jykurus ordered, "and one to Fire Control." They still had internal comms at least, though the connection to Crew Quarters didn't appear to be working and the lower hanger bays were gone.

The bridge smelt faintly of smoke but with the core released, sparking caused by the fluctuating core levels was gone. They were operating on emergency power and at the mercy of a hostile fleet. This was not how he would die

"Sir?" Jykurus recognised Aglaurus' voice despite the static on the line. He frowned. Aglaurus was only the Assistant Chief Engineer.

"Where's Borsala?"

"Sorry, Captain, she didn't make it."

Well that would explain why his Chief Engineer didn't blow the drive core but not why the others didn't obey his orders.

"I assume you are in charge, Aglaurus?"

"Yes, Sir."

"So by all the Spirits, why did you vent the core?"

After a pause, Aglaurus replied. "We had no orders to let it blow, Sir." Without orders to let it go, they would have done their duty to the ship and stabilized the core any way they could. It was typical Turian logic and on any other day, Jykurus would have applauded that.

Jykurus snarled, glancing at Peredus, who shook his head indicating that they had sent the order. "The order was sent!"

There was another pause, longer this time and just as Jykurus thought that Aglaurus wouldn't answer, static crackled and he received a reply.. "With respect, Sir, the order was not received in engineering. The consoles of those who died have been checked," the new Chief Engineer continued to explain and Jykurus retained enough composure to realise that was what had caused the longer delay. "The order was not received."

"Spirits damn you!" Jykurus screamed.

The Humans! Peredus had told him! The signals were being hacked. He'd thought it was just the external signals. He slumped back into his place. "They had total control?" There was no need to say who 'they' were.

"It would appear that way," Peredus said solemnly but something caught Jykurus' attention and he couldn't help the way his eyes narrowed as he watched his Comm Officer. The note in his voice… Was Peredus one of those pro-Humans? A sudden cold flash went through Jykurus.

"Engineering, can you generate critical mass?"

"No, Sir. Too much eezo has been released. I'm sorry, sir. We might have enough for limited propulsion but I haven't seen the external damage report yet." They'd only have enough for propulsion if they had at least one directional exhaust. Given that the initial hits had come from behind, that was questionable.

Jykurus glanced at the damage report. The directional exhausts were red, like most of the rear of the ship, but he didn't know if they could be repaired. "Get teams out for a visual inspection," he ordered. If they could move, even slightly, then he'd try to get the  _Adjudicator_ close to one of the bastard invader ships before they blew. He turned back to Peredus. The man wouldn't dare disobey a direct order. "Have you got Fire Control?" Jykurus asked, wiggling a bit as he moved one hand to his side arm. Thankfully, the posture for him was one he took often.

"Aye, Sir."

"Fire Control?"

"Aye, Sir?" came the reply. The static was worse but he could understand them.

"Since the engineers didn't get the order to blow the core, I'm ordering you to manually prep one of our warheads. A runner will verify this order. Do you understand?"

"Aye, Sir! Manually prep a warhead. Runner will confirm."

"Very good," Jykurus signaled Peredus to let the line drop. Let the Humans try to hack a runner. He kept his mandibles still by sheer force of will as he considered. Peredus probably wasn't a pro-Human supporter but you could never be sure. So long as all orders were verified with runners, in the short time the  _Adjudicator_  had left there wouldn't be much Peredus could do.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Primarch's Office**

"They've gone through Essenus' orbit and are approaching Impera's," Staff Officer Norah reported to Primarch Fedorian.

His mandibles were hard against his face as he watched one of the screens. So far, nothing had slowed the invaders and the information from the frigate  _Culverin_  was grim. Captain Jykurus believed the invaders to be  _Human_. Not just Geth masquerading but actual spirit-damned  _Humans_.

"The warheads are armed and ready but each of the enemy ships is carrying at least one frigate or cruiser."

"Fire on schedule," Fedorian interrupted with the order. He felt for the crews of the disabled ships but Palaven was his primary concern.

Norah nodded and another officer relayed the order. "Research indicates that they believe the enemy drive cores have to be similar to the Tantalus drive core."

"But greatly more efficient," Fedorian concluded their report. He didn't need any report to tell him that.

"Unfortunately, sir, yes." Norah looked down at the report in front of her, summarising the salient points. "Given their speed and estimated mass, their eezo cores must be massive. Their weapon systems are devastatingly effective. All Turian military vessels are equipped with Thanix cannons reverse engineered from the first wreck but these ships carry the original design. They are believed to be more efficient and vastly more powerful."

Fedorian took a deep calming breath. Palaven would fight. There was no question of that. But against the force coming in, there would be huge losses. As such, his responsibly was clear and there was only one further thing left to do to prepare. "Is she here?" He asked.

"Yes, Sir," Norah confirmed, indicating towards a Turian woman who stood between two soldiers just inside the door. At her gesture, the small group marched forward.

Fedorian was impressed. The woman was not scared and met his eyes squarely. She would behave as expected. "Open a line," he commanded.

"Sir?" Norah asked, her voice confused.

"Open a comm line to the invaders," he repeated the order, sitting in at his desk.

"Sir, they could hack us!" Norah objected.

"Comm lines for my office are completely independent of military lines," Fedorian said. "And military orders have already been issued." Admiral Demetian on the  _Resolute_  knew exactly what to do, as did General Corinthus. They did not require any further orders from his office. "Open the line."

"Aye, Sir," Comm Officer Korneli replied. His voice was disgusted but Fedorian could also hear that the man understood.

The signal was sent and what Fedorian would never know is that his signal did cause a tiny pause in the Human ranks. It was only half a second as they debated if they should accept the call, but it was still half a second.

In Fedorian's office, a holoscreen displayed static, while the comm techs tried to establish a line. A smaller screen displayed the vision they would be sending to the invaders. It showed Primarch Fedorian seated at his desk. A large map of Palaven was displayed behind him. The officers would be able to see and hear everything, they would even be able to relay information to him at his desk but they would not be seen.

The wait was agonising. Seconds ticked passed and just as Fedorian was about to dismiss the call, the static cleared. First, it became a solid wall of grey, then a figure appeared.

"Primarch Fedorian," the greeting was simple but the addressed Turian felt his eyes widen slightly.

"S...Shepard."

The representation on screen definitely showed a Human, one Fedorian recognised. Commander John Shepard. The first and last Human Spectre. In response to his reply, the image dipped its head slightly. "I am," came the reply. It was Shepard's deep voice and there was no hesitation from the figure. It wasn't a real image though. It couldn't be. There was no background and not even the slightest of blur around Shepard's image. It had to be computer generated.

It was accurate though, Fedorian thought as his eyes picked out small details. The font announcing Shepard's N7 status. The colour of the paint on armor and even the lines of that armor. They were all Human, and all correct.

"Why are you attacking, Shepard?" Fedorian asked. "You must know that there will be consequences from this attack far beyond anything your race has known."

"Consequences?" Shepard seemed amused. "I imagine there will be many consequences."

"No, Shepard," Fedorian dismissed the soldier's amusement. "You do not understand. The Hierarchy has been holding back. For the last forty years we have vetoed every proposed expedition to Sol. While you Humans stayed on your homeworld, we have delayed the Council from exterminating your species."

"Why?" Shepard asked, but it was obvious the Human did not believe him.

Fedorian ground his teeth together, reminding himself that everything he did now was for Palaven and he wasn't lying. There were factions in the Hierarchy who voted against every expedition proposal to Sol, just as there were factions who approved them unquestioningly, especially if they were proposed military expeditions. Economics and the estimated loss of Turian life had been the determining factors.

"Because, despite your race being young and arrogant, your species displayed a willingness to be involved in the galactic community. Insofar as you were able, you acted for the perceived galactic good. That is something we Turians encouraged.

"Yet your arrogance was your downfall and now… with this attack, there will be no mercy." Fedorian paused and around his office he watched as signs of horror appeared on his fellow Turian's faces at Shepard's reaction.

The Human laughed. The arrogance! The sheer gall!

"Humanity is already extinct." The image that was supposedly Shepard said after a moment.

Fedorian thought he displayed no reaction but he must have as the so-called Human continued. The display of Shepard on a grey background altered and Fedorian recognised the planet as Earth. Except it was not the blue and white world he remembered. This was a grey world. The blue waters were dark, almost black, while the continents were not the yellow and green they had been, but were a uniform charcoal colour. They did however, when they were visible through the universally dim storm clouds, display the known lines of the Human homeworld. If the image was truthful, then the Humans were indeed extinct on their homeworld.

"What attacked you?" Fedorian asked. Was this the work of those who had destroyed the Batarians?

"Nothing," Shepard said, reappearing on the grey background. "I never lied. Saren Arterius' flagship was of a race infinitely your greater. We, Humans, made an agreement with them and now, we are the harbingers of your ascension."

Fedorian frowned. The thing pretending to be Shepard made no sense. "You are not Shepard," he accused.

"I am not the Shepard that was," the image agreed.

"Then what are you?" the Turian woman from earlier demanded. She moved to stand beside Fedorian, looking at the image of Shepard with wide eyes.

"I am Shepard," the image replied. "Would you feel more comfortable if I placed a more natural image behind me?" The grey vanished and the bridge of some ship appeared. Shepard was standing in position as the Captain. His clothing had changed with the background. The N7 armor he had been wearing immediately morphing into the duty uniform of the Systems Alliance. "Is that better?"

"Shepard, why are you doing this?" the woman asked.

"Do I know you?" Shepard questioned.

"We never met, Shepard," she said. "I am Solana, Garrus' sister."

Shepard on the screen looked up. It was a very Human gesture, Fedorian noted. The image then smiled. It was sad. "Why am I doing this?" Shepard asked. "You are Garrus' sister and you have to ask why?" The image peered at Solana. "I will make you a counter-offer.

"I will drop a shuttle. You Solana, and all of Garrus' family may board it. I'll even overlook a few others. In his memory, I give you my personal guarantee that you will remain safe."

Fedorian heard Solana's teeth grind and he didn't bother hide the incredulous look he directed towards the image of Shepard. "You  _know_  my brother would never forgive me if I took that offer," she eventually managed to spit out.

"And you know Garrus would never forgive me if I didn't make it," Shepard countered. It was that, more than anything, which convinced Fedorian that while the image was fake, the intelligence behind it was Shepard, or at least had  _very_  extensive knowledge of the Human Spectre.

"Shepard," Fedorian said bringing the image's attention back to him. "You claim Humanity is extinct, yet you still live."

"I am Ascended," Shepard replied. "We are all Ascended."

"Ascended?"

Shepard shook his head. "You do not yet comprehend your place in things." He smiled. "But you will."

The image disappeared and a quick glance at Norah revealed that the signal had been cut off but before he could order anything alarms screamed through his office.

"What is that?" Primarch Fedorian demanded, tapping the controls to bring up the tactical display.

"Auto sensors detected one of the enemy ships appear in Palaven orbit."

"Menae's firing," another officer reported.

"No!" Primarch Fedorian shouted but it was too late. Balls of tungsten titanium which had been lying at rest, were accelerated along almost impossibly long accelerator tracks. Nothing showed on the surface of Menae. All Fedorian knew was that those cannons were mostly underground. Then a ball of fire appeared, streaking from the surface towards the enemy ship.

"Damn it," he growled, as several other streaks joined the first. Menae's cannons were meant to be a surprise.

Then the balls hit in rapid succession.

The enemy ship was engulfed in fire. The Turians around Fedorian knew better than to celebrate until they had confirmation of destruction but despite the spoiled plan, he felt a wave of pride. Nothing was going to come near Palaven unscathed. Several techs, who had set up with their superiors in his office, began working on the images immediately. Their chatter was buoyant. "First hit impacted shields," one of them reported, and Primarch Fedorian could see that they were working on the images frame by frame. There was a shimmer of blue all over the enemy vessel.

"Second hit impacted-" there was a pause as the vid was shifted.

" _Armor,_ " came the excited addition.

It  _should_  have. Primarch Fedorian remained calm as several others smiled happily at each other, their mandibles relaxed. Menae's mass driver cannons had been designed to one shot dreadnoughts and, in the wake of the attack on the Citadel forty years back, they had been upgraded.

He looked back to the live stream. The fire around the enemy ship had faded and it was…

"No."

It was still there.

There was sparking all over it. Bolts of energy washed over its form in waves, like those that formed over an eezo core which had not been discharged. Its armor was blackened and gone in several places, revealing sparking internals. There was no fire, implying that the ship had no atmosphere, or had the best atmospheric containment protocols Fedorian had ever seen. It spun on one axis and several of its legs twitched as what Fedorian assumed were running lights flickered.

"Missiles incoming," another tech announced in a calm voice. Sure enough, there were several streaks of light heading towards the enemy dreadnought. They hit, once again obscuring the enemy ship in light which faded quickly.

The ship almost seemed to convulse. Where usually the images had shown them with arching tail like appendages, this one was now flat. Its legs, those that weren't twitching, were failing, light streaming off them. Weapon fire.

"Instruct Menae to hit it again," Fedorian ordered. As impossible as it was that the ship had survived the initial barrage, it had, but Menae had damaged it badly.

He could imagine the weapon engineers on Menae scrambling as they checked trajectories and their tracks. This was the first time Menae's cannons had been fired in anger. If the threat was over, there would be weeks of checks. The threat wasn't so they had to make do. This ship, the one bearing the name Zaeed would be the first to die but he vowed they would take others.

Fedorian kept his eyes on the enemy dreadnought, determined not to miss any detail. There was no warning, no glow of gathered energy to indicate the opening of a mass effect tunnel but the ship vanished and those secondary missiles which had been tracking in swept through the space the vessel had been occupying. It left behind a mere phantom image of lightning.

"It went to FTL," a tech screamed.

"Track it," Norah ordered. You couldn't really track FTL but they needed to know if the ship was going to remain in Trebia. They waited, tense while the techs worked.

"Short range only," the same tech replied in a more normal voice, looking at his scanners. On the tactical screen, the one showing the relative position of the enemy fleet in Trebia one of the blips highlighted. "It just appeared. Waiting for visual confirmation it's the enemy," the tech concluded.

Seconds ticked by and Fedorian realised imagery was being sent back along their network. The enemy ships hadn't bothered to destroy their quantum buoys.

"Confirmed," the tech announced and a visual quickly accompanied it.

The enemy dreadnought was just as damaged as Fedorian had thought. From the new angle, how deep the gouges were could be estimated. If anything the sparking surrounding the ship was worse and Fedorian realised that the jump to FTL had been a desperate move.

"Good work," he said, though he would feel better if it had been destroyed. "The next one won't be as lucky," he added, offering congratulations with his order.

They couldn't afford the next one to be that lucky.

"There will not be a next one."

Fedorian recognised the voice. The large screen reactivated and Shepard's image reappeared. The faux bridge was there, and there was a look of anger on his face. Shepard had been cocky earlier and now that things weren't going his way, like all children, he lashed out. Before Primarch Fedorian could say anything, the image changed. The bridge disappeared, as did the Human and Fedorian was treated to what he knew was a live image of one of the enemy ships.

The writing on the tail proclaimed it to be N7 Shepard and on the front centre downward leg there was the image of Earth. It took Primarch Fedorian a moment to recognise it. It was the stylised image the Systems Alliance logo used without the rest of their symbol.

"Despite the fact that this is our very anticipated vengeance upon a species who has more than earned our ire," the starship announced, "I had granted you a degree of respect, of dignity. I have allowed you Turians the illusion of defence. That ends now."

The image disappeared as quickly as it had appeared and Primarch Fedorian stared for a few moments before sitting behind his desk. He concentrated on his breathing as he gathered his thoughts. It was the message of a child but this child had the power to carry out its threats. And three hundred dreadnoughts could do a lot of damage.

-cfr-


	15. Serious Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy  
** **Chapter 14 Serious Time**

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Even as Shepard was closing the connection with Palaven, he was issuing orders to the fleet of Ascended. "Change of plans," he growled. "Make sure your trajectories hit Menae," he instructed. "I want Menae to be deader than Luna! Show them our true power," he added.

"Hackett, watch over them," Shepard continued, indicating towards the fleet. One thing was becoming clear. While the entire Ascended fleet was trained, they all thought differently. Some were soldiers but most were not. They would need guidance on military issues and from the subconscious feel in the fleet, Shepard knew most of them would accept that guidance and would learn from it. In time, it would become second nature.

"Where will you be?" the former Admiral asked.

"I just found a use for the  _Adjudicator_ ," Shepard replied. "Miranda help me with it and Sirta you're the closest thing we've got to a medic so help Zaeed."

"So long as his core isn't damaged, I can rig something," Sirta agreed.

"Whatever is needed," Shepard replied. "Will you need anything?"

"About a thousand tonnes of medi-gel would help but I'll make do."

"Good."

"We'll come with you," Necromancer said, speaking for a small group of Ascended. His sub-channels indicated that they would collect the previously gathered frigates.

"Very good," Shepard agreed. Unlike Sol, Trebia didn't have any useful asteroid belts and to ensure they'd completely decimated Menae, they would need a lot of mass, something that got through all those damn defences. Still there were thousands more frigates and cruisers in Trebia after all, and if worse came to worst, they could always use the Turians' self-destruct. They'd work out something. They'd come too far to do anything else.

-cfr-

**Outer Trebia, Human Ascended Zaeed**

Sirta hovered about 100 km from Zaeed. In space terms, that was practically kissing, for an Ascended it was a reasonable distance. Zaeed was still writhing in pain and Sirta wasn't about to be injured. There was an impressive stream of profanity issuing from the ship as it twisted in space.

"... god damned mother f…"

Yeah, that was enough Sirta thought as she began a scan only to instantly stop as Zaeed's point defences immediately locked on.

"Shhhh," Sirta crooned. "Shhhh, I'm here to help,"

The targeting lock didn't change but Zaeed didn't fire. Not that anything would have hit Sirta. She was more than capable of intercepting anything he sent at her.

"Hurts."

"I know it hurts," Sirta agreed despite the fact they were Ascended. They were meant to be above pain. "But it was the Turians who did this to you, not I."

There was silence for a few moments before another stream of profanity. "...'n birds! Should have known they'd backstab me."

Sirta chose not to comment on the fact that it was they who were assaulting the Turian homeworld. Little things like that weren't important to the man Zaeed had been, nor were they important to what he had become.

"I'm Ascended," Zaeed continued. "Infinitely better than them yet their puny weapons hurt."

"Shepard and the fleet are dealing with it now," Sirta offered the information, showing a picture of an Ascended carrying several disabled Turian frigates.

Zaeed growled. "No! I want vengeance." He twisted more in space and mentally Sirta cringed. He could be causing more damage with that unnatural movement.

"You shall have it," Sirta soothed, "but not unless I can fix you." She started a low level scan again. This time Zaeed was aware enough to realise what she was doing and his targeting lock faded. Sirta assessed the information as it streamed to her, ignoring Zaeed's continued ranting. The ranting was a good sign, it showed cognitive awareness which hopefully translated into no damage to the core.

"Ascended are better! Yet that wasn't better. Should have better shielding. Worthless flesh should not injure me. Why don't I have better shielding?"

Layers of Zaeed's armor had been vapourised when the rounds had hit, a tribute to their strength. Sirta wasn't a weapons expert but estimated that they had to be at least five to six times as powerful as a Turian dreadnought's main cannon. He'd lost a large contingent of husks and quite a lot of his stored metals were fused to his form. At least on the front, that was what had prevented further damage. The metals had acted as a further layer of shielding.

Point defences were down along the front as well as his left side, and there was a large gouge in his armor on the left, between his sets of legs. One of his pleopods hung uselessly. But a surface scan couldn't tell her if the core was damaged and if Zaeed's core was damaged then… Sirta dismissed the thought. If the core was damaged then they would need the elder Ascended.

"May I initiate a deep scan?" Sirta asked, hoping that Zaeed had worked through his pain well enough to realise what she wanted.

"Do it," he growled, voice firm despite the pain.

Sirta was impressed. While ranting was good, she had not expected him to have gathered his consciousnesses enough to be that lucid yet.

"Rage is one hell of an anesthetic." Zaeed seemed to sense her feelings. "And I want to hurt the birds," he added and this time, she felt the rage burning within him. There was anger at himself for the damage but it was dwarfed by the burning desire to kill Turians. She was going to have to be strong to keep this patient in her care long enough to properly repair him.

"Scanning now," Sirta said as she directed her more powerful sensors over Zaeed. He still writhed but she could tell he was trying to hold still. "Just move as you feel is comfortable," she instructed.

She immediately focused on his core and sent a broadcast of relief, an Ascended's equivalent to a sigh of relief, when she found that Zaeed's core was not damaged. Another hit and it would have been.

"What doesn't kill you-"

"Leaves you disabled," Sirta interrupted. She would not have him quote that old Earth saying. It was… for any medical staff dealing with military hard heads, that saying was a bane. "And you, came very close to being disabled,  _permanently_." She added, making sure to reinforce the words with the results of her scan highlighting exactly how close the birds had come to ending him.

"I get it," Zaeed replied. "How long will it take to fix me?"

"A couple of weeks."

"What?" Zaeed demanded. "The birds will be dead by then!"

"The Asari won't be," Sirta replied.

"I don't care about the Asari!"

"Then you should have been more careful." Sirta wanted vengeance as much as anyone but she would be content with knowing that it was extracted. Zaeed was more hands on. He wanted to extract his vengeance himself. Though Menae had put an end to that. "Look at it this way," she added. "Once you're fixed, the Turians who have survived that long will fight all the harder to survive so will offer more sport."

Zaeed was silent for a few moments. "It's not about that," he said. "I don't want to torture the Turians. I just want to kill them," he added. "Mostly for Ascended like you."

"Like me?" Sirta asked.

"You are not military, Sirta. You, like Elysium, will never be military. Oh, you are proficient with your weapons," he added quickly. "But you will never truly be military. You will strike for self defence. You will not attack.

"That's not a weakness."

"Except for Ascended," Sirta said quietly.

"But not for a Human."

"And I'm no longer Human."

"No," Zaeed disagreed. "Form changes, but we are Human."

"Then how weak am I?" Sirta demanded. "I want vengeance but I do not wish to dirty my hands to get it."

"It does not make you weak. It makes you Human. Those of us who are military will carry out the military actions Humanity has deemed necessary. Those who are not military will provide support. We are Ascended but we are still Human and the instant we forget that, we are no longer Human."

It was Sirta's turn to be silent. "Then I will support you but it will still take several weeks to get you fixed."

"Then you better get started."

-cfr-

**Palaven, Primarch's Office**

Primarch Fedorian clamped his teeth together as he stared at the screen. He swallowed. In the minutes after the thing that called itself Shepard had closed comms, nothing had happened. Then their sensors had shown the dreadnought fleet breaking up, turning back towards Datriux. Their purpose had been unclear until he had seen them collecting the previously disabled cruisers and frigates.

Each dreadnought had picked up at least one before once again heading towards Palaven. The dreadnoughts had advanced passed Essenus' orbit before launching their new payloads at a surprising faction of the speed of light and he was left watching a wave of frigates advance on Menae.

The worse of it was that there were Turians alive on those frigates. The Humans had left the comm channels open and the screams were terrible. Though silence was worse. Most had been rendered unconscious by the acceleration though a few ships maintained enough gravity to cushion the crew. They knew what was happening and they could do nothing to stop it.

He could do nothing to stop it.

Even if they fired the defence missiles and lasers they would not destroy enough of them. Worst still that would leave the batteries empty for the coming battle. The best chance was to have those who could evacuate their ships, then fire on any they knew would do damage, allowing the rest to impact Menae and hope the cannons would survive. Except escape pods were not rated for these speeds! They wouldn't be able to slow down before they escaped the system entirely or they'd be sitting ducks for the attackers.

"Sir! The battle group Turbulent is requesting clearance for a micro-jump," Norah broke into his increasingly depressed thoughts.

"A micro-jump?" Where would they go with an in-system jump?

The staff officer altered his tactical screen, zooming out before highlighting two enemy ships. They were behind the others, way behind the others but not with the group guarding the Relay and those few who remained over Datriux, no doubt directing the attack on the ground facilities.

"It is the damaged ship, sir, and one other. Turbulent group want to micro-jump to them to finish the job."

"And what makes them think they can?" Primarch Fedorian didn't have to add that so far, while their weapons had  _damaged_  one of the ships, they had not  _destroyed_  it.

"Sir!" Captain Xhosus' voice broke in. "Analysis indicates that Menae cut through most of the enemy dreadnoughts armor. The missiles got more. That's why it ran. My battle group will jump to it's location and target the weak areas. We will ram it if we have to but we are taking that ship down!" She said the last fiercely

"And what of Palaven?" Primarch Fedorian asked. Attacking through microjump was abandonment of duty.

Captain Xhosus looked abashed for an instant and Fedorian was glad to see it. She had considered her duty. "Sir, with due respect, remaining here and fighting with the fleet against the enemy dreadnoughts gives them one more set of ships to use against you. My battle group can do more good jumping to that damaged ship and giving Palaven at least one victory."

Primarch Fedorian nodded. The brutal truth was that she was correct. One extra battle group would not make much difference but if the Turbulent group could destroy that damaged dreadnought, even at the cost of their lives, then it would increase morale.

"Go with the blessing of the Spirits," Fedorian gave his approval in one of the oldest parting phrases in the Turian culture.

"Thank you, Primarch," Captain Xhosus nodded before her image disappeared.

"How long until impact?" Fedorian asked. They'd cleared the surface levels of Menae the instant the attack had been realised but the wait was harrowing. No one had run scenarios for this type of attack and while the analysts were frantically making estimations, they would always be estimations.

"Another two hours, Sir," Norah replied promptly.

"Spirits," he muttered. Another two hours of waiting, of watching invaders move through Trebia with impunity. If it was this bad for him, Fedorian spared a thought for those on the fleet above. Another two hours of staring your oncoming death in the face. Spirits, give them strength.

-cfr-

**Outskirts of Trebia, Human Ascended, Zaeed**

After Zaeed stopped writhing, Sirta finally got good scans and a good look at the damage. As indicated, it was extensive.

"Try not to destroy the ship yards," Sirta said absently to the fleet, highlighting the building facilities in the inner orbits of Trebia. They weren't around Palaven so there was a chance they'd survive. She didn't get an answer, not in the way Shepard would give one, but there was a general consensus. The Ascended fleet would try.

"Drydock?" Zaeed asked, incredulously.

"I can either repair you by putting back armor until your shape is restored but which would limit your ammo and make you a lot heavier or I can repair you properly, which will mean rebuilding the lost storage tanks and manufacturing facilities and that requires extra time and some specialised facilities."

"Can't I just put a mass effect field around me while they are built?" Zaeed challenged.

"You could," Sirta replied, "but you'd have to remain conscious the entire time."

"I'll do that then," he returned firmly. "There is no way that I am going into drydock, or even into limited hibernation, in _bird space_."

"It would be perfectly safe," Sirta said. "It's not like the Turians will be using the facility."

"Bird space," Zaeed repeated.

"All right. But you'd better prepare for pain."

"Pain is an illusion."

"Well, brace for the illusion because I am going to put a coat of metal over the damaged surfaces as a temporary seal. After that, they should be finished with Datriux so I can collect some raw materials to begin." Sirta sent images of what she wanted to do to Zaeed. She had some materials, but they would need Datriux if they were to repair the damage to Zaeed without returning to Sol. Suddenly, she wondered if Shepard had any premonition when he gave the order to capture the facility intact.

"Shepard's just aware of what can go wrong," Zaeed correctly interpreted her silence.

Sirta didn't reply to that. "Are you ready?" She lined up several pereiopods, targeting Zaeed with one of the gentlest settings she could.

"Yes."

She glided close, using her lower pereiopods to latch on to Zaeed for stability before using her centre front leg to fire. Molten metal surged forth and instead of cutting through, as the weapon had been designed to, Sirta controlled the beam so that the metal splashed against Zaeed's damaged sections. She directed it towards the sparking nodes, smothering the damage.

Zaeed gasped and, if he had been Human, he would have been panting in an effort to suppress his reaction. He held still, though. That was good and while pain was an illusion, just as he had said, its phantom presence was real when they were exposed this way.

Sirta concentrated on making the beam as light as possible and she lifted her front left pereiopod to start a second beam when her proximity alarms screamed.

"Birds!" Zaeed roared, jerking away from her as he tried to move into position to fire.

"Stay still!" Sirta hissed. Pulling away was the worst thing he could do. With her so close, she was covering his damage and already she knew that the birds had not sent a dreadnought. "They'll have to hit you through me!" And against two cruisers and six frigates, her shields would hold indefinitely.

"You are not meant to fight!" Zaeed complained.

"But I can!" Sirta growled the reply, pulling herself closer to his form with three of her pereiopods. The front left and right she angled outwards, twisting them to target the Turian fleet.

Fire lanced through the distance between them. They had calculated their jump to arrive close and two frigates were sliced in half before the others could react.

Mass accelerator cannons fired on the remaining six ships and Sirta's point defences went into action, smacking the incoming weapons out of space as if they were flies. She didn't need to hack the Turians to know what the reaction on the bridge would be. The command of fire would be continuous and they would be considering moving. Could they get around her to fire between them?

It was not going to happen, Sirta growled to herself, angling her weapons again. Another two frigates down and she realigned herself for the last two. One dodged, executing a high gravity maneuver in desperation which brought it just that little bit too close. Point defences were mostly angled over her form but they could swing outwards and dreadnought-scale point defences were more than enough to take out the shields and armor of a frigate.

Zaeed stopped struggling beneath her. Sirta sent a small burst of appreciation to him as she targeted the final cruisers. They were moving as fast as they could but weren't retreating. Typical Turians. Outmanned, outgunned and unable to retreat, they still fought to the last. They were not angled correctly for her main cannon and they were much more maneuverable than the frigates, despite being the larger ship class.

"Tantalus drive cores," Zaeed commented, highlighting several features.

"Primitive versions of our drives?" Sirta sought confirmation.

"Yep."

That explained their ability to move and rather than wasting further material, Sirta ceased firing, rolling her legs back into position under her body, using them to close up the gaps between herself and Zaeed.

The Turians took advantage of that and began firing again, launching everything they had in a desperate attempt to damage her. The few things her point defences missed, her shielding didn't, and Sirta allowed them few moments to recognize the futility of their attempts.

"Birds are slow learners," Zaeed commented when the barrage did not fade.

"So it would seem," Sirta agreed. If they would not retreat to die with the rest of their fleet then she would deal with them.

She reached out, instantly surrounding them both in mass effect fields. A few of their weapons made it through the force, most exploded but before the Turians could truly comprehend that, Sirta threw them together with deliberate force. In atmosphere, the noise would have been incredible. In space, it was silent as the two ships crumpled into each other. Then their cores destabilized and Sirta released the remains as they were briefly consumed in an eezo-fueled moment of glory.

She was already scanning for the next target before she realised there were no others.

"Who was it who said they could not fight?" Zaeed asked, laughter in his tone.

"I never said I couldn't defend," Sirta replied. She did not unclamp from Zaeed's form as she analysed the wreckage now near them. "Collect the debris," she instructed. "It will do for some of your repairs."

"But it's a bird!" came the expected objection.

"It  _was_  a bird," Sirta corrected firmly, "and now it is just a mix of refined metals, which, if I can get enough, I can fix you faster."

"It is metal," Zaeed quickly amended his stance, as his mass effect fields extended. If it got him spaceworthy quicker then it was metal.

Sirta could have collected it all but she knew well enough that it was best to keep patients, especially those as difficult as Zaeed was shaping up to be, occupied with as many small but necessary tasks as they could complete themselves. It would make him feel useful but also stop him complaining. Mentally, she snorted. Men, even Ascended men, could be so childish sometimes.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Fleet**

Hackett watched the frigates approach Menae. Some had been destroyed by the Turian defences, taken out by the missile and laser batteries that surrounded Palaven far enough out that their remains would miss the targets. Others had been shattered when they impacted those missile batteries. Still enough had gotten through and they had more waiting.

He'd allowed the fleet to launch one barrage. It would allow them to assess the defences around Palaven. What had been revealed was that those defences were extensive. Better than Earth's had been but then the Turians had had centuries to put these defences in place. Hackett could only imagine what Humans would have done with the time.

Palaven itself was surrounded by layers and layers of defensive satellites. Menae had its own concentration of defences though the second, smaller moon seemed underdefended. To his sensors, it was underdeveloped as well so perhaps that is why the Turians hadn't bothered to defend it specifically. Around Palaven, out to a million kilometres from the homeworld, there were further defences. Millions of missiles canisters and laser batteries defended the homeworld and the two moons whose orbits lay within the shoals of orbital constructions.

The first wave of stolen frigates had made a hole, drawing the fire of tens of thousands of the canisters and lasers in their desperate attempt to vaporise the frigates before they could become a threat. They didn't quite destroy the frigates in time, either, as pieces still got through. The hole was not large enough, however, and the defenders were scrambling to get more into position to plug the gap. They would have to launch a second wave and soon. Even with their advantages, this was going to be a tough battle.

And then there was Palaven itself. Billions of Turians were no doubt arming to face them and while he couldn't sense it, he  _knew_  that the planet surface would literally bristle with anti-aerospace defenses.

"Impact in thirty seconds," Ares reported.

Almost the instant he finished speaking, Menae lit up.

"There they are," Hackett murmured, watching as the moon's close-in defences blazed.

"Holy…" Quite a few Ascended muttered the words.

It was an impressive sight.

"One thousand plus years of building defences," Nergal said. "That's what it gets you."

It was not all of Menae that lit up, just the side facing annihilation from the Turian frigates. The guns blazed but the mass driver cannons remained silent and Hackett focused his processors as the tried to spot any openings in the anti-air defences past the emissions of the orbital defences. Openings on Menae would be the launch points of those cannons.

Except the Turians were wary and they knew what the true target was. The anti-air defences would annoy but not be a real danger to them. There were openings but they were too irregular to pinpoint a launch tube. He continued to watch, focusing his sensors through the light show. Even with all of Menae's defences, debris would still get through.

As Hackett watched, several large pieces of frigate hit the moon. Explosions followed their impacts travelling outwards before the Turian failsafes engaged. Smaller fragments followed the bigger pieces, causing further damage, but Hackett knew Menae had been a military base for more than a thousand years. It would, more than Palaven, have layers of defense built up over the centuries.

"Did anyone see anything?" he asked, allowing his sub-channel to carry the full question. Did anyone spot anything that might be a launch tube.

"No, Sir," came the choral response.

"All right," Hackett said. "Line up for a second barrage. Line in series, I want these to travel faster so we'll have to work together for that."

Moxum chuckled. "Mining conveyor belt?" He asked.

"Exactly like the mining conveyor belt," Hackett agreed, allowing his own amusement to colour his tone. After learning to fly somewhat smoothly, during their mining training, they all had had to act as part of a conveyor belt, moving the rock that one Ascended had mined to the facilities for refinement. The conveyor belt was nothing more than a line of Ascended, all working their mass effect fields to transport the rock from one to another until the end of the line. As you grew more proficient, it had become a game to try to move the rock the fastest, which meant moving yourself. As the rock got faster and faster, those at the end of the belt had to move faster and faster themselves to properly accelerate it. Even for Ascended, who could at least partially bend physical reality to their will, catching rock moving at 0.6c, while travelling at similar speeds yourself, was challenging.

This would be no different, except the rock would be a Turian frigate and Menae which caught the rock. This maneuver was something they all knew how to do, though, and as Hackett watched, the Human Ascended formed into lines. Ten ships in series with an eleventh at the end, to 'load' the frigate.

"Three staggered rounds," Hackett said as he took his place. That would be eighty-one frigates. "Fire!"

The launch ship pushed a frigate forward into the mass effect fields of the first Ascended in the conveyor belt. Mass was reduced and acceleration added and the captured frigate was launched towards the next Ascended. The trick was to accept the speeding mass, cushioning it with your mass effect field, but not slowing it as you then pushed it along its path.

When the first frigate reached the third Ascended, Hackett commanded the second to be launched. And as the first reached the sixth Ascended, the third was launched. Combined, they accelerated the frigates to approximately 0.7c which meant a 108 minute travel time and they would hit with the force of an equal tonnage of antimatter.

"Do you want to launch the  _Adjudicator_?" Hackett asked Shepard as the last frigate was launched and the remaining ones were moved into neat lines. The hulk of the Turian dreadnought was lined up with the other ships. Miranda had disabled the warhead the  _Adjudicator's_  Captain had rigged to blow.

"Let's wait until they reveal themselves," Shepard replied. "We should cut up some of the frigates."

"Cut them up?" Miranda questioned.

"Throwing a whole frigate to destroy a missile canister is wasteful," Shepard elaborated.

"Ah, we can destroy them with much smaller pieces," Miranda voiced her understanding.

"And we should," Shepard added. "Trebia doesn't have any asteroid fields."

"Downright inconsiderate of them," Anderson put in.

"Indeed," Shepard agreed.

"There's a couple with no life signs," Udina said, indicating towards the frigates. Living Turians got the dubious honour of being killed by their fellows or ripping through Palaven's defences. It was a nice dilemma for both.

"We'll get to work on them," Shepard ordered moving towards one of the lifeless frigates, his pereiopods reaching out to grasp the closest one. With a grunt that was implied, he ripped the ship apart, extending his mass effect fields so that all the parts remained contained.

Others followed suit, ripping and cutting the lifeless Turian frigates into smaller parts. Shepard gathered a couple of hundred pieces and moved, towing them towards the line they had mentally established as the division between their territory and Turian space.

On the Human network, he brought up a schematic of Trebia's defences. The gaps made already were highlighted and Shepard coloured more of the dots as 'his' targets. Other Ascended quickly added to the targeting routines and then they began throwing the smaller pieces of debris towards the missile canisters and laser batteries. Having used debris from lifeless frigates and cruisers, the pieces were all of differing sizes and deliberately the Ascended made sure to alter the force used to throw them. They'd either impact, or they'd be shot down. Either way, the Turians would spend their ammunition. That and the continual bombardment over hours would impact upon their strength.

They were mere organics. They could not remain on high alert forever.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Primarch's Office**

"Damage report!" Fedorian demanded.

"Coming through now, Sir," one of the more verbose techs replied.

The screens all showed Menae. There were a few fires from the facilities but they were fast extinguishing.

"Main cannons operational!" The first report was positive.

"Some parts got through," was the quick follow up. "We have damage in Nanus, Impera and Essenus sectors. Anti-aerospace batteries are down in multiple locations but all atmosphere leaks have been contained."

Primarch Fedorian nodded. Menae was a military moon. Most information was classified and while his people liked to fool themselves into thinking that its radius, orbital distance and other readily measurable statistics were unknown to the galaxy, unimportant details like those were well known. What wasn't known to the galaxy was the layout of the moon. As far as he knew, not even the Salarians had gotten a good look at their defences. That was partially because every sector on Menae was named after something common. The moon's surface was defined by sectors, all named after other celestial bodies in Trebia.

It made some conversations about Menae hard to follow, but that was the point. You could steal all the information you wanted but if you couldn't understand it, then you might as well have nothing. That was just the first layer of deception. The others, well the others hardly mattered against invaders who were willing to break the first rule of the Council. The use of mass driver weapons against planets had been outlawed for centuries. It was just another reminder that while these things might claim to be Human, they were not. Not even Humans were stupid enough to think that the damage could be repaired.

"Second wave incoming!" came a frantic scream, cutting over the continued reports of damage on Menae.

"Spirits!" Staff officer Norah looked at her datapad with wide eyes.

"What is it?" Fedorian snapped. Now was not the time to freeze up.

"The second wave has been launched at 0.7 light speed."

" _What?"_

That was a physical impossibility, wasn't it?

"How?" Fedorian demanded.

One screen flickered before a grainy image stabilised on it. The image showed the invaders and the markings in the bottom proclaimed it to be coming from one of the defence comm buoys around Essenus. While the dreadnoughts were moving out of position now, it was obvious they had been lined up.

"Sir." Admiral Demetrian appeared on the screen. "We have to fire Menae's cannons," he said simply.

"That will give their position away," Fedorian objected. He wanted those cannons to be taking out the enemy dreadnoughts, not their own ships.

"Sir, if we don't fire then this new wave hits and there won't be any cannons."

Mentally Primarch Fedorian calculated the likely damage. It had been years since his training but he remembered well enough that the faster any mass travelled, the harder it hit. And this new wave was approaching at 0.7c. An old saying flashed through his mind.  _It doesn't matter what you save for tomorrow if you don't survive today._

"Fire the cannons," he ordered. "Deflect as many as we can and have all personnel retreat to the deepest bunkers."

Admiral Demetrian nodded, before disappearing again. He was on the  _Resolute_ , in orbit around Palaven itself but he was still involved. No doubt he was having a difficult time keeping the fleet contained but after having seen how easily the enemies had taken out the  _Turbulent_  battle group, they couldn't afford another attempt on the damaged ship, no matter how tempting a target it made.

"Optimal firing time for Menae cannons in seven minutes," Norah reported.

Fedorian nodded his understanding. "How did they send the second wave so quickly?"

Silence greeted his question until the obvious answer dawned. "They are using our comm sats," Primarch Fedorian voiced it with a sigh. "Can we stop them?"

"Sir, we can't even tell if they are in there."

Primarch Fedorian didn't like the answer but there didn't seem to be anything they could do about it. "Monitor our transmissions, make sure they aren't interfering."

"Yes, Sir."

The alarms started again. Fedorian looked sharply at Norah. It took her a few moments to find the information and the Primarch noted that her movements were showing fatigue. They had all been on alert since the invaders came and while it had only been several hours, they were intense hours. The highs and the lows would wear on anyone.

"There's a second wave of material incoming, Sir," Norah replied eventually. "They've cut up several of our frigates," she added, "and have thrown the pieces at the missile arrays."

"Shoot them down."

"Aye, Sir."

"And get some rest Norah," Fedorian added the order, looking around his office. Quite a few of the techs and officers were drooping. "Second shift?" he asked.

"Soon, sir," Norah replied crisply. Turian military protocols worked well in these situations. Relief staff would be rostered on shortly.

"Oh, no," Norah said, still looking at her datapad.

"Norah?"

"The second wave of material isn't one wave. They are continuing the barrage. All the pieces are coming in at different speeds and our automatic defences can't deal with that alone."

Fedorian closed his eyes for a moment. The hits just kept coming and they would be given no rest until the invaders were destroyed or they themselves were dead.

"Cycle the personnel as much as possible," he ordered. "Half-shifts if necessary and have the trainees man the guns under supervision." He shook his head.

This was not a good day for Palaven.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

"There they are," Shepard almost purred when Menae's cannons fired. He sent the coordinates to Zaeed, along with the knowledge of what was about to happen. The faster-moving second wave of frigates Hackett had sent had to be shot down, or the moon would be destroyed. Of course, that now meant he knew exactly where to target with the  _Adjudicator_ , so the moon was lost anyway. Not that you needed to target much when throwing that much mass.

Zaeed laughed but there was a longing. He wanted to act but took solace in the fact that the Menae would be devastated.

"Form lines," Shepard ordered. The Ascended fleet reconfigured, at the end of what was their territory. "Udina, Miranda, fire!"

The two Ascended launched the Turian dreadnought. Three other Ascended raced beside it accelerating it to the next waiting Ascended group. It was a complicated movement, made possible only because the Ascended could coordinate in ways only imagined by organics. Faster and faster, the  _Adjudicator_  moved with each Ascended crying out the speed.

"0.5 light speed."

"0.55 light speed," the next group cried.

Each group could add about 5% towards light speed.

"0.6 light speed."

Four Ascended surrounded the dreadnought. "0.65 light speed," they cried in unison as they hurled the dreadnought towards Shepard.

He flew alongside it for several long moments adjusting its the trajectory minutely. The rest of the fleet had done a great job at aiming and he was not required to change it much. Then he extended his fields, delicately wrapping them around the dreadnought before flinging it forward.

"0.66," he said. The last push was not for speed, but more for his own satisfaction. The  _Adjudicator_  was moving more than fast enough to obliterate Menae and nothing the Turians possessed could stop it.

Shepard watched the ship as it hurtled through Trebia. He had every faith that the Turians would somehow stop the second, faster wave of frigates. There was no way they could stop their dreadnought.

And they would know it.

The Ascended fleet moved forward, approaching Impera's orbit as they kept throwing small pieces of frigate debris towards the missile canisters. There were facilities orbiting Essenus which would have to be destroyed but the gas giant was on the other side of the system for the moment. Those Turians would wait.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Primarch's Office**

Primarch Fedorian sat at his desk, rubbing his eyes.

The Humans were torturers.

They had destroyed the wave of frigates. The defence ring had rained missiles into them and Menae's cannons had pounded them. To imagine! Having to use them against his own ships! And not in any rebellion or separatist war but against ships loyal to Palaven! It was an abomination.

The ships bearing Human names were slowly working their way closer to Palaven. They advanced in a line, always throwing debris towards the defensive lines. They were not large pieces but they were thrown with a precision that would be admirable if they weren't attacking the homeworld.

The attackers had already proven they cared nothing for Citadel conventions by throwing frigates but that could almost have been seen as a test of their power. No matter the pain it caused to lose Turian lives, they had destroyed them. Now, though… now, the so called Humans had sent the  _Adjudicator_  at Menae.

A one kilometre long dreadnought moving at 0.66 the speed of light.

There was no way they could stop that.

Menae would be destroyed and as bad as that was, Primarch Fedorian could not help but be thankful that they had not aimed at Palaven. It was obvious that they could have.

"How long?"

"Half an hour," Norah replied. She had refused to leave while he still worked, though she had accepted several stimulants. "The first shot from Menae should impact in 2 minutes."

Fedorian nodded and looked towards the screen showing the  _Adjudicator._  The ship was burning but remained intact and tracking ever closer to it was the shot from Menae.

This had better work.

He knew in his heart it wouldn't. The Humans tortured him, slowly taking everything from him. They tortured them all.

"Three, two, one,  _impact!_ " the tech called.

It was too fast to see with the naked eye, even for a species evolved from avian predators. What Fedorian did see was the flash of light as the round hit.

And the  _Adjudicator_  continued onwards.

"Trajectory change?"

"No, sir," Norah replied after a moment.

"Other shots?"

"Incoming but unlikely to make a difference," his aide responded.

"Try anyway." He looked up at the ceiling to avoid the screen. "Is Palaven ready?" When the attackers broke through the defences, and they would, they would take the next logical step and that was to land ground forces. They'd pay in the landing but so far the Humans had proven capable of taking on all of Palaven's defences and, as much as it galled Fedorian to admit it, he had no reason to believe that they would not be able to force landings.

"Palaven's been ready for the last three hours," Norah replied, her voice tired but this time showing a note of happiness.

Fedorian understood. Even such a small thing was a case for cheer.

"Next hits," one of the techs reported, his voice was not hopeful. "Three, two, one, impact!"

Five more shots from Menae crashed into the speeding dreadnought and while some pieces flew off, Fedorian glanced at several officers. They were working with their techs but one looked up at him, shaking her head and he understood the message. Still not enough to knock the  _Adjudicator_  off course.

"Spirits," one tech prayed.

Fedorian well understood the sentiment.

"Prepare for combat," Fedorian announced.

"Sir!" Norah protested.

"I must deal with the living," the Primarch argued. He was sickened by the choice but he had to make it. Menae was gone. It was just a matter of time.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Human Ascended Attack Fleet, Shepard**

"This is going to be sweet," Joker said from within Shepard and his voice was accompanied by a crunch.

"Popcorn?" Shepard asked, incredulous.

"This is first class entertainment," Pressly said, mentally taking some of Joker's popcorn. He gestured with some of the puffed buttered corn towards their external sensors which showed the tableau playing out before them.

"Another minute before Menae lights up like a firecracker," Adams announced.

"I never knew space combat was this exciting," a new voice spoke. Annie, Shepard identified the speaker, a woman from Earth who had been one of the first volunteers. She was usually asleep but had woken recently and had been rising through the layers of his consciousness. Shepard liked her. She offered a fresh perspective, one that came from a partly civilian background.

"It's not usually this slow," Fredricks told Annie. "But against planets." He shrugged to indicate that there was nothing they could do to change it.

"This is quite fine," the woman said, offering the impression of a smile. "Now pay attention, we don't want to miss anything."

"Twenty seconds," Joker said, offering the popcorn to everyone.

The entire fleet focused, pulling information from the Turians comm buoys which they had left intact. They needed the Turians to have FTL comms if they were to truly appreciate their battle plan. If they didn't then the Turians would have been destroyed without knowing anything. That was no fun.

There was an explosion. The  _Adjudicator_  lit up but continued on.

"That's early!" Joker exclaimed.

"A frigate tried to block it," Shepard reported.

"Four, three, two, one. Boom!"

It took a few seconds but the information flowed through the Turian comm network, then to the Human Ascended.

The frigate which had jumped in front of the dreadnought didn't even slow it down. If the  _Adjudicator_  had to travel more distance it might have split but it ploughed into Palaven's largest moon without slowing.

There was a bright centre at the impact, and quickly emanating outwards was a ring of fire. It grew as the centre light sphere grew and as Shepard watched, a corona appeared around the centre light. The first ring was the shock wave, travelling through Menae's thin atmosphere. The second was the fire storm, the damage, and while he could not focus on it, he could imagine the crust and surface facilities lifting away before crashing back. Some debris would escape into space, but others would rain down for days, if not captured by Palaven.

The shock wave continued growing as the centre light widened, diffusing as it grew. Waves followed behind the shock wave, and smaller explosions could be seen as the underground facilities failed. Shepard reminded himself that it would be crass to laugh but that didn't stop those who made up his consciousness hooting their approval at the light show. No doubt the secondary explosions were munitions or eezo cores losing containment.

Eventually, the core of the impact faded but the shock wave continued and Shepard wasn't the only one to turn his sensors towards the moon. Reading through the Turian network, he could already tell the Turians were dying.

"Wait for it," he cautioned the fleet as several edged forward.

"Wait for what?"

"I want to see the shock wave to surround Menae."

Those who had been inching forward laughed and halted their movement. With the light show that was still ongoing, it was an easy order to obey.

"There it is," Shepard said, his voice light as the shock wave impacted itself.

"That was beautiful," Necromancer said. "Truly beautiful."

"It was indeed," Nergal agreed.

"But the best is yet to come," Ares reminded them, flashing an image of Palaven over the network.

"Palaven will be difficult," Chimera noted.

"Palaven will fall," Shepard assured them. "But I want everyone to be careful in the advance. Menae was a surprise. I do not want further surprises."

The fleet agreed with that. Vengeance was only fun if you were not injured and while most of them were fine, awareness of Zaeed's injury hung over them all.

"This is not for Earth," Shepard said. "It is not even for us. This is for the blood of the fallen! This is for all those the Council's birds killed. This is for the colonies we lost merely for doing what was right! This is for Humanity, for whom we are the avatar of vengeance. Strike now, so that the Turians may know the pain of defeat!"

-cfr-


	16. Play the Tape

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 15:** **Play the Tape**

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

When the fleet crossed Impera's orbital line, Shepard ordered them to pause.

"Why are we stopping boss?" The question was instantaneous.

"First contact package," Shepard said and the rest of the fleet laughed. In the excitement of attacking Trebia many had forgotten. "Send on my mark," Shepard commanded. They had spent a lot of time on the vid, it was only right that it was played so that all of Palaven understood. "Mark!"

Each ship in the fleet transmitted the message. Some targeted the Turian fleet while others sent the message towards the Turian comm buoys, allowing the message to echo around Palaven.

The Turians wouldn't have any choice but to see the message since the Human Ascended overrode every frequency and while Shepard was almost certain that Primarch Fedorian had seen their vid already, he was equally certain that tidbit of information would have been kept from the general populace.

"Harper," Shepard called the name sharply. "Are there any 'free the Humans' cells on Palaven?" That was something else they had been ignoring so far. In the end, that sentiment would make absolutely no difference but if they could use those aliens, then so be it.

"No," the former leader of Cerberus replied promptly. "From what I could tell from the omni-tools, that particular movement is predominantly Salarian and Asari. There might be a few Turians but nothing major."

"Pity," Shepard muttered.

"You want to save them?" Anderson asked.

"I want to use them," Shepard explained. "But if there are only a few Turians, then that does make this easier," he added. "All right," he addressed the fleet. "The goal of assaulting Palaven is to subdue the planet absolutely. I want the defence fleet disabled before we begin landing forces, same with the orbital stations. After that we will begin landing husks.

"There are 6.1 billion Turians on Palaven. 100million need to be collected for Ascension. Resistance shall be met with extreme force. Vengeance is our goal but ascension is our purpose."

As Shepard spoke, he missed the tight beam comms between several high ranked Human Ascended. Shepard would honour the deal with Harbinger. They would honour the Human race. While the two were generally broadly aligned, there were differences with the specifics.

"Once we reach Palaven spread out. I want that planet in lockdown. Nothing gets off it! Advance now at 0.1c," Shepard instructed. That would make the travel time between Impera's orbit and Palaven approximately 100 minutes. Long enough for the Turians to see them coming, and more than enough time for the Human Ascended to destroy the defensive lines they'd be crossing.

Around him, the fleet spread out, some forming small sub squads, others keeping a small distance between themselves and others but they were moving toGether. Those who wanted to race ahead were restrained. Chimera hadn't been badly injured and while all Human Ascended wanted the glory of destroying Palaven, this was glory that they recognised had to be shared.

This was Humanity's vengeance, not theirs alone and they would all land a blow against the birds.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Private Residence**

Oana squealed happily. Mumma had put her down to watch a cartoon earlier. It was a rare treat, and Oana was too young to care about the break in her routine. Against the pale yellow Palaven sky Iolani flew, circling with only the occasional lazy flap of wings. The best bit was coming though, when Iolani would strike and even as young as she was Oana was waiting for it. It was the best bit of the cartoon after all.

Mumma was talking to someone. Her voice murmured through the walls of their house. She was probably talking to daddy. Oana was too young to understand but she knew he worked far away. In space! That was all she knew. Mumma talked to daddy at odd times during the day. Oana waved at him sometimes. He seemed to like that, clicking his mandibles happily.

There was a crash from another room. Oana briefly looked towards it before her attention was recaptured by Iolani. The cartoon hawk was soaring through the sky and with a screech it plummeted. Oana squealed again, watching as Iolani struck. She clapped her little hands together in excitement. This was the bit she wanted…

As young as Oana was, she still managed to frown, though it was closer to an adorable pout, when the screen fizzed and blinked. Then a new picture took the place of the cartoon. It was dark and showed space but it quickly zoomed in on ships. Oana knew they were ships but they weren't Turian. She didn't know whose they were. More ships appeared. They looked like those she knew. Then they fired. Oana laughed. The explosions were pretty.

But then a dark voice spoke. "This was the way the galactic community greeted us."

Oana cried. The voice was scary. Then the screen changed. More ships appeared. Oana's wide blue eyes looked at them. She knew them. She laughed, suddenly happy. They were like the ships that daddy took to get to work! Then something else appeared. Different ships. They were big and again Oana, being just a child, didn't recognise them. They opened fire though, on the ships she did recognise. She didn't really understand what was happening, but she knew it was wrong. The ships she knew shouldn't be destroyed and Oana began crying.

The explosions weren't pretty this time. Oana howled as another voice spoke. "This is our greeting to the galactic community."

Her mandibles clicked. "Mumma! Mumma!" she cried.

"Mumma!" she screamed when Mumma didn't come. The voice second voice was even scarier than the first and the ships on the screen had not disappeared. They stayed there, and there was something indescribably ominous about them, something that Oana sensed, even as young as she was.

" _Mumma!"_

"Oana!" Her mother called, rushing into the room and picking her up. "Get away from there!" she cried seeing the view screen.

She sobbed into her mother's embrace, her tiny claws digging into her mother's shoulder. The warmth was comforting and Oana's tears cleared up. She didn't notice the tear tracks on her mother's face as she snuggled close, the ships on the view screen forgotten. Even though she'd been scared, Mumma could make everything right. That was the world Oana lived in.

Oana would never know that her father had been one of the first casualties when the dark ominous ships attacked Trebia. She was asleep when her mother put her down in her bed, before going to the weapons cabinet and arming herself. Oana would sleep through the attack, with her mother watching over her. She would awaken, at the end, to one instant of searing pain, never knowing that it was Palaven that had fallen.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Turian Dreadnought** _**Resolute** _

"Sir, that's the 34th simulation," the Chief Tactical Officer of the  _Resolute_  said respectfully.

"I know, Coeur," Admiral Demetrian replied.

"Sir, with-" Coeur cut off when the Admiral raised one hand, indicating that he didn't want to hear.

There was silence between them for a few moments, while Admiral Demetrian setup the simulator for another attempt.

"With respect," Admiral Demetrian spoke, looking up over the holographic projection table. Palaven hovered in the centre. The homeworld was beautiful. Surrounding it were the layers of missile and laser batteries interspersed with the defence fleet. "We cannot defeat 298 enemy dreadnoughts with four line dreadnoughts, and their reinforced fleets, 10 carriers and their ships, and whatever forces have been scavenged from Palaven." The Admiral finished the sentence Coeur had been about to say.

The tactical officer said nothing.

"You control the enemy fleet this time," Admiral Demetrian instructed.

"Sir?"

"The VI is very logical, but lacks an organic sense. You control the enemy fleet," he repeated.

"Sir," Coeur agreed but Demetrian could hear the uncertainty in her voice. She'd been watching since the 5th simulation and for every single one, no matter the deployment, no matter what tricks Demetrian had tried, the approaching enemy fleet had just ploughed the defenders under.

Coeur took her place on the other side of the table, looking down at the controls. "Sir? Are you sure these specs are correct?"

"What specs?" Admiral Demetrian asked, as he wracked his brain for another deployment option.

"The enemy ships, sir."

Oh, now he understood. The specs for the enemy ships were high, higher than any dreadnought the Turians had ever built. Higher than anything the Salarians had constructed. But, while there hadn't been much time to assess the enemy, the specs entered for the simulations were considered to be accurate. The  _Pride of Pheiros'_  and the  _Adjudicator's_  forces had both died to confirm them. Admiral Demetrian ground his teeth, holding his mandibles steady as the  _Adjudicator's_  final fate flashed through his mind.

He would not think of Menae!

"Yes, they are accurate," he gave the Tactical Officer the information she didn't really want to hear.

Why else would he have been here for the last few hours attempting to come up with a way, _any way_ , of achieving even the most minimal victory against the enemy?

He knew what he was facing and he had no illusions about their ability to hold off that many ships. Even if the normal defence fleet was here, the extra dreadnoughts and attendant fleets would hardly make a difference. The 4th, 5th and 6th simulations had shown him that. This was not ground combat, where a small force could hold a bottleneck. This was space. There was very little terrain advantage and the Turian forces were at a disadvantage. Admiral Demetrian was aware of that. Morale was low. How could it not be?

Menae still burned.

But, they had one advantage. This was Trebia. Retreat was not an option and the forces guarding Palaven were the best the Turians had to offer. They would fight to the death to change the reality.

And the reality was that the enemy was numerous, strong and vicious. They cared little for Citadel Conventions. The Turians had some weapons which pushed those Conventions. You didn't get to be the military arm of the Council without keeping a few secrets, and if they didn't know about the weapons, then the terrorists would. Knowing about those weapons meant the Turians knew what to look for. Those weapons were mostly for ground combat, and as much as it galled him to admit it, many of the ideas came from the Humans.

"Sir, I'm ready," Coeur said.

Admiral Demetrian made the final adjustments to his forces. The layout was similar to how they were deployed currently. The four dreadnoughts and fleets were arranged in a diamond shape over Palaven. They maintained their orbit such that they were always between the homeworld and the attacking forces. The carriers were to the rear, at the edges and once combat began, after they had disgorged their fighters, they would retreat to the far side of the planet. They were not made for combat.

"All right, begin," he ordered, pressing the start button for the simulation. A VI would control the ships to ensure that the physics of the simulation were accurate but beyond that the strategy would be decided by himself and Coeur.

Not that it would make much difference. Admiral Demetrian knew what the stats of the enemy ships were… He watched them approach on the hologram, noting that Coeur had not bothered to use any specific formation. That was in keeping with what they had seen. The enemy was not disciplined.

He watched as they came into firing range and Admiral Demetrian could imagine the main cannons winding up and the fighters shivering with anticipation. The first shots were fired, the missile canisters launched their payloads at the enemy, while the laser's waited for more opportune shots.

Admiral Demetrian concentrated. If they could take out one ship, that would make the enemy pause. They had, when Menae had caught the dreadnought earlier.

"First shots impact in three, two- huh?" Coeur broke off.

Demetrian didn't need to ask why. The holo fuzzed for a moment then it showed a different scene in space. It was not Palaven. It was not Trebia. There was an inactive Relay against the dark backdrop of space. Then the scene shifted to show ships. Human ships, though there was a roughness about them which made them seem primitive.

"Humans?" Coeur questioned. Demetrian didn't have time to reply because the view widened to show older Turian vessels approaching the Humans. They opened fire, destroying the Human ships and Demetrian nodded. The Human ships had been trying to open the Relay, why else would it be shown.

"Bridge," Coeur tapped the internal comms. "Where is the signal coming from?" If this image had overridden the simulation table, then the entire ship would be seeing it.

"The invaders," came the very quick reply.

Dementrian looked sharply at the Tactical Officer. The invaders were sending this signal? He knew they had Human markings but the ships were Geth design.

"This was the way the galactic community greeted us," a voice spoke in unflanged Turian as the last of the Human ships were destroyed.

Then the image changed.

"Are they trying to say they are Human?" Coeur asked. Dementrian didn't reply.

The new image showed Turian ships and approaching them were the invaders. Each invading ship was marked with a Human name he recognised. Anderson, Udina, Cerberus… At the front was the one Human name most of the galaxy knew. Shepard, with the abomination that was his Human rank, N7. The ships on screen were the exact same design as those approaching Palaven now. But they were Geth ships, not Human.

The hologram of the invaders shot the Turian ships, ending their existence with fantastic explosions. "This is our greeting to the galactic community."

Even after forty years, Demetrian recognised that voice. Shepard. Or at least a simulation of him. What were the Geth playing at?

"Sir?" Coeur prompted when the vid file ended and the simulation reappeared.

As expected, the invading ships had destroyed his defenders.

"Reset the simulation," Demetrian commanded. "Assume Human tactics for the invaders," he added.

"Sir, it won't matter," Coeur said. "The stats are too high."

"Then you would have us die?" Demetrian challenged.

Coeur was silent and he watched as the woman looked down. "I would have us fight," she said softly.

"When you know as well as I do that we are left tied down by Citadel Convention."

"Yes Sir," Coeur agreed. Around Palaven they were limited in their defences to those things the rest of the galaxy considered acceptable. Other Turian planets had more unconventional defences.

"It is becoming obvious to me that the entire Human Rebellion was merely a ploy."

"Sir?"

"The Humans have been supposedly trapped on their planet for the last forty years. They obviously poured  _everything_  they had into the ship they sent against the Citadel."

"But they helped destroy it sir!" Coeur objected. She had studied that battle. The Humans were the ones who had landed the final fatal blows.

"A ploy," Demetrian waved one clawed hand. "It's taken them forty years to re-group, forty years of isolation while we played at peace. We should have destroyed them when we had the chance."

He raked one hand over his crest. "It is not important now," Demetrian added, moving away from the simulation table towards the door to the bridge.

"Sir?" Coeur winced as she said the word. Really, could she be any less helpful?

"We must attend to the deployment of the fleet."

-cfr-

**Palaven, Cabal Village**

Notchimus let a tiny spark of energy trace between his fingers. He was manning one of the barricades to the village with the other biotics. They had their own areas on Palaven and the entire village had decided that no invader would come near them.

Well, Notchimus amended the thought, they'd come near and then be in a world of pain. He and his fellow biotics had all sorts of tricks they wanted to try. They could never use their power on Turians but against invaders… oh there were no rules. Not that the Hierarchy would care. So long as the invaders died, then no one would look into what happened too closely.

It was going to be glorious! Notchimus was looking forward to the moment he could flare his power and rip it through the invaders.

"Hold steady," Yordana murmured. She was the nominal head of their village and had taught Notchimus since his power had become evident when he turned thirteen. Yordana had been taught by Asari, and while in sheer power, Notchimus knew he was stronger, Yordana just _knew_ more things. He hoped to learn more in this battle. There was nothing like practical experience to make a lesson stick. "We'll make the bastards pay," she reassured him.

Notchimus clicked his mandibles at her. "Do we know what's happening?" He lifted his eyes to the sky.

Yordana checked her omni-tool. The Hierarchy was putting out a few updates. "The enemy fleet is approaching Impera's orbit," she said, reading the latest update. "They are probably already there now," the old biotic added, after checking the timestamp. "The information is a bit old."

Notchimus snorted. That's what he liked about Yordana. She told it like it was. "Can't trust the military to do an- What the hell is that?" Notchimus' demanded, pointing towards Yordana's omni-tool. The small projection should have winked out but it continued to display when she had put her arm down.

His teacher raised her arm, looking at her omni-tool with a frown before tapping the controls with one talon. "Stupid thing is on the fritz! Now, of all times," she growled. No matter the sentiment towards the Hierarchy, and in the Cabal's there were times when that sentiment was not high, they did need to coordinate with the rest of the planet. "What about yours?"

Notchimus raised his arm, flicking his omni-tool on. "Spirits-darned piece of crap!" he swore, seeing that the small projected screen was black like Yordana's. "The invaders," he said. It made sense that they would be blocking transmissions but from Impera's orbit? That was some serious power.

"Wait," Yordana said, her mandible's clicking slowly as she examined the view screen. "There is something on it."

He raised his omni-tool, peering at the view screen. There was something there. It was tiny though and he tapped his claws on the controls, zooming in on the slight distortion on the dark screen. "It's a space scene," Notchimus said when the fuzzy outline of ships appeared. Omni-tools were great but there were certain things they just did not display well. Space was one of them. Usually the image was too encompassing to be properly seen, as they were discovering now.

"Spirits!" the cry came from Awendea and Notchimus brought his attention back to the screen in time to see yellow flash over it. Obviously a representation of explosions. "We destroyed them!" she added laughing.

Another voice spoke and it took Notchimus a moment to realise it came from his omni-tool. "... way the galactic community greeted us."

"Does anyone know what this crap is?" he questioned, holding up his omni-tool. Around him the other biotic's laughed but as the yellow faded from the tiny screen, those who were paying attention noticed more ships appearing. They zoomed in to see that they were Turian.

"Hey, they are our ships this time!" came the general wave of exclamation which turned Notchimus back to his screen.

They were Turian ships this time. And then something blocked them out. It was hard to see because most of them were zoomed in so much. Obviously the invaders had made this vid but they hadn't considered how it would look on omni-tools. To most it just looked like a black screen. To those who had managed to zoom out enough the ships were tiny, approaching even smaller Turian vessels. Then were were explosions again and Notchimus frowned when he realised it was the Turian vessels which were depicted exploding.

"Geez, they could at least get it right," he muttered. The explosions were fantastical, nothing that would be seen in space.

Yordana just stared at him for a moment before she snorted one bark of laughter. She didn't reply because another voice spoke. "This is our greeting to the galactic community."

"Yeah, some greeting," Notchimus dismissed the vid. "Can't even get the ratios right for omni-tools. The morons."

His nonchalance broke the tension but a few of the Cabal were still staring at their omni-tools. "What is it?" he asked, looking towards Awendea whose eyes were wide with fear.

"That says fucking  _Shepard,_ " she growled at him, thrusting her omni-tool forward to show him the screen. There was some alien writing on the screen. It could have said Shepard, Notchimus realised but he didn't know. He didn't speak Human.

"So what if it does?" he questioned. "You're saying that the invaders are Human? Yeah right, as if they would leave their home system. You know as well as I do that they retreated there to cower. The only reason we didn't crush them is that they somehow moved that relay.

"So what if they are Humans? Without that relay, they are stuck in our territory," he added. "And you know what that means?"

"What?" Awendea asked, looking up, though Notchimus could see the way she was suppressing trembles. It was pathetic. She was meant to be Cabal! They feared nothing.

"It means they are stuck with us," he hissed, allowing his biotic power to flare. "No escape, no retreat and you can bet your plates I won't be accepting surrender." He bared his teeth at the last, stretching his mandibles wide.

This was going to be glorious! Let the invaders come because they wouldn't be running from him. Oh no, he'd have them pinned up against a wall, waiting to see what he could do next. And the Hierarchy, they'd look the other way. What happened in the Cabals, stayed in the Cabals and while Awendea and a few others would be too weak for reality, Notchimus could see a few nodding at his words.

They'd be with him. And together they'd show the invaders, Human or not, the Hierarchy, the galaxy, why you did not attack the Cabals.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Private Residence**

Dembe was a third tier scientist. The fact that he was 100 and the leading Turian specialist on oceanology made the fact that he was third tier unusual. Usually the leading specialists were 10th tier. There was nothing wrong with being third tier but Dembe knew that he would die third tier even though he was fully capable and did fulfill the requirements of a tenth tier scientist.

He was sure of this because he used  _Human_ principles. Seventy five years ago, when the Humans first came on to the scene, after what they dramatically called the First Contact War, using Human principles had been seen as an odd but acceptable methodology. It was seen as a way of trying to bridge the gap between Turian and Human. But what Dembe discovered was that Human principles were advanced far beyond anything the Turians had come up with.

If he'd thought about it, that wasn't unexpected. Turians were descended from an avian predator. They avoided water. The study of oceanology was considered necessary but unimportant. As such it was a small field of Turians who studied it and they had done comparative studies using alien principles before. You would think that the Hanar, being an aquatic species, with a homeworld 90% water would have the best principles in oceanology. The comparative studies had not been favourable. The sad truth was that Kahje simply had too much water. Studies using Salarian or Asari principles worked better but while the Salarians relied on wet environments, they were interested in swamps. Then the Humans came. While it had been dreadfully difficult to get the material, Dembe, being fresh out of his required military training, had managed to get some of the first translations of Human oceanology papers.

The results were amazing. Palaven was physically larger than Earth and had a lesser ocean covering but it was similar enough that the principles could be transferred. And he had. He'd spent the next 20 years just applying Human oceanology principles, and writing papers. In that time he'd become the expert on oceanology for Turians. It should have given him a higher tier but he had been young then. The higher tier would come in time.

Except it never had. Then there had been the Human Rebellion and after that all things Human had been looked down upon.

Now if Dembe just applied Human principles to oceanology, no one would have minded. The fact that he didn't was what angered those above him. In addition to Human oceanology, Dembe studied Human history and sociology, and worse still, he continued to study them to this day.

There were Turians who studied Humans. Turians in the military or a few researchers specifically paid to. They studied Human psychology, weaponry, military strategy, cryptology and other aspects which gave you a combat advantage. And those Turians, as soon as it was confirmed that there would be no further expedition to Sol, packed up their data pads on Humans, collated any notes they had, and put them into storage.

Dembe didn't. These days, forty years or so after the Humans disappeared, he was still seeking out those sponsored researchers and asking for their source material. He didn't want to read their notes, he wanted the actual Human papers that they had and he spent a lot of his time reading those. If he'd asked for oceanology papers, no one would have cared. He asked for everything and that put the death knell on his career.

He didn't get much new material these days but he had just managed to convince one of the sponsored researchers, who had been assigned to studying Human educational systems to provide him with the papers the Humans had written.

Dembe was sitting in his chair, his rifle beside him, beginning to look at the papers while he waited for the invasion, when the data pad blinked and showed him a new scene.

He blinked his eyes, looking closely at the edges of the frame. Then he frowned. Turians had evolved from avians. They had  _very_  sharp eyesight, something most races of the galaxy forgot. What was smooth to a Salarian was not smooth to a Turian. And what was a seamless holo to most with the right number of frames per second, was not always to a Turian. This holo was good but it flickered a bit at the sides. Dembe couldn't count the frames, they moved too fast for that, but he could see the flicker, which meant it wasn't a Turian production.

Then the image shifted, showing a large inactive relay with some primitive looking ships in front of it. He recognised them. How could he not? He'd been in the military during the First Contact War and those ships on the screen were Human! They looked like the ships the Turians had first encountered too.

Just as he thought that, new ships entered the scene. Turian ships and Dembe cringed when he realised what would happen. This was a holo-reconstruction of First Contact with the Humans. The Turian ships fired and the Human ships exploded in the way that ships were destroyed in space and then a voice spoke. The language was Turian but the voice was Human. Dembe was sure of that. In the time when the Humans were counted as part of the galaxy he'd had some conversations with Human oceanologists and they had insisted on learning a few words of Turian. They spoke it the same way as the voice now.

"This was the way the galactic community greeted us."

Dembe gritted his teeth. While most Turians never thought about it he, and a few more academically minded had and so had some Asari and Salarians. Human first contact should never have been that way. They didn't know the risks of opening the Relay and at that point, they were not signatories to Citadel Conventions. They could not and should not have been held to the same standards.

Yet the Hierarchy had.

Dembe shook his head as the screen changed. This time it showed Turian vessels and he felt a chill in his soul. This was a message from the invaders and if they had started off with  _Human_  first contact then he knew which race they proclaimed to be. The Turian vessels were destroyed in quick order, and the view shifted to show an image of the invaders. "This is our greeting to the galactic community." Dembe didn't need the words. The new ships were the image of the Geth ship that had been destroyed forty years ago at the Citadel, the one the Humans claimed was something else, and the one that, in Dembe's opinion, triggered the Human Rebellion.

Except these ships were different. They had writing on them, writing Dembe identified as the Human language 'English' as he quickly read the words. English had been the Human trade language because of its simplicity. Twenty six symbols versus the thousands some of their other tongues had and very flexible at accepting new words. The ships bore what he took to be their names on their left and Dembe recognised the names, as would any Turian with a passing knowledge of contemporary Human history. Hackett, Udina, Anderson and there, right at the front was the one name almost every citizen of the Citadel would know, Shepard.

Spirits! These were Humans. For an instant Dembe felt a surge of satisfaction. They were Human! He could get more papers.

Then reality struck. They were Human. They were no longer friendly but out for vengeance. He  _knew_  their society, he knew what they thought. The Humans viewed the Council decision that they were culpable for the destruction of the  _Destiny Ascension_  as the final act of betrayal. They saw the dismissal of their claims that the attacking vessel all those years ago was not Geth as arrogance and they saw the attacks by the Turians and Batarians who were newly reinstated as Citadel allies as acts of war.

A war the Humans had been losing. A war they would have lost if not for the Relay disappearing.

And now they were back, in ships which were the same as the one which attacked, the one they had claimed was not Geth.

Did the wording on the ships now mean that the ship had been Human all along? Maybe one lead by a rogue faction? No, Dembe shook his head. The Humans would have said that. They would have fought with ships of that design in the Rebellion. So how had they, while locked in their system, found whoever had built that ship and allied with them? Was it the Geth as the Council stated? Yet how had the Geth gotten into Sol? Dembe recalled a galaxy map. Rannoch and Earth were on almost complete opposite sides of the galaxy.

No, the ship could not be Geth either.

Which meant…

Which meant that the Humans had been correct. The ship belonged to someone else, someone the Humans had now allied with. Except who? Who could possibly have hidden from the Council that well? And how had the Humans allied with them?

There was a crash at his door.

Dembe looked up, a started click coming from his mandibles.

The invaders couldn't be here already!

"Open up you Human scum."

What? His eyes widened. The voice was Turian, yet it referred to huma… Dembe grabbed his gun, his eyes narrowing as he stared down the barrel, aiming carefully for about chest height. It might have been about 70 years since his military training but there were some things you didn't forget.

"Piss off you barefaced coward!" Dembe roared back.

"Oh that's it, you Human scum sympathiser! You are so dead!" There was another couple of heavy thuds against the door. It creaked heavily but held.

"Hah!" Dembe laughed. "We're all dead, you lazy scum."

"You first!"

This time, with the force, Dembe saw the door distort and he knew it was only a matter of time before it broke. He adjusted his aim slightly. "As if it makes a difference," he replied and when the thud came again, he fired.

The round ripped through the door and he was momentarily satisfied by the startled yelp. Dembe couldn't see anything through the hole. It was dark in the corridor to his apartment but he focused on his hearing. There were now some furtive scuffs. There was more than one, he realised.

"In case you hadn't noticed," he drawled, allowing his voice to carry. "Those are Human invaders."

"Of course we noticed you idiot!" came a reply. Off to the left, Dembe reckoned by the tones.

"They are ripping through our defences," Dembe continued, "and they've already destroyed Menae."

"Human sympathiser!" This time the reply was from the right. So there were at least two. Young too, he realised. The flanging was still high pitched.

Dembe rolled his eyes. There were idiots in every generation. "There is no way off Palaven," he growled. "Not with three hundred dreadnoughts approaching. If I was truly a Human sympathiser, would I be here?" He laid out the challenge, already knowing that those in the corridor wouldn't care.

They were silent for a few moments, before Dembe heard a storm of whispers. He raised his gun, knowing what came next.

The idiots didn't disappoint. There was the rapid sound of footsteps before they slammed heavily into the door. This time it gave out and Dembe fired, catching one of the young morons heavily in the chest. There were more than two though. Dembe couldn't count how many and in the end it didn't matter. They kept coming, those following stepping over the one he had hit and one who had fallen inward with his door.

Dembe fired again, hitting another and again. They didn't stop and he caught the flash of a knife as one of them closed in on him. He should have barricaded the door, Dembe realised but it was too late for self-recrimination. He surged upwards, dodging the blade and trying to bring his rifle around. The young Turian kept close and Dembe hissed, swinging one arm up, his claws angled to swipe at the other. The Turian slapped him down and Dembe retaliated by firing the rifle. It clipped the young Turians leg and he went down and as Dembe was moving his rifle to a better position, he saw a flash of light from the corner of his eye.

Something hard slammed into him and Dembe hit his chair, flailing as he went down. Pain assaulted his senses and his breath became short. Dembe blinked, looking at his floor in confusion.

"Barefaced Human scum," came another voice which Dembe recognised as the one who had shot him. He heard the weapon cocked again but didn't bother to look.

Another shock of pain rippled through him and blue blood splattered on the floor beside him. His blood. The light caught it and as his vision faded, Dembe couldn't help the thought that in many ways, it really was like the blue oceans of Earth.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Turian Dreadnought** _**Resolute** _

Admiral Demetrian stepped onto the hologram projection disk. The enemy fleet was approaching but they were at least 70 minutes out, unless they decided to micro jump, something he didn't deem likely. The enemy fleet, by their transmissions were supposedly Human, and while Humans were undisciplined monkeys, they were also vindictive and vicious. They would not cut short the growing sense of fear that permeated the Turian forces.

Which is why he had to make this speech, and make it right. With the loss of Menae, and the brutal evidence of it still burning in space, morale was already low. Turian forces were disciplined and this attack on Trebia gave them every reason to fight, but they also needed inspiration.

"You are on, Sir," The  _Resolute's_  Comm Officer, Kenus announced.

Demetrian couldn't see him because of the light but he nodded slightly, gathering his thoughts.

"To all Turian forces," he began. The opening was not inspiring but he wanted them all to listen. "The enemy we face today is strong and fast. They have proven themselves capable of atrocity." There was no point in denying the truth. "But their transmissions betray them," Demetrian added. "They come from a pathetic brutal race. Human!" He spat the word, allowing all the scorn he could muster to echo through his voice. "They have deceived us all. The attack on the Citadel forty years ago, was not the work of Geth, but the work of Humans. And then they pretended to be weak as we advanced on their homeworld. It was only fate which saved them then!

"They come before us now with a show of strength!

"But I say that is false strength! It is false bravado and they will show their true colours soon enough.

"You must remember always that the Humans are primitive. They have a long history of killing each other, a history that extends even to the point where they were supposedly enlightened. Even during the combat with the Humans they fought each other, killing their brothers and sisters, their mothers and fathers.

"And that is why, while the battle is grim, we will prevail. The Humans do not have the discipline, the courage or the ability to conduct a long campaign. The battle for Palaven will be fierce, and while we may lose the air advantage, we will  _never_  lose the planet. Remember that and fight!

"Fight for Palaven. Fight for the Hierarchy but mostly fight for yourselves with the knowledge that for every drop of good Turian blue blood split, we will die the Human's Earth red with their life!"

There was a ragged cheer from the bridge crew as he finished speaking and Demetrian allowed his mandibles to stretch wide, a sign of confidence, before the hologram disk went dark, cutting his transmission.

With a sigh he stepped off the plate. "The fleets are ready?" he asked, needlessly.

"Yes Sir," the  _Resolute's_  Captain Gorou replied.

"Good," Admiral Demetrian nodded. "Have everyone hold. We will give this Human scum a fight they will never forget."

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Harper couldn't help it. He laughed. The Turians were so… so… Turian! There was no other way of thinking about it.

Demetrian's speech was… did the Turian truly believe  _any_  of that? Harper was no longer a military man, and while the campaign in Trebia hadn't gone perfectly, he knew it had gone well enough. There was no way the Turians should have any hope at the moment. They knew what they were facing and they knew they were doomed. Only a madman would consider that they had a chance. Demetrian wasn't a madman.

Spectre had monitored the Admiral's efforts, hacking through the Turian firewalls to view the continued simulations before forwarding them to the fleet. The Turian Admiral had run 35 simulations, all ending in his defeat and now the Human Ascended fleet knew almost every defensive move the Turian fleet might make. Unlike mere organics they could easily keep every detail from a paltry 35 simulations in the forefront of their minds. No, the Turian Admiral knew what he faced.

"Let him have hope," Shepard's voice intruded on Harper's thoughts.

"You heard that?" he asked.

"Yes," Shepard replied. "Very inspiring," the Human Ascended leader noted.

"And you are going to leave it be?"

"Yes," Shepard said simply as Harper mentally frowned. Wasn't the goal of vengeance to destroy everything? Why leave the Turians with hope?

"I leave them with hope so that when they look up, and see us blackening their sky, they know that there was truly no chance. I let them have hope so that when they die they will do so anguished that there was nothing they could do. I leave them hope so that when they bow, they will know that even hope abandoned them. I leave them hope, Harper, so that we can crush it utterly." Shepard paused. "I leave them hope because it's bloody boring fighting against a defeated foe and we'll be doing that soon enough."

Harper was silent for a few moments. "I suppose," he said eventually.

"Vengeance is in taking everything they have but it is important not to take everything too fast lest you miss something in your haste," Shepard cautioned.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet, Approaching Palaven**

"Break into four equal groups," Hackett instructed as he looked at the fleet around Palaven. There were four dreadnoughts with attendant cruisers and frigates. There were a large numbers of fighters also present and for an instant he was confused but then he detected exhaust streams going around Palaven. The carriers, not suited to direct combat, were obviously hiding in the shadows. They would be dealt with soon enough.

Palaven's defence fleets were evenly spaced in a diamond over the planet, though as they moved forward Hackett thought the Turian ships might cluster. They had already seen that one to one they had no chance. Of course, even clustered they had no chance but clustering would allow more Human Ascended to slip through. The Turians weren't in a good position.

There wasn't even a millisecond of sympathy for them. He had been in this position once and Hackett knew firsthand the pain. "Assuming that they do not cluster, each group is to attack one fleet," Hackett instructed. "To even the groups, Shepard and I will remain central."

"The first group to disable their entire fleet may land forces on Palaven first," Shepard said with a laugh.

That sorted out the groups and without a word the equal fleets of 74 Ascended surged forward, each racing towards their targets, though maintaining cohesion as a fleet. It would still take a few minutes before the battle began and in that time Hackett turned his sensors towards Palaven itself, while his point defences took out the last few remaining missiles which had been launched.

"Well they have a heap of ground defences," Shepard mused.

"That they do," Hackett agreed as his sensors feed him information.

"This would be simpler if-" Shepard didn't finish the sentence, even when Hackett focused several sensors on him.

"Simpler if we didn't have to ascend any," Hackett finished the sentence eventually. "You can say what you want Shepard, I'm not Harbinger," he added.

"It would be easier," Shepard agreed, "but ascension is their destiny."

"Shepard," Hackett said the name, allowing disbelief to tinge his tone. "I am not Harbinger," he repeated. "You do not have to tell me what will become their reality."

There was silence from the Human Ascended leader. "This is Jenkins again," Shepard muttered eventually.

"Jenkins?" Hackett asked, searching his memory banks.

"Jenkins was the first man I lost on the  _Normandy,_ " Shepard explained. "He took a couple of rounds to the chest from Geth drones."

"I don't understand."

"Sending our husks down into that," Shepard indicated towards the myriad of defences they could sense on Palaven, "will be like sending Jenkins straight into those Geth drones."

"Husks are already dead," Hackett replied.

"They are still Human," Shepard said. "While they live within us, they are still Human. We give them that."

"Shepard, they are dead. We hold the memory of who they  _might_  have been but the individual spirit is gone, only the flesh remains, and only that flesh which survives the cybernisation process," Hackett said the words with accompanying images. Shepard already knew this. Why was he hesitating now? "Why are you concerned?"

"I do not want to lose them."

"There is nothing to lose," Hackett objected.

Shepard was silent and mentally Hackett sighed.

"Shepard," he began again. He never thought he'd be in the position of trying to convince Shepard to attack. "Have you ever thought that they want this? We want vengeance but they were Human, they wanted vengeance just as much as we did. I doubt they would see being deployed against Turians as an issue, even if some are lost."

"I know that," Shepard replied. "I just… I can't help but think that in some ways we failed them."

"Failed them?" Hackett asked, turning some of his attention to the fleets. All four were nearly in firing range.

"The husks. They should have been Ascended."

"Yes, we thought that was the deal with Harbinger," Hackett agreed. "But not every member of every species is Ascended," he added. "I asked Fruben and Arshan," Hackett continued. "Ninety-five percent of us were Ascended. That is far higher than any race… ever."

"I know."

"It's far higher than any other race of this cycle will have."

Shepard snorted. " _That_  I definitely know," he replied before he seemed to sigh. "I'll be fine," he added for Hackett's benefit. "I just wish we weren't going to lose as many husks as Palaven will cost."

"Their lives will not be given in vain," Hackett replied. "Now, which group do you think will disable their fleet first?"

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

About halfway to the Turian dreadnoughts, Anderson reached out on a limited channel to those Human Ascended who were with him. He projected a tactical map to them, highlighting all the Turian assets they needed to destroy. The dreadnought had a reinforced fleet which meant that it was accompanied by 78 cruisers, each with six frigates. That made a total of five hundred and forty seven ships to be disabled, not counting the fighters. Each of them had to take out at least one cruiser group and with the prize on offer, he didn't want to be inefficient.

"Pick out your targets," Anderson instructed, tagging one cruiser group as his.

Quickly the other groups were tagged, leaving four cruiser groups at the back untargeted. Anderson quickly moved to tag them as general. "Destruction is acceptable but if you can, aim for disabling shots. We might need them for Palaven." The implication was carried in his sub-channels. Palaven, like Menae needed to be subdued and the Turian ships would be the perfect means of attack.

"What about the dreadnought?" Chimera asked.

"Ignore it until all the cruiser fleets are disabled. After which, we'll all target it," Anderson replied. "The important thing is to get the chaff before it scatters."

"And the fighters?"

"Let your point defences handle them," Moxum answered. "It's not like they can touch us," he added.

"Indeed," Anderson agreed. "This battle shouldn't last anything more than two minutes," he added. "Now break for targeting."

At his instruction, the fleet which had been relatively clustered spread out subtly, each one of them honing in on their targets. The Turian fleet began firing at the limit of their range. The Ascended, while having a slightly better range held fire, preferring to be more accurate with their weaponry. Point defences wound up and obliterated the rounds heading towards them.

Fighters swept in as waves, firing continually on the Ascended.

"Are they even trying?" Chimera asked as his point defences took out several Turian fighters who were slow on the turn.

"Oh, they're trying," Anderson assured the fleet. "We are Ascended, and thus we are beyond them," he added the explanation. "All targets locked?"

"Yes!"

"Fire!"

The wave of weaponry that burst forth from the Ascended was barely visible against the dark of space. It wasn't until a minute or so later that the effects became apparent. Explosions hit almost every ship in the Turian fleet. Ascended were not organic. They could track and calculate the trajectory of their targets easily. One Ascended could have tracked every ship in the Turian fleet. Each of their pereiopods fired. No one fired their main weapon, that would be overkill for such small vessels.

Before the first wave hit, a second was sent forth, targeting the few ships that hadn't been fired upon.

"And the dreadnought," Anderson called to those who knew their cruiser fleet was gone, even if the Turians didn't know it yet.

As the first wave hit, the third was fired. The dreadnought was the target of them all and Anderson couldn't help the internal grin as the light of their weaponry flashed towards it.

That is not to say that the Turian point defences were useless. They worked exactly as they should have, and for some of the cruisers and frigates, the shots meant for them were intercepted by fighters, which exploded in a transitory glory. However most were simply overwhelmed by the sheer intensity of the weapons.

As for the dreadnought, the  _Defender_ , it never really stood a chance. A couple of hits intended for it were intercepted by some of the few remaining ambulatory frigates, and a couple were intercepted either by disabled ships or the expanding debris field from those destroyed but there were at least sixty simultaneous shots on it. This was not like the  _Pride of Pheiros_  or the  _Adjudicator._  The Ascended were done playing.

Explosions wracked the Turian capital ship even as a fourth wave of fire burst from some of the Ascended. The  _Defender_  listed high giving Anderson a great view of its underbelly and the still frantically firing point defences. He lined up one pereiopod and let loose a tight beam, cutting through the armour and into what they had guessed was the approximate position of engine control.

"Nice shot," Chimera complimented Anderson, as his own point defences took out yet more Turian fighters. They were like gnats buzzing around without having any real purpose.

The line Anderson had cut burned with residual heat for a few moments before there was a series of explosions along it. "I think I went too deep," Anderson replied to Chimera, critical of his work.

"Maybe, but it's stopped firing," the other Ascended responded.

The  _Defender_  had fired its main cannon several times. It had even hit one Ascended who had been clustered too tightly to dodge effectively. The  _Defender_  had then been given a demonstration of how ineffective its weapon was when that Ascended, Isis, had continued bearing down on the ship, shields not even glowing at the impact.

"All ships downed?" Anderson sent out the call.

"Yes."

"Boo yeah!"

"Boom! Yes."

The replies were resoundingly positive and Anderson's sensors were confirming that the Turian fleet was effectively gone. There were a few fighters still doggedly battling it out with the oculi but they were as good as dead, and they knew it. The cruisers and frigates were either space dust or disabled and the dreadnought was still suffering from a series of secondary explosions.

"One minute, forty seven seconds," Anderson broadcast the time to Shepard, and to the rest of the fleet with him.

Shepard laughed. It was truly an amused laugh and Anderson felt happy just hearing it. "Very good," Shepard praised the fleet, "but you are on carrier duty."

"What?" Anderson demanded, his question echoed by a good majority of his fleet.

"Miranda's group beat you by a second," Shepard explained.

"Damn it!"

"Better luck next time, Anderson," came Miranda's dulcet tones.

"It's all right, Miranda," Anderson replied. "You can blunt the Turian defences for our landing forces," he added, before refocusing his comms on Shepard. "Heading for the carriers now. Disable or destroy?"

"Either," Shepard said nonchalantly. "They might have the size but they don't have the mass of a dreadnought."

"Aye, aye, Commander," Anderson chuckled, activating his core as he automatically calculated the fastest trajectory around Palaven. Some of his fleet were already on their way. "Good work everyone," he said, letting his sub-channels say more than his words. It didn't really matter that they wouldn't get to land forces on Palaven first. He truly anticipated that there would be more than enough resistance from the birds that they would all be called upon.

Anderson's thoughts were more prophetic than he knew.

-cfr-


	17. Bring Down The Sky

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 16:** **Bring Down the Sky**

-cfr-

**Palaven, Primarch's Office**

Fedorian looked at the screen, his eyes wide in disbelief.

Two minutes. Less than! The fleets around Palaven had lasted less than two minutes! The enemy fleet had ripped through them.

Shepard's words echoed in his ear. "There will not be a next one." Is  _this_  what he meant?

"Sir, it's time to move to the bunker," Norah said. Actually, the time to move to the bunker was several hours ago but… Fedorian shook his head as he got up. He didn't think a bunker would make a difference but it was not his job to fight or make stupid, arrogant, political statements. It was his job to lead, and to do that he'd have to be in the bunker.

Of course, with three hundred dreadnoughts bearing down on Palaven, he didn't know how much there would be to lead.

-cfr-

**Orbit of Palaven, Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

As the last of the Turian space defences were cleared out, Shepard looked down at Palaven. As reported, it was silver, though there was a slight greenish tinge to it. His sensors saw the military emplacements. There were bases both surrounding each city and in most cases actually  _in_  each city, there were military emplacements. While he no longer cared about the distinction when dealing with the Turians, there was no such thing as a civilian target on Palaven. To an Ascended, there was no such thing as a civilian target. They were all organic.

Shepard scanned the surface. There were about six point one billion Turians there, with another three hundred and fifty thousand Turians on orbital stations which they had not yet destroyed.

Combined, they had approximately one point five billion husks. They could get more troops by converting Turians but it was not enough, not to take Palaven.

"Is everyone in position?" he sent the signal through the network.

"Just now," came the confirmation. "What do you want done with the orbital stations?"

"Leave them for the moment," Shepard replied before pausing. From the planet came a burst of light and for one long instant, Shepard had the dreadful thought that the Turians had self-destructed. Then the light faded and his sensors tracked multiple ground to space missiles.

"Fire on the installations." If he was Human, Shepard would have rolled his eyes as he gave the order. The Human network had a scan of Palaven with lots of red dots on it. Each one of them extinguished a dot as they fired.

The Turians kept firing and, without further orders, the Ascended continued marking the new installations on their schematic and firing on them. This was going to take a while.

"Watch for nuke tips," Hackett sent the warning. "Reinforce EMP shielding," he added.

Ascended were already hardened against every known organic weapon and given the Human propensity for the use of nukes, that had been one weapon the Human Ascended had made sure they had defences against. Turians weren't known for them but in defence of Palaven, any weapon would be used.

"Well, it's obvious that the Turians are going to resist ascension," Anderson observed.

"We always knew we'd have to destroy a few of their cities," Hackett replied, wiping out three missile installations, one of which hadn't even fired.

"Jealous?" Anderson questioned. The word was hardly specific but carried in sub channels was the questions real meaning. No matter what they thought of the Turians, they had had to cut through many lines of defences to get to Palaven. Earth had not been as well protected.

"A bit," Hackett answered. "It would have been nice to get Earth to this level of defence."

Their conversation was interrupted by a laugh. "Earth was and  _is_  better protected than Palaven," Shepard said. "And in the cycles to come, we are going to make sure that it remains that way."

"Harbinger won't like that," Miranda commented.

"It's got nothing to do with Harbinger," Shepard dismissed the concern. "We will see to it."

Hackett transmitted his agreement. "It might have been nice to have had further defences around Earth," he said, answering Anderson's question more fully, "but it would have just caused further deaths. And Shepard is correct, Earth is protected from this cycle and we will continue to protect it each cycle."

"It's something for the future," Shepard said. "For now, I don't think Palaven needs Cipritine." He looked at down at the Turian Capital. It was pervaded by ground to space entrenchments, which were firing but mere batteries were not enough to injure an Ascended. Those batteries would be enough to take out landing forces. Cipritine would be, put mildly, a bitch to take.

Thankfully, they didn't need it, though before he gave clearance to proceed Shepard quickly checked on Fedorian's location. While he was more than happy to kill the Turian Primarch, he wanted the Turian leader to know suffering, which meant that bombing Cipritine would have to wait until Fedorian was in his security bunker. He was, so Shepard led the first bombardment.

It took a moment for their shots to fall, penetrating Palaven's thin atmosphere. In a perverse way, it was probably a beautiful sight from the ground but Shepard couldn't be bothered to hack any Turian camera to appreciate it. The instant they had fired on Cipritine, a new wave of retaliatory fire had come from the planet. His sensors couldn't identify the warheads. The Human part of him felt a chill.

"Dodge!" Shepard yelled the order, angling his pereiopods to shoot the missiles at a distance far before his point defences could take care of them. They exploded in low Palaven orbit and the shock wave traveled upwards. He felt it buffer him and felt vindication that he'd ordered avoidance. He launched several hundred oculi and felt the fleet follow suit. They would better see and be able to take out such missiles in future, allowing Shepard to focus on Palaven.

"What were they?"

"It doesn't matter," Shepard said firmly, rotating in space so that his spinal mounted cannon once again pointed downwards. "All fire!" he ordered before launching a 'cannon ball'. The other Ascended followed suit and three hundred capital ships fired their spinal mounted cannons towards the planet. The rounds were similar to those used by organics, not even Ascended could change the composition of the most effective metals, but they were larger and, with the acceleration an Ascended could provide them, they hit harder.

A minute later, explosions blossomed all over Palaven.

"Hah!" Several Ascended rejoiced watching as the mushroom clouds of energy and debris rose into Palaven's sky.

"All right, Miranda," Shepard said, "that should have softened them up." He set his sensors towards Cipritine. There were fires burning in the Turian capital but a large part of it was still intact. He was reluctantly impressed. The Turians built well.

The four fleets of Ascended that had previously formed had scattered somewhat when they moved to surround Palaven. When Miranda's fleet launched landing parties, it was a simultaneous attack on the planet. Shepard watched with the rest of the fleet as each Ascended launched 200 smaller ships. Each ship carried approximately 10,000 husks. Close to 150 million husks were in the first wave against Palaven.

The ships descended, their hulls glowing as they burned through the atmosphere. The entire fleet followed their movement and Shepard knew that others in the fleet were readying their own troops. Despite Palaven being a dextro planet, it had the same layers of atmosphere as Earth. The Ascended fleet were in a low Palaven orbit, in the exosphere, so it was a short journey down.

It wasn't until the ships reached the stratosphere that the problems began. Thousands of anti-aircraft emplacements opened fire. With his sensors, Shepard could see the streaming lights from them, forming ribbons through Palaven's atmosphere as they tracked towards the landing ships. The ships took evasive manoeuvres but there were simply too many AA guns.

"Damn it!" Miranda cursed but she wasn't the only one. As the landing ships were destroyed, as ten thousand Humans died with each one, the other Ascended cursed. Shepard didn't bother to swear. It was pointless.

"Fire again," he ordered, orienting himself towards the centre of a medium sized village below him. The fleet followed suit and almost instantly another round of mass effect weaponry was directed towards Palaven.

This wasn't anything unexpected, Shepard realised. They had picked the Turians first for a number of reasons. Vengeance was one. Human history with the Turians another. But it was also because the Turians would fight the hardest. This resistance was normal. He would have expected at least this level of resistance from Earth. "And again!" Shepard ordered, watching as further mushroom clouds peppered Palaven's surface.

The Turians would bow to them!

Even as the second wave of mass headed towards the surface, Shepard issued further orders. "All ships, prepare landers."

"I just lost half of mine!" Miranda snarled.

"I'm aware of that," Shepard replied. "Which is why we will all take Palaven."

"We don't need Palaven!" Miranda growled but Shepard's attention was elsewhere.

The second round from their spinal-mounted cannons hit. More clouds of energy and dust were sent into Palaven's atmosphere and more villages and small towns were destroyed. Shepard sent his sensors towards Cipritine. Fires were burning and he could see the tallest buildings had collapsed. Some still stood, the smaller ones, those that had most likely been reinforced. No doubt, the Turian death toll was mounting but it would take more than corpses to subdue the Turians.

"One more round," Shepard ordered simultaneously with making the decision and a fourth round issued from his spinal-mounted cannon. An instant later, the rest of the fleet followed suit.

"Launch landers," Shepard gave the follow up order, his subchannels indicating how many each should launch. He refocused his sensors, allowing his pereiopods to take out individual AA batteries. There were so many of them! It was almost as if every building had one.

His landers launched and peripherally Shepard felt his movement change. He didn't even need to send a query to realise what had happened. Joker, his usual pilot, was concentrating on one of the landers. No doubt, he wanted to get it to the ground first but it left Shepard feeling clumsy in space. His secondary pilots were good but Moreau really was the best. Shepard said nothing. He maintained his fire on Turian AA batteries as he watched the landers. There had been approximately 15 thousand in Miranda's wave. This time there were seventy four thousand.

He watched as they descended towards Palaven. The AA emplacements started firing the instant the ships were in range. The Ascended returned fire. The ships plummeted, and the air became laced with explosions.

"Three down!" Joker screamed happily but Shepard could see that while Joker and a few others had managed to land ships, many more had been destroyed. He felt a wave of anger. Human lives lost.

"Another ten down," Joker kept the report coming. "Fifty… one hundred!"

In another part of Shepard's subconscious, those in control of the husks went to work and on the ground, the transports burst open and the husks ran out. They moved quickly, attempting to establish beachheads in the areas they had made landfall.

Even as more ships made landfall, Shepard realised it wouldn't be enough. He focused his attention on the ground, letting himself see what the husks saw. Turian cities loomed in their vision with hundreds, thousands of Turians guarding them. There was a continuous hail of fire coming towards the husks and only those with the strongest cover had remained uninjured. The bodies of others were strewn around.

No! More Humans dead, he realised. Deliberately, Shepard focused his consciousness on one husk, urging it forward. The one Human body surged, running towards the Turian lines. Fire peppered it but Shepard didn't even feel it as he continued running. Ten metres, eight meters, five metres. He snarled at the Turians, bringing his weapons around, conscious of the way electricity passed over his body. It had been years since Shepard had directly controlled a husk but he had not forgotten how and his aim was true. Turians died as he fired but it was not enough. There were too many of them and there came a blinding flash of flight and a burst of heat before Shepard found himself once again in space.

He growled as he instantly reassessed the condition of the landing forces. Over two thirds of the ships had been shot down. Shepard felt anger stir within him. How many AA batteries did Palaven have? Did every Turian have one?

Those husks who had landed were bogged down. Too many Turians survived the bombardment and Shepard realised he was running out of options. "Hackett?"

"There is no fault in your plans," the former Admiral responded instantly, understanding the question.

"So you are telling me that Palaven is too well defended?" Shepard replied.

"Would you expect anything less?" Hackett returned the question.

Shepard returned his attention to Palaven. The husks had established several beachheads but already he could see that they would not hold without extensive work from the Ascended. Every village, town and city, those that hadn't been decimated, would actively fight. Every pocket of Turians would go down firing. They could decimate every village. They could destroy every down but doing so would kill the Turians and they needed some of them.

Except…

Miranda had said it. They didn't need Palaven. There were Turians elsewhere. Palaven was just the single largest population. It was the centre of the culture. Palaven had to be destroyed to kill the Turians but Miranda was correct. They did not need Palaven as anything more than a smoking ruin.

The beachheads would hold because they would give the husks the support they required, even going so far as to land if necessary. But they did not have enough troops to capture Palaven. Or rather, they did but they would then be short when they moved against the rest of the galaxy. That was intolerable.

His thoughts filtered through the Human network, while allowed all Ascended to understand his reasoning.

"Cluster over the beachheads," Shepard ordered.

"Want some of us to go down?" Ares asked.

Shepard considered for a few moments. "Yes." If they could not hold the ground indefinitely, then there was no point in being on the ground. Sending an Ascended would hasten the evacuation. Shepard growled to himself. He felt like a fool for expecting that this would be easy.

"None of us thought beyond revenge," Anderson told him.

The sentiment was shared by many Ascended. They hadn't thought beyond revenge. They had taken the knowledge that they were almost indestructible and had assumed that vengeance would be easy. In space, it was but ground combat was different. Shepard knew that. He should have planned more carefully.

Against Thessia or Sur'kesh, this plan would have worked. The Turians were different. The Turians were the most like Humans. They would fight. He should have known that.

"Withdraw the husks," Shepard ordered, "and collect the wreckage of the Turian fleets," he added as several Ascended began entering Palaven's atmosphere. It was almost amusing in a way, watching the AA batteries open fire on the Ascended. Point defences which were calibrated for space refocused, angling outwards as they fired. More missiles flew towards the Ascended and Shepard watched as several destroyed them, but others allowed the missiles to hit because the shock waves would echo over Palaven.

None were taken out. The Turians couldn't take out an Ascended and the Humans in each form revelled in that freedom. But they knew others were dying and had died. The husks. They had no such immortality. Even under constant fire from the Turians, the husks withdrew in an orderly fashion. Several Turians came close enough to be controlled and Shepard was pleased when the Ascended were ruthless enough to use them. Their minds screamed briefly over the network before they were extinguished, most of them being cut down by their own kind.

"Bloody hell, they are persistent," Ares growled and Shepard focused. The Ascended was grounded, and almost all the husks were back on board but the Turians were launching some sort of coordinated attack on him. There appeared to be biotics in the Turian troops.

Biotics, while not individually dangerous, in a large enough group they could cause problems. Kinetic shielding did not always recognise biotic power and while an Ascended's sheer density was difficult for a biotic to manipulate, it was not impossible.

"Pull up," Shepard instructed.

"I've almost got them all," Ares replied, referring to the husks as his point defences fired on the approaching Turian forces. Biotic shields shimmered, deflecting the shots. "Besides, it could be fun to capture a couple," came the addition.

"It's not worth it," Shepard objected. The Turians were merely organic and they could be controlled but establishing control over a group took a few minutes, minutes Ares might not have if he let hostile biotics within his shields.

"God damn it! That stung!" Ares' scream cut through Shepard's thoughts. He refocused. The Turians had taken out one of his point defence lasers with a well placed biotic warp. Other defences were compensating but they could be taken out as well. It had to have been a group effort, both to get through Ares' shields and to have inflicted that large an amount of damage. Point defences on a 2 km long form were large.

"Pull up," Shepard repeated the instruction.

"Coming now," Ares said as the last of the husks raced into his loading bays.

"Scuttle the landers."

Shepard was surprised to hear Udina give the order and would have said something but for the pulse from Ares, telling him to let the politician be. Well, no matter. If Ares didn't mind then Shepard wouldn't object. The order was one Shepard would have given anyway and was something he was sure Ares would have done. Still, he would talk to the Ascended later for further information.

As Ares, and the other Ascended, lifted off from Palaven, precise shots from their pereiopods destroyed the landers. They moved through Palaven's atmosphere easily, shooting towards the cities and townships that kept firing upon them.

Shepard grimaced mentally as he imagined the boost to morale this would give the Turians.

"It doesn't matter," Hackett said. "Not with what comes next," the former Admiral added.

"We will be more careful next time," Anderson said, so Shepard didn't have to.

While Ares and a few others had landed to retrieve the surviving husks, Shepard and the others had been collecting the debris and disabled ships from the four fleets which had, until recently been defending the Turian homeworld.

They had redistributed themselves around Palaven, the frigate and cruisers held around them by mass effect fields. Some were intact. Those ships had been disabled. Some were merely hulks of metal and some were just collected debris that had been pressed together by an Ascended's will. The remains of the dreadnoughts and carriers were with several Ascended and Shepard realised then he'd forgotten the orbital stations. No matter, they would be next.

A few of the Turian ships were transmitting. Short range only. Long range comms were destroyed as standard procedure. He listened in for a moment. It was mostly threats. Turians did not beg, though there were a few messages to the ground, relaying what little information the ships could sense. Clever little Turians but clever would do them no good against mass.

"Bring down the sky!" Shepard ordered as Ares and the others pulled completely free of Palaven's atmosphere.

As one, the Ascended accelerated the mass they had been holding towards Palaven. Even with the thousands of anti-aerospace emplacements that remained, the Turians couldn't stop that much mass. He watched the cruisers fall with the hulks of the dreadnoughts. "Push down the orbital stations as well," Shepard instructed, though he didn't bother to watch as Chimera led several groups of Ascended to the stations before delicately extending their mass effect fields to destabilize them. It was just like training on the farms.

As the debris fell, Hackett came close. "No regrets, Shepard?" he asked, focusing several sensors on the Human Ascended.

Shepard was silent for a moment. "No," he said firmly. "Turian honour died with Vakarian." There was still the slightest trace of sadness in his voice and Hackett's sensors detected the way Shepard's under legs, those in the same position as pleopods, curled in tighter to his body.

Hackett, like the rest of the galaxy, didn't know the whole story, only that the incident had occurred just after the Council's betrayal. It was during the brief moment of time when they thought that the Council was just angry and that the sanctions were a show of strength. Humanity wasn't stupid, they had expected some fallout from the destruction of the  _Destiny Ascension_  and the death of the former Council, even if it wasn't, strictly speaking their fault.

The new Council had meant the sanctions to be something more, something permanent, and Shepard, who had still been on the Citadel at the time, had been targeted by their plans. He'd been overseeing the loading of supplies while chatting with Vakarian. They had not been on guard. Until that point, there had been tensions but in the supposed heart of the civilized galaxy, they were lessened.

Lessened until a platoon of Turians had ambushed them. Shepard maintained it was a mix of C-Sec and mercs, though the Council had responded saying it was mercs only. Not that it mattered to the outcome. A full on shoot-out in the docking areas of the Citadel, with Shepard and Vakarian retreating into the  _Normandy_  before the SR-1 launched.

Shepard had suffered a couple of minor injuries, nothing Dr Chakwas hadn't been able to fix, but Vakarian had been hit by several solid rounds. Examination of the  _Normandy's_ cam footage had shown that Vakarian had deliberately shielded Shepard and that while the Turian mercs and C-Sec officers had hesitated at shooting one of their own, they had done so nevertheless. Despite Chakwas' efforts, she hadn't been able to save the Turian and the Council had painted the incident as one that Shepard had initiated. Vid evidence never saw the light of day and that incident was just another in a string used to convince the galaxy of the Humans' supposed duplicity.

Hackett turned with Shepard, watching as explosions rippled across Palaven. Firestorms raged in most of the cities and the oceans, which had reflected a silvery-green tinge, became grey with ash. The way Shepard moved told Hackett that he was braced with the memory of another planet that had recently been seen this way.

"Earth is in our hearts," Shepard said, reading Hackett's thoughts.

"The Turians are still alive," Udina growled, indicating several placements on the tactical display.

Sure enough from those positions there still came sporadic fire.

"They'll be dead soon enough," Spectre and several other Ascended voiced the opinion.

Shepard felt something stir in him at the thought. It was true. They would be dead soon and even if they sent husks, those Turians still alive would fight to the death. If they could not use Palaven for the required Turian genetic material, then they did not need any Turians to be left alive there. They could fire another round from their spinal-mounted cannons into the planet but there might be Turians in bunkers still alive.

Earth had had bunkers like that where you could retreat for years. He had to assume that the Turians did as well. No, firing their spinal mounted cannons would be like trying to kill gnats with bullets. Sure, you would kill some, but so many more would survive. If sending the wreckage of the fleets and the orbital stations had not killed all the Turians, then something else would have to be sent. Except Trebia, unlike Sol, did not have any useful asteroid belts.

Then, oddly, something Harbinger had told him when he was much younger came to the front of Shepard's mind.  _Ascended leave no evidence._  Shepard had dismissed it at the time. Of course, they did. While he had known then, in intimate detail because of his access to the information provided by Harbinger and other older Ascended, what had happened to the Protheans, Fathyre, Wedan and all races stretching back for more time than Shepard wanted to think about, Shepard had never really thought about what that meant.

It meant that for close to two billion years, the Ascended had never been caught, had never been expected, and had perfected the cycle. It meant that while they left planets scarred, they never left direct evidence of their involvement. And right at the moment, and eons to come, it would be obvious that some hostile force had assaulted Palaven. The evidence they left was the planet itself, scoured clean, but no one had been able to foresee their coming.

Which meant he could not leave Palaven as it was, not with Menae still burning. Another odd thought took Shepard. Earth lived in his heart. As would Palaven.

No… that was not allowed. Earth was allowed to live forever. Palaven had been doomed by its children. Shepard felt his sensors fix on Menae. It might be the easiest planet to fix. It was burning now, but as the energy and heat from the impact bled off into space, it would cool, and over time its surface would become pockmarked, just like Earth's moon. He scanned his data banks, delving into the information pulled from Turian sources when he realised how little he knew about Palaven's largest moon.

The Turians had classified most information about Menae, even from their own people and the information had been classified during the Krogan Rebellions because they feared the Krogan would use the moon as a weapon.

The Hierarchy had been right to fear, Shepard mused, except it would not be the Krogan who used Menae.

"I'm tired of Trebia," Shepard announced. Most of the Ascended knew exactly what that meant now. It was time to finish up and move forward into the rest of the galaxy. "Spectre, Necromancer, take your squads and wipe out Impera's bases, Nergal and Moxum, scan Essenus to make sure there is no Turian placement there. Anderson, Udina and Ares, go forward and clear out Aventen and Caelax." Shepard ordered. "Miranda, work out how to destabilise Menae's orbit," he continued. "And Harper, how are you going on Datriux?" The instructions were quick-fired but they were obeyed with only minor grumbling. More than a few Ascended were enjoying watching Palaven burn.

"Datriux is done. Sirta's taken a few of the raw materials for Zaeed," Harper informed Shepard.

"Good," Shepard replied before reaching out towards Sirta. "What is the prognosis?"

"Zaeed here is a sucker for punishment," Sirta said.

"Dry dock?" Shepard asked, while he still had the chance to call back Anderson's group. The Turian dry docks were situated well inside their territory.

"I'm not going into dry dock in bird space," Zaeed replied before Sirta could.

"How long will it take?" Shepard didn't bother to reply to Zaeed's statement.

"It's going to take a couple of weeks, with or without dry dock," Sirta replied, giving Shepard the assurance that even if they managed to force Zaeed into dry dock it wouldn't make any appreciable difference.

"Can he go FTL?"

"Once I finish the patches."

"Good." Shepard didn't need to be connected to the Human network to feel Zaeed's relief over that. It would have been embarrassing to have to stay in Trebia, no doubt with guards, while repairs were initiated. Even if he wasn't up to a full attack, the fact that he could move meant safety.

"Miranda?"

"I can do it whenever you want."

"What?" Shepard couldn't help but be slightly impressed. He'd asked her to work out how to destabilise a moon, surely that would take more than a few seconds, even for an Ascended.

"We can destabilise Menae whenever you want."

"How?"

"Shepard," the woman's voice almost sounded tired which was mocking all of itself. "If the Turians classified all information on Menae because they were afraid the Krogan would use the moon as a weapon,  _over_  one thousand years ago, then it's not a very big problem for an Ascended to solve. I will just do it better than they could." Accompanying Miranda's voice was a host of schematics and other diagrams and calculations. The last image showed a fiery picture of Menae slamming into Palaven.

"Alright," Shepard accepted the mild rebuke. It was true. If the Krogan could destabilize moons, then the Ascended could probably destabilize entire stars. He felt a part of him shift at the thought and realised that the feeling came from the military engineers within him. He'd just given them a new project.

With an internal sigh, Shepard set his sensors towards Palaven. The planet was ablaze. The air was chokingly thick but he could sense life signs. Reluctantly, he was impressed by their persistance but he continued scanning, focusing on where he was reasonably sure Primarch Fedorian's bunker was located. It would be one of those long-term bunkers. The type of damage they had inflicted so far could be expected and planned for. The type of damage Menae would do… nothing would survive that.

The damage was necessary to complete the cycle, to ensure that the Turians were gone.

"If it's so easy then begin, Miranda," he send the instruction to the other Ascended. He could see from her notes that it would take several days for Menae to fall so it was best to get started.

Shepard wasn't sure what he was expecting. He focused his senses on the moon and watched as the Ascended deployed their mass effect fields. At first, nothing seemed to happen, then he noticed a differential shift. Just a little. Menae moved just a bit slower in its orbit. The Ascended moved with it and with the movement Shepard could see a few almost under Menae. He quickly worked out they were extending their mass effect fields between Palaven and its moon, increasing the pull directed towards the planet. The differential shift got greater and then there was a visible shift.

Menae began to fall. Several Ascended moved away but Miranda moved with the moon. As the fall accelerated, more Ascended flew away gaining altitude but again Miranda and a small group around her remained. Finally they lifted away.

"It will take about three days," Miranda reported, answering the obvious question as she moved into position beside Shepard. "It's a good thing Menae orbits lower and faster than Luna or it would have taken longer."

If he was Human, Shepard would have nodded. Physicists in his form agreed with Miranda's estimate and showed him the proof, that it would take approximately 18% of Menae's normal orbit. Three days would give the fleets time to decimate what was left of the Turian presence in Trebia. They would need the time as well. You could not sweep away a thousand years of space exploration in a few minutes, not even if you were Ascended.

"Where to next?" Miranda asked.

"Regroup first," Shepard said. They needed to because while Trebia's assault had gone mostly according to plan, there were things they needed to consider. Zaeed was one but how they could improve was another. "After that, I think I want to see what the Council does," he added, almost laughing.

He'd almost forgotten about the Council. A quick check of the Turian files revealed that the bitch Irissa was still there, as was Quentius. The Salarian councillor had changed but that was expected. But Irissa was still there.

Now that had possibilities. And with Palaven soon to be a memory, it was time to look at those possibilities.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought**

Primarch Adrien Victus looked at the signal. He'd been awake for twenty six hours and while that was not a long time, they had been twenty six rather stressful hours and he was feeling fatigued. So when his comm officer brought him several transmissions from Trebia, he wanted nothing more than to look at them in the morning.

The look in Iunio's eyes convinced him that they could not wait.

Thirty seconds into viewing them, he knew they could not wait.

"Verified as authentic," Iunio said before Victus even asked. His mandibles clicked nervously. Adrien didn't even hear.

"Three hundred?"

"Yes Sir."

"This information just became classified. Do not spread it to the fleet," Primarch Victus said as his mind worked. Twelve hours after the Geth ships left the Citadel, three hundred hostile ships appeared in Trebia space. They took out Kaisiepo Station in the first minutes after deceleration. Two reinforced dreadnought fleets had not even slowed them down. The  _Pride of Pheiros_  was gone, as was the  _Adjudicator._  The fate of the facilities on Datriux was unknown. Essenus' defences were untouched, for the simple reason the planet was on the far side of Trebia at the moment. Impera had no significant forces and- "Is this correct?"

"Sir?"

"Menae?"

Iunio gulped. "As far as we can tell, yes, Sir. But sir..."

"What is it?" Victus snapped as his mind warred with the information it was presented with.

"The signal sir."

"It's classified," Aiden repeated.

"The feeds did not come through secure comms."

"What?" Primarch Victus roared.

"Most of the fleet has already picked up the channel and I don't know how many on the Citadel have by now." Iunio gave the information as a true Turian, standing stoically as he spoke.

"You mean to tell me the entire fleet knows that Trebia has been attacked. And that we have not been able to drive back the invaders?"

"Yes," Iunio replied, before belatedly remembering Aiden's rank, "Sir."

Primarch Victus forced himself to take a deep breath. Then another. The tiny exercise did nothing to calm him but did allow his training to come to the fore. "Was there any accompanying transmission? Demands or otherwise? Have we heard anything from Palaven?"

Iunio consulted his omni-tool briefly. "No demands have been found," he reported quickly. "And we have not been able to raise command on Palaven."

Victus nodded at the information, half closing his eyes. "So this could be a hoax?" he suggested.

"It… it could be sir," Iunio replied. With everything that had happened recently, it didn't feel like a hoax to the Comm Officer.

"Get me Palaven," Victus ordered, heading towards the bridge.

"Sir, we haven't been able to get a signal through to command."

"Get. Me. Palaven," Primarch Victus ordered, his voice slow and deliberate. If there was a signal coming out of Trebia then there was most certainly space for a signal to go into his home system.

"Attempting another broad frequency transmission," one of Iunio's subordinates said.

"No," Victus said. "Do not broad send," he added. "Tight band transmission, on Palaven Command frequency. Pulse one three, one eight, six three," he continued watching as the comm tech flicked the switches to make the changes.

"Sending now," the tech said as Iunio moved to their station.

Victus watched, fighting the urge to go over and supervise, knowing that it would achieve nothing. As he waited, the lights on the station flickered and his mind turned over the issues. Three hundred dreadnoughts, of the same design that had appeared at the Citadel, were now attacking Palaven. Preliminary reports had them bearing Human markings but there was no report of communication with the ships so the possibility that the marks were a deliberate attempt to deceive them could not yet be discounted.

The ships had come in hot, destroying infrastructure as they went and making short work of the two dreadnoughts on close Relay patrol. And they had attacked Menae. He flexed his claws. He should be there! Menae was his command!

Primarch Victus forced himself to take a deep breath. It was a rudimentary calming technique all Primarchs learned and he knew it was more the passage of time, rather than the action, which calmed him. Focusing on something trivial, that you could control, took the immediacy away from any problem and allowed you to look at it differently.

Except this problem was immediate and had to be dealt with and no amount of calming techniques, rudimentary or advanced, would make a difference here. Still, with taking the breath, he was reminded that he had trained his second, Patricius, well and neither Primarch Fedorian nor General Corinthus were inexperienced ensigns.

"Connection lock!" Iunio exclaimed. "Cycling frequencies now."

Victus turned towards the station. In a matter of seconds, they'd have a secure line to the Hierarchy.

And from then, it would only be a matter of time before those who dared to attack Trebia knew why the Turians were the most respected military force in the galaxy.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Alexander liked to think of himself as a patient man. He'd had to be. Cunning as well. He could hardly gather evidence against Shepard openly. The first Human Ascended held the loyalty of the others. For no reason! As far as Alexander could tell, loyalty had been given merely because Shepard was the first.

It wasn't because he was the best. If Shepard was the best, then Alexander could have perhaps lived with him. As it was, Shepard was merely mediocre. He earned some high scores in training, true, but Alexander's were better. Shepard wasn't stronger. They were all the same strength. Now, sure, Shepard had some ability in the field of combat. The Human Shepard had been trained as a soldier and Alexander knew enough to know that Shepard had been a very successful soldier. Maybe that's why the others were loyal?

But Shepard had  _finally_  made a mistake. The first was allowing another Ascended to be injured. Alexander was realistic. While unfortunate, that wasn't enough to get Shepard in trouble. It was what he did next that sealed everything. Shepard had ordered Menae dropped on Palaven.  _That_  was not in the agreement with Harbinger! They were meant to ascend the Turians.

But Alexander could not report it yet. He'd have to wait until the fleet was out of Trebia. It wasn't quite as good as having the entire fleet know Shepard's duplicity but Alexander was willing to accept that because Harbinger would name him the new leader.

He was the obvious choice. Only he truly knew what ascension meant. It did not mean having a committee within oneself. Ascension meant that the strongest ruled! It was obvious and Alexander had embraced that principle. Those minds that formed his being were under his control. There were a few who agreed as he did and they worked with him, but the majority were kept under control.

There had been an incident when he was younger. One of the lessers had managed to send a message but since that time, he had maintained absolute control. That lesser was in his deepest subconscious, pressed there by the weight of all the others. There would be no more messages, none of the weaknesses other Ascended allowed in communication.

Alexander committed the memories and recordings to storage. He'd have to wait until he was clear, until the other Ascended couldn't hear him, but then Shepard would answer to Harbinger. After that, the Ascended would see who was right.

-cfr-

**Palaven, Primarch's Bunker**

Fedorian sat on the pallet. He should be sleeping but he couldn't.

The animals… the Human animals… He couldn't come up with a denigration strong enough. There were no words strong enough to condemn them. There were no actions he could take that would…

He growled.

He was alive because he was in one of the deepest bunkers on Palaven. There were other Turians alive in bunkers dotted around their homeworld. A linked network of low-emission comms connected them so he knew there were still other Turians alive.

Amazingly, there were a few alive on the surface as well. They occasionally heard a burst of static-filled cries over the comms. Never for very long but enough to know someone was alive.

Spirits!

He wanted to hope for them. He wanted to offer them shelter. He could not. Those on the surface were doomed. If they did not die today, it would be tomorrow from radiation sickness, eezo complications, burns or just plain hunger. Palaven was self-sufficient as a planet. Nearly all Turian settlements were but with the bombardment, Fedorian had no idea how much of the food supplies had been destroyed. Enough that the survivors, those that could, would probably fight over what remained. The Primarch had no illusions about his people. They were a civilised race but they got hungry.

What did he do now?

He had barely been able to face Victus on the comms and it was that Primarch, trapped in Citadel space who had almost ordered him to rest. Fedorian had reluctantly agreed but his worries kept intruding.

"Sir!"

A wave of tiredness hit him but Fedorian looked up at the voice.

"Sir!"

"What is it?" Fedorian asked. The speaker was a young cadet and he looked petrified. The youth's fear transmitted to Fedorian and he felt sick. No! He told himself forcefully. It was just fatigue and stress.

The young man tried to speak. Fedorian watched as his mouth moved several times. His eyes widened but eventually the young Turian managed to gasp out several words. "Menae… I'm sorry sir."

"What about Menae?" After bombarding its surface, what else could the barbarians do to Menae?

Fedorian saw the young Turian visibly gather himself. "It's… Menae is falling, sir."

"It's what?" Fedorian frowned through his fatigue, not grasping the words.

"It's falling Sir," the cadet repeated.

The Primarch blinked, deliberately focusing his mind through his fatigue. Falling. The word echoed through his thoughts. It did not make sense. And then suddenly, everything collapsed into place and Fedorian winced at his thoughts.

"How long?" He managed to ask.

"A little under three days," the cadet replied.

"And the invaders?"

The cadet looked at a data pad. "The majority remain around Palaven. Several smaller fleets are advancing on Aventen and Caelax, and another on Impera-"

Fedorian held up one clawed hand. He did not need to hear anything further. "And at the relay?"

"A force of ten remain."

The Primarch nodded. It was obvious now. The Humans had baited them at the Citadel, luring most of the Council's available forces into the Serpent Nebula before trapping them there. Somehow, the Humans had been able to close the Relays but why weren't they doing that now?

Why leave a guard force at the Relay? Why not just close it?

Fedorian growled as the answer came to him. It was to torture them. There was no other reason. It was to hold the hope of rescue before them, while denying it utterly.

With the Relay open, and Menae falling, if the invaders had not been there, they could summon rescue fleets. The timing would be tight but they would be able to rescue most of those still alive on Palaven. Then, the Turians would rise up and hunt down all those responsible.

The invaders kept the guard there to prove that there was no hope, that they would destroy any hope. With their demonstrated ability to destroy fleets, Fedorian knew that even if every remaining Turian dreadnought, combined with the entire Asari and Salarian fleets, were to come through the Relay, the invaders would destroy them. Which led to another question.

How had the Humans been able to build such ships? Where had they gotten the designs because they were nothing like anything they had even hinted at having.

No… That was not the question he should be considering. It was a distraction.

Menae was falling.

That was the reality. Everything else was superfluous. A distraction from the inevitability of their coming death.

Fedorian looked to the ground, fighting back a wave of exhaustion. "Tell the commanders I'll be there soon."

The cadet nodded and backed away as Fedorian raised one hand to his face, rubbing at his crest and then his eyes.

Now what could he do?

-cfr-


	18. Calls From Your Ex

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.
> 
> [Shepard FanArt - by keel keel](https://keel-keel.deviantart.com/art/the-Shepard-710085027)

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 17: Calls From Your Ex**

-cfr-

**Trebia, Palaven Orbit, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Shepard set his secondary sensors on Palaven. He, like most of the fleet, was blockading the planet. Not that there had been very many ships attempting to escape but they could not let anyone get away. He was a bit surprised that Fedorian hadn't attempted to contact him. The Turian Primarch was not yet broken and, while Shepard respected that, it was only a matter of time.

The fleet around the Relay had already detained several ships. Merchants who had not heard the news and jumped into Trebia mostly but they were expecting a rescue attempt soon. Not that it would do any good and the fleet guarding the Relay were looking forward to that skirmish. There were a few other Ascended at various points in Trebia. Those Ascended were surrounded by oculi and were triangulating everything. When they found something, it was marked on the Ascended's map of Trebia and one of the blockade ships was dispatched to destroy it. By the time they left, all evidence of Turian presence would be wiped out. There would not be so much as a stray drone.

Sirta had browbeaten a few Ascended into helping on Datriux and their husks, those that hadn't been lost, were currently operating the mining facilities. Zaeed would be well and truly patched before they were ready to leave. Which reminded him…

"Zaeed," Shepard sent the communication directly towards the other Ascended.

"Yes, boss?"

"Why the fuck did you jump in that close?" Shepard demanded, not bothering to modulate the anger in his voice.

Zaeed winced. Despite the pain he was in, that was a question he'd asked himself already. "I wasn't meant to be that close," he replied.

"I gathered that," Shepard replied. "Why?" He didn't give up the demand.

"Gravity well," Zaeed replied, tiredly.

"Gravity well?" Shepard repeated, making it a question.

"Yeah, the gravity well. I forgot to compensate for it."

Zaeed could imagine Shepard staring at him in disbelief, blinking heavily.

"Make sure it doesn't happen again," Shepard said finally.

"It won't," Zaeed replied. He had no desire to be out of action because of something so stupid that he could have avoided easily.

Shepard kept the link open for a few more seconds before turning his attention to the review of their attack.

"Things could have gone better," Hackett was saying, reinforcing Shepard's belief. Their review, for the moment, was restricted to the five of them, though Arshan and Fruben were able to contribute if they wished and the other Human Ascended could listen but not speak directly. If they had something that they felt had to be said, they could inform one of the leaders who could then relay the information. There would be a group discussion later to establish new ideas and new methods.

"It wasn't so bad," Anderson replied and, while Shepard had always gotten along with the man, Anderson was usually more upbeat.

"It was bad intelligence!" Udina growled.

"It was not," Miranda said, reminding Udina that they had already gone over this particular issue.

"In general, our assaults were good," Shepard spoke before Udina could retaliate. "However, I released the husks far too early, which led to the loss of most of them."

There was really no refuting that.

"The Turians were always going to be the hardest," Anderson said.

"I shouldn't have done it!" Shepard replied. "I had too many objectives. Vengeance and ascension are not complementary aims."

"There's still a few Turians left alive on the surface," Miranda noted. "We could use them to replace our losses," she added. Her group had suffered the largest losses after winning the right to land forces first.

The loss of the husks was not solely Shepard's fault. They all bore responsibility for it because they all wanted to land husks to face the Turians in combat, to have their vengeance up close and personal. The fact that they had now destabilised Menae was testament both to the Turian fighting spirit and to how vengeance should not have been their sole motivator.

Shepard was silent for a moment. "Do it," he instructed. "We need a better strategy," Shepard continued. "The choice must be made before we strike if the goal is ascension or vengeance."

"The Turians were always going to be the hardest," Anderson repeated. "But perhaps we can compromise," he added. "The first target of any species is pure vengeance. Follow up targets are for ascension." While all Humans wanted vengeance, they recognised that ascension was the genetic destiny of the galaxy and they would fulfil that as well.

"The first target for any species is the homeworld," Hackett reminded them of their plans. For Ascended, homeworlds were traditional targets for ascension, not complete destruction. With very few exceptions, the homeworld was each species' nexus for their culture, the fundamental values that made them and thus, ascending the homeworld made the Ascended created from that process into the most representative being. Destroying the homeworld and ascending from the colonies was possible and had been done in the past but it was always vaguely considered that the Ascended was not completely representative of their race.

"The issue was the loss of husks?" Udina spoke again.

"Yes."

"Why do we care?"

That was a dangerous question and Hackett couldn't help but focus his sensors on Shepard. Udina was capable of being very tactful but, with Shepard, it appeared the former politician had forgotten all sense of self preservation.

"They are Human." Shepard's voice was cold. "I do not wish to waste Human husks needlessly."

"Let's not worry about that now," Anderson interjected. "Does anyone have an estimate of how many Turians live on colonies?" He asked the question quickly, bringing up other alternatives before they began fighting.

"At least another fifty billion," Hackett answered thoughtfully. "More than enough to Ascend."

"And more than enough to replace husk losses," Miranda sounded happy.

"We will need more before we attack Thessia or Sur'Kesh but it will also be difficult attacking the main Turian colonies. They will be on alert now," Shepard said.

"So what do you propose?"

"We can either bypass the large Turian colonies for the moment," Shepard mused, "and focus on smaller colonies to replenish our forces before we strike or we can attack the larger colonies and hit them harder before landing husks."

"I think you need to report to Harbinger first," Arshan noted, breaking into the conversation. Harbinger was allowing the youngest Ascended a great deal of freedom, in line with their deal, and while Arshan and Fruben both knew that Shepard had tried to take Turians for ascension, they knew that Harbinger would not be pleased with the current situation.

"True," Shepard conceded.

"If we cannot make a decision on this, we need to deal with other weaknesses," Hackett spoke before they could become distracted.

"Other weaknesses?" Udina asked. The only weakness he had seen was the loss of millions of husks and even that, while being annoying, wasn't that important. Husks could be replaced easily.

"We have no smaller ships!" Anderson snapped.

"We have oculi," Udina returned.

"Oculi are fighters. We do not have destroyers or frigates or cruisers," Hackett explained in a long suffering tone.

"So why don't we?" Miranda asked. "Normal Ascended fleets do," she added.

"We don't want Human destroyers," Shepard made the statement forcefully.

"Why not? They would be a great help," Anderson asked reasonable.

"They would," Shepard admitted, "and once we have replenished our husks we can perhaps ask for some of the lesser races of this cycle to be Ascended into destroyers for our fleet. But we do not want Human destroyers."

"Shepard, that doesn't explain why there are none already," Hackett said. "And I've just checked the databases. There is no reason provided for our lack. I gather you know?" The inflection made it a question. The information was not in any of their data banks, though there had been some minor speculation on the Human network which was just that – speculation

"Yes," Shepard replied.

"Can you explain?"

"The last cycle was a long cycle," Shepard began to explain, stating a fact they all knew was true. His voice held no accusation. It was pointless to accuse when they did not have the entire picture though he did wonder why he knew and the others did not. Maybe it was because he was the first. "The Protheans fought against the Harvest with everything they had. They couldn't win. Even if they hadn't ceded systems, the Protheans still could not have won, but they did inflict real damage on the Ascended fleet. Damage that hasn't been seen for cycles.

"With us, Harbinger decided to replace the capital ship losses. Think about it.  _Capital ship losses_. Not the destroyers. The Protheans extinguished at least four hundred races, and that does not consider the lesser races."

"So?" Udina demanded. "If we had a chance of fighting, we would have extinguished them all," he added. It was an odd statement coming from the former politician but they could all feel that it was true.

"Oh, definitely," Shepard agreed. "If the Council hadn't betrayed us, we would be standing with the Turians fighting, extinguishing as many races as we could. But that is the thing. Each Ascended capital ship represents one race, the most advanced and suitable race of their cycle. Each Ascended Destroyer represents a lesser race.

"Humans were to become one ship, the capital ship of this cycle. Instead there are now four hundred of us."

"So why don't we want Human destroyers?" Miranda asked.

"A Turian  _cruiser_  has the capacity to take out a destroyer class Ascended. While I fully agree we need smaller ships in our fleet, to have them as Ascended destroyers would be cruel. Harbinger did not mean to do us any favours by ensuring we were Ascended into dreadnoughts, he was merely thinking to replace his own forces, but it is good for us that he did for, despite Zaeed's best effort, we will not suffer losses in this cycle."

"In the meantime, we still have to take several homeworlds without destroyer class ships and we do not wish to repeat Palaven," Anderson brought them back to the present.

"I'll talk to Harbinger after we are done here," Shepard said, knowing that the longer he put it off the worse it would be. "In the meantime, given that we do not have smaller ships to worry about, tailoring our attacks as if we were not seeking vengeance does have some advantages."

"Not seeking vengeance?" Udina asked and implied in his tone was disbelief towards Shepard, that he could forget their purpose for vengeance.

"How do Ascended usually attack?" Hackett asked. As far as he was concerned, they didn't have to think about vengeance. Ascending the lesser races was vengeance in and of itself.

"Generally, Ascended will rush through the Relay, relying on numbers and sheer fire power to take care of any patrol ships or stations." Shepard brought up a schematic of Trebia to illustrate his words. Three hundred and ten ships appeared, each one an almost perfect representation of the Human Ascended. They all fired, almost simultaneously removing the few patrol ships and the customs station that had been in the vicinity of the relay.

"Then we would sweep towards the most populous region to attack." On the schematic, the fleet broke away from the Relay, heading straight towards Palaven.

Shepard could sense Hackett and Anderson's objections but he signalled them to remain quiet for the moment. "After that, we'd take care of any space-based opposition before landing husks to harvest the planet side population. Any trouble on the planet is taken care of by kinetic strikes.

"That would work," Udina said. To him, military strategy consisted of two things, plans that worked and plans that didn't. Like the entire fleet, he was learning, but the skill certainly did not come naturally to him or to most of the other minds incorporated into his form. A few understood but it was not yet instinctive.

"It usually works but I think we can do better."

"How?" Miranda asked carefully. She didn't often participate in baiting Udina but she appreciated it enough to remain silent.

"We continue gathering information via long distance surveillance." Shepard said, resetting the schematic to correspond with the information Zaeed had given them before they jumped through the relay. "We rush through, destroy everything around the relay, then we pause after securing it." This time, the representations of the Human Ascended surged through the relay then clustered while they released clouds of oculi. While the network provided Shepard vast bandwidth to work with, there was a practical limit so the oculi were tiny dots with only limited definition. "It is at this point we gather additional intel."

"With the Turian drones, we'd lose oculi," Miranda noted.

"True," Shepard agreed. "At this point, we would lose many oculi," he added and updated the simulation, deleting many oculi. "However, our oculi would attack, so the Turians would also lose forces." Dots representing the Turian drones, unmanned fighters and even some frigates disappeared as they fell to the oculi.

"But it is during this time, while we are at the relay that we can gather information about a system. We are no longer organic, we do not have to tell our superiors and dither with decision making. We can almost instantly form and implement plans and we already know much of the strength of this cycle. Attacking as we are, with the entire fleet, they do not have the means to stop us. None of them do."

"So what are you suggesting?" Anderson asked.

"I'm suggesting that in future, we collect information as Zaeed has done, but we also plan to regroup at the relay while we verify that information and adjust our plans as required."

Hackett sent his agreement over their link with the additional comment. "There is one more thing to consider, with the dreadnought strength remaining to the Council, I would advise that we never break into groups smaller than ten."

"Ten?" Udina asked.

"Unless the Council gather up every remaining dreadnought, a squadron of ten should be able to outfight or at least successfully run from whatever forces they encounter."

"Speaking of the Council," Anderson's voice was amused, "incoming transmission."

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Council Chambers**

Quentius held out his hand. It trembled and quickly he raised his other hand, grasping the first to keep it steady. He felt empty. He wasn't sure what was happening but whatever it was, it couldn't be happening. He felt sick and nothing Irissa said had any effect. Nothing could attack Palaven. Oh, sure, some idiotic merc captain could but not with any expectation of success.

Yet something had. Three hundred and ten dreadnought-class ships. Who had that many ships? The unknown force that had appeared around the Citadel? They had many but… no one was sure. The ships attacking were the same design but different. They had markings on them. Human markings.

His staff were as shell shocked as he was and they stood near him, uncertain as to what they should be doing. Quentius couldn't give them any guidance. He needed all of his attention for the transmission. The comm lines to Trebia were still open and they were going to try to contact the invaders.

No one was sure who they were. The Hierarchy had sent through what data they could along with their belief that the ships were Human. But the analysts at the Citadel weren't sure. The markings on the ships were Human, to be sure, but the Humans simply did not have that level of technology. If the Geth did then the galaxy was already lost but again, logic spoke against that.

The Geth had never pursued the Quarians out from Rannoch and the Geth, while occasionally seen, were not aggressive. That ship forty years ago was the exception, not the rule, because if the Geth could build ships of that calibre forty years ago, then there was nothing stopping them from conquering the entire galaxy. But they didn't. They had remained in their territory, beyond the Perseus Veil.

There were rumours of other species lurking in the Terminus Systems but nothing solid. Despite the fact that it was not Council territory, calls had been made to a number of colonies in the Terminus Systems. They had reported nothing unusual. Of course, they could be lying but Quentius didn't think so. At least, not after Menae. If this enemy was prepared to do that to Menae, what else would they be prepared to do. No, once the galaxy had seen that, there had been an outpouring of support for the Turians, even in the Terminus Systems. The Krogan had been the only race not to indicate support but no one expected them to, not with the police action being reinforced in the last few years.

If they were truly Human ships… Quentius didn't know what to think. The Humans could be vicious, brutal and callous but they were not truly alien. They still thought like most other species, they still needed planets. Oh, there were some Humans, Cerberus being the main culprit, who would destroy everything but the majority… Quentius sighed. The majority of the Humans he knew were decent beings. They wanted nothing more than to live their lives. That was one of the reasons his heart had never truly been in the attacks.

The other logical objection was that Humans just did not have this level of technology. If they had then the Human Rebellion would have gone very differently. He knew the attackers had spread Human propaganda. That ghastly vid, First Contact, was everywhere on the intraweb and, despite efforts to control it, it continued spreading. Propaganda could easily be misdirection in this case and if it was, Quentius was sure that the Human debris left around Khar'shan was also misdirection and reluctantly, he was impressed.

But that was a consideration for another day. If the ships were Human then the Humans would be dealt with, although questions would be raised and answered as to how they managed to secure such technology. No stone would remain unturned on that world they called home. If they were Geth then they would also be dealt with and if it was some unholy alliance between the two, or someone new, then… well that's why he was here.

Like it or not, Quentius and Irissa were two of the leading representatives in the galaxy, trapped in the Serpent Nebula or not. It was beholden to the Councillors to at least try to talk to the attacking forces. The main goal of this attempt at communication was to determine, once and for all, who the attacking forces represented. Human. Geth. Alliance or newcomer. It didn't matter, so long as they were clear.

Forcibly stilling his mandibles Quentius stepped onto the hologram projection disk with Irissa at his side on another. The tech muttered a few words but Quentius didn't hear. He didn't need to. He knew the tones of light that said they were being projected.

Irissa spoke. "To the unknown forces in Trebia, I am Councillor Irissa of the Asari Republics. As a representative of the galactic community I request that you acknowledge this transmission."

Quentius winced. Despite the fear and the shock permeating his system he didn't request anything, he demanded it. They owed him answers! They owed them all answers.

They waited. Seconds ticked into a minute and Quentius began wondering if the transmission was even received. "To the unknown forces in Trebia, I am Councillor Irissa of the Asari Republics. As a representative of the-" Irissa broke off as the light around them altered, signalling a reply to their transmission.

"You do not represent us." The voice was strong. Masculine, if Quentius had to guess, but he forcibly reminded himself that aliens did not necessarily conform to his expectations.

"Getting a visual," Eachann, who had taken the position of comm tech for this transmission, said.

Irissa and Quentius waited while the software translated the image. "Did we have to translate the language?" Quentius asked softly.

"No."

The click of his mandible was question enough.

"Audio is coming through in standard."

Now that raised questions. Were they truly alien if the invading force understood basic?

The visual signal was projected on the view screen in front of them. It was fuzzy for a few moments before it came into focus.

" _Shepard!"_

Quentius didn't bother to reprimand Eachann's breach in protocol. He too felt a jolt of absolute shock.

"You were expecting someone else?" The image of Shepard questioned.

"You cannot be Shepard," Irissa snapped, her voice so sure that Quentius found himself turning towards his fellow Councillor. "You are not old enough," she added.

That pushed Quentius' attention back to the view screen. It showed what he presumed to be the bridge of a large ship, if the depth was to be believed. Shepard was sitting in the foreground, dressed in the day uniform of the Systems Alliance. As far as Quentius could tell the image was perfect. Quentius forced himself to focus on Shepard.

It was definitely Shepard. That much was obvious but as he looked further Quentius could see what Irissa had meant. It was Shepard but it was Shepard as they had known him. His hair was still black and was slightly longer than Quentius remembered it. His skin was darker around his lips and chin. The image showed a fit Human male, everything that Shepard was. But Quentius remembered that while Humans could live to about 125, 150 of their own years, they aged more visibly than Turians. Their hair went grey, their soft skin crinkled and while Shepard should only be in his late sixties, he should be showing some effects of Human aging. The Shepard before them did not.

"Oh," the image said before shrugging.

Between one moment and the next, the image aged. Grey appeared on his temples. His skin was suddenly clean shaven as well as lightening, as if he had not been exposed to the elements for several seasons. There was an adjustment in his posture so the image was slouching comfortably. It was the posture of a confident Captain and similar to one Quentius remembered many Humans taking when sitting in a bar.

"Is that better?" the image asked.

"Who are you?" Irissa demanded. Quentius could tell from her voice that she was angry.

"My name is John Shepard, Systems Alliance N7 Special Forces. Service number 5923-AC-2826." The image smiled as it repeated the information and to Quentius' ears, the voice sounded like Shepard.

"Who are you?" Irissa repeated, her voice hard.

The image changed and this time Quentius recognised the Human Anderson. "I am David Edward Anderson," the Human pictured spoke.

It would have been believable this time, as the image of Anderson displayed had aged from the image Eachann quickly pulled from files for comparison, except the background hadn't moved at all.

"Who are you?'

Another Human male appeared. "Ambassador Donnel Udina," the image spoke, the voice confident. The tone made Quentius suppress a shudder. He'd heard it many times when looking over the records of the Humans.

"Who are you?" Irissa screamed the question.

"Admiral Steven Hackett."

"No, we killed you!" Quentius objected before Irissa could do anything precipitous, like end the comm link.

The Human image looked uncertain for a moment before understanding flashed across Hackett's weathered features. "You came close," he replied, "But after Shanxi, our security protocols increased."

"So who are you really?" Quentius asked tiredly. The parade of Humans was getting them nowhere.

"Flight Lieutenant Jeff 'Joker' Moreau," the answer came quickly. This time the Human image didn't stand slouched but was instead leaning on visibly shaking crutches, as if the Human barely had the strength to stand.

Quentius remembered this Human, though. The first pilot of the Normandy, the man who had actually landed the shots which destroyed the Geth dreadnought. He was a consummate pilot but had some sort of Human disease which Quentius hadn't understood.

"This tells us nothing," Quentius said, motioning for Irissa to remain silent. The Asari fumed at the presumption but said nothing. "I will ask you once more, who are you?"

"My name is Ashley Williams." A tall, dark haired woman appeared.

"Zaeed Massani." A battle scarred male appeared.

"Armando-Owen Bailey," another male appeared.

"Jack Harper."

"Quy Nguyen."

"Miranda Lawson."

"Sharon Allen."

"Kasumi Goto."

"Kaiden Alenko, Leida Ballam, Karin Chakwas, Tadeas Maalouf..."

With each name, the image of the Human changed and sped up until the voices and names tumbled into each other and the image was a blur of changing features. It continued for a minute, too fast for Quentius to follow.

"I am every Human you have ever known and billions more you never will." The image changed again, this time becoming an obviously digital display showing a generic Human face.

"What is it you want?" Quentius asked after closing his eyes briefly. Regardless of what anything suggested, if the invaders were calling themselves Human, then they had to be treated as Humans.

"You called me." The image of Shepard reappeared. The younger image, though this time his posture wasn't as stiff as he settled in the captain's chair. "What do you want, Councillor Quentius?"

Rage flashed through Quentius for an instant and it was only through force of will that he managed to keep his mandibles still. "I want my homeworld back!"

"There's nothing stopping you coming," Shepard replied. "The Trebia Relay is open," he added before smirking in that way only Humans could. "Oh, yeah… the Serpent Nebula Relay's aren't, are they?" The inflections were those of laughter.

Quentius said nothing. He could say nothing because if he did it would be growled in Turian and unintelligible.

"You know," Shepard continued, resting his chin on one hand, "I'm almost ashamed that just a few years ago, we were harassed so heavily by Turian forces but give you a few years of peace and you forget all your military training. It was absurdly easy for  _Udina_  to distract you.

"Udina. One of our diplomats. He doesn't even have a military rank and you sent half your forces to confront him." This time the image did laugh.

"What do you want?" Irissa repeated the question, her voice using the modulations that only Asari could when at their most diplomatic.

"Why is it always about me? You called, so obviously you want something. I am already getting what I want."

"The destruction of Palaven is what you want?" There was disbelief in Irissa's tone.

"Not really," Shepard replied. "That just happened." His voice was dismissive.

"So what do you really want?"

Shepard fixed his blue eyes on hers. "You cannot give me what I really want," he replied, "not unless you can turn back time but I'll make you a deal Irissa."

"A deal?"

"A deal," Shepard repeated. "You always proclaimed to love your people, so I'll give you the opportunity to spare them the pain the Turians have learned this day."

"How?" she sounded almost hopeful.

"Cut your throat. Right here, right now. Cut your throat and I promise I will make it easier for Thessia."

Irissa's eyes widened. "Make what easier?"

Shepard sighed. "Are you really that stupid?" he asked.

"No!" Irissa's face paled. "You can't!" It was not quite begging but it came close.

"Why can't I?" the image of Shepard asked with a smile. "I have three hundred or so fully armed dreadnoughts at my disposal. Dreadnoughts who, like me, hold the Council in contempt. I have just taken out the most heavily guarded planet in the galaxy in less than one Turian standard day and I-"

"Surely, your lust for vengeance is not that strong?" Quentius interrupted. "You are killing those who had absolutely no idea what happened to your species," he added, "those who weren't even born during the time of the Human Rebellion."

That caused the image of Shepard to pause slightly. "That is true." Shepard admitted it and Quentius felt a tiny stir of hope when the image looked saddened. "But this is not truly about vengeance and what you call the Human Rebellion, we named the Betrayal War."

"Does that make a difference?"

From the side, Eachann whispered hoarsely. "Primarch Victus says it does."

When Quentius remembered that Victus was very interested in Human history, he couldn't help the way his eyes turned to Eachann for more information. "For Humans, a declaration of war changes a battles parametres," came the further explanation.

"Did the Humans declare war?" Irissa hissed the question.

Eachann looked concerned and Quentius realised there was no answer from Primarch Victus. In the chaos that was the Rebellion, the records were probably not clear.

"We did," Shepard answered and Quentius was surprised to see that the Human looked amused. He had obviously noted their short distraction but had allowed it.

"Is your attack the continuation of a war that ended forty years ago?" Irissa asked.

"Yes," Shepard replied, too quickly and with a smile that was mocking. "And no."

"Yes, because the Systems Alliance, as the representative of the Human Allied Forces, never surrendered and thus the war never ended and no, because we have moved beyond a war you have no chance of winning."

"Then what is this about?" Quentius asked.

Shepard shifted, steepling his fingers and looking down at them with blue eyes that were suddenly piercing. "Everything I ever told you about Saren's ship was the absolute truth." He made the pronouncement solemnly.

Quentius frowned. He couldn't remember what Shepard had said. Most of that was to the previous Council and the few things the Human had said afterwards was lost in the haze of issuing orders amidst the start of the Rebellion. But there had been something much more recently, something from a Turian about Shepard's words.

Septimus! The memory returned in a rush. Oraka had reminded him that Shepard had always maintained that the dreadnought which attacked the Citadel, despite being escorted by known Geth ships, was not a Geth ship, that it was something else.

"So you allied with them?" he muttered, not knowing who 'them' were but knowing that Shepard would understand his meaning.

"Allied is such a limited term," Shepard said, sitting back and placing his arms on the chair rests. Inasmuch as Quentius understood Human gestures, he recognised that this one spoke of confidence.

"What do you want, Shepard?" Quentius asked the question tiredly, feeling all the stress of the day return. He didn't want to deal with riddles now.

Apparently, Shepard shared his desire. "It is not about what I want," the Human said. "It's about what I'm going to get."

"And what are you going to get?"

Shepard smiled again, this time showing teeth. "All of you."

"All of us?" Irissa frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Palaven is burning and you have to ask what I mean?" Shepard snorted with laughter but in that instant, the noise was wrong. It echoed.

"Shepard," Quentius began, forcing himself to sound calm, to not show that he once again felt very sick at the reminder of his homeworld. "For a moment earlier, you were sad. You do not have to do this. You do not have to fight and kill. There is another way."

"And what would that be?" Shepard's voice again echoed but at its core was the strong male tone that Quentius recognised from recordings as belonging to the first Human Spectre.

"We can talk about this," Quentius continued, feeling very much like he was taking Irissa's role as peacemaker. "We can help each other come to an agreement that does not end in fire." After burning Palaven, there was virtually no way that this could happen but right at the moment the Turian Councillor didn't care. Palaven was burning. Shepard, or whatever it was he was speaking to, had three hundred dreadnoughts. That was a force that could not be ignored and could not easily be fought. He ignored the way Irissa was looking at him. Even without having in-depth tactical knowledge, surely she could see the truth?

"There is one way you could help," Shepard said slowly, as if he was thinking about it.

"And how would that be?" Quentius asked, ignoring the fact that he did not want to do anything to help this Human. But if helping saved more Turians then Quentius would at least listen because even as he burned with a growing hatred, he realised that it would take something special to negotiate anything.

"You could order Digeris and Pheiros to surrender to us."

Quentius didn't believe his ears.

"Actually, just Digeris would do," Shepard added brightly.

"You want them to surrender so you can kill them all," Irissa spoke when it became clear, that despite Quentius' mandibles moving, he was struck dumb at the sheer absurdity of the suggestion.

"I don't wish to kill them," Shepard replied, his voice no longer bright but harsh, as if he was the one insulted! "I will ascend them."

"Euphemism!" Quentius dismissed Shepard's words.

"Truth but no matter," Shepard shrugged. "It would have been better for them, less painful," he added. "I took Palaven in less than a day, Digeris' reputation will not help them, and Pheiros, well, I don't really need Pheiros not even for the fuel supplies."

"You expect me to believe that if they surrender, you will let them live?" Quentius growled.

"What you believe does not concern me," Shepard replied. "I would ascend them." He paused. "This is back to being about me! It wasn't meant to be about me but you. You called me after all."

Quentius steeled himself against the question he was about to ask. "Shepard, what would it take for you to go back to Sol, for us to draw boundaries, to set up territory. The galaxy is a big place. We can all live in it."

"And we can negotiate the terms of your reparation," Irissa added.

Shepard laughed again. "Quentius, you were going so well there until the Asari stepped in. I never really understood why the Turian Hierarchy allowed itself to be neutered by the blue bitches. All I can surmise is that the sex must have been fantastic!" Shepard didn't give him a chance to answer. "But to answer your question, there is nothing that will make me go back to Sol. Forty years ago your suggestion would have had merit while the one from the idiot beside you would have been laughed at, but now?" Shepard shook his head. "There is nothing.

"But Quentius, don't worry. We're not going to be occupying Trebia for long."

"You won't?"

"Of course not! Why would I want a dextro-amino planet?" Shepard replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the galaxy. "Look, here you go." A set of Human numbers appeared on the screen and while Quentius didn't recognise them, he knew a count down when he saw it. "We'll be out of Trebia three Human hours after that countdown reaches zero."

"Why three hours?" Quentius asked suspiciously.

"Gotta travel to the Relay."

"And where will you go from there?" Irissa demanded.

"Oh, here and there," Shepard said non-committally. "Don't worry, you'll be able to track us." He paused, looking down as if he could see around the room the Council was using. "Is there anything else you wanted? Because I was somewhat busy when you called."

Quentius and Irissa shared a look.

"Ah, good," Shepard said and the image blinked out as the transmission was cut.

An instant later, it returned. Shepard was up from the Captain's chair, his posture saying he'd just risen but then remembered something. "Just for the future," he said with a small, deprecating smile. "Don't call me, I'll call you. Okay? I'll give you weekly reports, unless something big is happening. All good?" He seemed to expect an answer.

"What if we have something to tell you?" Irissa asked, the surprise in her voice obvious.

"Unless you are calling so that I can watch you cutting your throat, Irissa, though that deal is pretty much off the table now, or to surrender absolutely and without condition, then you won't have anything I need to know." Shepard straightened as he spoke, taking a few steps forward. The background changed to show the orange light of the bridge of some ship. It was lined with pods and they were all filled, though only the tops of the heads of each Human could be seen. The screens were all blurred.

"No answer? All right, I'll say you're good with it," Shepard said after a moment. "I'll see you in three days time then each week for updates," he added before the image disappeared and this time the transmission remained down, though the countdown remained.

Quentius was on autopilot as he stumbled down from the projection disk and to the side to a waiting chair where he collapsed.

"What…" he tried to frame the question. "What was that?" he finally managed to gasp out the words.

Irissa stepped of her projection disk and moved gracefully to the other chair in the room while Eachann just looked at them. It was fair to say that none of them had been expecting that conversation. "It was trying very hard to make us believe it was Human," Irissa said disdainfully.

Quentius took a moment to think. While Irissa was correct and there were aspects in the transmission which were obviously fake, the knowledge behind the words, that was almost undeniably Human. Very few Humans had known of the operation on Shanxi that had almost caught Admiral Hackett. And very few would have remembered that the  _Normandy's_  pilot had some sort of disease. No, Irissa was wrong. The imagery was generated but even if the intelligence behind the image wasn't Human, it wanted to be treated as such.

"Councillors," Eachann's interrupted carefully.

"Yes?" Quentius replied, grateful for the distraction. He didn't want to argue with Irissa over this. Not now.

"I have completed an analysis of the montage."

"The montage?"

"The list and visual effects of names the speakers engaged in," the Salarian explained.

"What did you find?" Quentius asked.

"Each one was the image of a different Human," Eachann replied. That was something they had already known. Their eyes could see that. "Each audio signature was unique," he added. "The voices were Human but they each pronounced the words differently, beyond what might be expected of saying a name. While it could have been pre-recorded, it was almost certainly a recording of the individuals."

"Almost certainly?" Irissa seized on the information.

"It would be possible to digitally create such a montage," the Salarian admitted, "but to create such a subtle effect on so many recordings would have taken months of work."

"How many recordings?" Quentius asked.

"Approximately 2,500," Eachann gave the answer. "Fifty frames a second."

"They used a galactic standard second?" Irissa fixed on that implication first.

"It would appear so, Councillor."

"2,500? Do you have a list of names?"

"It's coming," Eachann answered before looking over to the terminal he was at. Quentius looked up as well. One of the lights was blinking, one that he thought was to signal an incoming transmission.

"Who is it?"

"Primarch Fedorian," Eachann replied.

"Put him through!" Quentius ordered, straightening. Primarch Fedorian was on Palaven. "Why is that countdown still there?" The question followed with a frown in the Turian Councillors voice. Eachann had managed to convert the numbers into galactic standard so Quentius could read them.

Eachann didn't reply immediately but Primarch Fedorian appeared on the screen before it divided to show Primarch Adrien Victus as well. They both looked tired, a state Quentius shared. The countdown still remained but he did his best to put it out of his mind. It should have gone but that was something the Salarian could give him an answer on later.

"Sirs!" He did his best to acknowledge them.

Fedorian was shown against a stark concrete wall. He was in one of the bunkers on Palaven while Adrien was on the bridge of a dreadnought.

"That's not important," Fedorian said.

"Sir," Quentius said, once again at a loss for words. What exactly could he say that didn't sound idiotic?

"Primarch Victus," Fedorian took the struggle from him. "Effective immediately, you are the leader of the Turian Hierarchy with all the responsibilities, rights and privileges associated with that position."

"No!" Quentius whispered. Such an announcement could only mean one thing, that Primarch Fedorian believed Palaven was lost. Such a thing had not happened… ever.

"Sir?" Adrien questioned his voice deliberately neutral.

Fedorian looked to the ground, somehow aging 50 years in the simple movement. "Palaven is-" he broked down on the words, bringing one hand up to rub at his eyebrow ridge. "Palaven is-"

"What has happened sir?" Adrien asked.

The only Primarch who outranked him visibly gathered himself and when Fedorian looked up his eyes bore the weight of nations. "Menae is falling," he said.

"Sir?" Quentius couldn't help but ask for clarification.

"Menae is falling," Fedorian repeated. "They were not content with merely bombing it," he growled angrily.

"How long?" Victus asked. Quentius couldn't help but admire how controlled Adrien was.

"About three days," Fedorian replied. "I'll have the engineer's calculations sent over."

"Ancestors!" Quentius swore with uncharacteristic passion. The numbers were right in front of him. The countdown. That bastard!

"What is it?" Victus asked.

"We got a transmission through to the invaders," Quentius explained. "They indicated that they would be leaving Trebia in a bit over three days. That is what he meant, that absolute-" He couldn't continue.

"That doesn't matter," Fedorian dismissed Quentius' revelation. "I have to warn you, do not attempt to rescue anyone."

"Sir! We have to try."

Fedorian looked fierce for a moment. "Then you will die," he said almost gently. "There are ten dreadnoughts at the Trebia Relay and another two hundred and fifty forming a cordon around Palaven itself while the remaining fifty are destroying everything in the system. It's only a matter of time before they get the comm buoys." Fedorian paused. Victus and Quentius could see him visibly gulp as he once again gathered himself. "I will not suggest any course of action beyond regrouping. You must do what you think is best for the good of the Turian people. I have faith, Primarch Victus, that you will succeed." The words 'where I have failed' were implied.

"Sir," both Victus and Quentius responded at the same time.

The Primarch of Palaven looked at them for a few moments before he nodded and the transmission cut.

That left Quentius and Victus looking at each other. "What was your impression of the invaders?" Victus asked, referring to the conference he had been listening to before Primarch Fedorian called.

"They appear to be Human," Quentius replied with the obvious statement. "Analysis on the montage is not complete but Eachann indicates that the voices were all individual and highly unlikely to be computer generated."

Victus nodded. "Eachann, I realise you are the Citadel Tech Commander. Will the STG analyse the message?"

"Of course, Primarch," Eachann agreed.

"Then I will expect a full report in 4 hours," Victus ordered. "From both of you," he added before his transmission ended.

Quentius looked at Irissa. She had risen during his brief conference with Fedorian but had heard everything.

"I need to speak to the leading Matriarchs," Councillor Irissa said, "But know that the Asari Republics stand with the Turian Hierarchy." It was cold comfort but it was all that could be offered for the moment.

Quentius just looked at her for a moment before he nodded. "Thank you."

-cfr-


	19. Important Recycling

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 18: Important Recycling**

-cfr-

**Trebia, Palaven Orbit, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

It was because Shepard was watching for it that he heard Fedorian's transmission go out almost at the same time as he cancelled the call from the Council. He recorded Fedorian's frequency for later before he turned his attention away. The Primarch was a distraction, as was the Council and he had postponed speaking with Harbinger for long enough.

"Better pucker up Shepard," Joker taunted but even he understood the potential consequences of their actions.

"Forgiveness," Pressly replied. "Remember, it's easier to ask forgiveness than for permission."

"We'd better pipe down," Annie interrupted before a full scale argument could break out. "Harbinger will not care for our internal arguments," she added and with Shepard's tacit permission she tucked away the voice files of the last few minutes, driving them deeper into the layers of consciousness. Harbinger could find them if he looked but if he had no reason to look, then there was nothing to find.

A moment later, the sublayers of Shepard's consciousness calmed into orderly layers as they each took up their assigned task. They became the perfect picture of an Ascended, rigid, yet flexible. Bearing the marks of organic production but completely ordered.

"Harbinger," Shepard opened the comm link to the Ascended leader.

"The Turians are compliant?" Harbinger didn't bother with any greeting preamble.

"Soon," Shepard replied, his sub channels indicating that it would take another three or so days to break the Turians.

"Why?" Harbinger demanded. None of the remaining organics for this cycle should take very long to break.

To answer Shepard allowed the Ascended Leader to see his memories of Palaven. He paid particular attention to the defences, subtly highlighting that for an organic species the defences were quite pervasive. More so than Earth's had been and far more so than Khar'shan's. As Harbinger examined the information, Shepard could feel that the Ascended Leader did not yet truly know what was happening and he steeled himself for the 'discussion' he knew would follow.

"Three local cycles?" Harbinger questioned. "It shouldn't take more than a few sub-cycles to destroy them."

One thing Shepard had not yet truly appreciated was that Ascended had their own sense of time. When referring to small amounts they were rather imprecise. Precision came with the way they communicated. The sub channel information told Shepard exactly how much time Harbinger thought it should take.

"That will not be necessary," Shepard replied.

The answer aroused Harbinger's suspicion and Shepard felt the Ascended Leader once more trawling through his thoughts. Before Harbinger found it, Shepard spoke, volunteering the information.

"The Turian homeworld will be neutralised completely." With his words came the fuller explanation that Menae was destabilised and would collide with Palaven in three days time. Carried with the explanation was Shepard's regret and his understanding of what the destruction of Palaven would cost. It was part of the code that the homeworlds were Ascended to truly preserve the essence of the species.

Harbinger was silent as he went through the information. Shepard was wise enough not to allow any feeling of hope seep into the connection.

"The ones you deemed untrained will make up for your incompetence." With Harbinger's words came the knowledge of what he proposed. The newly Ascended would now be used in the assault on Turian space. Harbinger would order them to attack Digeris.

"No!" Shepard objected.

"You dare!"

"I dare!" Shepard growled his reply. "The untrained will help," he made the counter offer to Harbinger, aware that the elder Ascended was not truly enraged as he had been over Earth but was not willing to be challenged. "They will conduct the ascension of the Turians, but only after we have cleared the way."

"This is not the way of the Ascended," Harbinger snapped.

"I do not wish them to be damaged," Shepard said, highlighting the fact that one of the supposedly fully trained Human Ascended had been injured by Palaven's defences.

Harbinger dismissed his concerned. "That is the homeworld. All organics fight for their homeworld."

"Digeris is one of their oldest colonies," Shepard countered. "Its defences are almost as strong as Palaven's and we were caught unawares by them!"

"Because you are young."

"Then the newest are even younger." Let Harbinger refute that.

"They are Ascended and Ascended serve the cycle."

Shepard was silent for a moment as he realised Harbinger's mind was made up. "Let us clear the way for them," he repeated. "It will result in the survival of more Turians for ascension" he added, relaying several plans to Harbinger, showing how what he considered a trained Ascended would be more efficient than one newly awoken.

Harbinger considered the information. There was nothing that could be refuted with it because it was the truth and even Ascended had to acknowledge that. "I will set the time frames for you to clear the defences," Harbinger countered.

"Agreed." Shepard sent his confirmation quickly.

"And you will destroy no further planets! This was not a part of our agreement."

Shepard didn't reply.

"Shepard." Harbinger prompted.

"Should the need arise to bombard another planet as thoroughly as Palaven, I will consult with you first," he countered.

Harbinger didn't possess the immediate emotions of organics but Shepard could feel that he wasn't pleased with the reply but only an instant later came the acknowledgement that it was acceptable. Barely.

"Ascended serve the cycle," Shepard said, "but vengeance shall be mine," he added.

Harbinger broke the connection.

Shepard would have sighed if he was still Human.

An instant later, Anderson sent a signal to him. "Do not be concerned," came the familiar voice when Shepard accepted the comm.

"About?"

"Harbinger," Anderson replied.

"Ascended serve the cycle," Shepard said. "And the cycle dictates that the homeworld is Ascended."

"Humanity dictated that Palaven burns," came the soft retort.

"What?" Shepard demanded. Carried in Anderson's words was more than just the meaning. There was a deeper plan there.

"The plan for ascension may not have been fulfilled," Shepard's former commanding officer said, "however the Human plan to destroy the Turians went perfectly."

"This was not the plan!" Shepard objected.

"Not  _your_  plan," Anderson said. "We couldn't tell you, Shepard. Not before. You have a more personal grudge against the Asari because you were involved in the politics, you know where the driving forces for the Council's hatred came from. Most Humans saw the Turian fleet. It is them they hate and so most of us had no intentions of ascending Palaven."

"That is not the cycle."

"The cycle can wait! Harbinger promised us that we could wreak vengeance and we will."

"But the cycle."

"Will wait," Anderson's voice was firm. "We will fulfill the cycle," he continued, assuring Shepard that the deal between Humanity and the rest of the Ascended would be upheld. "The Turians will be Ascended but they are lessers! The full glory of ascension is not theirs to know."

For a long moment, an eternity to an Ascended, Shepard said nothing. "No more hidden plans," he growled finally.

"Agreed," Anderson replied. "It was a pain keeping the information away from you anyway."

"I'll make it more than a pain if you do this again."

"Which is why we are not going to," Anderson laughed. "This is good enough for most," he added, sending the image of Palaven burning to the Human Ascended commander. "It's enough."

Shepard sent back an image of Thessia. "Not yet enough."

-cfr-

**Palaven, Cabal Village**

Notchimus sat, leaning against the remains of the wall. Dust and ash were thick in the air, barely filtered by the scrap of cloth over his nose. It was the best he could do and he was trying to keep his breathing shallow. He should just breathe deep, let the particles into his lungs so that they could kill him but he didn't deserve that quick a death. It was all his fault. All of it.

Around him was the remains of his village. The houses were broken and scattered. There was not a single one intact and the wall he was leaning against was perhaps the largest Turian built structure still standing. The remains of his Cabal were broken and scattered over the village. He didn't have to look far to see them.

Awendea's sightless eyes stared at him from across the road, her body twisted at odd angles and left where it had fallen. He thought it was a bit of Scipius behind her and over on the left, half trapped beneath a pile of rubble was old Caesa. They had bodies at least. The thought of what happened to Yordana, his teacher, made him convulse.

The troop transports had landed near them. That was his fault. He'd been manning one of the AA guns but he wanted to fight. He wanted to see the light die in the eyes of the enemy and had been not quite as careful with his aim as he should have been. Everyone thought they were Human and who wouldn't want to kill Humans!

The enemy had taken advantage of his lapse, landing their vessels close to his village and swarming out to attack.

Except they weren't Human. He'd felt sick when he saw that. They were bipedal, like Humans but that didn't mean anything. Everyone except the Hanar and Elcor were bipedal! They were about the same size as a Human but again, so was a Turian, an Asari, a Drell… But it was about there that any similarity to a Human or to a species he had seen ended. They had two eyes but they glowed and other marks on their bodies flickered with energy. For a moment Notchimus had thought they were biotic, right up until Yordana's warp lanced into the lead group, obliterating them.

Other members of their village had pulled guns and were pouring rounds into the invaders. Weaklings, he'd thought at the time, as he charged his own biotics, sending several of the invaders sprawling. They rose again and Notchimus had felt a wave of joy surge through him then. They at least offered a fight. Perhaps the fact that they weren't Human was better.

He'd thought that until the first one reached a defensive line.

And blew itself up. Notchimus hadn't been the only one left staring.

What kind of force were they facing? More of the enemy reached their lines and they too blew up, releasing a wave of crackling electricity that caused severe burns in anyone too close. Burns, which combined with the mundane damage caused by the shrapnel of their explosion, ensured death for the defenders.

With Yordana's shouted orders they'd rallied then, joining together as a group to form a biotic barrier they had used to literally drive the invaders back. The effort collapsed a few of the weaker Cabal but allowed those remaining to once again utilise long range attacks – both biotic and mundane.

At the end of the battle Notchimus had been panting with effort but he'd felt triumphant, just like the rest of the Cabal.

That is, until kinetic strikes had lanced down near them. A couple had been able to put up barriers in time. Most had been driven back. The lucky were knocked over into some shelter. The unlucky were swept away or into solid structures that crumbled with the force, but only after breaking their bodies. Awendea was one of those. Her barrier hadn't held and she'd been swept away, her body tumbling over and over until it lay on the ground, her limbs shattered and twisted and her eyes staring sightlessly at him.

The strikes hadn't been the worst. The worst had yet to come and come it did, in the form of one of the invaders. The ship was huge. It towered above them and the ground quite literally shook each time it moved one of its legs. It was using mass effect fields though. It had to be. There was no way it could maintain that much mass in the gravity well. The AA guns had fired at it. At first they hit nothing. The ship was too far away. Then as it came closer, they hit but that only lit up shimmering shields.

Then there was return fire. It was only when the rounds hit did Notchimus truly appreciate how much damage a capital ship's weapons could do in a gravity well. The AA installations weren't so much destroyed as vapourised. The surrounding buildings collapsed. That's how old Caesa had been caught.

He'd been able to jump over the remains of a wall to hide but the ship had come closer and once again, Yordana had rallied them. She'd understood what they were fighting for and why surrender was not an option. Yordana had ordered those remaining to form a small team, then she'd led them towards the huge ship. It had been a nightmare.

The atmosphere was hot, hotter than it should have been, even with all the kinetic strikes and Notchimus realised that the dreadnought was bleeding off heat. Beyond that, there was dust and debris flying everywhere and rounds rained down around them. It was a precarious position but they had managed to get close enough.

"Cover me," Yordana had ordered before she'd done…

Well, Notchimus wasn't sure what she'd done. Something that had seemed to be condensed darkness which she'd then flung at the huge ship. For a moment it appeared to do nothing, then there had been a flash and a boom and Notchimus realised a small part of the ship had exploded.

He had no time for further realisations. Yordana didn't even have time to celebrate. She was suddenly outlined in fire. There was no time to scream. Notchimus was left staring at her form, what was left of it. There was steam rising from where she had been standing and the smell was of burnt flesh. He'd gagged, retching but nothing came up. Yordana had been covered in molten metal and not even the shape of her body remained.

It was only because he forced his eyes away from the steaming mass that had been his teacher that he managed to duck when the giant ship moved one leg. The pressure wave passed over him and Notchimus screamed, the shield he had managed to put around him breaking as he was drawn along in the wake of the massive leg. That's when he'd hit the wall and everything had gone black.

He wasn't sure how long he'd been out. With all the dust in the atmosphere he couldn't tell the time. It was day, he thought. There was a dim glow through what passed for clouds so it could only have been an hour or two. The ship was gone, as were the strange troops. The air was hot and he'd ripped cloth from his tunic to cover his nose. He could hear roaring in the distance and the crackle and burn of fire much closer. He couldn't hear the screams of the Cabal. That was what scared him.

Slowly, he took a deep breath, rubbing one shoulder against the wall. There was a dull ache in his head, one he recognised as coming from the overuse of his biotics. He forced himself to think through the haze.

What did he do now? The Cabal was dead. Looking around, it was doubtful that any transportation was in working order. Notchimus was like most, he could fix simple things but he had not been trained as a mechanic, so that left him trapped here. With a groan, he lifted his arm, flicking on his omni-tool, which was battered but otherwise intact. If there was a signal, then perhaps he could contact someone. They'd still be fighting and Notchimus would be darned if he'd just sit here, waiting for rescue when he could be killing the enemy.

He scanned through the frequencies, ears straining to hear the slightest sensible noise from the static. With the constant background noise, it's understandable how he missed the approach of the enemy forces. They had landed at a distance, heading towards Notchimus' village because most resistance had already been put down here.

Notchimus looked up. Dim lights were visible in the swirling dust. He realised almost instantly that they were not the lights of vehicles. He couldn't work out what they were though and he kept his eyes on them, squinting slightly. The lights were irregular but they were coming closer. They were not that far from him when he realised what they were.

Enemy troops.

He jumped to his feet. The motion attracted attention and Notchimus leapt over the remains of the wall as the things approached him. There were hundreds of them. Notchimus raised one hand, focusing his power. A small spark appeared but nothing like it had been earlier. He was too tired and the stresses of the day were bearing down upon him.

Still, he wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Notchimus raised his head slightly, targeting one of the aliens and sending a pulse of power towards them. The thing blew backwards, taking several others with it but the group wasn't affected. They turned to him and Notchimus strained, focusing again as he sent another wave of power out.

Before that wave hit, he crouched back down, looking around for any weapon at all. The only thing around him was rubble and with a wave of frustration Notchimus stood back up, ignoring the headache that was rapidly forming from his overuse of his biotics as he sent a third wave at the invaders.

He stepped back slowly and a fourth wave followed immediately, the surge of panic fuelling it as he realised the enemy troops were at the wall. Notchimus turned to run then but something grabbed at his leg. He looked down as he kicked. One of the enemy troops had jumped the wall and had latched on to his leg. Another followed, catching one of his spurs.

Notchimus leaned forward as he took a staggering step, then a second before another enemy barrelled into him, tackling his chest and he staggered to the ground. He tried to focus his biotics but pain stabbed through his head and no matter how much he wanted to, the power just slipped away.

Then the enemy troops hoisted him up. They were strangely silent but no matter how Notchimus struggled their grip didn't abate. He tilted his head back. Upside down it was hard to see but several of the alien troops were stepping back from some sort of construction. It was a tripod type thing that looked like it could be some sort of upward facing laser except he couldn't see any power source for it. The aliens kept dragging him towards it and then they pushed him onto the top.

For a moment Notchimus was confused, then the pain in his head was flooded by pain in his gut and he looked up to see a spike impaling him. He screamed, blood fountaining from his mouth as he was hoisted into the air.

Spirits! No. This wasn't meant to be.

Notchimus didn't even know what the enemy was. He struggled to breathe but as his vision faded it hardly seemed important. He coughed one last time, tasting blood and hearing the fires that burned through his village.

There was nothing left to fight for.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Palaven Orbit, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Necromancer sighed over the Human net. "Shepard, this is boring."

"Yeah, the birds haven't made an escape attempt in hours!"

"And they haven't made a rescue attempt since yesterday," Aphrodite added.

"Did you really expect them to?" Shepard asked, his voice sardonic.

"Come on everyone, we always knew this bit would be boring though you could always get in on the betting pool," Archangel made the suggestion.

Shepard reached out, pulling the information to him and was hard pressed not to laugh. Those within him felt no such restraint. Joker was particularly vocal and while Adams managed not to laugh, he did filter through the information Shepard had collected to determine the odds of Fedorian begging.

"What are they using as marks?" Adams asked.

"Adams," Shepard growled warningly.

"If you are that bored you can go help on the mining detail," Shepard suggested.

"Actually we can't," Aphrodite replied. "Sirta has got that covered."

"The survey team?"

Necromancer sent through a negative indication. "They've already scanned the entire system for 80 light hours in all directions. Once we hit the comm buoys on the way out, there will truly be nothing left."

"Good work," Shepard sent over the Human network. The scanning had been completed but he hadn't really sought out the details.

"So, that just leaves us bored," Necromancer repeated.

"You can't hold out for another day?"

"Oh I suppose so," came the reply. "But the impact will break the Turians and attacking their colonies is not going to be that interesting."

"It will be necessary."

"No one is denying it will be necessary," Aphrodite hastened to assure Shepard. "But with the main Turian strength broken, we cannot expect them to fight as well."

"Digeris has a good reputation," Spectre said.

"That is true," Necromancer agreed. "But we already know what we face there. Shepard hasn't told us the plan but it's easy to guess. We go in, bomb everything and collect the survivors for ascension."

"Did we get enough Turian husks from Palaven?" Shepard asked. He'd allowed Miranda's forces to lead the way there. They had lost the most.

"We got those who haven't bunkered down," Miranda reported. "The rest would cost us more than we would gain."

"Was it enough?"

"With further Turian colonies it will be."

"All right," Shepard said and the Ascended could hear him thinking. "Necromancer, Aphrodite, help Harper in his trawling of the 'net. I want to know the names and locations of all the so-called Human sympathisers."

"You want to save them?"

"Of course not! Well… they might be Ascended. I want to see if we can  _use_  them."

"They aren't indoctrinated."

"No, but they can still cause confusion," Shepard said. "Spectre, Eternity, Saraswati, Taylor, I want you to comb through the information we liberated from the Turian forces. I want you to make a list of every single one of their ships, settlements and stations and their locations. We are going to sweep through Turian space and we don't want to miss anything."

"So what about the rest of us?" Nergal asked.

"You can play with half the ships we've captured. The merchant ships."

"Why the merchants?"

"Because the Turian ships will be needed for training," Shepard explained.

"Darn it, Shepard, can't I play too?" Taylor complained.

"When the list is done."

"Didn't Harbinger order the young ones to capture Turians for ascension?"

"He did," Shepard agreed. "But it will still take us some time to clear out the defences. Elysium has been quite positive about the use of the ships in training. And besides, the young ones will need to see what Turian ships look like in case we miss a few."

"We aren't going to miss any."

"In case others stupidly jump in, then," Shepard altered his previous statement.

"Yeah, they'd be that stupid."

"I'm glad we are in agreement."

"All right!" Several Ascended broke from the cordon. "What games can we play?"

-cfr-

**Sol System, Turian Patrol Cruiser** _**Gover** _

"Illo!" The voice was familiar but he did not reply.

"Illo!" Elysium actually sounded worried.

"Illo Nazario! Answer me," the ship demanded in the tone of a mother scolding an errant child.

"Elysium?" Illo coughed, blood laced vomit fountaining over his chin onto his chest. How was the ship getting the transmission through? Illo knew for a fact that the comms were meant to be locked down.

"I'm sorry, Illo," Elysium continued, relief evident in the tone.

"Sorry?" he questioned, trying to remember what had happened. He was in too much pain for coherent thought. Everything hurt and he was lying on something that was digging into his side. Something dripped in the distance and there was a putrid smell permeating the ship.

"Sphinx didn't know better," Elysium said.

"Sphinx?" Illo would have frowned if movement, any movement, hadn't hurt so much. As it was, the breath he took to say the name set off a coughing fit and it was several long moments before he could carefully gasp for more air. The time jogged his memory though and slowly through the pain he pieced together what had to have happened.

The  _Gover_  had been shaken, far worse than any other training session. But it was not meant to be 'helping' in training. Every day, Elysium gave them four hours of peace, four hours in which the surviving members of his crew could eat or sleep and not be sick. Four hours in which there was no training.

Illo didn't know how much time had passed when the  _Gover_  had been shaken. He was sure that it was less than the full four hours.

"Sphinx wanted to train as well," Elysium continued, adding the explanation. "She saw her brothers and sisters working with your ships and wanted to be involved."

"Involved?" It was all he could say as memory gave him a new pain. Grief this time. Grief for his crew. None of the surviving crew had been able to stand and after the first minute or so, all they had been able to do was hold on and hope.

Hope in vain as it turned out. The shaking had continued and the internals of the  _Gover_  had been loosened and even those few members of his crew who had wedged themselves into the tightest gaps slipped loose. They joined the dangerous amounts of debris flying through the air, slamming into the walls and bulkheads. Their screams had been terrible. Turians were meant to be controlled but no one could be controlled in that situation. Fear, pain, anguish had all sounded in their voices.

"Sphinx is not ready to train with live ships," Elysium said firmly, as one might say when referring to a pet.

"Won't… won't matter," Illo said as blood leaked from the corners of his mouth.

What was worse was the way his crew's voices had become wet, much as his was now. Their screams had become gurgles before they finally stopped. It was a mercy when they died but Illo had survived until now.

"Of course it matters, Illo."

"Won't," he repeated. Elysium didn't understand what he was referring to. For once, the ship didn't know and couldn't control everything. "Dying," he added. There was freedom in the word, though nothing showed in his voice but the wet blood he spoke around. Illo could feel it though. Soon, it would be over.

"You're dying?" the great ship seemed distressed. If a two kilometre long dreadnought could be distressed.

Illo breathed lightly. The smell of blood and worse permeated everything as he looked up at the ceiling. The metal was dinted and in places liquid congealed and dripped. Illo didn't want to think about what was dripping. He was in the crew quarters, not the galley.

"No, Illo, you are not allowed to die," Elysium announced when he remained silent.

He laughed. Or at least the cough was an equivalent, but the expected fountain of blood was only a dribble. That was why he was becoming light headed. "Don't get a choice," Illo replied.

"I do." It was the way that Elysium said it that gave the Turian captain pause. So certain, as if the galaxy would bow to its desires. "Shepard!"

It took Illo a moment to realise Elysium was no longer speaking to him. But why would the ship be talking to Shepard?

"Elysium," came the reply only a moment later. Illo recognised the voice. Just after they'd been captured he'd looked Shepard's file so even through his pain he knew what the first Human Spectre sounded like. "Is something wrong?"

"Sphinx got to the training Turians."

That's all he was, Illo knew. A training aid. Elysium had made that clear but that didn't explain the worry that had been present in Elysium's voice earlier or the underlying note now.

"They're dead?" Shepard's voice was completely detached and mentally, Illo could imagine that the man had just asked 'Oh, so you like red' rather than a question about life and death.

"Almost all of them."

"We can bring you more shortly."

"No!" Illo objected quietly, not even realising that the mic was still on at his end. Elysium was in control of that. He was in no condition to move, with blood slowly leaking from his body and pain still throbbing through his limbs.

"Oh! That's a live one?" Shepard almost laughed.

"That is one of the first ones," Elysium said.

"He doesn't sound good." It might have only been one word but Shepard had obviously picked up on the wet feel of Illo's voice.

"I want to ascend him."

Shepard's silence was more eloquent than any expression could have been.

"Illo is the Commander of the Arcturus Patrol," Elysium said in a rush. "It would make a nice symmetry that the first is Ascended," the ship continued, attempting to explain.

Shepard remained silent and Illo had the absurd impression that it was Elysium who was the child, attempting to justify to a parent why they should keep the baby pyjak.

"His command has been useful and he should be rewarded for their ability."

Shepard still remained silent and Illo could hear a note of unease creeping into Elysium's voice.

"We need to ascend Turians."

"We do," Shepard spoke the agreement though there was no feeling in his tone. "I was going to ask you to give them a day off tomorrow."

"What happens then?"

"I'll explain shortly. Ascension?" Shepard prompted, fishing for further answers.

"It would be a waste to destroy them all."

"Elysium, we are going to do that anyway."

It was Elysium's turn to be silent though Illo went cold. It wasn't just the loss of blood it was the causal way Shepard's voice had replied to Elysium. Destroy them all?  _Every_  Turian? A month ago, Illo would have laughed. Today, he didn't and it was not just the pain laughing would bring which stopped him, it was the cold reality that he believed Shepard's assertion. The Humans or Ascended or whatever Elysium was calling themselves, they could destroy his entire species.

"It would still be a waste."

"Are you sure it's not something else?" Shepard probed.

"There's nothing."

"You called the Turian Illo," Shepard replied, the tone full of amusement.

"Illo is his name," Elysium said though the Turian could hear a slight note of defence.

"Training aid is his designation," Shepard returned. "UnAscended organic is the designation for other Turians. Is there something you are not telling me?"

Illo didn't know how he knew but he realised suddenly that Shepard was teasing Elysium. The one Elysium named Shepard had no interest in him but somehow the ship, which Illo knew was hovering just outside the  _Gover_  couldn't feel that.

"Look, Shepard," Elysium's voice had an edge to it, one that said they were running out of patience. "May I ascend him or not?"

"You may ascend him if you want," Shepard replied. "It doesn't matter to me," the voice added, "though are you sure the Turian will survive?"

"He'll survive," Elysium replied, with the surety that Illo would survive ascension, whatever that was.

"Well, you'd better collect him and get him into a processing tank," Shepard said before going silent. It took Illo a moment to realise that the comm link had been dropped.

It didn't matter to him. All he could do was lie on the debris and stare up at the ceiling. A grinding noise echoed through the  _Gover_  but Illo didn't really pay attention. There was nothing he could do and it wasn't until he heard the clump of something making its way towards him that he began to worry.

"Hold still, Illo," Elysium instructed. "My forces will bring you to me," the ship added.

He forced open his eyes.  _Elysium's forces?_  Would he finally get a glimpse of the crew that had to be inside the ship? Something fell near him but Illo couldn't see. By the sounds of things, it picked itself up and there was more than one. He didn't even feel it when something gripped his leg, what he felt instead was indescribable agony lancing through his body when they pulled. The scream was more gurgle than noise but it was loud enough.

"Gently!" Elysium admonished.

It actually seemed to work and whatever was grabbing at him did so slower, more tentatively. Illo looked at them and froze, stiffening at the sight.

He had expected a Human. One in a space suit, perhaps, but a Human. He didn't know what was grabbing him. Bipedal, like a Human yes, but the similarities stopped there. It looked like a combination of rotting flesh and ambulatory cybernetics. Its eyes glowed and where a mouth should be was a black abyss. He couldn't see much more, a fact for which he was grateful.

"Gently, gently," Elysium coaxed.

Illo felt something lift his legs. It hurt worse than before and he screamed. His mouth was clear this time.

"Careful!" Elysium's voice growled but Illo heard nothing more.

The dark which had been flickering at the edge of his vision flooded everything. It was soothing and Illo didn't fight when he was overwhelmed.

-cfr-

**Palaven Orbit, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Shepard reached out towards the comm system he'd felt earlier. Unless he got a response, he couldn't be sure Fedorian heard but he felt obliged to say goodbye to the Primarch. It was only polite. He sent the image of himself as a Human captain in his transmission.

"Primarch Fedorian, Palaven has fallen," Shepard said simply before he paused, waiting to see if there would be a reply.

Nothing came but he was fairly sure the Primarch was still alive.

"By now, you know you are the first but that's just a function of history. We're too alike you know. Our species. Oh I don't mean physical form or anything so superficial. Rather our thoughts, our actions, the way we do things.

"If you had the chance you would have conquered us in the First Contact War, but of course, the Asari held you back. And then there was the Betrayal War. If you had of listened to me, you could have foreseen the end of that conflict. Of course, no one wanted to listen to the newcomers.

"So don't be ashamed that you are the first. You would have done the same in our position. And you had no hope to win against us. In about an hour, I'll be finished with Palaven, which means I'm finished with Trebia, and thus finished with you."

There was a crackle of static. "What happens now, barbarian?" the words were spat at him and Shepard was hard pressed not to chuckle as the connection was made with him. It was audio only and encrypted in an attempt to prevent him hacking it. Too bad for them that Harper had already stolen every Turian encryption key. He rode the signal, though, enjoying bouncing around Palaven's few remaining facilities until it went back to the source. Then Shepard pushed the connection open, looking around through what few security cameras there were.

Fedorian had aged. In the space of the last few days of the Ascended's actions, the Turian Primarch looked at least five decades older. He twitched slightly and Shepard recognised the marks of fatigue on his features. No doubt the Primarch hadn't slept in days and there were several Turians in the space Shepard could see who were passed out, or dead. Shepard couldn't tell for sure through the strangely fish-eyed visual.

"After Menae hits, we will destroy the last few comm buoys and continue on to other Turian colonies."

"Not with us," Fedorian seemed frustrated. "With the galaxy," he clarified his question.

"Ascension," Shepard answered. "I would have Ascended Palaven, but Digeris will substitute. It's sad though, the Turian Ascended will not love Palaven the way I still love Earth."

"Ascension?"

"Ascension is the way of the galaxy," Shepard explained, attempting to put it in terms a mere organic like Fedorian might be able to understand.

The Primarch shook his head and Shepard could see he did not understand. "So this is my place in things?" Fedorian growled the question. "This is the place Humans would have the Turians?"

That was better. Anger was easy to deal with. "This is the place the Turians would have put Humans," Shepard responded.

"No," Fedorian was firm. "I told you, we veto'd expeditions to Earth."

"So the fleet that was coming, the fleet that found the Relay moved, the one comprised of Turians, Asari, Salarian and Batarian forces was not going to rape Earth?" Shepard countered, knowing full well that at that point the Turians had intended invasion. They had slipped over the line and viewed the Humans as a savage species, one that needed to be put in its place and carefully monitored. It was true that the Turians did not mean to commit genocide but that would have been the eventual outcome. Humans would not have lived quietly under the yoke.

"It is too late for recriminations now," Shepard said before Fedorian could answer. "What is done is done and I am done here," he added. "Good bye, Fedorian. May your ancestors grant you peace." He cut the signal but left the connection open, sending Fedorian a live feed of what he could sense.

As the Primarch of Palaven, Fedorian really should be allowed to see what happened.

-cfr-


	20. A Day Long Remembered

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 19: A Day Long Remembered**

-cfr-

There are pivotal moments in history. Moments that shape the future of the galaxy. July 7th 2222, by the Sol calendar, was one such day. The entire galaxy stood still, watching the Trebia System.

It was a day no one would soon forget but it was a day that signalled the beginning of the end of the galaxy they had known.

-cfr-

To the watching Ascended, it was rather slow. To the rest of the galaxy, it happened all too fast. It had been centuries, almost one and a half millennia since there had been a significant impact event: The Krogan Rebellions. This time, though, no one was entirely sure as to the identity of those attacking Palaven, those who did know were suspiciously silent, yet there were whispers that this was the continuation of the Human Rebellion.

Menae had been falling for the last three days, and the attackers had remained in place, ruthlessly destroying any escape attempt and disabling any ship that passed into the Trebia system. Morbid, fuzzy vid files from the Krogan Rebellions had been downloaded across the galaxy to get a feel for what would happen. It was acknowledged that the Krogan, for all their trying, had never managed to destabilise such a large body, and while ramming starships at FTL speed into a planet was devastating, those ships had been relatively small. This would be different.

Even old Human footage, of simulated impact events, had been studied. It helped add to the rumours but the Humans had always been inordinately fascinated with large scale destruction and the subject of their vids was almost always Earth.

There was speculation online as to what would be different.

Palaven was a larger planet with a weaker magnetic field. Those were facts agreed upon by all. From there, speculation reigned supreme. The weaker magnetic field was because Palaven wasn't as dense, it had less molten iron, the crust was thinner, the core was the same size as Earth but the larger planetary mass meant the effects were dispersed... on and on the theories went, the theories posed by those with scientific backgrounds were lost in the deluge but the core and the magnetic field weren't the real points of interest. The real point of contention was the thickness of the crust. True information on the thickness of Palaven's crust should have been easily found but truth just got in the way of speculation and the Human produced graphics were very appealing.

A thicker crust would hold up against an impact event but would it still peel away? How far? What would the damage be? What would survive? Would Palaven remain as a planet? Those who stated that Palaven would remain as a planet, damaged beyond all ability to support life, but essentially in the same orbit would be correct, but since the Ascended closed Trebia's Relay when they left, no one would ever know and they would have other things to worry about.

Needless to say, it was all crass speculation, conducted in a whisper on every planet but Tuchanka, where there were betting pools. Even the Terminus systems held some respect for those who would die. Pirates may hate Turians, they may claim that they wished death upon them all, but even pirates know that the destruction of a planet is indiscriminate.

So, when the final impact came, the entire galaxy watched. Thief, beggar, diplomat, murderer, pirate, politician, ambassador, tech, Turian, Batarian, Salarian, Drell, Asari... For one instant, all labels were forgotten.

Menae, like many moon bodies, did not orbit on the equator, and thus the point of impact was on what was accepted as galactic north of Palaven. It was an ocean hit, though such things hardly matter with an impact of this size. Palaven's atmosphere burned briefly, before, at the point of impact, there was a flash of light and the shock wave shot out.

Then the real damage began. As Menae continued to push its way into Palaven, they both burned bright hot. Palaven was forced upwards. Dirt and water shot through the atmosphere into space, arching away from Menae. The very crust was forced upwards. Small islands were forced upwards, breaking apart as they were ejected by the impact. The atmosphere was rolled in front of the plates, forming a foaming white wave and fire followed the dirt.

Palaven was bigger than Earth and Menae smaller than Luna but it was large enough. The ejecta would have rained back down but it remained upwards.

From above the impact, it was brilliantly beautiful. Menae's impact superheated it. The mantle was exposed, like a giant circular ocean of lava. In the feed going out to the galaxy, the Ascended made sure to provide all angles. From the side of Palaven, it was as if the planet had a fish tail. It was a fat fish with a glowing, ever moving tail. Light formed it but then the tail collapsed, as the ejecta rained back down on to the planet, bathing it in fire.

On the surface, around the impact, there were levee banks holding back the molten surface. Away from the impact, the shock wave raced over the planet destroying much but in its wake followed the firestorm, which destroyed anything that remained. It slowly travelled around Palaven, burning everything. Dust clouds followed, and the static discharge from them charged the atmosphere, frying anything left alive.

Several Ascended had extended their sensors, focusing them for life forms. They provided an counter on some of the feeds. The counter had raced downwards, when most were killed in the shock wave, but it had not reached zero. A few life forms survived. Then as the earthquakes, caused by the shock of impact travelled through Palaven, and volcanoes began erupting, pouring lava over the already scorched surface, the counter of life signs dropped to zero. Those in the deep bunkers were protected from the shock wave and heat and fire, but they could not escape as Palaven almost liquified around them, shaking to absorb the stress of the impact.

When the Ascended drew away, Palaven was no longer silver but was a fiery red and black. There were no longer oceans, just burnt continents where what remained of the cities were still alight. Dust and ejecta still consumed much of the atmosphere, and lightning storms raged underneath, but as the dust settled, it left Palaven covered in a universally dull washed out green. It was not the green of vegetation but the dull coppery green of charred infertile dirt.

While Palaven remained, Menae was gone, forming a giant fiery eye, red and weeping, staring balefully out at the galaxy.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Turian Councillor's Quarters**

Quentius sat in his quarters. The rooms were dark, light was provided by a view screen. It was set to mute but displayed the only thing any channel was showing.

The vid feed from the invaders.

The thought made him sick and he convulsed but nothing came up.

There was a count down on the corner of the screen, eerily similar to the one provided by the invader who bore the image of the Human Shepard. If he turned the sound up there would be a sorrowful commentary by some Asari interspersed with tearful homilies from Turians. He hadn't said anything. He hadn't been able to say anything though Primarch Victus had given some speeches.

The Primarch had ordered every Turian to watch this. To remember, so that there could be no doubt as to their duty. Trebia had been declared off limits to all and there had been some call to evacuate other Turian colonies, and while some had been moved, it was a sad reality that the majority had to remain where they were. No one had large enough stockpiles of dextro-food.

That was going to be an issue on the Citadel as well but Quentius couldn't bring himself to care. The plight of a few million didn't bother him, not when billions of Turians had been killed.

He took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling, deliberately averting his eyes from the view screen. He could smell alcohol. The strongest stuff he could find was open on his table but he hadn't drunk a drop. He'd opened the bottle, poured a glass and then walked away. If he drank he wouldn't stop and it would hurt when he threw it up.

_Ancestors!_

He was pathetic. He should be out there. Standing with his people but Quentius couldn't bring himself too. He just didn't know what to do.

Irissa had been scarce over the past few days. She'd spent time talking with C-Sec's Executor but most of her time had been spent talking with the Matriarchs of Thessia, arranging what they could.

_Probably seeing to their own defences_ , his mind supplied. There was no anger with the thought. If she was, then… then what defence could stop these invaders? These so called Humans. If they could take out Palaven, did Irissa truly believe Thessia had a chance? Or Sur'Kesh? Or did she know something he didn't?

That thought did cause anger. A brief pointless rage that went nowhere. He hadn't confronted her about it but he would. If Thessia survived, then there would be a reckoning.

Quentius snorted.

_If Thessia survived…_

He was delusional.

The attackers were Human. Thessia would not survive. He would watch Palaven die, then he would see Thessia fall. The only difference would be that the Asari had some warning. Same with the Salarians.

They'd managed to keep the knowledge that the ships were Human from the general public, emphasising the Geth design of the ships but the illusion would not last for long. Quentius wasn't sure if he'd have bothered with the illusion.

Did it matter? It didn't. Three hundred dreadnoughts. No one could fight that. Even Victus agreed. At least, the Primarch agreed that they could not fight three hundred at the one time but if the invaders broke into smaller fleets, then the Primarch was confident that they would be able to take them out. For those thinking of the brutal reality to come, the Human fleet would have to break up or they could not cover enough territory fast enough. That's where their chance lay. It was a tiny chance but the Primarch saw it as an option. One that would require coordination and the sacrifice of thousands but the Primarch maintained that it could be done. His eyes had burned with passion when he made that announcement. The fact that the enemy was Human drove Adrien on and they needed that.

Quentius wasn't so sure. The ships obviously could be destroyed. Every last second of battle footage from forty years ago had been gone over again in the last few days.  _That_ ship had been destroyed and the cost had been huge. They could not match the enemy dreadnought for dreadnought, no one had even suggested that. What had been suggested was that a large enough fleet of cruisers and frigates could, with great losses, take out a dreadnought. A smaller fleet could take out a dreadnought, when loaded with some questionable ordinance.

No one had said anything. No one would say anything when Turian cruisers launched themselves at the attackers, each carrying an anti-matter warhead, intent on detonating it, destroying themselves and hopefully the attackers. That was, of course, in space. If the Humans had any planets, any presence at all on a planet, then… Conventions were made to be broken, though Primarch Fedorian had passed on information that indicated that Earth had been destroyed. Quentius didn't know how truthful the Humans had been and with the death of Palaven streaming live on every screen in the galaxy, he didn't much care.

Magna had already released a hoard of self-replicating bots. They were building anti aircraft fortifications around the planet. So far they were controlled but what was left of the Hierarchy were dancing on the tips of their spurs waiting to see if the bots consumed the population for resources. That was a risk but the Turians on Magna, like Quentius, thought it would be a small price to pay. It would be death on their terms, rather than the Humans'.

On the screen, he wasn't watching there was a flash and he knew without looking that the counter had reached zero. That time had been burned into his very being over the last few days. It had begun. The surface of Palaven would be consumed by fire as ejecta rained down, and the firestorm spread. The subsurface would shudder as well, liquefying in some places, and triggering volcanic activity in others, spreading the fires.

There was no possibility of survival. At least, not for any multi-cellular organism. Every Salarian simulation postulated that, as did the Asari's, Turian's… Spirits, even those few done by the Drell had agreed. And if anything did survive, the three hundred dreadnoughts in orbit would soon take care of that.

As the wave of fire began spreading around Palaven, Quentius stared at the floor. There was nothing he could do.

-cfr-

**Tuchanka**

Charr looked at the view screen. No matter that they were quarantined by the rest of the galaxy, the Krogan were allowed to see this. And this was the destruction of Palaven by an unknown invading force. He knew what he felt! The darned Turians were getting their quads handed to them. That was fantastic! He'd like to be there, he'd like to see their faces when it happened and he hoped they were anguished, just as he had been when that pyjak had taken Ereba from him.

She'd wanted to stay! She'd been safe with him! She'd been willing to bear his children but then some galactic prick had decided that the Krogan had to be quarantined on Tuchanka and that no alien species were allowed to live with them. Ereba wasn't alien! She was his friend, his wife, his bond-mate. She was Asari, not alien! But even that hadn't helped and some nameless Turian had taken her away.

The metal head had been laughing. Charr knew it. Not aloud of course. That would have broken the image of Turian professionalism but Charr had seen it in the Turian's eyes. The bastard had been laughing as he led Ereba away.

The bastard wouldn't be laughing now.

No one had said who the attackers were but all the Krogan knew. Anyone with half a brain could tell they were Human. Sure, the design was Geth but the words were Human and Charr had spent some time online, looking at the images of the attacking ships and laughing. He didn't know much Human but several translations of the writing had been provided. "Fuck you Council" and "Die Turian Scum" were not phrases Geth would use. Only Humans were that belligerent… well Humans and Krogan.

Except the Krogan were neutered and the Humans had somehow gathered the strength to fight.

More than fight, Charr reminded himself with a savage show of teeth. The Humans were doing something the Krogan had only dreamed about. They had taken the battle to the Turians, ripping through their defences straight to Palaven and they had destroyed the planet. It didn't matter that Menae was still falling, nothing could stop it and the Turian homeworld would be reduced to a blackened wasteland. Much like Tuchanka.

Except… unlike Tuchanka, the Turians would die, and Charr had every faith that the Human fleet would continue to sweep through the galaxy.

Of course, Charr didn't know what the Humans would do after they had destroyed the Council but if they then dominated the galaxy… well, they had earned their right to rule. Unlike the weakling Salarians who relied on others. They had created the genophage but they didn't have the quads to use it. The Turians had and then, if the Turians had conquered the Council, the Krogan would have been …. Charr didn't know what they would have felt but vindicated would be one emotion. If the Turians had conquered the Council, the Krogan would have at least known they were beaten by the stronger force, as was right and proper. Instead, the Turians had joined the Council and…

He didn't want to think about it. They were weak.

The Humans. Charr had thought the Humans weak, taken in by the Asari rhetoric and perhaps they had been for a time. The Human Rebellion had lasted a mere two years! Now though, they were back and they had used the last forty years to become strong.

Strong enough to trap Council forces at the Citadel. Strong enough to punch through Palaven's defences and strong enough to drop Menae on their metal-plated heads.

Charr laughed. It didn't matter what happened now. To his mind, the Humans had already won and that was a thought which would keep him warm for years to come on the cold Tuchanka nights.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought** _**Pride of Menae** _

Primarch Adrien Victus stood on the bridge of the  _Pride of Menae_. The crew stood around him, all eyes fixed on the main view screen. They stood in silence. There were no whispered conversations and the hums from the computers had been muted. You could hear the click of talon on the steel floor when the crew shifted slightly.

He said nothing. What they bore witness to left nothing to say. On every ship, in every colony, every Turian throughout the galaxy was watching. Victus was sure that even those Turians who had turned their back on the Hierarchy, who made their living as pirates and thugs and every other dishonourable task watched as well. This went beyond any petty labels. It didn't matter if you were born on Palaven or not, those who wore colony paint from off world watched and would act because regardless of colony loyalty, Palaven was the home of all Turians.

To see it now…

Unconsciously, his hands fisted, driving his talons into the relatively thinner and more flexible skin on his palms. To see it now was to watch the deaths of billions. It was the death of every ancestor, every spirit, everything. They watched the death of everything that had created and nurtured them. He'd never thought of Palaven being alive, of having its own will but he often swore on the Spirit of Palaven.

This was Palaven's final moment.

So what could he do but stand? Sitting would be disrespectful and no matter how much he wanted to look away, he had to watch to the last, to honour those who had gone before, those who had fought. The planet would survive the impact of Menae but it would not be Palaven. The surface would be sterilized and life would not be able to live there for millennia.

Victus shuddered when the counter went to zero. He watched the impact without truly seeing it. He'd grieved for those who died now already. He would never truly be able to grieve for Palaven, or for Menae, he would instead endure their loss. His grief now was for those who would die. He'd discussed what needed to happen with Quentius but the other Turian was taking the loss of Palaven hard. The Councillor had been distant but had not objected to anything proposed. No Turian would.

And if the Asari or Salarians dared. . . Victus' mandibles tightened. If they dared, well, maybe the Humans had one thing right. Perhaps it was time to be free of the Council. They would not hold the Turians back from vengeance using any means that worked. If they tried... Then! Victus trembled. If they tried, then while he would advocate maintaining peace with the Asari and Salarian forces, it would be a peace that lasted only until this unholy alliance between the Humans and Geth had been dealt with.

The smell of Turian blood filled the bridge. He wasn't the only one to drive his talons through his skin but he continued watching. He ignored the way some of his crew fell to their knees, and how others retched. It was not weakness because Victus knew, when the time came, they, like him, would stare into the abyss and drown it in blood to avenge Palaven and Menae.

-cfr-

**Omega Nebula, Omega Station**

Averul was a smuggler. He was a darn good smuggler. In point of fact he was one of the few people the Omegan Queen trusted, in the way she trusted anyone, to oversee some of her best operations. And they were her best operations because he ran them. When he'd gotten the position, five standard years ago, he'd thought about overthrowing Aria. You didn't get to his position without at least a few aggressive self-promotions but he'd decided that it really wasn't worth it. He could do it, he was sure of that, but the pay off,  _that_  wouldn't go to him. It would go to whoever came after him so what was the point?

He'd been fifteen when he'd left Sur'Kesh. It had taken another seven years and two or three aggressive self-promotions and what turned out to be a fortuitous Turian raid to work his way to the top of the group he'd joined. Then he'd set about expanding their operations. Sabotage that operation, tip off the Turian patrols to another and within another five years he had a very nice business. So when the Omegan Queen was looking at who to promote, with one rather unfortunate accident, he had made it an easy choice for her. He'd been twenty seven then, he was thirty three now. It would have taken about ten years to gain the required confidences to remove Aria, and it would have been iffy, and there was no reward. So instead he had done what he did best and made more money than any other branch of her operation.

That's how he came to be looking at the screen now. It was a feed from the 'net, one supposedly from those attacking Palaven.

What Averul couldn't decide was if this was a good thing or a bad thing for Omega. Most smugglers, pirates and mercs had decided it was a good thing and were currently pickling their brains in booze as they toasted the unknown force which was attacking.

Idiots, all of them. Sure, in the short term, this would be one of the greatest boons they could ask for. Not since the Human Rebellion had the Turians been this distracted but there was the problem.

The ships attacking bore Human names, with what the Council insisted was a Geth design. The Council knew jack. Any smuggler worth his guns could tell you that was not a Geth design. It was something else. For the moment, what that something else was didn't matter. What no one seemed to be considering is what those ships would do once they had finished with the Turians.

The Council would go to war with the unknown forces. That was a given. The screen Averul was watching showed Menae about to hit Palaven. The Turians would have no choice but to fight after this and with the Council at war, the Turian patrols would be reduced, allowing much greater freedom for those in his business. But it would impact upon them as well. And there was no guarantee that the ships, just because they appeared to be against the Turians would stop at just the Turians. If they were really Human, then Omega was in danger. The Humans had a dark underbelly just like any other race but they had fought that underbelly. Averul had never seen it but he read, he knew history and he knew that the Human Systems Alliance burnt out pirates and smugglers from their territory.

If those ships were Human, then they weren't friendly.

Averul's comm beeped. The particular tone indicated Aria. He wasn't due to speak to her for another five hours.

"Ma'am?" he said, answering the call quickly.

"Thoughts?" Aria demanded without preamble.

Averul nodded to himself. She was probably ringing everyone, sounding them out. "Short term gain, long term chaos," he replied.

There was silence for a few moments before another question followed. "You've seen no indications?"

"None," Averul stated flatly. Aria would have made her own assessments but in a situation such as this, faced with an almost complete unknown, discussion was not weakness. Running forward on your own assumptions was. Palaven's invaders, while gleefully broadcasting all that they were doing, had not given any indication of their further intentions. Were they only going to attack the Turians? The Council? Everyone? No one knew and the invaders had made no move to clarify those questions. Or if they had, then no one recognized any gestures. If they were only going to attack the Turians, one would expect envoys sent to the Asari and Salarians, to reassure them. If attacking the Council, then if the invaders knew anything of the galactic climate, they'd send an envoy here. But they had done nothing of the sort. That either meant they didn't know or didn't care or their ultimate goal was to take everything.

Aria breathed deeply. With that one gesture, Averul knew that the Omegan Queen was considering this as seriously as he was. He knew she could see the potential disruption to everything this attack would cause, and Averul knew that Aria had considered that this could be the prelude to a full scale invasion.

"I will think on this," the Omegan Queen added before the signal dropped.

Averul nodded to himself before looking back to the screen. Impact events were beautiful sights in some ways. They were what gave most planets their resources but this one was pure destruction. He had to admire the ruthlessness of the minds behind the invaders. They knew how to make a statement. Warfare was as much psychological as physical and now, no matter what the invaders did, whether they confined their attentions to the Turians, or attacked wider, in the back of everyone's mind would be the fate of Palaven and the knowledge that if the invaders couldn't drive you from your holdings, they'd acknowledge your strength, then take their victory in the most brutal way possible

The Turians wouldn't surrender but other races might. He narrowed his eyes, as a brilliant flash lit up the screen. Destruction began spreading across Palaven as he thought about the Dalatrasses on Sur'Kesh. Faced with the destruction of everything they knew, what path would they take?

-cfr-

**Trebia, Palaven Orbit, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

If Shepard had been Human, he would be strictly controlling his breathing as he looked down at Palaven. He wasn't Human but he remained in place, looking down as Palaven spun beneath him. The atmosphere churned, lightning racing between clouds. On the ground, fires raged, although some of the glowing light was from lava flows. The point of Menae's impact was a brilliant red, a baleful eye that looked out into the galaxy, with weeping tears of lava seeping their way through the levee banks. He felt… it was almost impossible to say fully how he felt but he felt vindicated. The signals pulsing through his form tingled with feeling and he almost felt as if he should stretch in languid satiation. His feeling was echoed by the fleet of Human Ascended, though some of the younger ones almost felt torpid. They were satisfied with vengeance and Shepard could feel how some of them were shifting internally, aligning their thoughts with those of a more mature Ascended.

He pushed his thoughts away from that, fiercely fighting the almost physical pleasure that was beginning to course through him. This was the beginning, not the end. This was not the vengeance of all and while he would be more careful to ensure that they maintained more opportunities to ascend the lesser races of the cycle, Human vengeance was not yet complete. Only one of the aggressor races had suffered and he could not be content with the burning of one home world. He remembered his words to Anderson. 'Not yet enough'.

Thankfully, while satisfaction still thrummed within him, Shepard felt his thoughts turn and his desire to see vengeance on the Asari and Salarians reaffirmed. It would be difficult to seek vengeance if he was sated. Some parts of him were glutted on vengeance, while others were coldly clinical about it, sure of the righteousness of his actions. Most of him was content but as he examined his thoughts further, turning his attention inwards from the view of Palaven, he could feel that it was a transitory state. He could also feel that it was not wanton greed or desire for bloodshed which drove him onwards. It was a factor but it was not the controlling factor, rather, the dominant desire was for justice. He wanted to see the Council brought to heel for their two-faced double standards. And then he would ascend them.

Shepard turned his attention back to Palaven. It was important to plan for the future, but it was equally important to enjoy the moment, and for a little longer that was what he would do.

It was one of the younger Ascended, Jing, who broke his reverie by asking, politely, when they were going to set out for the rest of the Turian territory. Shepard focused his sensors on Jing. The younger Human Ascended, even if the age difference was a mere handful of years, did not have the memories of the older ones. They didn't know the history of First Contact, the pain of the First Contact War, the hope in the handful of years of peaceful interaction and then the utter agony of the Betrayal War. To them, the deal with Harbinger simply was but as Ascended, they would forget it in the greater service of ascension. Except Shepard saw that while Jing's desire for vengeance had been almost sexually fulfilled with the destruction of Palaven, Jing would still follow the older Human Ascended as they extracted their vengeance, their justice for Humanity on the rest of the galaxy. So long as the races were Ascended, Jing and those who were already satisfied would be compliant in what was to come. It was reassuring to Shepard that Humanity still stood as one.

"Let's go over our strategy before we set out," Shepard replied, deliberately turning away from the burning waste that had been the Turians' homeworld. Jing gave the impression of agreement and Shepard took a microsecond to mentally run through the hierarchy of objectives that the fleet now faced.

"Palaven is no more," he began, "but that does not mean that the Turians are gone," he added. "If anything, the loss of their homeworld will make them desperate. Where earlier they might have retreated or regrouped, they will now hold the line, even when that line is lost," Shepard continued. "We must also be wary of suicide attacks."

The more militarily-minded Ascended sent a wave of agreement through the Human network, reinforcing Shepard's words. "As such, no fleet will number less than 10," he made the statement an order. "Visual and sensor lock will be maintained at all times." At this Shepard paused, considering quickly how to make his next announcement, knowing that it would not be popular. Good news before the bad, he decided. "From now on, we will clear out the Turian defences around a planet, allowing those Human Ascended still in training to sweep in to ascend the remaining population." Shepard was mentally braced for objections and he was not disappointed.

"No!"

"They aren't ready!"

That was the main sentiment.

"These are Harbinger's orders," Shepard said calmly, as if he agreed with them. It caused objections to cease. They may disagree with Harbinger, but once the eldest Ascended gave an order, it was inviolate. "It will be our decision as to when the defences around a Turian establishment are clear," Shepard added, feeling a sense of relief flash through the fleet. "Any holding under 10,000 is to be nullified," he added. "They aren't worth our time."

"What is the next target?" came a question through the network.

"Digeris, which we will take as a whole before dividing into sub-fleets," Shepard replied. He'd seen the list of Turian targets, with the nascent lists of Asari, Salarian and other targets but he hadn't quite worked out the best way of taking them. The first version of the plan would be finalised by the time Digeris fell. "We need to begin the process of ascension and there is a population of at least 1.9 billion on that planet. With luck, it will be all we need to ascend."

"Don't waste your husks, and share them if required," Shepard added. That was slightly against the Ascended way, where each had to see to their own resources but they were Human, and Humans helped each other. "Those of us who haven't yet restocked, do so now and we'll be on our way to Digeris after I call the Council, so please hold off on destroying the last comm buoys until then."

The last brought a wave of what should be called sniggers but the fleet obeyed, several surging ahead to Datriux to restock their supplies, while the others formed into loose groups before heading to the relay.

"Not bad," Arshan said to Shepard before he could contact the Council. "You have a plan for Digeris?"

Shepard mentally turned to the older Ascended. Fruben and Arshan had been so quiet that it was easy to forget that Harbinger had given them two chaperones. They had said nothing against anything he had done, the most they had said was to remind him that he had to talk to Harbinger occasionally. Other than that, they had accompanied the Human Ascended fleet silently, closing Relays when asked and attacking at their side. The only difference between them and a Human Ascended was the lack of markings.

In response, Shepard brought up a plan of the Castellus system. "We'll have to be careful when travelling through both asteroid belts," he said, highlighting them before turning towards the main planetary bodies. "Iritum is useless and the population so sparse as to not be worth any trouble. The colonies will be destroyed," he began to outline what was still a plan forming in his mind. "Fiax has some use, the same as Datriux, so it will be worth taking, and at the moment, Fiax is on the far side of the star. Nios and Carborix aren't worth bothering with. Turian presence on them shall be destroyed, leaving Digeris." Shepard highlighted the planet, and the defences around it.

Until recently, Digeris was rather dubiously famous for being the site of the bloodiest battle in Turian history. Partially because of that, and partially because of its age, population and proximity to Palaven, Digeris boasted a large defensive presence.

"We'll sweep through the orbital defences and then make kinetic strikes on the major points of resistance."

"Standard," Fruben made the observation.

"Yes," Shepard agreed. There was nothing particularly inspired with the attack plan. It was one that any superior aggressive force would use. "I imagine we will be able to subdue some of the smaller townships, which will provide forces for taking the larger settlements, though we will not be as reticent in using kinetic strikes to subdue the population."

"At which point, the younger ones may step in to begin the harvest," Arshan interposed.

"Once the population is compliant," Shepard replied, agreeing but keeping the decision about the younger Ascended to himself.

Arshan shifted slightly and Shepard could feel the older Ascended's regard. "It is not me you will answer to," the ship said finally.

Shepard remained silent. He, like all Ascended answered to Harbinger, and through him to the Catalyst but so long as the Turians were Ascended, he doubted that there would be much to answer for.

"Does anyone want to say anything to the Council?" Shepard asked when it became clear that the elder Ascended had nothing further to say.

"Tell them they suck," Joker answered, cheekily broadcasting his suggestion to the fleet.

"Anyone with a proper suggestion?" Shepard ignored his main helmsman.

There was nothing of substance so after a moment to subtly shift his heading, Shepard reached out, linking to one of the last comm buoys to initiate link with the Citadel Council.

-cfr-


	21. A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 20: A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss**

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Council Chambers**

Quentius wasn't sure how he made his way from his quarters to the Council Chambers. He almost hated himself when he realised he had come because the thing calling itself Shepard had promised to call. With the destruction of Palaven, Quentius wasn't sure what could be said but he had to hear for himself.

Irissa was there with Commander Eachann. Executor Govinus stood off to one side, though the other Turian looked as sick as Quentius felt. He'd noted that the Executor had been spending an inordinate amount of time talking to Irissa lately. There was obviously some reason; at the moment, he couldn't bring himself to care. Holographic images of Primarch Victus, Admiral Walenty and a Salarian Quentius did not recognise stood on the display disks. They watched as he settled into his seat and then waited.

He wasn't sure what to do then.

Irissa stood and looked around the chamber, meeting the eyes of all present, before she bowed her head. "In memory," she said solemnly.

Quentius rose to his feet, bowing his head. Eachann and Govinus followed suit, as did the holograms. "In memory," they murmured and remained standing.

A minute passed and Quentius knew if he remained standing he'd cry and then the day would be lost. He sat back down, swallowing the keen of grief in an awkward cough. "So… what happens now?"

That really was the question. While he knew plans had been made in the last three days, they needed to be refined. No one could afford to be complacent when going up against three hundred dreadnoughts which had no qualms about using the basest means to cause mass destruction.

"We haven't been able to open a Relay," Eachann reported quietly. The Citadel's tech Commander, like scientists and engineers across Citadel space, had been trying non stop to achieve that outcome.

Admiral Walenty nodded before he spoke. "All Turian colonies and holdings are fortifying themselves. Council border patrols have been reduced and there is pending approval for the removal of the fleet over Tuchanka."

"We are awaiting notification from our Asari and Salarian allies as to any aid they may provide," Primarch Victus broke into Walenty's summation of the disposition of Turian forces. "Turians will lead the battle, as always, but we will need assistance against this threat."

For one stupid moment, Quentius wondered what it cost Victus to make that admission, then he remembered. It had cost Palaven. He felt sick again.

"Heheh, they're not going to help you," a hauntingly familiar voice interrupted and a new hologram appeared.

Quentius recognised him immediately. Shepard.

The hologram looked around. He was not seated in a Captain's chair this time. Instead, it was just the representation of his Human form, though still dressed in the day uniform of the Systems Alliance. "Councillors," the Human hologram greeted them with a shallow nod. "Primarch, Admiral, Executor." The thing that had taken Shepard's form recognised the Turians before looking at the two Salarians. "Commander, I assume," was the greeting given to Eachann, "and… hmm, I do not know who you are."

"I am Councillor Schells."

The image of Shepard looked surprised for an instant before understanding crossed his features. "Ah, a cadet branch. Appointed as a compromise measure to have someone in place while the real families fight it out back at home. Surprisingly sensible for Salarians."

"And you, of course, are something claiming to be the Human Shepard." The Salarian sounded calm but Shepard could hear the sharp hiss of annoyance in her tone.

"No, I am Shepard," he replied. "But I've already had this conversation so be a good girl and shush, why don't you, while the adults discuss things." Shepard turned back to Quentius, though that also meant he was facing Primarch Victus. "So this is the new First Primarch. I was hoping you were on Menae, Victus, though upon reflection I think this is better. You are, after all, the Turian who knows Humans best. You'll at least make this interesting."

When there was no reply the image of Shepard chuckled again. "So, how did you all enjoy the show?"

"You call that a show?" Executor Govinus demanded.

"Of course, though admittedly you weren't the original intended audience. Still, I felt the once-in-a-lifetime show deserved a wider audience."

"So where do you go now?" Victus asked, not willing to dwell on the events the Human referenced.

"Didn't Quentius tell you?" Shepard returned the question.

"I'd like to hear it from you."

"Ah," Shepard's hologram nodded. "As I told Quentius earlier, this isn't about what I want, really, it's about what I'm going to get. And what I'm going to get is all of you. As such, next, we head for Digeris."

The Primarch looked surprised for an instant at how easily Shepard seemed to give up the information. Most wouldn't have noticed the change of expression but then, Shepard was not like most. He had thousands of consciousnesses watching the Turian for a reaction and more sensors than simply visual clues to rely on.

"You are surprised?" Shepard mocked. "I told Quentius all of this when they called me previously."

"We should trust you at your word?" Councillor Schells put in quickly, needing to demonstrate that she was still a part of this conversation and, by extension, a legitimate member of the Council.

Shepard seemed to take a deep breath. "I have no reason to lie to you. It's not as if you can stop me."

"What will you gain out of this?" Irissa asked.

"I already told you, Councillor. I gain all of you. Now, if you have no other questions, I am holding the comm buoys open and I need to get going."

"Wait," Eachann yelled, bringing the hologram's attention to him.

"Hmm?"

"What are you, Shepard?"

"A good question. What makes you ask?"

"Analysis indicates your voice modulations are not  _quite_  organic," the Citadel's Head Sensor Tech replied. Initial scans had shown many modulations in the voice pattern and while they were very close to organic, they just weren't the same as the recordings of Human voices. However, whatever was behind the hologram did know Humans, as almost everything else was perfect.

"I'll have to work on that."

"So you aren't Shepard?" Irissa growled, her voice demanding.

"I am Shepard," the image of the Human replied. "But, as you so astutely determined last time, this image is too young to be the Shepard you knew. While I could age it, I prefer to present myself this way." He appeared to look down at his body. "This is the age I died before becoming immortal." Shepard looked up again. "To answer your question, Commander Eachann, I am the essence of Shepard, and something far more. I am Ascended, and to explain in terms your mortal form would understand would take far too long. It is sufficient to say that I am beyond you."

"Yet you still revel in destruction," the Salarian observed.

"You are upset?"

"I had hoped that those who were more advanced had overcome the need for violence."

That brought a laugh from the image of Shepard. "That is… That is almost Human," he agreed. "I am not the one inflicting violence upon the galaxy," he added. "Violence occurs because you resist your destiny."

"Destiny?"

"To be Ascended," Shepard's image shrugged easily.

Eachann frowned in the typical Salarian way. "You wish to ascend us?"

The Human's image smiled brightly. "Yes."

"To make us as you are?" Eachann added, the doubt clear in his voice. It didn't seem to be vengeance.

"Yes," Shepard agreed again. "If you do not fight, this will be easier."

The entire room was silent.

"But I do not think that will happen," Shepard added. "And so this will be a battle, one you cannot win."

"You seem sure of that," Irissa said.

"I am. I told you last time, Irissa, there is only one way you can make this easier for your people. I'm sure Govinus will loan you his ceremonial dagger if you want to take me up on that offer. Though this will be the last time I make it."

"I don't think so, Human," the Asari Councillor replied.

"That's a pity but not unexpected," Shepard almost sighed. "I promised Councillor Quentius we would leave Trebia three hours after we were finished. We are finished now, so it's time for me to go. I'll call you in a week."

"No. You just expect to leave after that?"

"Was there something else you wanted, Councillor?"

"You say you are Human but also say you aren't Human," Quentius growled. "What are you?"

Shepard's image looked intently at the Turian Councillor. "I've tried to answer that for Eachann and without taking far more time than I have, I cannot explain it sufficiently for you, Quentius. Though, since I'm feeling generous I'll give you another hint."

"Another?"

"I told you last time that everything I ever reported as a Spectre about Saren's ship was the absolute truth. Since the Council, in their infinite Asari-guided wisdom probably destroyed all of my reports, that is your loss. However, in my generosity, I'll provide you with another way of finding the information. Unfortunately, it rests with another Asari, so I wish you luck extracting the information, and I would advise you Turians and Salarians to very carefully make sure that the Asari don't edit it. They seem to like doing that."

"Who is this Asari?" Primarch Victus asked.

"Given that I am Shepard, I would have thought that was obvious. That bitch, Liara. She went through most of what I did so she knows and right now, I don't feel like explaining." Shepard's image sighed again. "I'm down to the last comm buoy so I'll call you back in a week."

Quentius stared at the place where Shepard's image had stood but it was Primarch Victus who spoke first. "Councillor Irissa, I trust that the Asari Republics will secure this Liara?"

"Of course," Irissa was too well trained to say anything else.

Victus nodded. "I will expect a comm link within the day," he added as if the being responsible for the destruction of Palaven had not just spoken to them. "I will also need updated estimates of the available Asari and Salarian forces."

Schells' image nodded, and turned to say something to someone in the room. "It will be done," the new Salarian Councillor responded.

Victus' image closed his eyes as he looked upwards, thinking. After a moment, he looked back down, his expression anguished but his eyes were hard. "The Turian forces must bide their time until the fleet that the thing that calls itself Shepard leads, splits up. It is a dark time for us, but only through further sacrifice can we emerge victorious."

"You can't!" Quentius objected.

"We have to," Victus replied though it was easy to see that he wanted to agree with the Councillor. "Quentius," Victus said after a moment, "we have to," he almost begged.

The Turian Councillor closed his red eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. "Spirits help us."

No one replied to that.

-cfr-

**Trebia, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

"This is going to be interesting, Shepard," Harper said without preamble.

"What is?"

"Our campaign," Harper replied, giving the impression of the galaxy they had yet to travel to. "What's left of the Hierarchy and the Council have managed to hide the fact that we are Human from the masses."

"Have they?" Shepard was amused. There was an underlying question of how they had possibly managed it. Vid footage from the ships destroyed had been broadcast and those vids would have shown the Human names and symbols adorning the Ascended fleet.

"Yes. They are maintaining that we are Geth masquerading as Humans."

"Should we disabuse the galaxy of that belief?" While vengeance was more satisfactory if those who died knew who took their lives, in the end, death was death. Vengeance was complete in that destruction and the remains, those who survived of the Turians, the Asari, Salarians and everyone else would be Ascended. Even the Geth would feel their wrath.

Harper considered it, knowing that no matter how he answered, it would be Shepard's decision. "Not quite yet," he said slowly. "The masses not knowing works for us," he explained. "We've identified some of those who support Human freedom."

"Have you spoken to them?"

"Not yet. We've given them an encrypted message. A couple have tried to track it but we didn't bother to give the message a location. To them, it appears as if it was created in their messages." Harper wasn't smug. To him, that was normal operating procedure. "There are no trails."

"Any replies?" Shepard asked. He had made his views on the pro-Human aliens clear. While they would die, just like the others, they would be used first to aid in any way they could but never would they be relied upon.

"A few. The smarter ones worked out the decryption key. We didn't make it that difficult. We'll ramp that up over time."

"Usable replies?" came the follow up question. It was one thing for an alien to be pro-Human but Shepard knew that while the view could be held, only a few would be willing to act upon their beliefs. Those few would be the most useful.

"Yes."

"Excellent," Shepard almost purred. "Keep talking to them and let me know how far they are willing to go."

"Should I organise them?"

"Only if they are committed," Shepard replied. "We have no use for pretenders."

"They'll be ours soon enough," Harper agreed before the line dropped.

-cfr-

**Therum, Knossos, Artemis Tau**

Shiala resisted the urge to hiss. It was undignified and beneath her. Her Little Bird was gone. Two nights ago, Matrons from Irissa's group had approached her and she had gone. Shiala felt her fingers curl into claws. It wasn't the Little Bird's fault. She should have expected it!

The moment she saw the ships, she should have expected it. She should have made arrangements so that they could not take her prize.

They wanted the Little Bird because she was the only one with true knowledge.

Shiala smiled. Perhaps not the  _only_  one. Knowledge flowed through her mind as well. Matriarch Benezia had only been the most public Asari known in Saren's group. Now, the ships were back and the call had been put out. It was ridiculously easy to decode. She'd broken the decryption in seconds but she knew them, she knew what they wanted. She hadn't replied, she'd merely read the message, lips curling softly at the information. She dismissed it and had gone to check on Liara only to find that she was gone. Irissa was so predictable. The Councillor intended to make Liara the rallying point. As they had earlier.

Yes, it was all as Shiala had foreseen… except Irissa's faction would be the one to benefit.

Shiala snarled. No. That would not be allowed.

The little one had knowledge but she did not truly  _know_. She could only estimate the reactions and though the ships appeared Human, Shiala knew better. Humans might have formed the ships but they were no longer. They were now greater. They were now Asce...

_NO!_

Shiala growled, driving her nails into the soft flesh of her palms, letting the smell of blood permeate the room as the pain focused her mind. She raised one hand, slowly unclenching her fingers and watched as her blood pooled as she gently shifted her hand so that it did not drip. The damage was minimal and the pain was nothing. It stung but it was a reminder. Pain was all that kept her centred, all that kept her, her!

The ships were not greater. She had fought, she had suffered, she had willed herself to be free. She would not…

She would not what? Shiala blinked, a frown gently creasing her forehead as she thought. She knew the truth of those ships. The Little One did not. She would need guidance, and Shiala would provide it, just as she always had.

For only one who knew those ships could keep Liara safe. Irissa's faction would try but they could not, would not recognise the true danger until it was too late. They would walk the path of ascension always believing that they were true to themselves. They would not know the truth, would never see it, not even when the knife glistened in the dark.

Shiala rose. It was time to use some of her more painful memories. Irissa's faction had taken Liara, true, but they would not hold her for long.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula**

"Admiral Walenty," the voice was crisply proper when the Admiral answered the comms.

"Executor Govinus," Walenty greeted the caller, allowing his tone to ask the question. Why was the Citadel's Chief of Police calling him? Had there been a riot, an uprising, an assassination? A horde of possibilities flashed through the Admiral's mind.

"There is nothing wrong," the Executor read Walenty's expression, "but there will be soon."

"What do you mean?" Walenty asked with a Turian frown, one mandible clicking. With everything that had already happened, what else could go wrong?

"How well supplied are your ships?"

His clicking mandible stilled and the room plunged into a deep silence as everything fell together in the Admiral's mind. While most Turian planets were self sufficient, Turian battle ships and the Citadel were not. And the Relays were still closed. "I will check," he said tightly. "How are the Citadel supplies?"

Walenty remembered he'd sent troops to the Citadel earlier in this mess. Were they eating valuable supplies? Should he send extra rations over?

Was the Humans', he could no longer call the ships Geth, no matter what belief had been spread, ultimate plan to starve them? It hadn't seemed like it. It had seemed like they wanted at least a token fight but perhaps it had been the point of the trap all along.

"The Citadel is well supplied with emergency rations," the Executor said, "but there will be unrest when we instigate those protocols."

"Surely not!" With everything that had happened, surely the population of the Citadel realised that the entire galaxy was in a state of emergency?

Govinus clicked one mandible to show the irony of the situation. "I do not anticipate any issues with Turian residents. In fact, most have volunteered to re-enter active duty."

Walenty nodded. That was a common report throughout Turian settlements. Only the very old, the very young and the sick had not re-enlisted. They'd had to make allowances for pregnant females. They were allowed to re-enlist but were deliberately assigned administrative positions, no matter what their previous skills had been. It was with the reassurance that once they had delivered their child, they would be reassigned to something more appropriate for their skills.

"The rest of the citizens however," the Executor shrugged, holding up one clawed hand to indicate that he really didn't understand how they thought.

"You've secured the supplies?" Walenty asked.

"Yes. Most are already located in secured areas," Govinus added and the Admiral understood. The extra supplies were probably part of a Turian security initiative and thus were placed correctly to ensure that they were well protected in case of the worst. The Hierarchy had plans for almost every situation.

"For the moment," Walenty said slowly as the immediate tension faded and he shifted his feet on the holodisk to ease the pain, "I do not believe we need to do anything. The Salarians may yet open a Relay." Every tech with so much as a half-baked plan had been allowed to try it but so far nothing had worked. There was one ship dedicated to sending what had been the official codes to one of the Nebula's Relays in the hope that it would respond. They were currently working their way back through time, trying every set of codes that had been known to work, from every species. "But this is something we need to escalate," he added.

Walenty may be in charge of the fleet, but Primarch Victus would want to know, as would the Councillors. "I'll get back to you with how long the fleet supplies will last. I'd appreciate an estimate of how long until the Citadel must initiate its emergency protocols and then how long you believe the supplies will last."

"Thank you," Govinus said and the image blinked out, allowing Walenty to collapse back into a waiting chair.

His feet still hurt! But with everything that had been going on, it was the least of his worries. The Citadel was 42 clicks long, how were they going to go about distributing rations in the Wards? No, Walenty shook his head, that wasn't his issue and it wasn't even an issue. The Citadel was self powered, transport would not be a problem so long as the vehicles were not damaged. "Get me the Logistics Officer," Walenty ordered his aide as he raised one hand to rub at his eyebrow ridge.

Even in grief, even in rage, and anger, and pain, the problems just kept coming.

-cfr-

**Apien Crest, Castellus System, Digeris Orbit**

Shepard examined Digeris critically with his sensors. Fires raged unimpeded through several population centres, filling the atmosphere with smoke and ash. He knew only too well what the smell would be like and how each breath would be a chore, drawn against the heat. Shallow breaths but dying to breathe deeply. There was a storm brewing over what had been designated the south-western quadrant of the planet which would serve to extinguish the fires there, even as it started others. He could sense Turian lifeforms all over the planet. Some were deep and had to be in bunkers. Shepard added those locations to the combat database they were building, cross-referencing with the locations others had sensed. Most were on the surface, moving away from the fires or clustered together for what comfort they could provide each other. No doubt they would be fashioning weapons but those they could scavenge would be primitive.

The attack on Digeris had been very different from the attack on Palaven. Space defences had been swept away, including the newly laid mine fields and then, while small sections of the fleet broke off to destroy the inner system colonies, the rest of the fleet had spread out around Digeris in an ever shifting cordon and pounded the planet. Military bases, gun installations, water and sanitation infrastructure had been targeted first. Then every AA battery that had dared to fire had been destroyed with prejudice. Shepard was done playing but, while Palaven should have shown them the futility of combat, there was always the chance that they would dismiss that as being caused by Menae. It was time to show them how outclassed they truly were. The galaxy would know it, not by seeing the attack, this time Shepard had given orders that the comms were to be fully blocked, but by the time it took them to conquer another of the Turians' supposedly fiercely-guarded planets.

His sensors flared and Shepard shifted his attention. On the horizon, missiles rose from the planet's surface.

"Hit them again," he ordered coldly, lining up a shot on the planet before letting loose with his main weapon. The entire fleet followed suit, those closer to the missile silo honing in on it and destroying it. More dust and debris was thrown into the thickening Digeris air as the shots slammed into the surface. The slightest trace of resistance was met with a full salvo.

He couldn't afford anything less. Gathered near the Relay were the younger Human Ascended with Elysium in the lead. Shepard didn't need the cold silence from that ship to know that she did not approve but she, like him, obeyed Harbinger and Harbinger had given the orders. Surrounding the young ones was a horde of remotely controlled processing ships. At least, the younger Human Ascended were getting practice in remote piloting. They would practice the rest of their skills on Digeris.

"Bring them closer," Shepard ordered Elysium. Almost instantly, the fleet began moving towards Digeris, just as another salvo of missiles came from the planet.

Shepard didn't even need to give the order for another salvo to be launched at the planet. More dust erupted, making the atmosphere hotter and harder to breathe. Turian life signs blinked out under the attack but others remained. "Have we found the silos?" He sent the query to the network even as his own sensors remained focused on the surface, trying to identify something which would allow them to scan for locations of the missiles.

The query was met with silence until one of the youngest Ascended who had been considered trained enough to accompany the main fleet replied, sending a set of coordinates to the network, along with a scanning frequency. Shepard shifted his sensors to the pattern before locking on to the coordinates. Ah… there they were. With the right combination of sensors and patterns locked, the silos almost jumped out from the surface of Digeris.

"Hold fire!" Shepard ordered quickly before anyone could act. A feeling of surprise radiated from the fleet. "Let them think they are still hidden and initiate a global scan." Understanding replaced surprise and sensors were adjusted and a map very quickly built of the installations.

"They don't do things by half," Hackett murmured over a private channel, a grudging respect for the number and location of the silos underscoring his words.

Shepard could admit to a slight feeling of admiration but then, as he had told Fedorian, the Turians had always been the most like the Humans. "Imagine what we could have done with two and a half thousand years to prepare," he replied, sending estimates of the capacity of Human colonies to build defences. If allowed the time the Turians had, the Humans would have had far more installations. The estimate disregarded the vagaries of politics but Shepard had faith that Humanity would have done better.

"Scan complete," Miranda reported over the network. "Target assignment has begun," she added, and the list of installations blinked as she assigned names of Ascended to coordinates. Most Ascended had two targets while those at the poles had one. It was a fair assignment, though, based on current geographical locations in the shifting net they had arranged over Digeris.

"Everyone fire together," Shepard instructed, "in three, two, one." He paused, allowing his sense of the moment to stretch and the feeling of satisfaction to suffuse him. "Fire!"

Even as the length of his hull accelerated the round, Shepard could feel his internal mechanisms working to load another round. It was moments like this that reminded him that while he might think of himself as still Human, his physical form was not. It didn't feel wrong and that, in itself, was disconcerting. Mentally, Shepard shook his head, refocusing to revel in the strength it gave him. His form may no longer be Human but this was what had been necessary and he couldn't deny the rush of power that flew through him as the second round was chambered and ready for launch. "Second round, fire!"

The second round streaked towards Digeris even before the first wave had hit. Shepard knew that all the shots were true. Even those Ascended who were not militarily minded had been trained enough to be accurate at hitting stationary targets on a planet. "Begin low flight manoeuvres," Shepard ordered, ignoring the way the earlier rounds slammed into the surface. Explosions followed, more than could be accounted for signifying that at least some of the Turians hidden ordinance had detonated.

"Yes, sir!" several Ascended replied, and broke from the cordon.

Their purpose was simple. By now, the Turians had to be getting desperate. Their defensive fleet had been destroyed. Their ground based defences had been hit and while Shepard was now sure that they had found most of them, he was equally sure that there were a few installations which had survived. In order to find them, they would now present the Turians with a target. In their desperation, knowing that they could not win, but wanting to hurt the enemy, those few installations which had survived to this point would fire if they thought they could strike back. So, several Ascended would now make themselves targets by diving into the atmosphere, skimming over the surface of the planet then pulling up. They were in no danger. While the Ascended were entering Digeris' gravity well, they weren't settling into the atmosphere, as such, there would not be much drain on their shields so even if a shot did hit, it would not hurt them.

He watched the ships streaking through the edges of the atmosphere. From the ground, assuming you could see through the dirt, ash and smoke filling the air, it would be rather beautiful. The first wave passed through without attracting fire. The Turians had held their nerve.

"Second pass, go!" Shepard ordered. It would only take one. Another lot of Ascended broke from their positions, heading into Digeris atmosphere.

"There!" Udina almost shouted over the network. A couple of AA guns had fired. Their rounds never even came close to the Ascended, who were moving too fast but they did betray their location.

Three Ascended fired on each and Shepard almost laughed. This was almost too easy. Except he knew such thinking led to complacency and that was not acceptable. "Third pass," he ordered. The Turians would know their game but it was not as if they had much choice.

"If any of the younglings get so much as a scratch, Shepard," Elysium growled on a private channel.

"I know," he replied. "I will answer to you."

The other Ascended said nothing.

"The Turians will be suitably subdued," Shepard assured Elysium.

"Fourth pass," he instructed. This time it was his turn and as Shepard dropped out of position, he enjoyed the feel of atmosphere on his hull. It was a resistance, one that made him push his mass effect fields harder to drive himself onwards. His form might not be Human but there was no way a Human form could dive into atmosphere and then pull up. There was freedom in the way he could move now and Shepard felt most of those in his being enjoying it. They couldn't change what had happened but they could enjoy it.

Almost as soon as he began descending, he felt his threat warnings become active. "Looks like they waited for us, boss," Fredricks laughed.

"It does, doesn't it," Shepard agreed, amused. Several RPGs had been launched and five AA batteries lit up the ground in their effort to hit him.

"Well, it's a good thing we know what to do," Pressly commented.

Shepard felt his legs move without conscious command, targeting and firing on the installations which tried to hit him. Those Turians with RPGs found the ground around them heated to super hot temperatures almost instantly as his weaponry struck. All too quickly, the attack was over and, as Shepard pulled himself back up through Digeris' atmosphere, re-entering the cordon, he tucked his legs back in under his form.

The Turians were so predictable.

"Fifth wave go," he said, watching as they moved.

The waves continued, shifting the Ascended in the cordon, but always enticing the Turians to fire but when five waves crossed over the planet, deliberately dipping low over the ravaged population centres and there was no fire drawn, Shepard felt safe in assuming that most of the remaining Turian forces were too cowed to fight back. At least, they wouldn't fight the ships but that said nothing about Turians strapping themselves with explosives and hurling themselves at invading troops or attempting to lay minefields on the ground to catch the Ascended unawares. It was time to persuade them that it would not be a good idea. "Target population centres," he ordered over the network.

"They are already down!" Aphrodite objected, referring to what remained of the Turian's battered cities. Her subchannels reminded him that they needed Turians to Ascend.

"And I want to ensure that they remain down," Shepard replied. "Target lock," he instructed immediately, not giving Aphrodite further time to object. He watched the tactical display to ensure an even spread. "Fire!"

"Again."

Two waves of rounds strong enough to pierce directly through the shields and hull of any dreadnought streaked again towards Digeris, slamming into the already devastated cities. It was a tribute to how hard the Turians had already been hit that when the rounds hit, there were very few secondary explosions and only a few new fires started. Several more buildings collapsed but they were localised effects. More importantly, in the aftermath, there was no further attempts at retaliation.

Shepard remained silent as he surveyed Digeris, allowing himself to orbit the planet once with the movement of the cordon. "That should be sufficient," he said both to the network and to Elysium's fleet which was now gathering in one of the Lagrange points. It acknowledged Aphrodite's point. The Turians remaining could be Ascended.

"It does seem suitable," Elysium replied, allowing her transmission to be heard by all. It cut through objections from some that Shepard had hit the planet too hard, killing too many Turians. "We'll know for sure once we begin landing."

"Are you ready?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," she said, and the fleet moved again, this time spreading as they approached Digeris.

Those Ascended forming the cordon watched as Elysium entered the atmosphere, a small horde of remotely controlled ships surrounding her. She headed for the outskirts of the capital Apparitus and there was a feeling of jubilation when Elysium made landfall without being fired upon. The processing ships were landed around her and the Ascended watched as husks streamed out.

It was a beautiful sight, Shepard reflected, continuing to watch as the first husks encountered Turians and began herding the still shell-shocked civilians into hastily erected holding pens. He didn't realise he'd been watching for several hours until Elysium sent him a pointed signal. "Time to move on, Shepard."

The fleet roused with the signal, and those in Elysium's fleet began descending to the surface.

"Will there be sufficient Turians?" Shepard asked.

"I believe so, though a few more colonies can be Ascended."

"We'll see to it," Shepard agreed. It should be simple enough to pick a few more Turian populations to ascend. They could always incorporate more into the Turian Ascended. "You'll move to attend to them?"

"Yes," Elysium replied sharply and implied in the tone was the question of if Shepard was an idiot! Of course, Elysium and the more experienced youngsters would move. She would not allow the newly awakened Ascended onto newly subdued planets. As they awakened, after a week or so of minimal training, they would be escorted to Digeris to continue operations here, and even then they may only take part in the ferrying of the Ascended Turians to Sol. While the youngest may not yet have the training that the elder Human Ascended had, they would be protected as much as they could be.

"I'll leave a small contingent here," Shepard informed Elysium. He couldn't make any overt move to protect the younger Ascended but that would not prevent him acting when he could. The entire fleet would be on alert for any distress calls and would heed them.

"No!" Zaeed objected, instantly realising who would be a part of that contingent.

"Yes," Shepard insisted. "The alternative is to return to Sol," he added. "Sirta needs stability to complete repairs."

Zaeed mentally glowered over the network but subsided. Going back to Sol would be worse.

"Remaining here will take at least four weeks off the repair time," Sirta messaged Zaeed.

"It better."

"It will," Sirta replied, almost laughing. Zaeed would follow her directions, if only to be repaired faster.

"All right," Shepard said, cutting through other distractions. "After rearming at Fiax, we'll begin to disperse to other Turian colonies." They didn't have to rearm at Fiax. They all carried more than enough ordinance for many more campaigns, but it would delay their departure in case anything went awry and remaining fully armed in a harvest was always a good policy, especially when it was organic stockpiles you were raiding.

"Don't go too fast," Elysium warned, but was tactful enough to put the warning through on a private channel.

"We'll see," Shepard replied. "We'll probably have to spend quite a bit of time chasing down the final fleets and hold-out colonies on out of the way asteroids," he added easily. The reality of the harvest was that the most time would be spent in the processing of those to be Ascended, and in tracking down and destroying their presence.

Just like the races of this cycle knew of the Protheans, so would the next know that there had been other species older than them. But not too much knowledge. It was a delicate balance, leaving enough knowledge for them to speculate but never enough for the races to follow to  _know._

"Remember, no one is to travel in a fleet of anything less than ten," Shepard continued.

"We remember," Necromancer interrupted before Shepard could truly begin his speech. "The biggest worry will be if the Turians get creative," he added. Carried on his words were thoughts of all the forbidden weapons the Turians might try.

"I think we must assume that they will get creative," Ares said.

"They will," Hackett agreed, "which is why the ten ship minimum fleet size has been established. The Council is unlikely to gather its remaining forces together, so a fleet of ten will be able to fight equally with any force they do gather. In order to combat us, they are going to  _have_  to resort to ambush tactics. That is when they will ignore their conventions."

"Heh," came a coarse laugh. "It's not like we would have obeyed them in their situation," was the comment.

"As true as that is, it simply reinforces the fact that we must be careful," Anderson said.

"We will be," Moxum reiterated, speaking for the entire fleet. "And we will add information found about colonies to the list," he added for good measure.

"Okay," Shepard said, allowing his tone to convey a sense of long suffering patience. "Saying anything more is pointless. Let's go."

-cfr-


	22. Communications Breakdown

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 21: Communications Breakdown**

-cfr-

**Orbit of Tuchanka, Turian Dreadnought,** _**Pride in Vigilance** _

"Sir, you have to sleep!"

"I'll sleep when I'm dead!" Tarquin snarled at his XO.

"Sir, you've been awake for three days, you must rest." The officer was not dismayed, though he was slightly concerned about the use of Human phrases. While he had gotten somewhat accustomed to them over the last few years, right at the moment, they were not necessary. The Council said the ships were Geth but anyone with eyes could see that they sported Human tagging. It made Lucitus uncomfortable.

"When the time line is complete," Tarquin said in a much softer tone.

His XO took a deep breath. Lucitus was an older Turian, one who had spent his entire career in the military. He had always been perfectly respectful and a very good XO. Even with the age difference, there had never been a feeling that the older Turian resented Tarquin's rise through the ranks. "The timeline is as complete as we are capable of getting it with what we have, Sir. The comm techs are awaiting further information packets before they can continue."

Captain Tarquin Victus closed his eyes and took his own deep breath as he leaned back in his chair. "One more time, then I'll sleep," he conceded before opening his eyes and looking without seeing at the multitude of data pads scattered over his desk. Two hours should be enough.

"Yes, Sir," Lucitus said, knowing he'd won, for the moment and being calm enough to not push for further concessions. He swallowed hard picking up one of the data pads, tapping the screen to bring up the summary they had been working on.

"A day after the unknown ships left the Citadel-"

"No! That is not necessary."

"Yes," Lucitus said softly. He agreed with Tarquin. They, like every Turian in the galaxy knew what had happened after the unknown ships left the Citadel. "The ships were at the Citadel for a total of five days. They appeared all at once, at approximately Xtime."

"And before that?" Tarquin asked. What happened before the Citadel was important. The problem was that there was so much data to go through, and at least some of it had been lost with Trebia.

"Our techs believe that before that the vessels were in the Turian Corridor but there are no reports of anything traversing relays to get there," Lucitus gave the summary.

"They have to have come from somewhere," Tarquin stated the obvious.

While he knew the information, Lucitus consulted the data pad. "The are no reports of patrols going missing in any part of the galaxy for at least a month before that."

Tarquin's eyes narrowed. He was aware of that. No Turian patrol had gone missing and it was impossible for that many ships to slip through anywhere without encountering at least one patrol. "Asari or Salarian patrols?"

"Their information isn't as complete as ours," Lucitus remarked, "but none of their patrols are missing either."

As soon as the threat appeared,  _everyone_  began trying to track them. Except the invaders had proved very good at covering their tracks. Tarquin's eyes narrowed. They all had to be overlooking somethi-

"What about  _since_  they appeared?" he demanded. Spirits! Surely not!

"Sir?"

"Has anyone lost patrols after the ships appeared?" Tarquin rephrased the question, a sick feeling that had nothing to do with fatigue washing through him. Everyone had been so focused on the invading ships and their presence at the Citadel and then in Trebia that something like a missing patrol could easily have been overlooked. Patrols ran late, some still had comm issues, there was a multitude of reasons not to worry about a patrol that ran a few days late, especially if your attention was focused elsewhere. But if he accepted that the invading ships had to have encountered at least one patrol on their way into civilised space, then he accepted the possibility that they had faked some routine transmissions. And they could have continued faking them until they were in the open.

"I'll check." Lucitus tapped the data pad screen, a note of worry in his voice. That alone was enough to tell Tarquin that his question held merit.

The Hierarchy's overview of patrol sectors appeared on the main screen. In a society as regimented as the Turians, there were always summary reports and charts available. The military was no different and the upper ranks reviewed the summary reports each day to ensure that all was well. Even Tarquin did, checking the reports submitted by the Division Heads for each part of his beloved ship, and the reports submitted by the Captains of the  _Pride's_  escorting cruisers and frigates. It was such a part of his routine that he did not think about it but only acted if anything was amiss.

There was something amiss on the chart before him.

Sector after sector displayed the all clear check mark. All patrols completed on time, without issue. Several Traverse patrols indicated pirate activity but when Tarquin ran his eyes back over the last few weeks, the symbol for pirate activity was intermittently present in their reports. Batarian border patrol, as he deemed it, the Expedition's Area was all clear as well and connected to that was Human Border Patrol. And against that sector, there was one check mark so ostentatiously missing that Tarquin couldn't believe that it hadn't been spotted.

Arcturus.

It wasn't just the symbol for one or two patrols not reporting in. The entire symbol was missing. That meant Sector Command had not yet made their routine reports.

"Get me Arcturus Sector Command," Tarquin growled, all signs of weariness leaving him as he sat up, his eyes burning. It was a temporary strength and soon faded.

"Sir!" Lucitus saluted crisply before reaching over to the comms.

The wait felt like it took forever, and Tarquin strictly controlled his breathing while his comm techs went through the steps required to contact a Sector Command. He kept his eyes fixed on the missing Arcturus symbol until its absence screamed too loudly to him and he forced his eyes onwards, looking to his own check marks for Aralakh. Each mark was there, delivered on time, without issue. It should have filled him with pride but he felt nothing looking at it.

"Sir, the techs report that Arcturus Sector Command is not responding." Lucitus' voice was heavy.

Tarquin nodded slowly. What the hell was Illo thinking? His friend wasn't in Sector Command but he knew how important that area was! They had to report.

Unless they couldn't report. The thought came all too quickly.

"Keep trying," he ordered slowly. He had to report this. "And order the techs to raise a comm on my private frequency to the Arcturus Patrol ship,  _Gover._ "

Lucitus tapped a few keys, not surprised by the orders. It had been a bit of a surprise to find that his Captain maintained a strong friendship with a mere cruiser captain but it became understandable once Lucitus discovered that they had both been on the Expedition. Still, he knew that Victus was genuinely fond of Nazario.

"Sir, will you rest now?" Lucitus asked. Raising a link to a patrol ship took some time, no matter who ordered it. You had to locate them first.

"I suppose I must," Tarquin agreed, getting up slowly. He might not feel it, but Lucitus could see the way his legs trembled slightly. "But three hours only!"

For one long moment, Lucitus considered disobeying. Tarquin needed more than three hours sleep. They all did but then he nodded knowing that Victus, like him, like most of the crew, wouldn't be able to sleep more than three hours without nightmares. They all saw the same thing.

Menae falling. Palaven burning.

"I'll make sure someone wakes you Sir."

Tarquin nodded, moving stiffly to the sleeping pod he had been using. "Three hours," he repeated. There wasn't anything further to say. In three hours, the comm techs would either have raised Arcturus or they would have answers. Tarquin wasn't sure which outcome he wanted.

"Yes, Sir."

-cfr-

Three hours passing saw Lucitus standing in Tarquin's office again, a fresh batch of data pads strewn over the desk as the Captain sat in his chair, right mandible resting on his hand as he carefully rubbed his eyes. It was obvious to Lucitus that just keeping them open was painful for the younger Turian but he could offer no respite. They all needed more sleep but none of them were getting it, at least, not until they almost literally passed out. At that point, while it was a gross break in discipline, Lucitus knew most of the crew was covering for each other. Rest came infrequently when all they could see was wanton destruction.

"Palaven?" he asked softly. The nightmares were recurring.

Tarquin groaned and shook his head slightly. "Menae," he croaked.

Lucitus nodded before pushing a measure of water over the data pads. Tarquin had probably put it there earlier but not drunk. Tarquin had spent a lot of time on Menae, it was only logical that he would have nightmares about that moon as well. The captain picked it up with a small grateful nod and downed it.

"Do we have the reports?" Tarquin asked, breathing audibly, eyes blinking as he stared at the screen.

To be fair, for all his seeming composure, Lucitus wasn't doing much better. His body was trembling with exhaustion and the dimmed lights were the only reason he could focus on the data pads. Anger and rage only took you so far after all. He could dimly recall his training, and the patient instructions from the old Turian who took on the new recruits. She had explained that in the life of a soldier, anger and rage had its place but it was not enough.

Yet it was all the Turians had now, and Lucitus was thankful that Laverna had died before she saw this.

"Arcturus sector command made every report up to the Attack but has not been heard from since," Lucitus summarised the information the techs had gotten. He couldn't say the attack on Palaven. None of them could. And really, there was no need to do so. For now, it was simply the Attack.

"Is there any possibility the reports before that were faked?" Tarquin demanded. There was no point in looking through reports if it did not track the enemy.

"One report, about # days before the Attack was late but they put that down to a late report from a patrol," Lucitus said after consulting the data pad. "If the reports have been faked then they are  _very_  good forgeries," he added.

All the digital signatures had checked out. If they hadn't, there would already have been a flag on Arcturus, especially with the Invaders bearing Human names.

"Which-" Tarquin's question was interrupted by a loud comm bleep.

"Sir! We have five unauthorised shuttles launching from Tuchanka!"

Tarquin winced before stabbing a claw at the link. "Caelinus, remind the Salarians that they have to schedule their launches," he growled. Unauthorised shuttle launches always turned out to be some Salarian team which just hadn't filled out the right paperwork. This might be Tuchanka but paperwork was still required.

"Sir, scans indicate that the vessels are not Salarian."

"Then what are they?" Tarquin demanded, looking up at Lucitus.

"Unknown, sir. They appear to be a mish-mash of parts."

There were only two species who would build a space-going vessel from whatever they could lay their hands on, Quarians and Krogan, and the Quarians weren't here.

"Full alert!" Lucitus ordered as Tarquin rose, grabbing the jacket of his uniform and flicking it around his shoulders before striding towards the bridge. Lucitus fell in behind him and could see the younger Turian's mandibles moving even though he couldn't hear what his Captain was saying. He didn't need to hear.

With recent events, they had expected the Krogan to test the boundaries and in typical barbarian style, they chose the worst timing to do so. This was not going to be pretty.

"Send them the usual cease and desist," Tarquin ordered the instant his claw touched the decking of the bridge."

"Already done, Sir," Caelinus replied. "Their reply does not bear translating." Despite the severity of the situation, and of recent events, Comm Chief Caelinus had not changed.

Tarquin's mandible twitched. "Put me on," he ordered, looking at the tactical display. The shuttles were clustered together as they burned through the wasted atmosphere of Tuchanka. "Warm up the guns," he added. He could feel how this would end but he would obey protocol.

Caelinus took a moment before signalling that they were ready for him to speak. "This is Captain Tarquin Victus of the Turian Dreadnought  _Pride in Vigilance_  deployed on the Council-mandated blockade of Tuchanka. You are entering restricted space without proper authorisation."

"The Council isn't in charge anymore!" came a growled reply.

Victus didn't need the translation to hear the mocking tone. "Transportation above 10,000 m is prohibited without authorisation. If you enter the exclusion zone, we are authorised to fire."

"Thanix cannons ready." Tarquin recognised Rufina's voice. "Locking on now," came the follow up.

"You birds have no authority on Tuchanka!"

For one long moment, Tarquin stood still. The words of the protocol he should follow halted on his tongue as he continued to watch the tactical display. The height limit was clearly defined in yellow and the red dots of the Krogan vessels were getting closer and closer to it. He glanced towards Lucitus but the older Turian showed nothing, his visage was calm and proper. He was a good Turian, Tarquin knew. Still, as his eye lingered, Tarquin saw the smallest twitch in Lucitus left mandible.

He turned his attention back to the tactical display, ignoring the way the bridge crew was looking at him. They all knew the protocol. They knew what he should say. Except the protocol had never really been tested and every lesson Tarquin had ever had on Krogan said they responded only to one thing.

"I think you will find that I do," he snarled the reply.

"Target lock," Rufina reported.

"Destroy them," Tarquin ordered. The ships were still below the exclusion zone but he didn't care.

Rufina didn't even hesitate or ask for clarification and Tarquin felt a small surge of satisfaction. There would be no warning shots this time. "Damn it!" Rufina snarled. "They scattered," she added for the benefit of the crew, "but we got one. The others are still ascending."

"The  _Glaive_ and _Spear_ are firing," Caelinus said and one of the view screens changed to show the view from the gun cameras. The Krogan shuttles were darker dots against the grey background of the planet. Two briefly flared becoming a bright fireball as they fell back through the atmosphere.

The two remaining shuttle trajectories were separating but well within the firing range of the blockade fleet. The Krogans had been stupid to attempt to flee Tuchanka right under their noses but Tarquin knew it wasn't as if there had been much choice. Most of Tuchanka was a wasteland, not fit for habitation. It made the blockade very cost effective in terms of ships. But why hadn't the shuttles at least tried to avoid it?

Tarquin felt his eyes narrow. "Order the  _Harrow_  and its frigates to orbit this worthless rock now," he ordered. "Make sure this is not a diversion. Rufina, drop the last of the shuttles now!"

"Yes Sir!" There came the cries of obedience and Tarquin watched the tactical display. The three dots of the Krogan shuttles were highlighted and he recognized the targeting information intermingled with the projections of course. The tactical information changed to yellow when the shots were launched and then the dots disappeared. A glance at the view screens showing the gun camera feeds showed that the shuttles were nothing more than burning metal now.

Then one erupted into white. The other two view screens pulsed with light.

"What was that?" Tarquin demanded.

Silence met his question for a few moments but he could hear the tap of claw on controls as his crew assessed the sensors.

"Some sort of detonation," Rufina replied the first. "Initiating scans."

The view screen that had been white was slowly fading and Tarquin wasn't the only one to glance at the other screens in time to see the shock wave travel over them. The clouds were pushed away.

"Nuclear!" Rufina yelled.

"EMP wave?"

"Not large enough to affect us."

There bridge was awash with the voices of the techs as they worked.

Tarquin felt a moment of cold before it passed. They hadn't fired a nuke tip. The detonation was obviously something on one of the shuttles. Those stupid overbearing idiotic Krogan! They couldn't even build a warhead correctly! It shouldn't have gone off, so either they had set it off themselves, just as the shuttle was destroyed, or the destruction triggered it. Either was viable.

"What are the casualties on the surface?" He interjected the question into the work chatter of the bridge staff.

"Nothing at the moment, but fall out will be an issue," came the reply.

"Send a transmission to whoever is in charge down there. Make sure they know that it was not our warhead and impress upon them the fact that the blockade will be maintained," Tarquin ordered. Turians were trained to obey so no one objected but what most of the galaxy didn't know is that while Turians were trained to obey, there were signs by which they could show their disagreement or displeasure with an order. A glare, a mandible click, a huff, a sigh, even the way their claws tapped at the control screens. An experienced commander could listen to the working noise of his subordinates and know their feelings.

Right now, that working noise spoke of commitment. The crew was fully willing to carry out his orders and Tarquin knew why. It was the same reason he was willing to give those orders. In front of the whole galaxy, the Turians had been challenged. And then they had  _lost_. But rather than cower, rather than just bow down, they would fight, they would make the invaders pay. In doing so, though, any other challenges would be responded to swiftly and brutally. They could not afford distractions.

The Krogan were a distraction but thankfully so long as he was willing, they were one that could be contained. Tarquin, like the rest of his crew, was willing. As minor and as unimportant as it was in the greater scheme of things, besting the Krogan shuttles gave a sense of purpose, a sense of strength, and they needed that now.

"The  _Harrow_  reports no other containment breaches."

"Good," Tarquin nodded. The Krogan really were too straightforward. There were battle masters who had a grasp of strategy but on the whole, most just rushed towards what they wanted with a single minded intent.

"Lucitus, which reports were late?" The question indicated his dismissal of the Krogan and the crew went back to their routine work.

The older Turian clicked one mandible at him, settling into a work station and bringing up several screens worth of reports. The click wasn't in frustration but to show he understood. Yet even as controlled as Lucitus was, he couldn't help but flinch before he said the next words. He knew many of Tarquin's friends. "It was the Sol Relay Patrol."

While the rest of the bridge crew didn't have quite as close a relationship with their captain as the XO did, they knew well enough that Tarquin Victus had gone on the Expedition and was friends with the leader of the Sol Relay Patrol. They knew that because they knew that Cruiser Captain Illo Nazario was Victus' first choice for XO, a choice that had been denied both by the Hierarchy and the Captain in question.

"Illo was late?" Tarquin asked, his voice so quiet that it was almost unfluted.

"Arcturus Command indicates that it was due to a comm buoy malfunction which the Sol Relay Patrol fixed as soon as they became aware of it."

"Get me that report," Tarquin ordered.

"Sir, Intelligence will be working on it," Lucitus tried to reason with his Captain. Tarquin didn't need to be the one to confirm that his friend was dead. It went unspoken that Intelligence was now whatever remnants that were in the surviving territory.

"Get me that report," Tarquin repeated. "Intelligence doesn't know Illo like I do. They will look for the usual identity tags to determine if the report was faked. I will look at the report."

"I'll see what I can do," Lucitus said, hiding his resignation. Tarquin was a good Turian, but once he got something through his mind, that was the end of the matter.

"Good," Tarquin said, closing his eyes briefly and Lucitus could see that the Captain was internally bracing himself. A moment later, his eyes reopened and he picked up one of the data pads and started tapping at it.

Lucitus saluted before Tarquin looked up. He didn't need to be told that his duty was to get the report.

Now.

-cfr-

**Apien Crest, Gemmae System, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

"Harbinger," Shepard initiated the link to the eldest Ascended, deliberately casting his tone to be as neutral as possible. Ascended had emotion but they were not meant to be guided by their passions. "The harvest has begun on Digeris," he reported.

"Where are you?" The demand was instantaneous.

Shepard was thankful that he'd left the Castellus system containing Digeris because he could answer the Ascended leader honestly. He knew he couldn't lie to Harbinger. He could omit some facts but he could not lie. None of them could and he already knew that Harbinger would not be tolerant if he was still in Castellus. "I'm leaving Gemmae now," he reported.

"There are no organics there," Harbinger observed. While the Human network was predominantly limited to use by Human Ascended, Arshan and Fruben also used it, and some of the information summaries were being transmitted to the rest of the Ascended fleet to keep them informed. Beyond that, Gemmae was a small system, without planets. There was very little reason for him to be in Gemmae.

"The Turian's main fuel supply has been neutralised," Shepard reported, providing details of the battle on a sub channel.

It was almost a waste to send approximately 150 ships but there was a large military presence. Or there had been. Shepard wouldn't tell Harbinger, but it had been fun to attack without care. There had been no disabling shots, just pure destruction. There would be similar attacks nearer to the end of the harvest but anything they destroyed then would already be defeated. It would not be a battle, merely clean up.

The Turians had stationed two dreadnoughts, their attendant fleets and several cruiser fleets in Gemmae. All had been wiped out culminating in the destruction of the solar collectors and receptors before they cracked open Pheiros, which resulted in a glorious explosion of anti-protons. For a few moments, it had burned brighter than any sun Shepard had seen before fading into the darkness of space.

The explanation seemed to satisfy Harbinger. Destroying large stockpiles of fuel and equipment was just a part of the cycle but before Shepard could relax, he felt Harbinger calculating the distances and knew a challenge would come. He and his fleet were not far enough from Castellus.

"You took time in Digerus." The words were deceptively simple, the challenge anything but.

"The planet was properly subdued," Shepard replied.

"Overly subdued," Harbinger accused.

Shepard felt like a small child being scolded. "I was nervous," he said, making the admission grudgingly. While it was true, to him it was so obvious that it was not the real reason he had remained in Digeris.

Harbinger considered it for a few milliseconds. "It is your first harvest," he said finally.

"Yes," Shepard agreed, reinforcing the fact that, in Harbinger's eyes, he was still absurdly young.

Then Harbinger said something that left him shocked. "You may consult with Arshan or Fruben as required." It was not the fact that Harbinger had suggested that the other Ascended advise, it was the fact that there was no implication that if they made a decision, he had to obey. He was allowing Shepard to remain in control.

"Ascended Turians will be shipped to Sol," Shepard responded.

"They will be Ascended into destroyers," Harbinger said, answering the unspoken question.

"Not a prime?" Shepard asked carefully. He didn't even need to think to know that there would be at least 25 Turian destroyers made but even with the loss of Palaven, there would be enough Turians Ascended to create a dreadnought class Ascended.

"No. Even without your race's surprising proposition, the Turians were never candidates to become a prime," Harbinger explained. The eldest Ascended did not think Shepard stupid or weak for asking, rather he viewed the information as something he was obliged to impart as part of his duty towards educating younger Ascended.

"We are heading to the Aethon Cluster," Shepard said. "More Turian colonies will be Ascended, though some will be converted into ground fodder."

"Very well," Harbinger agreed. "Harvest the Turians before moving on," he instructed, "but do not underestimate the strength of a new Ascended."

Mentally, Shepard winced. Harbinger hadn't believed him, at least, not entirely. "Yes Sir," he replied, offering no further explanations or justifications. Even as a Human, he knew when to keep his mouth shut.

"Good," the Ascended leader said before the connection was cut.

Shepard set his sensors to look back at the scattered remains of Pheiros and the solar collectors. He felt nothing but a sense of satisfaction. This was what was.

-cfr-

**Crescent Nebula, Tasale System, Illium**

Liara sat with her hands clasped. There were no data pads, no holograms, no information packs before her. What she was about to talk about was all in her head. Things from her days on the  _Normandy_  and after. Shiala was behind her again. Liara was thankful for the older Asari's calming hands on her shoulders.

Over the last few years, there had been times when she had resented the woman's guidance. It was sometimes overprotective and, while Liara knew Shiala was only trying to honour her mother's memory, it was stifling. She was thankful to the woman now. While Shiala was only lightly rubbing her shoulders, it was a comforting warmth and one Liara felt she would need.

The holograms weren't life-sized but Liara could see the number of comm links blinking on the equipment in front of her. She knew who was on the other side of those links. The Council, most of what was left of the Turian Hierarchy's Primarchs, the Asari Military Matriarchs, Salarian High Command and Dalatrasses. Anyone who was anyone would be listening to her. She had always hoped one day to be in a position where her research changed the galaxy, when those in authority knew the truth of the past because  _she_  had discovered it. She just wished it was not now.

Not with a hostile force running rampant through the galaxy, destroying colonies and planets at will. Not when that hostile force had Human names.

"Everyone is on, Little Bird," Shiala said softly.

Liara nodded. Her hologram was being projected so they would see the movement. She took a deep breath, wondering how exactly she should start and what they wanted to hear. All she had been told was that the Council wanted to hear about her findings while on the  _Normandy_  but that was such a vague subject.

"Good afternoon, everyone," she said politely, happy that her voice was firm. "My name is Liara T'Soni, an Asari archaeologist, specialising in Prothean Extinction. The Council has asked me to speak about my time on the Human vessel, SSV  _Normandy SR-1_."

"We wish to know specifically about your findings about Spectre Saren Arterius."

Liara blinked. They wanted to know about Saren Arterius? Surely, they already knew everything there was to know? She gathered her thoughts and after another deep breath, she began. "While the Humans had worked with Saren Arterius before the events on Eden Prime, the events there are the ones which revealed to the Humans the depths of Arterius' hatred. While it was a Human accusation, I believe it to be true that Saren killed Nihlus Kryik.

"I will not discuss that. The Eden Prime mission occurred before I was with the  _Normandy_  however it is the first time that Saren Arterius' ship appeared. It was the same ship that later attacked the Citadel. And it is ships of the same design that are now attacking the galaxy.

"The obvious assumption is that because Arterius was known to have Geth troops, that the ship was a Geth construct but it is not."

"How do you know that?" one of those listening demanded. A Salarian, Liara thought. One of the male scientists.

Shiala's hands on her shoulders squeezed for a moment and Liara rolled them to show her appreciation. "Because during my research into the Prothean extinction, I have come across other images of these ships."

That brought silence over the comm links. They all understood the implications. The Protheans disappeared approximately fifty thousand years ago. The Geth were created in the last five hundred years.

"You are sure it was those ships?" This time Liara assumed it was a Matriarch who spoke.

"I am positive," Liara said firmly. "The theory that the Protheans moved on, or evolved into something greater than us, is flawed. The Protheans were driven to their extinction by an unknown and powerful force."

"You are saying it was these ships?"

"The image that I found was very clear that the ship was an enemy," her voice was sure.

"Were there any markings on the image?"

"None," Liara replied quickly, knowing why they were asking. The ships attacking all bore Human markings. "Nor do I know how the Humans might have contacted the force."

"Wait just a minute!" came an outraged objection. "You do not know that the Humans have contacted them! And even if they did, where did these supposed super-ships go for fifty thousand years?"

Liara lowered her eyes, studying her hands. Shiala massaged her shoulders as she tensed and after a few breaths, Liara allowed herself to smile. It was a sad smile as she reviewed the information in her mind. It didn't matter if those listening didn't like it, as far as she could tell it was the truth. If they had the courage to ask other archeologists for the true history of the Protheans, rather than the sanitised version, they would learn that at least part of her theory was actually fact.

"I don't know where they go but they are here now. There is knowledge contained within the archeological community. It is knowledge not well accepted or spread to the general populace but it is an accepted fact that before the Protheans populated the galaxy, there were other, older races, and before them, there were yet others. We do not know their names and we only have a few relics to prove their existence but they did exist! While I was on the  _Normandy_ , I had access to Shepard's records of his battles with Saren, and the information that he and others gathered. Since then I have had time to analyse and supplement that information.

"The Geth followed Saren's ship because they believed it to be a machine god. Saren originally thought that it was a weapon, however he discovered that it was alive, and I believe, he discovered the fate of the previous races in the galaxy. I believe, through information my mother provided-" At this Shiala's hands gripped tight. "-that Saren was trying to find a way to help save us but that he was corrupted along the way.

"His ship was part of a force that wiped out the Protheans, and every other advanced race before that. It is a cycle but I do not know what they believe their purpose is. The 'Sovereign' controlled Saren, using him for his own means, most likely to conquer or at least divide the galaxy.

"It was on the  _Sovereign_ 's orders that he built his army, though Saren was only aware of that at the end which is why he committed suicide-"

"Tell us about the ship!" The demand came from a Turian.

"The  _Sovereign_ , as Saren named his flagship, was an ancient being capable of controlling organics. It was, as you are all aware, very powerful and took the combined fleets of the Citadel and two Human fleets to defeat."

"That is all information we know! Shepard promised us you had answers."

"Shepard?!" Liara gasped. They had spoken to Shepard? After all this time.

Someone, a Turian, and Liara thought it was likely to be the Councillor, took a deep breath. "There have been some limited communications with the attacking forces. An image that calls itself Shepard has been their main spokesperson."

"It's Shepard?" Liara asked, her shoulders tense, despite the warmth from Shiala's hands.

"It claims to be Shepard," another Turian spoke. The voice was more authoritative and Liara guessed it was Primarch Victus. "The image is very lifelike but is generated, and has not aged. Yet, whatever is behind it, it has detailed knowledge of the Human's past."

Liara bit her lip. Shepard was alive? With the Rebellion that the Humans called a war, she hadn't kept up with information. It hurt too much. She'd instead immersed herself in research. It was selfish and childish but it was what she had done. She couldn't bear to hear the reports of Humans killing. She didn't want to hear the news that he had been killed.

She looked down. "Saren's ship was known as the Vanguard," she whispered the words. "Shepard knew that. He knew what the ship does to organics. He would have known that he could not make a bargain. He would not ha-"

"He would if he was desperate," someone interposed. The voice sounded Salarian.

"The Rebellion?" another asked.

"The Humans called it a War," the voice Liara had decided was Primarch Victus interrupted. "And we made them that desperate."

"So that is what happened? The force that killed the Protheans returned and the  _Humans_  somehow made a deal with them?" The words were spat and Liara knew it was Councillor Irissa speaking. The woman was earnest enough in representing the Asari's interest but she was not… she was too earnest. She did not accept other points of view which led to her being short sighted at times. This was one of them.

"If they have," Liara began before anyone could begin bickling, "then it is no longer Saren's army of Geth, Krogan and Rachni that we will be fighting, rather it will be an army of Humans."

"It was not Humans which attacked Palaven," Primarch Victus said. "There was some limited footage sent through. The ground troops were bipedal but they were not Human."

"May I see?" Liara asked, a cold feeling filling her.

A moment later a file blipped through to her and Liara stabbed a finger at the omni-tool to open it. The cold feeling exploded.

"They are Husks," she announced, feeling sick as she remembered how they were made. What had the Humans agreed to?

"Reports indicated that they were exceedingly capable."

"They are dead."

"What?"

"They are dead," Liara repeated. "Husks are a synthetic-organic abomination. They are created by impaling a living Human and turning their internal organs into cybernetic enhancements."

"There were approximately 8 billion Humans in Sol," one of the Salarians said. "Assuming a 5% growth rate over forty years means we could be looking at an army of at least sixty two billion."

"Then why did they not just land so many troops on Palaven that we could not breath?" came a snarl.

"Because this is no longer a war." This time Liara recognised the voice of Councillor Quentius. "Shepard said it himself, they've moved beyond that war. It is about vengeance now because somehow, they did make an alliance."

"Except Shepard said that it wasn't really an alliance," Irissa said.

"It doesn't matter what he said, we have to deal with the reality." The words came from one of the Matriarchs and Liara could tell that they were designed to calm Irissa.

"There's a problem. While I agree the ships are very powerful, I do not believe that three hundred dreadnoughts alone could destroy the galaxy-wide Prothean empire."

It was a Salarian who said that. Emotion didn't travel well over comms but Liara could feel that most of those gathered agreed with the sentiment. Agreement was tinged with anger and frustration from the Turians. Like it or not, they were not as powerful as the Protheans.

After a moment, Liara was surprised when Shiala spoke. "My Lords and Ladies, regardless of existing beliefs about the Protheans' disappearance, there is an unknown and powerful force ravaging the galaxy. They bear the same design as the ship which was acknowledged to belong to Spectre Saren Arterius and they also bear Human markings. Communication from those ships uses a Human spokesperson, who is on record as stating that the attacks are about vengeance. There are three implications that the statement that it is not an alliance tells me. One, there could be more of the force out there. Two, there is the possibility that the Humans hired that force or three, the Humans could have joined that force."

There was one heartbeat of silence, then pandemonium reigned supreme. Liara twisted so that she looked up at Shiala with one wide eye. "Does it matter what they believe, Little Bird?" the other Asari whispered with a small smile. "The attacking force is here and that is what we must deal with."

Liara looked up and couldn't help the resigned smile that crossed her features. Shiala was correct. In the end, it didn't matter if it was the Humans or some other force. As Shepard would have said, the gauntlet had been thrown down and the galaxy had no choice but to accept the challenge.

As of now, it was fight or die. And against the force gathering against them, Liara thought it might be both.

-cfr-


	23. Aggressive Diplomacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 22: Aggressive Diplomacy**

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

Shepard let his probe flit through the Citadel. He had connected to the Serpent Nebula through the comm buoy network to find that the Council had actually initiated some security. They were simply vetting all comms directed to the Council Chambers, requiring all callers to go through one of the Council's aides to verify their identity. Supposedly it was to stop the Council from having to deal with irrelevant information but it was to deal with him. There was only one name on the list of 'non allowed' callers - his. Well, it was a good thing he wasn't going to route his call to the aide for verification. Not this time at least. It might be interesting in the future. For now, he was just waiting, as Quentius wasn't in the chamber at the moment and he had nothing to say to Irissa. There was so much he could do with open comm lines after all and he began to understand some of Harper's relish in obtaining information by stealth.

An open channel on an omni-tool in one of the wards had provided him with a way into the Citadel. From there, he'd been able to jump to another network. He was careful to stay out of the Citadel itself, only using the networks established by the organics. He was hearing all sorts of interesting thing and gathering lots of information. Most of it was trash. What did he care that some Salarian's third cousin had been assassinated last week? Or that the Asari barmaid was pregnant by a Turian who was not her acknowledged mate? Some of it was useful. There was a cell of Human supporters on the Citadel and even more amusingly, there was a burgeoning group who supported what they were calling the Invaders.

They swore on the name of Shepard. Joker was still laughing at that. For his part, Shepard could see the amusement and while he would instruct Harper to use these fools, he already knew he never wanted anyone he might consider an ally to swear their allegiance to his name.

Ah, finally! Quentius was heading towards the Council Chambers. Shepard broke through the supposed checking of calls but kept the window of his transmission minimised. Listening to conversations had been fun so far, the Council should be even more interesting.

"It's about time you got here," Irissa greeted her fellow Councillor.

"Some of us are too busy to sit around drinking tea," Quentius retorted, clicking one mandible at the ornate cup in front of her. Steam rose from it in delicate curls and Quentius could detect the scent of true Thessia native tea.

"Or perhaps I'm just better at organising my time?" she challenged before taking a small sip.

This was going to be precious! Shepard could feel the consciousnesses within him straining to hear. If they had have still been Human, they would have been holding both hands over their mouths as they sought to stifle their guffaws.

Quentius took his seat. "Until your military matriarchs make a decision we will just discuss the same information again."

"No no," Irissa raised one hand, extending her finger to shake it at the Turian. "It's been a Human week. That thing is meant to report in."

Reason eighty-one million, seven hundred and one thousand, eight hundred and fifty three to hate Asari, Shepard mused, counting first all the civilians who were injured or killed in the War of Betrayal. He was not a thing!

The Turian councillor actually growled. He had not forgotten about the promised report. He had no need to hear it. After Palaven, those things had moved on to Digeris, then Pheiros and a report had just come in that they had been seen approaching Esori in the Aethon Cluster. So far, nothing had even forced them to pause but as far as they could tell no planet had been destroyed as Palaven had been. That was a two edged blade.

Quentius was thankful but at the same time he wondered what atrocities were being committed on Digeris. They had not been able to get so much as the tiniest coded message to or from the planet and any ships entering the system were taken out almost as soon as they dropped from FTL.  _Something_  was happening on Digeris, they just had no idea what.

He raised one hand to his eye ridge. "I have nothing to say to him," he said. "I don't even know why we hold these meetings," he added. "They are useless when Schells is just a puppet."

Ah, Quentius. It was almost a shame that the Turian councillor would not be Ascended. But no, Quentius belonged in the command group of a prime, so it was better this way. As for the Asari… well, at least her reaction was interesting. He'd known that the Council didn't agree on all things, but he had no idea there was this level of animosity.

Irissa rolled her eyes as her lips curled into a sneer. Shepard could agree with her. She took another sip of tea. "There has to be some way of making them choose faster."

"They won't choose," Quentius said with certainty. "Choosing would mean they have to make a commitment and I already know they are going to try to ride out the current problems." He snorted the last.

There were snorts of disbelief from the gallery listening with Shepard. He understood the reaction. If the Salarians thought they could ride out the current problems then they were dumber than anyone had ever believed. And if they thought they could negotiate their way out of the issue, well, Shepard hadn't heard any transmissions and no one had reported anything. Except this was the Salarians, it could take them months to agree on a speaker, then on the content of the message… Maybe he should have Harper contact them? If only for the pleasure of telling them how imbecilic they were being.

"I sometimes forget how stupid they are," she said. "It won't do them any good."

"Oh, I know," Quentius agreed. "And there is no such thing as emergency powers."

At that, Shepard couldn't keep quiet. "You are kidding me, right?" he said, allowing the hologram of his being to be projected. "You don't have any way of forcing the Salarians to help?" he added the question laughing. "Anderson is going to have a field day."

"Anderson is going after the Salarians?" Quentius replied with a question.

"Is that a note of hope I hear, Councillor?" Shepard asked. "He's not, but I'm sure I could arrange something for you."

For a moment it almost looked as if Quentius was considering it but Shepard knew the Turian Councillor was more honourable than that. "As you know, Quentius," he reassured the Turian, "we will get to the Salarians in due course, though where is the puppet?" He added the last, deliberately using the word.

Irissa understood the implication immediately. She didn't choke on her tea but she did put the cup down hurriedly as a way of attempting to cover her surprise. Quentius took a moment longer, but Shepard could see signs of fatigue marring his features. "I think we can start without Councillor Schells," Irissa said smoothly. "Though she should be here soon."

"I can wait," Shepard said.

"You're not busy?" Irissa asked, while Quentius made a gesture towards an aide, no doubt sending them to comm the absent Salarian.

"I'm very busy," Shepard replied. "But I would hate to report to anything less than the full Council." Shepard allowed his image to chuckle before fixing the two Councillors with a pointed stare. "After all, I did learn some manners as a Spectre."

"Apparently, you learnt a lot of things as a Spectre," Quentius murmured.

Shepard caught the flash of annoyance on Irissa's features and filed the reaction away for later before focusing on the Turian councillor. "I take it you've spoken to an Asari lately?"

"She was very helpful," Quentius replied but the words sounded formulaic.

"You can speak freely to me, Councillor Quentius," Shepard urged. "I will not take offense and to be fair, I did warn you that gaining useful information from an Asari would be difficult."

"Now just a minute!" Irissa's eyes flashed as she slammed one fist into the table, making her tea cup jump. "Liara T'Soni answered every question she was asked. She did not lie."

"I'm sure she didn't," Shepard said smoothly. "I'm equally sure that she did not answer as clearly as she could have. What I'm not sure about is if it was by choice, innate nature or some form of coercion."

"How dare you imply-"

"I imply nothing, Councillor Irissa," Shepard interrupted, his eyes cold as he glared at her. "As an ex-Spectre, I'm merely relating my experiences to Councillor Quentius."

"You are trying to divide us," Quentius accused.

Shepard laughed. "With due respect, I think I've already done that," he said before turning slightly. "Hello Councillor Schells, so nice of you to join us."

Schells' hologram took a step back from him, as if she could somehow be infected by his presence.

"I'm not late, am I?" Schells asked, her large eyes tinged with worry as she looked to Councillors Irissa and Quentius for their support.

"Of course you aren't," Shepard spoke before they could reply. "I just got here," he added, casting a significant eye towards the two Councillors, daring them to contradict him.

Irissa took a sip of her tea. She was confident and it would be a very great pleasure to slowly cut her beliefs to ribbons. Quentius glowered. The Turian would not go against him, not until he knew for sure that Shepard would not respond to any gesture on his part by harming his people.

"What did you want this time Shepard?" Quentius growled after a long moment when it became obvious that Schells was just going to stand there.

"I told you I'd call because I thought it would be best to have these little meetings."

"You call to torture us," Quentius hissed.

"Documents indicate that this being said it was not about revenge?" Schells said with typical Salarian directness.

"I said that it was beyond vengeance," Shepard corrected. "But revenge does make up a very large part of the reasoning."

"So why call?" Schells was confused. It was obvious that this particular Councillor had not studied Human psychology.

"And ravage entire worlds without boasting about it? Without you knowing the face of your doom? Where's the fun in that?" Shepard demanded.

"Is that what this is?" Quentius roared. "Fun?" His voice was anguished and unspoken was the death of billions of Turians and the death of Palaven.

Shepard allowed his hologram to turn towards the Turian Councillor, shifting his expression into something vaguely sad. "I explained this to Primarch Fedorian but there would have been no time for him to transmit that call. The Turians are simply the first and you were chosen to be first because we are too alike." Shepard shook his head before anyone could object. "Not in features or physical form, but in the way we think, the way we do things. Forty years ago, this Council knew what would break Humanity and they launched that offensive. A full invasion of Sol. I guarantee that if you had faltered in that attack, you would have had generations of guerrilla warfare to face. Of course, we know how that went but it was the only action you could have taken to end the Betrayal War.

"Thus we applied the same principles. There was only one way to break the Turians, and that was absolutely and so that is what we did."

For a moment the Council was silent before Quentius growled. "You won't win," he said quietly. "You have three-"

Irissa placed one hand on his forearm. "Let me," she interrupted before looking into Shepard's hologramatic eyes.

"You claim to be the first Human Spectre, Shepard?" She asked softly.

"I am."

Irissa took a deep breath and while her lips made no motion, Shepard could easily imagine that she was counting, seeking to calm herself. "I do not believe that," she said finally, "but if you claim to be Human then I will treat you as such."

Shepard tilted his head as he examined the Asari councillor. What was she playing at? "You can do that if you'd like," he said finally. "It won't change what is happening." Irissa had never treated Humans as anything more than a means to an end.

"Thus, I think you may wish to look at the screen behind you." She gestured with a cold smile.

Shepard turned his hologram. He couldn't see as such through it, it really was just a projection, but he could access the vid feed that was displayed. Faster than Human sight, he routed it to him and dismantled it, checking it for accuracy. A microsecond later, he knew that the vid feed was not faked and was live. Two further microseconds and he knew that it was on the Citadel, though there was a secondary feed which displayed a room from somewhere on Thessia.

It was obvious what Irissa wanted him to see. Both the primary and secondary feeds displayed Humans. Most were older, about 50 or so, he'd estimate. Some were younger and there was even a baby carried in the arms of a young man who was making shushing noises. For a moment, Shepard was confused. In the war, the Council had been methodical. And if not the Council, the Batarians had been and there were no Human settlements outside of Sol by the end, so where had these people come from? Then it became obvious. There were always pirates or those who resided in the Traverse. Or they could be slaves, held outside of the Hegemony's territory when Harbinger struck. Or the poverty-stricken child rats on the Citadel. A few of them would have made it to maturity. These were the stragglers, those either not able, or not interested in making it home.

"You've collected some Humans," he stated the obvious. "Can they see me?"

Irissa tapped a few keys on the panel in front of her. "Now, they can."

"What about hear me?"

"Not yet," Irissa said with a small smile.

Most of the people in the feed had noticed Shepard and were turning to stare at him. There were varying degrees of surprise on their features. He looked at them, dragging through the feeds Irissa had set up. Typically, the Asari bitch hadn't bothered with the most important information. She hadn't even bothered to have their names recorded, so he'd have to remember their faces.

"I take it you plan on using them as hostages?" Shepard asked. It was obvious, really, though it was interesting that Quentius seemed to be struggling to hide his surprised expression.

Councillor Irissa didn't reply directly. "These are free Humans, Shepard. They are not controlled. They can live their lives in peace, integrating with the Citadel races. There's only a small genetic sample here but you Humans breed. With careful management it will be possible for your species to survive unaffected by the race you have whored yourself too."

"And in exchange for this generous gift?" His hologram retained its pleasant expression but silently Shepard was barking orders to those in his subconscious. "Get me the feeds from Digeris  _now_!"

"Boundaries are set, and you stay behind them forever."

"Is that the best you can offer?"

"I don't think you understand the situation, Shepard," Irissa replied. On the Citadel feed, several Turians stepped up behind the Humans, while on the one Shepard assumed was from Thessia they were Asari commandos. The Humans didn't seem surprised, though the same could not be said for Quentius or Schells. In fact, the Turian Councillor looked ready to burst.

"Now, that's not a very good negotiation tactic," Shepard admonished. "If you kill your hostages why would I continue to listen?"

"You know you are controlled, Shepard. This is the only way."

"I'd like to think that you know so much because Liara gave a clear and concise explanation to the Council, but I can see from the Turian and Salarian councillors' expressions that they have no knowledge of your plan. So why don't you explain it to them?"

Irissa didn't look away. "Shepard, I will kill them."

"I'm sure you will," he agreed genially. "Indeed, why don't you save me the argument and do it?" he added the challenge.

She hissed at him and aggressively slammed her fingers on the controls. While there was no audio with the feed, Shepard watched impassively as two of the so called guards raised their weapons and shot their prisoner at point blank range. The other Humans flinched away and the baby began crying after the bodies hit the ground. "I'm serious," Irissa said.

"So am I," Shepard replied. "Let me show you how serious I am," he added.

"How?" Schells asked.

Shepard's hologram flickered before being replaced with another image. For a long moment, the councillors didn't recognise what it was. Then they understood. It was really quite a simple image, straight out of one of the processing tanks. The Turian was about halfway through the process and Shepard was kind enough to let them have an audio feed. By this stage, gender was indeterminate and the screams were wet and more gurgles. The metallic plates that the Turians were so famous for had been dissolved, leaving the soft flesh exposed but rather than defined muscles, each one was in a different state of composition. Dark blue blood ran down the side of the tank and left smears where the Turian had touched the tank. If you looked closely, you could see what remained of the tongue distended from the gaping mouth and both eyes were gone. The Turian remained standing only because the process affected the bones last.

"What," Quentius choked the word, visibly trying not to retch, "what is that?"

Schells was not as controlled, and disappeared from the projection disk. Irissa's eyes were wide as she stared.

"That?" Shepard repeated. "That is ascension," he explained. "It is happening on Digeris at the moment."

"Is that a Turian?" Irissa finally asked.

"Yes," Shepard said, extending the projection to make it appear as if he was standing next to the processing tank. He placed one holographic hand against the tube. "It is ascension," he stated again, looking again at the feeds of the Humans. They too could see the Turian though they didn't know what to make of it. Shepard smiled at them, but it was not a calming, comforting smile, rather it was a vicious, vindictive expression, one he directed to the Turian. The Humans understood, several of them looking back at him with what could be deemed smug satisfaction. They knew they would die but they knew that Humanity was already getting their vengeance.

"Wait," Quentius said, swallowing hard, "you said you are Ascended."

"I am."

"So you went through that?"

"I did."

Shepard could see the Turian Councillor thinking, putting together the little hints he had given in previous conversations. And then he could see when Quentius understood. His mandibles moved, but he did not speak. His silence allowed Shepard to extend his attention back to Irissa.

"So?" he invited, allowing his expression to be superior. "Would you like to reconsider your offer? We put billions of Humans through this process in the quest for vengeance, the deaths of those now, while unfortunate, will not stop us."

She stabbed her finger down on the controls. "Kill them all!" Irissa yelled.

The guards were quick to act and Shepard watched impassively as the Humans were killed. One saluted clumsily to him, living long enough to see the grave nod which was returned. It was distressing to watch the father try, and fail to shield his child, but Shepard pushed that feeling aside ruthlessly, he'd seen worse, and the father at least died with the knowledge that Irissa would pay. The entire galaxy would.

When the Humans were dead, the guards walking along the lines to put another shot into each of the bodies, Irissa looked at him expectantly. Shepard laughed at her, allowing his voice to echo with the others in his form. "So now what?" he asked, before stepping back slightly and gesturing towards the hologramatic processing pod that was on display. It changed, showing another, then another, then another.

"Leave!" Quentius was the one to give the order when it became obvious that Irissa could do nothing more than stare.

Schells briefly appeared back on the projection disk, but just as quickly disappeared after glancing at what Shepard was displaying.

"Just leave," Quentius repeated.

"I will return in another week," Shepard said before allowing the comm link to drop, but only after he took a full copy of both feeds Irissa had displayed and obliterated the few recordings they had of him. While in the long run the deaths meant nothing to him, the execution of innocent civilians would play well to those already sympathetic to the Human cause.

"Harper," Shepard called after he withdrew from the comm buoy network.

"Yes?" The response was instant. Harper was still in his fleet.

"Send a couple of discrete inquiries to the leading Salarian clans. I want to know how close they are to attempting to sit this out," he ordered after dumping the memory files of his discussion with the Council on to the Human network. Maybe it was just speculation between Irissa and Quentius but the Salarian's decision to put a caretaker Councillor in place at such a time gave weight to their conjecture. And if it was true, he would not get in the way of such a brilliant plan.

Harper understood his reasoning immediately and Shepard was pleased to see that Harper was one of the first to download the attached vid file. "I'll see that the information gets into the right hands," the former leader of Cerberus almost purred once he saw the vid.

"Good," Shepard replied with the single word. There was nothing more to say.

-cfr-

"You  _stupid_  bitch!"

"How dare you!"

"How dare I?! You intentionally displayed and killed Humans in front of Shepard. Regardless of whether or not that really is Shepard or even a Human, you were daring him to respond to your threats. It might have escaped your oh so advanced intellect but he has  _my_  people there. Who do you  _think_  would have paid the price for your barbarism?! Who is  _already_  paying the price for the Humans' vengeance?!"

It hadn't taken long after the useless meeting for Quentius to storm into Irissa's private quarters, his aura of wrath sending her underlings scurrying for cover. He had not even cared to close the door behind him before he started in on her.

"He didn't seem to care!" Irissa snapped. "He already had that freak show ready!"

"Yes, yes he did," Quentius agreed. "We knew something was happening on Digeris, we just didn't know what."

"Well, now you know!" Irissa replied. "Use that information to rally your forces," she encouraged.

"I would, except he erased the feeds."

That seemed to shock the Asari councillor. "That's not possible."

Quentius looked back coldly. "Oh, it's possible," he replied. "And if you'd have spent any time with Executor Govinus actually listening to him, rather than organising your little hostage negotiation, you would have known that there is a group of pro-Humans on the Citadel." Councillor Quentius was not happy with Govinus at the moment and had made his displeasure very clear. The Executor should have told him about Irissa's stupidity. Govinus had claimed that he thought Irissa had already asked him. It was a reasonable assumption but Quentius wasn't interested in being reasonable. "I guarantee you he took a copy of your feed."

"So what if he did! There is nothing he can do with it."

For a woman who was supposedly good at politics, Irissa had some surprising blind spots. Quentius took a deep breath to calm himself. "Let's imagine for a moment that the image of Shepard is a lie," he began, holding up one clawed hand to forestall objections. Everything said that the image was somehow the truth. Or at least the knowledge behind the image. "That would mean that the Humans are still stuck in Sol and these new attackers are just that - new." Information the Turians were piecing together didn't support this, but Irissa didn't need to know that, and it was obvious she was holding back herself. "One screening of your of so carefully staged hostage situation and whatever they are just got the Humans as allies."

"They can't even get to Sol!" Irissa couldn't hold back the objection.

" _We_ can't get to Sol," Quentius corrected her. " _They_  can permanently close Relays," he added what should have been an unnecessary explanation. "With that kind of knowledge I don't want to say that they can't open them."

"Arcturus Relay was gone," she said, as if speaking to a small child.

"And others weren't. Besides, it's a short FTL trip to Sol. We didn't want to risk it because we'd be attacked on sight. A new ship, especially one as tough as these are, would have a chance to talk. Now that's one possibility but let's look at another. This time, let's suppose that the image _is_  Shepard. Not a cleverly programmed VI, not something acting as him, but is actually Shepard."

"It's too young," Irissa said but Quentius could hear the doubt creeping into her voice. She was probably imagining other scenarios.

"True, but how hard would it be to superimpose a younger image over his older form? Shepard would be in his mid-sixties. That is not old for a Human. But let's add another consideration. Shepard has said things we don't understand. Ascension being one. Immortality being another. Combined with what he showed us-" At this Quentius had to brace himself, swallowing hard against the images of the melted Turians. "-would it surprise you to hear that some of it correlates very closely with known Human religions."

"Shepard was not religious. If he was, he would never have been accepted as a Spectre."

"True," Quentius admitted, "but Shepard did see the fall of his people, participating in their battle against the galaxy, who knows what he might have turned to."

"So you are saying this is some sort of religious thing?" Irissa scoffed the question.

"I'm saying we don't have enough information but let's go with what was supposed to be the truth, as told to us in an edited fashion by Liara T'Soni," Quentius growled the name. "I will, by the way, want a complete copy of  _all_  Asari conversations with her. You have been keeping information back and that cannot be tolerated."

Irissa snorted. "And you think you can take it?" she asked, and Quentius was experienced enough to see the glint in her eye as she activated her biotics.

"You think I'm stupid enough to force the issue here?" he retorted. The biotics faded as Irissa thought through the implications. "So," Quentius continued as if he hadn't been interrupted. "The edited version of the truth would say that the Protheans were wiped out by another force. Saren had a ship that was a representative of that force, and now the Turians are presented with a fleet of similar ships. The initial assumption is that those ships are a section of the larger force that exterminated the Protheans," he began, going over information they already knew.

It was one thing all parties to that meeting had been able to verify. The general belief in the archaeological community did not reflect the view of the wider galaxy. The archaeological community knew something had exterminated the Protheans, and many races before them. They just couldn't agree on what.

"However the ships bear Human names, symbols and slogans. If these ships exterminated the Protheans then there is absolutely no reason for them to pretend to be Human, or to seek an alliance with the Humans. So, that leaves the possibility that they  _are_  Human."

"You just said that they wouldn't seek an alliance," Irissa said as if it was the sticking point in his argument.

"And they haven't," Quentius responded. "It didn't make sense until Shepard displayed that thing." He still wasn't reconciled to the fact that the sickening, screaming mass of flesh had been a Turian. "Shepard said that was ascension. He said he is Ascended and he went through that himself. He admitted that the image he projects is young but he said that was the age he died."

"That's not possible!" Irissa exclaimed.

"But what if it is? What if the Humans did make a deal with the force that took out the Protheans? They died, or at least some of them did, getting melted into goo but the deal remains and now the force is taking the vengeance the Humans wanted. That would also explain why this is no longer just about vengeance," he added, realising that the theory made the most sense. It fitted with everything the image of Shepard had said. It fitted all too well.

"However, whether that is the truth or not, does not matter. The image was of Shepard. Shepard is Human and  _you_  killed Humans in front of him. You taunted the representative of a force that has no morals, no restrictions and absolutely no reason to deal with you. A representative who has been hostile to you in the past, or had you forgotten that?"

From the way Irissa shuddered, Quentius knew she hadn't forgotten Shepard's invitation to her. The words, cut your own throat, had been spoken with relish, as if Shepard really would have enjoyed watching.

"You had no right to attempt to bargain with them. Not without consulting me!"

"Then what do you want me to do? Sit here and watch your people die?" Irissa challenged.

Quentius hissed. That was low, especially coming from her. "I want you to rally your forces, something your military matriarchs seem inordinately slow in doing." It was at times like this that Quentius couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Shepard was right. What had his ancestors been thinking when they allowed themselves to be shackled to the Council? It had provided centuries of peace but all Turians were counting the cost now, when politics seemed to rule over action.

Irissa drew herself up. "It was deemed that we should attempt to-"

The Turian councillor saw red and he roared, raising one clawed hand. "It was deemed?" Quentius demanded, his breathing suddenly hard and fast. "It was deemed that you would try to  _talk?_ " His voice was incredulous. "Palaven is gone and you want to  _talk_  to the attackers?" The words were screamed.

"You stupid, arrogant, short-sighted bitch!" He roared. It was unbelievable, completely unfathomable that the Asari were so deluded. What were they playing at?

"The attempt failed, obviously," Irissa shouted back. "And our first response forces are already marshalled," she added quickly. "The rest are gathering."

"How long?" Quentius hissed. How long would his people die before anyone gathered to help them fight? How long would the Council let Turian blood flow unanswered?

"Another two days," she replied. "Which as you well know is the quickest they could have been gathered," Irissa said.

_The quickest if they had waited until now!_  Quentius felt his body tremble. "You are walking a very dangerous path."

"We are all walking a dangerous path," she said, "but whether you believe it or not, the Asari will fight."

No matter the rage filling him, it was but a candle to the rage and hatred that burned towards Shepard, so Quentius heard more than Irissa intended. He looked at her sharply, judging the words. She knew something. Something beyond whatever extra information Liara had given the Asari.

"I'll see to it that the transcripts are forwarded to you," Irissa said, trying to assuage his worry.

Quentius glared at her. After a moment he snorted and turned away, stalking out of her quarters.

_What else are you hiding?_  He wanted to ask but he would get no further answers from Irissa today. It was not the time to be hiding things but no matter how long the Turians had appeared to be accepted as equal on the Council, it took a crisis to prove that they weren't.

-cfr-

**Human Ascended Harvest Fleet, Apien Crest, Castellus System, Digeris**

Zaeed rested in one of Digeris' Lagrange points. Three other Ascended were around him, holding mass effect fields stable while husks worked on his damaged internals. Sirta had taken material from Datriux and Fiax and Zaeed couldn't help but wonder if the Turians had a fixation on ending their resource planet names with a x. A quick scan of their data base proved that it was just coincidence but Zaeed was bored. He needed things to think about.

Listening to the reports coming in from the fleets most definitely did not count. He did not need to hear about how the Solu Paolis' helium-3 collection arrays had been destroyed. Or how the fleet had pushed further into the system to destroy the robo-mining platforms over Atos Irn before they scanned the entire system for signs of habitation, destroying the few comm buoys before moving on.

He did not need to watch the kill sheets. While they had been waiting for Menae to fall, the lists had been drawn up. Ship names, fleet designations, colony sizes and locations. All the information they needed to completely erase civilisation from the galaxy. It was perhaps the most complete vengeance ever carried out by one species and while Zaeed hadn't had a chance to check the Ascended archives, he was willing to bet that while other races had the desire, they had not had the means. The Traverse and the Terminus Systems would be more of a challenge in a way. They'd have to find all the settlements, listening carefully for the transmissions to ensure they got all viable populations. And they had to find the Quarians but that was a task for another day and didn't give him anything to think of.

Which left him contemplating something he didn't want to. He did not need to know how those who were not suited to fighting were. They should not have been fighting. He should be there! Thankfully for the moment, the battles had proven easy but he knew that it would not continue. They had taken Palaven and Digeris by surprise. Now that the Turians knew the full extent of the threat, they would start using less conventional weapons.

One of the youngest Ascended flew nearby. There were another two from his fleet trailing after Sphinx, playing. "Do not underestimate the strength of the newest Ascended" had been Harbinger's words to Shepard but the eldest Ascended also understood that they were young. They did not yet have the discipline of those who were even slightly older and so, even though they were participating in the harvest, acting as transport vessels for Ascended Turians, that was the extent of their duties. Even then, they were escorted, although Zaeed thought that was Shepard's addition. In the meantime they got to play, though their play was designed to make them learn, too. Zaeed had seen Sphinx just a few hours ago and already the young Ascended had made improvements. Still even if Harbinger wasn't concerned, it would be a while before Sphinx was considered competent.

If all went well, it was time the young Ascended would have. Even with the fleets ravaging Turian space, and with the planned attacks on Thessia, Sur'Kesh and the Traverse, it would be a while before the Ascended encountered any major opposition. The largest gathering of combat vessels in the galaxy was at the Citadel and the battle there would not be for a while.

He turned his sensors to Digeris. Maybe watching Elysium's efficiency in action would prove calming. "How long do you think the harvest will take?"

"We are beginning to encounter resistance now," Elysium replied.

"Resistance?" That could cause problems.

"Nothing we can't handle," Elysium quickly reassured Zaeed. "The Turians are getting over their shock but what they don't realise is that they can't win. Shepard was very thorough in subduing the planet and we control the food supplies."

Zaeed laughed. Food was such a simple way to control organics. Without it, they were helpless just like-

Wait… the Citadel. It, along with 128 of the Council dreadnoughts were cut off from the rest of the galaxy. The Citadel wasn't self-sufficient and while Zaeed was sure they had some emergency food supplies, he was equally sure they wouldn't last until they were ready to strike.

He dove into the information network, searching through the information they had taken from the Turians and for what information was available from wider sources. He quickly confirmed that the Citadel did have emergency food supplies as well as a limited ability to produce a substance that could be ingested but it wouldn't be able to produce it for all the inhabitants.

"They are going to die anyway," Bailey mused. "We don't have to keep them alive."

"That is true," Zaeed replied, turning his attention inwards.

"The easiest battle is one you don't have to fight," another said.

That too was true. The easiest way of dealing with the forces at the Citadel would be to let them starve, then sweep in and kill whoever was left but Zaeed did not think that was what Shepard had in mind. The commander was far too honourable for that.

Besides, it would be the last great battle of the cycle. By that stage, those at the Citadel would know that they were all that was left. If they had any sense, they would have loaded as many as they could onto each ship and attempt to flee as soon as the Relay was open. They would have to try to escape into the galaxy if they wanted to survive as organics. He didn't think they would do that, despite how logical it was and with the whole fleet there, even if they tried, the attempt would be doomed to failure.

No, by that stage, the only thing left for the Citadel's residents to do would be to die. They could do that without food supplies except… Where was the fun in that? Who would watch if the Citadel couldn't and if they were starving, they'd be too busy with infighting over the resources to properly appreciate what the Ascended were doing. Besides, this wasn't just a cycle, this was vengeance, and while starving was suffering, it was not the suffering the Humans wanted. Internally, Zaeed felt part of himself heave a sigh. He understood Shepard's honour but he had to acknowledge that they should go with the easiest way. Except he wasn't.

"Elysium?"

"What is it this time?"

"How much food do you have?"

"Enough," came the sharp reply.

"Exactly how much?" Zaeed pressed.

"Why do you want to know?"

"The Citadel," he replied shortly, knowing the other Ascended would reason out his logic.

It took a few moments for Elysium to realise why he was suddenly asking about food. "We could just let them die," she suggested.

"I don't think Shepard wants that," Zaeed replied.

"You are probably right," Elysium said, though Zaeed got the impression that the other Ascended said it with a note of tolerance towards their leader.

Now that was interesting. Shepard had chosen Elysium to be the teacher of the new Ascended because Elysium was a scholar. She remembered Earth and Humanity and could impart the racial loyalty the young ones would not necessarily possess because they were simply comprised of those too young to properly understand. But the decision had also been because Elysium was one of those who was not instinctively suited for combat. The tolerance towards Shepard's decision said otherwise. Elysium was more than ready to make the hard choices.

"I may not be as instinctively as good a melee brawler as some," Elysium read his thoughts, "but I have studied history. I know what is necessary."

"I never suggested that you didn't," Zaeed wasn't entirely sure why he defended himself.

He got the impression of a grin from Elysium and realised that the scholar had been baiting him!

"How much food do you have?" he growled.

"Enough to spare some for the Citadel. In fact it would probably be better to get rid of it. The Turians will soon work out that we have more than enough in the stockpiles and will probably try to destroy some of them. If they know we don't have reserves it may make them reticent to destroy any," Elysium reflected. "Of course, the question will be how you get it to the Citadel."

"And how I get levo food," Zaeed said.

"I'll give you what levo food is here," Elysium replied. "Contact one of the fleets in the Aethon Cluster for more. The Volus will have some but ammonia based… yuk."

"True." Zaeed could still remember the smell of Volus food from the few times he had been on the Citadel. "However, it wouldn't be fair to let them starve, either. Their loyalty should be rewarded."

"I'll have it ready for you in a day or so," Elysium said. "You need to work out how to transport it to the Citadel."

"Yeah," Zaeed said glumly. No point in delivering food if they just got out. "I'll figure something out," he added. He also needed to work out how to get levo food, when for the moment they were going after Turian holdings.

"Are you going to tell Shepard?" Elysium enquired.

Zaeed considered for a microsecond. "Nah, no need. He's got enough on his mind." They might act in a group, but they were meant to be self-empowered and able to act independently. This was just his independent contribution to the cycle. Ascended served the cycle, even if it meant feeding the organics, because that was the way of this cycle.

-cfr-


	24. Organic Understanding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 23: Organic Understanding**

-cfr-

**Turian Blockade Fleet, Tuchanka, Dreadnought,** _**Pride in Vigilance** _

Across the galaxy, there were many meetings happening. The Councillors met with the remaining Turian Primarchs and Admirals. The Asari Matriarchs met as part of their Republics' debates and the Salarian Dalatrasses were engaged in vicious political manoeuvring. The corporate CEOs were already ramping up production as much as they could. The upheaval in the galaxy was both good and bad for business and they were determined to exploit the situation. With all the meetings one could be forgiven for overlooking one more. But this meeting was one which might change the outcome of the conflict.

The Turian dreadnought captains were meeting. It was a bit of a misnomer to say that they were captains, they bore a range of ranks but their jobs were the same, even if some were newly promoted. Across the fleet there had been a wave of promotions, when those formerly holding positions had deemed it too difficult to go on in the wake of the Attack and had fallen into depression or otherwise found a way out. Currently, they were all looking at the same map.

"We are too spread out," Flinus, one of the oldest Captains said sadly. He was a Vice-Admiral but while the Turians were sticklers for process, standing on rank at a time like this was laughable.

"Where are our so-called fucking allies?" another growled. There was a lot of anger in the hologramatic gathering.

"The Asari are sending forces but it will take time. With the Serpent Nebula blocked, they have to go around the long way," Zentan explained for the fourth time. He had his second taking notes of how many times he had to explain.

"What about the lizards?"

"Still nothing."

There was a lot of muttering to that reply but before it could coalesce into a plan to attack Sur'Kesh, Flinus spoke again. "Reports indicate that the Invaders are breaking into smaller groups but still nothing less than thirty."

"Thirty!?" While there was impressive anger, there was a sense of hopelessness in the exclamations. The Council had considered sending one hundred and twenty dreadnoughts to combat fifty of these ships an appropriate amount. If that was the case, then they needed to gather at least seventy five dreadnoughts to combat one fleet. No one had that many ships, and looking at the list of active ships was depressing.

Discounting those trapped in the Serpent Nebula, six had been destroyed with Palaven, another two over Pheiros and another two over Digeris. The rest were scattered through the galaxy which meant they were easy pickings for a fleet where one ship could potentially take out four dreadnoughts.

"If we stripped every patrol sector, we could get a force together to face one of those fleets," someone said.

"And we'd lose at least half of the ships in combat taking out 30 of 312. That's just stupid," there was derision in the reply.

"Then what are we meant to do?" the challenge was instantaneous.

"Do we know where they come from yet?" another question followed, one obviously designed to change the subject.

"Sol," Tarquin replied immediately.

"Victus, not everything comes from the Humans."

"I'm serious."

"How do you know?" Flinus asked, forestalling further complaints.

"They were the first patrols to go missing," Tarquin replied matter of factly.

"You can prove this?" Flinus wasn't the only one to ask the question.

"I don't need to, the report logs do," Tarquin said, tapping his data pad to transfer the highlighted logs he had found. "Nazario was on Sol border patrol. I know him from the Expedition. He would not report in late. Not on such an important patrol."

The gathered captains were quiet for a moment as they considered the information.

"Right, so they come from Sol. It doesn't really help us gather a force that can fight them, not when they are attacking with such force."

"It doesn't," Flinus agreed sadly.

"So we are meant to sit here, doing our duty while we wait to die?"

No one could say anything to that. Officially, they were waiting for orders from Primarch Victus but these particular Turians were senior enough to know that there weren't very many orders that could be given. To fight, even temporarily, they would have to strip the defences from everywhere.

An alarm broke the silence.

"That's mine," Tarquin said quickly before the noise could truly distract them.

"The Invaders?" came the question.

Those who had Tarquin's hologram up watched as he looked at several data pads. "No," he said, "just the Krogans being troublesome."

"Crush them," Flinus gave the order firmly and Tarquin knew he was speaking as Vice-Admiral Tadil.

"Sir?"

"Put them down hard," Flinus said again. "We cannot afford to have the Krogan running through the galaxy. Make sure they know that."

"Not a problem, Sir," Tarquin said, saluting before his connection left the meeting.

"Right, despite desire, we cannot make any decisions, so I will give you these words of advice," Flinus said, in a voice that clearly said he was summing up. "Those in the Terminus Systems, work together. Keep your communication lines open and do not hesitate to crush anything that comes your way. We all know what the pirates will think of these events but we don't know how bold they will get. You are the furthest from the core systems so it's likely any trouble will start with you. However, it's also barely possible that the Invaders will not find you, that they will sate their thirst for vengeance on the Council Core, so it is vital that you remain in your position."

It was grim news but it was nothing they hadn't already thought.

"Those of you on border patrols go and reinforce settlements, the Council be damned but make sure to inform the Hierarchy," he added his voice clearly showing consideration as Flinus thought of anything else that needed to be said. "Wait for word from Primarch Victus. Help each other out. Help others but only if it does not endanger you and, most of all, remain strong."

He looked around, letting his eyes meet as many other Captains as he could before he nodded once and disappeared. For now, this meeting was over.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

"This is the Citadel News Network. Bringing you all the information that matters on the Citadel and beyond.

"In ongoing news, food rationing continues across the Citadel. While the Council has made assurances that the Citadel's food production has been increased, it's well known that stocks of imported goods are running low. Even everyday items are becoming scarce and attracting luxury prices.

"Asari tea, Salarian criskets and especially Turian whiskey are in short supply. It's been suggested in some wards that they are being used in place of currency. The Council has been unable to enact a place to collect such items for equal distribution to all.

"The wards remain peaceful due to the heavy C-Sec presence. The few minor demonstrations have been quickly put down by C-Sec forces, though rumours persist that they are reinforced by professional Turian soldiers, sent over from the fleet. Neither the Councillors nor Executor Govinus have been available for comment and in a press release, they reiterated that everything possible is being done to re-open the Relays and that, in the meantime, while not being especially palatable, the Citadel produced food will be distributed to all in need.

"In news beyond the Serpent Nebula, the Asari Republics have sent several dreadnoughts to reinforce Turian colonies in the wake of the Attack on Palaven. The Salarian Union have promised assistance but their fleets remain unmoved leading to speculation that their political manoeuvring continues unabated and that the appointment of Councillor Schells was merely a stop gap measure to create the illusion of strength. This was denied vehemently by Dalatrass Motya who assured CNN in a statement yesterday that while the Salarian Union regrets the destruction of Palaven, as the Attackers appeared so suddenly there was nothing that could be done. However, the Union will be fully ready to fight the Attackers with an additional force, when the Attackers encroach on the core territory of the Citadel species.

"Conveniently, the unknown attackers appear to be retreating from the core Council Territory. Turian listening posts report that they were seen entering the Aethon Cluster, which has prompted the Volus to recall their two dreadnoughts to reinforce the Turian fleet around Irune.

"Speculation as to the identity and ultimate goal of the Attackers continues. Today's polling indicates that a growing number of our viewers believe the Attackers to be Human, bringing the percentage total to 45 with the stated reason being the growing number of images highlighting the Human markings. The total believing them to be Geth remains unchanged at an even 20 percent. Several hypothesise that the ships are Prothean, however no explanation has been given for the choice of Human slogans. For a full breakdown of the poll and ongoing discussion as to the motivations and goals of the Attackers, log in to promote your option on our intraweb site.

"The Council has refused to comment on the continued movements of the Attackers, stating that they cannot divulge military information that is key to ongoing operations. Neither would they comment on the growing ground swell of pro-Human sentiment that has been prevalent on the Citadel and from all reports is growing in the colonies. While CNN has attempted to contact Primarch Victus, no communications have been accepted.

"Whether the Attackers are retreating, or if they are following their own goals, no one has been able to stand up to them and reports continue to stream in about ongoing destruction. To date, there has been no known successful communications with the Attackers despite numerous attempts both by the Council and civilians. It is unknown what this means but in this reporter's opinion, it cannot bode well for the galaxy.

"This has been Inasha T'Malik for Citadel News Network with your midday news summation! Join us in an hour for the ongoing developments and an attempt to interview Councillor Quentius!"

-cfr-

**Ascended Docks, Sol System**

"Arshan." Harbinger reached across space, establishing a link with the ease of long practice. The name served as a communication protocol, greeting and request and when the other Ascended accepted the link, Harbinger knew that there was sufficient time for communication. Arshan said nothing, he merely waited for Harbinger's question. "How fare the organics?"

"Badly," came the instant reply, accompanied by a host of additional information. Arshan was accompanying Shepard. The Human Ascended was focusing on military installations but was not shirking in nullifying purely civilian targets. Most had completely replenished their husk supplies.

The answer was expected and the eldest Ascended would have been concerned and surprised if it had been anything else.

"While the Harvest has barely begun, Shepard is ahead of schedule," Arshan continued. "No major obstacles are expected until the fleet enters the Traverse."

Harbinger sent a pulse of agreement in response to Arshan's words. He was in Sol, close to the docks where the last Human Ascended was being made. At the moment, there was merely the promise of form. Struts were laid out to form the shape which had not yet been filled in. There was a hive of processing ships arranged in precise groups around the docks. Most were running at full capacity and even accounting for the fact that those the ships were processing were not fully grown, it would take some time for the entire processing fleet to be freed for the harvest of the other organics of this cycle. Perhaps he should have let the Humans wait. No. It would have left the Humans lingering over Earth. He was sure of their loyalty. Ascended served the cycle but the Humans would not be true Ascended until they served the Catalyst. Harbinger had no wish to delay that day at all.

The Humans had managed to free enough of the processing fleet for the initial harvest. It had taken a bit of adjustment to the construction of the remaining Human Ascended but it had allowed ninety-six processing ships to disgorge their liquid cargo and be piloted to the Turian planet Digeris. Harbinger had expected more of an argument from Shepard about that. Not directly of course but perhaps by leaving a few of the new Ascended in Sol. Instead, they had only left one Ascended in Sol, the newest, who had literally slipped free of the mooring docks the day before and thus really  _was_  too young to trust to use the Relays even with all the advantages the Ascended enjoyed.

The newest operational Ascended, Dragon, was moving through Sol now, carefully staying away from the construction facilities as she familiarised herself with her new abilities. Harbinger mused as he watched the newborn that he would need more processing ships from the long-term storage that organics would see only as a neutron star. The Harvest was beginning in earnest.

The rest of the Human Ascended had left on schedule, remotely piloting the processing ships and had proceeded directly to Digeris where Arshan had earlier reported that they arrived exactly on time with all Ascended accounted for. That fleet had held back during the subjugation of the planet and Shepard had been unnecessarily thorough but  _that_ , despite Harbinger's comments otherwise, had not been unexpected. Harbinger had more experience than Shepard and he knew that manipulation could be more effective than giving orders at ensuring obedience.

"I do not like the plan in regards to the Asari," Harbinger stated.

"Shepard knows the price for failure."

"They will have nothing to lose." The statement was ambiguous but Arshan understood all the meanings through long experience.

"Ascension of the Asari will begin with their colonies, reducing the need for Thessia," Arshan explained. Shepard had spoken to his chosen leaders about the overall plan. Arshan's input, relating to them the difficulties associated with ascending highly biotic species, had been taken seriously and while the harvest of the Asari homeworld would provide the greatest number of specimens for ascension, by the time the Human fleet arrived in the Athena Nebula, the Asari, like Salarians would have nothing to lose by fighting to the bitter end. That would not serve the cycle. The compromise was easy, Asari colonists would be harvested reducing the numbers needed from Thessia. For every Asari colony over one million, an attempt would be made to harvest at least some of them.

All except one colony. Shepard point blank refused to ascend any Asari on Asteria. The Humans referred to something they called the Hades Massacre and the only details Arshan bothered to determine was that sometime, early in what the Humans called The Betrayal War, the Asari on Asteria had turned on their fellow Human colonists.

Practically overnight, the population went from several million Humans to zero when teams of Asari commandos, who had been called in by the Asteria government, slaughtered the Humans in their homes. It had taken a while for the Systems Alliance Intelligence, aided by Cerberus, to determine what had happened, because you did not kill that many Humans without some losses but eventually the truth had been discovered.

Over the course of a few weeks, a poison had been released into the water supply. It was an aggregation poison, with its only revealing symptom being general lethargy. The real kicker was that it impacted on both Asari and Humans equally and the community, which thought it had been a beacon of hope in the growing conflict, banded together, disregarding the lethargy as simply the change in season. Over those same few weeks, the Asari commandos had been shipped in, posing as tourists, new colonists and even some medical specialists. They brought their own supplies and used the time to track every last Human farm and homestead, every last apartment, dormitory and sleeping house.

And then, on the chosen night they had struck. Most Humans had been slaughtered in their beds, remaining blissfully unaware of the growing danger, even at the end. A few had roused. Drugged or not, they had awoken but they had not been able to effectively fight.

Of course, it had taken more than one night but the Asari had planned for that. They had struck on a weekday, when most of the Humans had work the next day and thus did not customarily socialise with others outside of their immediate area. They were farmers, so had very little reason to talk to colonists on the other side of the world. Any lack of communication was put down to transmission difficulties. That allowed the Asari to kill quadrant by quadrant without undue alarm being raised. The last few Humans had noticed, and fought, but they were isolated, fighting against trained commandos, most of whom were powerful biotics. It was only after the fact that the alarm was raised. Too late. While there were never any official vids or photos, enough had spilled onto the 'net to enrage the Systems Alliance.

The Hades Massacre had signalled the turning point in the war. Any reticence in Human soldiers disappeared and the change hardened the hearts of the Citadel's forces. From that point, the Betrayal War had truly been war.

Arshan didn't care and there were other Asari colonies which could be taken. The loss of one was of no consequence and the Humans had been promised vengeance. It was one thing to lie to an organic, but now that the Humans were Ascended, and still desired vengeance, then Harbinger could not go back on their word. Ascended did not lie to Ascended, so the Ascended Humans could have their vengeance. As far as Arshan was concerned the harvest was a success and there would be four hundred and seventy six new prime forms in the fleet for the next cycle. Ascended served the cycle.

"Shepard is hoping he gets to destroy Thessia," Harbinger rumbled.

"He is," Arshan said honestly, "but he will accept the reality of the Harvest."

"You are impressed." The statement was itself a question, one Harbinger asked only because he had known Arshan for so long. The Arshan were the first race Ascended after the Leviathans. Arshan had been with Harbinger for a very long time.

"I am," the old Ascended answered again candidly. "This is not something which should be attempted each cycle but for this one, with these races, I believe it was the right choice."

"Vengeance should not be relied upon. Organics are fickle."

"True. There are some Human primes who will now ignore vengeance. The older ones remember their history better, but some of the youngest are satisfied. They will follow Shepard's lead. The cycle will be served."

"They are designed that way," Harbinger mused. "What of the training they insisted upon?"

"It has made them highly functional both individually and in groups," Arshan said, sending Harbinger several scans that had been made by individual primes sent to scout out systems, and of those made by groups of Ascended working in tandem to ensure that they found all evidence of organic civilisations. The way they used their oculi as extended sensors and then collated the information was highly skilful. "I believe it is something we should adopt."

"There is a chance it only works because the organics were harvested somewhat willingly, and are therefore lucid at the moment of awakening."

"That is true. Still, it is something we should consider. It is helping the Humans in more than the harvest," Arshan continued.

"How?"

Arshan sent the eldest Ascended a vid feed from above Digeris. It showed the Ascended Zaeed, surrounded by three other Ascended who were holding mass effect fields steady. Husks swarmed all over Zaeed's form while a fourth Ascended hovered close without moving. The entire scene bespoke very advanced control in both field manipulation and husk management. Most of the fleet possessed such control but it usually took them several hundred cycles to attain it.

"I will consider it," Harbinger said but Arshan could feel him examining the images carefully. "I was told that this injury was a result of their training."

The other Ascended was silent for an instant before laughing. "It was, though I believe Shepard has made it very clear to Zaeed how disappointed he is. That will be sufficient to ensure that this does not happen again."

"For one."

"For all. Shepard was not shy in sharing his dissatisfaction," Arshan assured Harbinger. "Their training will let them complete repairs over the next few rotations."

"Complete?" Even for Ascended, if injured badly enough, repairs usually required time in the docks, and they were not something which could be done by those so newly Ascended.

"Complete," Arshan returned. "For that alone, we should consider their training methods. Not necessarily for the newly Ascended but for once they settle. It has accelerated the Humans' abilities. Shepard is ahead of even our best schedule. That would not have happened if he was less skilled."

"Destruction is not skill."

"Harbinger," Arshan said, his voice serious. "You already knew the Humans would be good at fighting, but it is more than that, they are genuinely skilled, in a way that takes hundreds of cycles for most to achieve. You could leave one as the Vanguard without concern. One of the older ones of course," he added the qualification. "Fruben would agree. We are meant to be flexible but the Prothean Cycle has made us stale and set in our ways. We were at risk of being ceased. The Harvest must continue but we must continue to be able to adapt, much like the Humans are. Closing the relays behind us is a good strategy."

"Do the Humans know how?"

"They figured it out almost immediately," Arshan said, "but they always ask me or Fruben to do it. Their attack lines have their eldest and most capable as the first through a Relay, and the last, always with either myself or Fruben with them to close the Relay."

"Continue watching them," Harbinger ordered. "I will consider your thoughts," he added before cutting the link.

He allowed his sensors to trail down again towards the incomplete form of the last Human Ascended. Shepard's behaviour was within allowable tolerances and Arshan had given him much to think upon.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

Quentius slumped at the Council table. He wasn't even sure why he was doing this anymore but somehow, he couldn't bring himself to stop. He kept rubbing one eye, resting his left mandible in his hand. The reports were strewn before him. Data pad after data pad. The list of colonies destroyed just went on and on.

At first, after the Destruction of Palaven, and the Slaughter on Irune, it hadn't been too bad, relatively speaking. The Attackers had swept through the territory of the fallen Systems Alliance. While it had been forty years, most had been reticent to colonise in that area. The few pirate bases had been destroyed, and Quentius thought he detected a slight note of glee from Shepard when he spoke about them.

The Volus, like the Turians, had been hit the hardest. Their homeworld had fallen, though it had not been destroyed like Palaven. While they had no images, Shepard had said that they were processing the inhabitants, ascending them, much like what was happening in Digeris. That's what Shepard said but no one knew for sure. They couldn't get even the smallest scout ship through and by the time probes arrived, it would be too late.

Asari and Turian patrols had reported that the Relays leading to anywhere in the former Systems Alliance territory remained stubbornly closed. As did the Relays to the Apien Crest and the Aethon Cluster. It was just like the Relays in the Serpent Nebula. They were dead. The Attackers were closing them as they went through.

It was so devastatingly simple and everyone in the Serpent Nebula was reminded of it every rationed meal. The Citadel was capable of producing food and they were, it was just not enough. They had been facing the very real possibility of riots all over the Citadel, open warfare as the citizens and soldiers fought over the dwindling supplies. He'd been in an emergency meeting about just that when Eachann had comm'd them.

Without warning, the Relay had opened for a split second, and a large block had come through. The Relay had deposited the block just in front of the defense fleet and it was a wonder they hadn't fired upon it. And before anyone could do anything, the Relay had turned off again. Even a minute examination of the sensor readings of the Relay showed that there was no warning. The usual signals had been muted.

At the time, that hadn't been known and they'd been left staring at the block. Nothing ventured, nothing gained had been the reasoning of the team which approached it. The exterior of the block was a thin sheet of metal, barely a millimetre thick. The interior…

Food. Packed tightly and protected against the vacuum of space. There was enough food for everyone in the Serpent Nebula for a week on short rations but short rations were better than no rations at all. It was divided neatly into three sections. Dextro, levo and ammonia suitable and when that report came through, Quentius  _knew_  where the food had come from.

Shepard. They had not told the Human of their troubles but he had obviously anticipated them.

Quentius had held out against the pangs of hunger as long as he could but eventually he had been forced to eat. It was that or starve to death and he could not let go of some vague hope… no matter what the situation seemed like. It was another week's worth of life for him and his people on the Citadel but every time he choked on a meal, he remembered that he was eating because others were dead and dying.

Another block of food had arrived six days into the week, and another and they were forced to conclude that the Humans would continue to feed them, even as they continued ravaging the galaxy. He hadn't yet had the courage to ask Shepard why they were feeding those they obviously intended to kill. Watching what they were doing to the galaxy, the only conclusion Quentius could draw was that Shepard wanted them to bear witness to this before he killed them all.

It hadn't taken long for the Humans to go through their former territory and then out into the Attican Traverse. Each week, Shepard had initiated contact. It didn't matter what security protocols they had in place, the Human just cut straight through them. Usually he was talkative but once he had just stared at them. That week, when he'd spoken, his voice had been soft which made his anger echo all the more clearly. Quentius shivered remembering the words.

"You found a Human colony, didn't you?" Shepard accused, staring at Irissa. "One that treated your arrival as a First Contact situation."

At that, Quentius had winced, knowing exactly what Shepard was talking about. Not that long after the Humans had managed to seal themselves into Sol, Irissa had lost diplomats from an expedition in the space near Sol, and he had sent a patrol to see what had happened. The instant they'd found Humans, a reinforced fleet had been sent and while Irissa still lost her people held hostage, the threat had been dealt with. It hadn't been until afterwards that Quentius had been able to get reports out of the Asari Councillor. He'd had to bury them and over the intervening years he had almost completely forgotten the incident.

"You should have left them," Shepard had said before his image had disappeared.

It had been the shortest meeting to date and the week after, Shepard had been back to normal and the incident hadn't been mentioned again.

Reports now pointed to the Attackers gathering in the Caleston Rift and it was obvious where they were heading next: Omega. Quentius wasn't sure what he thought of that. Omega was the biggest hive of scum in the galaxy but they didn't deserve what Shepard was about to do to them. Of course Shepard might not ascend them, he might just destroy them, as had happened to Asteria. It was obvious the Humans remembered the Hades Massacre since they gleefully transmitted the colony's destruction, sending the Council a private feed, complete with commentary relating how the destruction they were raining down was similar to the deaths of the Human farmers on Asteria. That had been last week, and Irissa hadn't spoken of Shepard since and actually… Quentius glanced at the time. She was almost late.

"You are still looking at those?"

Ah. There she was, right on time for Shepard's weekly gloating session. About the only thing they hadn't tried, in their effort to avoid them was actually not meeting. Depending on how this one went, Quentius might suggest that they try that next week.

"What else would you have me do?" Quentius replied allowing his voice to to convey a sense of calm in response to her scorn. This was the woman who had promised assistance but the instant the Attackers appeared to be 'retreating' the Asari fleets had returned to their former postings.

Irissa glared, choking back her response when Schells appeared. By mutual agreement, Quentius and Irissa had agreed to shelve any animosity in front of the Salarian.

"He's not here yet," Quentius responded to the unspoken question. The Salarian had an almost pathological need to be on time.

"I am now," Shepard said an instant before his hologram coalesced.

The Councillors glared as the Human's image looked around. "Just the four of us again?" Shepard mused.

"There is no need to include others," Irissa hissed.

"Oh," Shepard seemed to sigh. "I was hoping to speak to the Volus representative," he added.

"There is no need for them to suffer through this," Quentis replied.

Shepard looked at him. "How very noble of you to continue to protect your client race."

The twitch of his mandible gave him away.

"Ah, not noble," Shepard said and Quentius could hear the amusement. "You haven't told them. Whose idea was that?" He asked, his eyes spearing into Irissa.

"There is no need to include others," the Asari repeated.

"I think there is," Shepard countered. "At the moment, it is the Volus who have suffered the heaviest losses. Irune, Patavig, Maskawa and Alahya." He held up one hand and ticked off the planets. "Boro won't last much longer," Shepard added, tapping his forefinger against the thumb of his other hand. "You don't think they don't deserve to face their foe?"

"Inasmuch as they deserve the right to see the true face of their attacker, I will not-"

"I'm not giving you anything you want!" Irissa snarled, interrupting Quentius. Schells just stood silently watching with the usual wide gaze of a Salarian.

"And what do I want?"

"For the galaxy to know you are Human!" Irissa growled the reply.

Quentius unconsciously heaved a sigh. How had she gotten to the position of Councillor? The Asari had lost  _one_  colony and this was how she acted? She was devoid of empathy and he wondered, not for the first time, how she had managed to negotiate any diplomatic solutions. Then his mind betrayed him, supplying the many instances where Irissa had not bothered to attempt diplomacy. She had treated the Turian and Asari military capabilities as… well, not her personal army, no one would have stood for that, but as the first solution, not the last.

Shepard's image leaned back in his chair. He rested his chin on his fist as he regarded the Council. "Irissa, you are aware that most of the galaxy believes we are Human, anyway?" he asked in a tone that clearly questioned her intelligence. Behind him, charts from various news networks appeared. The bars for 'Human' were the longest.

"The galaxy can believe what they want," Irissa spat her reply. "I will not confirm it for them."

"And how is me speaking to the Volus Representative confirmation? Surely as the representative of their race, they understand the need for… discretion?"

"The fact that you wish to speak to the Volus Representative just reinforces the fact that I will not allow it," Irissa said.

"You will not allow it?" Shepard laughed. "Since when are you the sole voice of the Council?"

"The Council will not allow it!" Schells spoke, almost seeming to stamp one foot.

"I see," Shepard replied, not even looking at the Salarian. "The Council has voted," he added and one of the charts changed, and while they could not read it, Quentius knew with absolute certainty that the intelligence behind the image was sifting through the records of the last week. It wouldn't surprise him if Shepard did it every week, just slightly more discretely. Certainly, he seemed to be aware of just about everything that went on. "You got outvoted again, huh, Quentius?" He said sympathetically.

There was silence for a few moments. Quentius didn't speak. Anything he said would be taken as agreement with Shepard and no matter how frustrated he was with Irissa or Schells, he would die before he let that happen.

"Well," Shepard said eventually. "I want to speak to the Volus Representative. Will you fetch them?"

"No."

"Is that your final word?"

"Yes!"

"Okay."

"Wai-" It was the way Shepard had smiled as he spoke his last word that made Quentius cry out. Too late because Shepard's image disappeared the instant the word had left his lips and Quentius felt cold at what might happen now. He raised one hand to his brow, squeezing slightly as if it could remove the pain. "We discussed this," the Turian Councillor said softly.

"I never agreed!" Irissa said haughtily.

The Turian Councillor didn't even bother to refute that. She had agreed, as had Schells, that they would not, within reason, antagonise Shepard. And on this, the Human was correct. The Volus Representative would keep his mouth shut but now… Spirits knew what Shepard would do having been denied his request.

"So far, nothing we have tried has even slowed the attacking fleet," Quentius said gently, as if explaining to a young child.

"So you would surrender to them now?" Irissa scoffed.

"I will never surrender to them," Quentius shouted, rising to his feet quickly as his claws dug into the table. How dare she even suggest such a thing?

"Yet you will give him whatever he wants." Schells was bold to speak.

"We are trying to control information," Quentius replied, not even bothering to look at Schells. The Salarians had been even less help than the Asari and while no one could prove it, the belief was growing that the Salarian Union had made some sort of deal with Attackers. "If we wish to continue doing that, then we need to give Shepard no reason to go around us. Despite what we may wish, the Pro-Human movement is not going away."

Irissa waved one hand to dismiss them. "They are a minor group, and we should be focused on far more important matters."

"A little over a month ago, they were a minor group," Quentius said. "But they have been growing. Even on the Citadel, the belief is spreading and everything you have done has just fueled that belief. You seem to have forgotten that all it will take is one transmission from Shepard to shatter the illusion we are just barely maintaining."

"Then let him!" Irissa said. "It will enrage the galaxy against them!"

"More likely against us!" Quentius snapped. They had decided to maintain the fiction but he sensed Irissa was now against that and was trying to push Shepard into revealing it himself. He probably would now, but the consequences would not be those Irissa sought. Oh, there was no doubt that if Shepard just sent a message to CNN, they would not believe him. They'd publish but it would be treated as a curiosity but Quentius suddenly remembered there were those vids… If Shepard sent them?

Quentius saw with sudden clarity exactly what would happen. Shepard  _would_  send those vids. They would confirm his words, that the Council knew they were Human and after that… Well, after that, there would be no denying that the Attackers were Human and that they had taken out Palaven and Irune and controlled at least one third of the galaxy with no signs of anything stopping their advance.

The Turians were already primed to fight but the rest of the Galaxy? The knowledge would either make or break them. The Turian councillor just wished he knew which it would be.

-cfr-


	25. Ascended Recreation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning There is a very nasty scene in this chapter. It involves children and huskification. If this is going to bother you, skip the chapter or the last scene. It's the scene after Shepard's conversation with the Council but is still from Shepard's point of view. You've been warned and there is no further warning in the chapter.
> 
> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 24: Ascended Recreation**

-cfr-

**Hyetiana, Asari Colony**

"Shiala."

The voice was deferential and she looked over to see a young maiden. It was one of the girls assigned to ensure that they had what they need. "Yes, Isame?"

"I was," Isame seemed to tremble. "I was wondering..." she said but the rest of her sentence was lost to an inaudible whisper.

Shiala smiled gently. "You were wondering?" she prompted. It was quite pleasant on Hyetiana. Liara had other researchers to play with and she had been quick to show her superiority. It was only expected, given she was the daughter of Matriarch Benezia. She was presently in the lab below working on something round. Currently it was a little higher than herself and at the moment Liara was leaning into it, tweaking some of the electronics. It made Shiala's smile brighter. The Little Wing was so skilled.

"I was wondering," Isame began again, "why the Matriarchs have never spoken to you? Since you were..." Again the sentence trailed into silence.

It was not the question Shiala had been expecting. While most Asari were too polite to ask about her pigmentation, some of the younger were curious. She was after all, green, courtesy of the Thorian, not the usual blue or rarer purple. It was however, a much better question.

"I have spoken to them," Shiala reassured Isame. "And I have told Liara everything I know," she added, glancing towards the lab.

Isame seemed surprised with the answer but after she considered it, Shiala saw the expression of respect deepen. Young as she was, Isame was always impressed when an older Asari allowed a younger to take the spotlight. After a moment, the younger Asari bit her lip and Shiala knew she had another question.

"You can ask," she said. "Not seeking knowledge is the true crime," Shiala added the reassurance.

"Can you tell me about the Humans?" the question came in a rush and Shiala understood.

She smiled again, using the expression to hide her laughter. Isame was one of the silly ones, though she did have some discretion. Irissa's faction would never have assigned a pro-Human to them and so somehow Isame was keeping her belief from them. That was good. She did not need someone looking into things.

Still it displayed how little Isame knew that she called them Human. They were not Human. They were beyond that and soon everyone, even those who thought nothing of it would know. But for now, only the chosen knew. Which was why Shiala continued watching over Liara. They would want her. It was not something Shiala even questioned. She just knew it was true, so for now, kept Liara close, kept her safe against the manipulations of those who could not comprehend the glory of ascension.

"Of course," Shiala replied. She didn't need to tell the young girl that the information was confidential. "About seventy years ago, there was an incident around Relay 314…"

-cfr-

**Omega Station, Omega Nebula**

Aria looked at the data pads before her. Information from the Council forces was pathetically easy to obtain but it didn't help her. Rather it reinforced the hopelessness of her position. Of Omega's position. Of the galaxy's.

She could take her pick on which doom she wanted to contemplate. She shook her head, forcing herself to concentrate. "Averul?" she prompted.

"There is still no change," the Salarian responded quickly. "We've lost contact with the Pylos Nebula and the Phoenix Massing."

"And we were actually obeying the Council warnings to remain clear of all former Systems Alliance territory, including border systems," Tullia, one of the Turians on her payroll added.

That translated to remaining out of quite a long list of systems. Not that it had been difficult to obey the Council warnings. Even before they were issued, pirates and other groups had been pulling out ahead of the advancing fleets. Those few who had been unable to evacuate in time had been destroyed utterly.

"So where the hell are they?" Aria growled the question.

No one answered. A week ago, that fleet had been gathering in the Caleston Rift. Every bit of intelligence recognised that fact. And every bit of intelligence said that they would be coming for Omega next. Then the fleet had disappeared. Oh, the relay's were still closed and the Pylos Nebula had fallen silent but not a single attacking ship had appeared through the relay. Where had they gone? And what did she do about it? She had the largest mercenary fleet ever seen in the history of the galaxy gathered around the station but unless the enemy appeared, even with all her influence, Aria wasn't sure for how long she could hold it here. United, they had some chance. Scattered back in their bolt holes, they would be easy pickings for the attackers.

"Has there been any communication?"

"They are talking to the Council," Tullia supplied.

Yes, the entire galaxy knew that the invaders had been talking to the Council. Just like the entire galaxy knew they claimed to be Human. Aria wasn't sure what she thought of that. The Humans never had this much power but she was used to dealing with changing events. This was just another change.

"With us?" she snapped.

Averul shook his head. The Salarian was in charge of any communication efforts. "There's been a few odd replies," he said. "But they were for others."

"So we have been talking?"

"Of a sort," Averul replied.

"Either we are or we aren't!" Aria said.

"Every message I've sent has just had a stock standard reply," the Salarian explained. "It's like they'r-" he cut the sentence off abruptly and Aria turned to watch him with sharp eyes. Averul had thought of something.

The Salarian snorted. "We've had communication," he said a moment later. "Or rather, we've been receiving communication but it is intended for their spies."

"They have been dumb enough to send us the orders to their spies?" The flanging in Tullia's voice emphasised her disbelief.

Averul flicked a data pad in the Turian's direction. "It's not as if we can understand them," he said. "They are coded messages," he added.

"All right!" Aria cut through the budding argument. "They are talking to someone," she added. "Make them talk to me!"

"Ma'am, with respect, do you think they will listen?"

Aria considered it. "I think they will listen," she said finally. "If they really are Human, then they will know that we are not associated with the Council."

"That hasn't stopped them," someone muttered.

It hadn't, Aria admitted privately. "They have destroyed every pirate base in the territory they consider theirs," she pointed out.

"They haven't stopped," Tullia pointed out.

"I wouldn't either," Aria said. "Not while I had the power," she added. "But we are not their enemies. Omega never has and never will be allied with the Council and the Humans knew that. It should be enough to open communications." While she sounded confident when she said it, she was anything but. If the Humans hadn't responded to Averul's communications, then they had very little reason to. With the strength they had displayed, they probably meant to sweep through the entire galaxy, taking it for themselves. If anyone survived, they would be subservient to the Humans. However, no matter what, she would  _not_  run. She would not abandon Omega.

And surely, not even the Humans could expect to have a galaxy free of any underbelly? They were not that stupid. No, all she needed was an opportunity. She would make that enough!

-cfr-

**Tikkun, Perseus Veil**

"The pro-Human factions are working out even better than I thought they would."

"Are they?" Shepard asked Harper without turning his attention towards the other Ascended. The Geth were putting up quite a fight. It made sense, he supposed. Of all the galaxy, the Geth had had the best idea about Nazara's strengths and they were not as trusting as organics. They would have had some plan to fight.

Maybe not. They had trusted Nazara but they had also had at least a month to know the Human fleet was coming, and centuries to assume that the Quarian fleet or a Council fleet would attack. Rannoch was heavily defended by those who didn't need rest and who could build and build and build so long as there were resources. And with the Council being so lax in patrols and those in the Terminus Systems not caring unless they were attacked, the Geth had been able to gather many resources.

It was not enough to stop them, and Shepard's fleet was systematically cutting through them, but it  _was_  taking time. Shepard was philosophical about it. It was taking time but the Council wasn't going anywhere.

"They are," Harper replied. "I'm getting all sorts of useful information."

"Anything directly useful?"

"Not really," the former leader of Cerberus admitted.

"So why tell me now?" Shepard demanded, as he dispersed another set of oculi. The Geth had strewn the system with defences. The larger ones were easy to find and destroy. For the smaller ones, while they could not hurt any of the Ascended, they were annoying. They clogged their senses and thus had to be removed. That required clouds of oculi which further clogged their senses but which could be ignored as being part of themselves. The oculi had two tasks. The first was to destroy the smaller Geth defences and the second was to help the fleet triangulate where the central Geth servers were. Once they were found, it would be all over for the Geth.

"Because there is one situation that is similar," Harper replied, releasing more of his own oculi.

The small round ships immediately began firing on the small Geth defences as the fleet advanced through Tikkun.

"Oh, what is that?" Shepard asked.

"Magna."

"That's a Turian colony."

"It is," Harper said. "When they heard that Palaven fell, Magna's governor truly embraced any alternative to conventional fighting."

Shepard laughed. "What did they do?" While they had taken out Palaven, they really hadn't taken out that many Turian colonies. There were a few coming up in the Terminus Systems which would fall.

"They released self-replicating nanites to build defences."

"They did what?!"

"I know," Harper agreed with Shepard's disbelief. They were expecting the Turians to do something stupid, to break the bounds of the Citadel's conventions but this… The Geth might have been able to control self-replicating nanites because of their synthetic nature but for an organic race to try it? It would only take one tiny error in the command code.

"There's a few pro-Humans on Magna," Harper continued. "Not Turians, but then the locals didn't develop the nanites on their own."

"Salarians," Shepard guessed instantly.

"Yep," Harper replied quickly. "And through them I have a Turian."

"You do?"

"One of the researchers was not as careful with my messages as he should have been."

"They have been suitably chastised?" Shepard enquired.

"Definitely." The careless Salarian researcher Jozef had been taken out and unceremoniously shot, but the seed had been planted and it had eaten away at Naevius until the Turian had sent his own message. After that, it had only been a matter of time and Harper was patient.

"So what does our little Turian know?"

"Unfortunately he's not in a position to discover what any other colony has waiting for us," Harper said. Naevius could ask about that information but it would raise suspicions and there was no need to be so careless with their toys. "He is however a part of the team checking the nanite code."

Shepard instantly saw the possibilities in that. "So when will it all fall down?"

"I think about the time we hit the Crescent Nebula would be appropriate," Harper replied.

"Make it happen," Shepard instructed. It really didn't matter if it was sooner just so long as they arrived at Magna to find the colony dead.

"It will," Harper confirmed.

"You can stop it?" Shepard asked the follow up.

Harper mentally sighed. He had been hoping to hold on to that little bit of information. Not knowing wouldn't harm Shepard and Harper fully intended to use it at the appropriate time. "My little Turian knows the kill codes for the nanites," he replied, which translated to he knew the kill codes.

"Good," Shepard said before cutting the link as they continued scanning for the Geth's consciousnesses. As far as they were concerned now, Magna had already fallen and they needed to focus on Rannoch.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

Shepard was… it was hard to define his feelings. There was a sense of happiness in the comms at the Citadel when he connected. It was not from the Catalyst but rather from the inhabitants and that worried him. They had no reason to be happy but he didn't have time to find out what it was from. The Council was in session which was too good an opportunity to pass up, even if for information gathering. One of the others could do it. There was however, time to listen in for a moment before he spoke to them.

"He missed a week," Schells was saying, "what makes you think he will be back?"

"This is Shepard," Quentius replied. "He'll be back, and probably annoyed that he missed that week." The Turian Councillor knew him so well.

"We still don't know why," Irissa said.

Now if that wasn't an opening, Shepard didn't know what was. "I was fixing the Council's three hundred year old mistake," he said allowing his hologram to materialise.

Schells had appeared to have finally worked out that he was a hologram and thus she couldn't be touched because she didn't yelp as she had in the past. Or perhaps the fact that she had survived the position as Councillor for the last few weeks despite the ongoing assassinations was making her feel more empowered. Either way, she was the first to speak.

"Mistake?"

Unfortunately, 'empowered' didn't translate to 'intelligent'.

"Yes," Shepard said pleasantly. "Your mistake. The Geth," he added with a snarl, "which you so kindly gave three hundred years to build their defenses." Sweeping Tikkun, Ma-at and Dholen had been a pain, even for the combined fleets they had used. The Geth had had a great deal of time to establish themselves in those systems and being synthetic, factors like economy or political will hadn't held them back. All they required was consensus and a decision on priority for a project to be done, and once projects were begun, they were completed.

Even though the Geth were not organic, Arshan had been pleased that they had been destroyed. After they cleared Rannoch, the elder Ascended had informed Shepard that his strategy confirmed Harbinger's decisions. While that news had been pleasing, the implications were not. Someone, one of the Human Ascended, had spoken to Harbinger and, while Shepard didn't know what had been said, he knew well enough that they had tried to usurp him. That meant it could only be one of the older Ascended. The list of who it could be was not that long and Shepard had already ruled out Harper. While the man wanted to lead, he was not one to complain to authority. Harper would want to take the position by his own strength. Still, that was not the issue for now.

"They are gone?" Quentius asked, his eyes wide as he stared at Shepard.

"It took a bit of effort, even for us, but yes, they are gone and since there are no comm buoys beyond the Perseus Veil, I couldn't join you for our weekly catch up."

"We were wondering why you had paused," Irissa said. "We thought perhaps that you had run out of steam," she added, using organic insinuation.

Shepard smiled at her. "Oh, don't worry, my dear," he purred. "I'm always ready for you." The look he directed towards the Councillor was not appropriate but seemed to do its job. Irissa took a half step backwards at the sheer lust in the Human's gaze. She probably would have complained except the ongoing effect was ruined by the Shepard's background.

When a hologramatic image was sent through the network there were two ways of doing it. The first was to stand on a projection disk. That method transmitted the image of the being speaking and nothing but that image. It was how Schells was represented. The other was to project the area the being was in. Since Shepard was just a digitally created image, albeit a very good one, he could use either method but he had always gone with the second method. He had almost always chosen to show the bridge of some Systems Alliance ship in the background. Today was different.

Today, there was a simple wall behind Shepard. Hung at a number of heights were various plaques. Quentius ground his teeth together when he realised one of them said Palaven. There was a large piscine attached to the wood. As he looked further, he saw that another said Khar'shan, but the wood was a darker colour than the others. There was one for Irune as well, and there, hanging just over Shepard's right shoulder was Rannoch. There were a lot of empty spaces on the wall and Quentius realised they would be for Sur'Kesh, Thessia and all the other colonies the Humans had yet to take. The wall was nothing more than an electronic construction but the metaphor showed how confident the Humans were.

In the air behind Shepard, Quentius could see the faint outline of a fish swimming. It was surreal and Quentius wasn't even sure if Shepard knew it was there.

"Anyway, the Geth are gone. There's probably a few running around in the Terminus Systems but I'll get to them soon enough." Shepard's image laughed. "I'll get to a lot of things soon," he added.

The fish behind Shepard were joined by some others. Quentius squinted at them. They wouldn't stay still but he could swear there was writing on their scales. What game was Shepard playing now?

"You mean you are going to attempt to enter Council territory," Irissa said.

Shepard cocked his head at her and then he grinned. "You won't be stopping me entering anywhere," he said with a leer and again Irissa took a step back.

Quentius couldn't help the laugh that burst out of him. He knew what the looks Shepard was giving Irissa meant but how could she be taking him seriously with that background? There was nothing remotely amorous, forced or otherwise, with swimming fish and plaques.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Irissa yelled.

"You mean you can't-" Quentius didn't finish the question when Shepard looked at him from the corner of his eye, and shook his head slightly. Well that answered two questions. One, Shepard was perfectly aware of what was on display behind him and two, the hologram was set to a spectrum only Turians could see. Briefly Quentius closed his eyes. "I am sorry," he said after taking a deep breath. "Shepard, you were never interested in Asari. I do not believe ascension would have changed that," he admonished the Human, turning to stare at him.

Shepard looked at him with a smirk, and made a small gesture with his hand. The fish stilled and Quentius felt his eyes widen when he saw that there were names on them. Thessia was the largest but on the smaller fish there were other names. Chalkhos, Selvos, Altakiril, Illium, Turvess, Kahje, Nevos. The names seemed change and they were all colonies he recognised but as he watched further he realised there were no Salarian colonies named. Did that mean that those traitorous lizards had actually made a deal? Or was Shepard merely trying to insinuate that?

"Dear Liara did so want me to be," Shepard replied before his expression became sad. "But my heart always belonged to another."

"And have you found them?" Irissa took the opportunity to taunt. They all knew he wouldn't find Tali but he would find her people.

"I have a far better idea of where the Quarians are than you do," Shepard said, as his hologram took a deep breath. Most of the younger Human Ascended were involved in the harvest. The older of those, those who were nearly fully trained were now hunting down the Quarians. Through the Catalyst, they knew which Relays had been activated, relays the Council didn't know about, and it was simply a matter of searching the systems until the Migrant Fleet was found. It probably wouldn't take that long and once they were found, then he would decide what to do. "But I have far bigger fish to fry," he added. The fish behind him scattered as a hook fell into their midst. Watching that, Quentius wondered what Irissa could see and resolved to delicately inquire later.

"Speaking of food, why are you sending it to us?" Quentius asked. With the fish swimming in the background, he just couldn't bring himself to be reticent.

"I don't want you to starve," Shepard replied easily allowing his expression to become slightly condescending. Inwardly, he was shocked. Food. He should have thought about it! He knew the Citadel wasn't self sufficient. Why hadn't he? The answer came quickly. Because he already knew food was being shipped to the Citadel. He'd known it in the way he knew all information. The answers were there when he thought about them but they had also impacted upon his thinking.

Something that Harbinger had told him soon after he had awoken in his new form ghosted through his memory now.

"You are no longer Human, Shepard. You are Ascended and you will come to understand what that means in time."

This was just part of being Ascended but it was a part that was going to take some getting used to.

"You don't want us to starve?" Irissa seemed incredulous, yet she relied on the shipments of food, just like the rest of them.

"Of course not," Shepard told her. "You are the witnesses. Of course, you are also the final battle, but that's not something you need to worry about yet."

"Witnesses to what?" Schells asked.

Shepard turned to the Salarian's hologram and Quentius watched as a fish with the word Sur'kesh finally appeared and immediately bit the hook that had been in the water. With an upward jerk the fish disappeared as if caught and he was forced to hold his mandibles still as he realised what Shepard was telling him. Agreement or not, Shepard was aware of how stupid the Salarian was, with how easily she was caught. Even Irissa had more sense. For a moment, Shepard's hologram just looked at Schells, making one long slow blink. After that he took a visible breath and looked at Irissa. "You explain," he said. "I'm busy."

And Shepard's hologram vanished.

"Shepard!" Irissa shouted. "Shepard!" she repeated. "I know you are there!" she added for good measure. There was no way he could always appear exactly on time without having some way of listening in. "Get back here!"

Quentius rose, holding his mandibles so still that they almost quivered. "He won't come," he said. "Even if he is here, he's not going to answer you, Irissa."

"Darn it, Shepard," she yelled into the air before turning on Schells. "You really don't understand?" Irissa growled as Quentius slipped out of the chamber and the door closed, sealing the room.

It was only then that he allowed himself to laugh.

And it was later, that the memory made him sick. Nothing Shepard did should ever amuse him. Nothing.

-cfr-

**Batarian Colony, Grata, Sineus' Moon, Dirada System, Pylos Nebula**

Shepard focused his senses on the colony below him. The last few signals were running through what territory remained, vainly seeking an escape as the husks hunted them down. If he had still been Human, his eyes would have been closed with a small satisfied smirk adorning his features. Playing cat and mouse with Batarians was fun, especially if you were a lion sized cat.

Grata was one of Sineus' many moons, a gas giant in the Pylos Nebula and it appeared to be the centre of what remained of Batarian culture. Trust them to settle in a region well known for piracy, though the settlement on Grata was far more than a mere pirate base. It had been an interlinked series of bunkers, which had been laboriously hewn out of the rock. It had to be, since Grata's only distinguishing feature was water, not atmosphere. None of Sineus' moons had anything but the thinnest of atmospheres. They had all lost it millions of years ago to the gas giant they orbited.

During the assault, he'd read the information available on the Batarian servers. It appeared that they had, slowly, been getting their act together. Turian records declared that the Batarians had fallen into an anarchic state after Harbinger had swept through their territory. Those Batarians lucky enough to be outside their space had maintained some hope when the Council funded the Expedition but they had been degenerating into warring colonies. The evidence the Ascended had found supported that. All through the former Systems Alliance territory, they had found small Batarian colonies and the ruins of others.

What the Turian information failed to mention, but was confirmed by Batarian files, was that slowly those warring colonies were consolidating. Or, Shepard reflected, it could be that they were more paranoid. Most of the settlements found so far showed signs of hasty evacuation. There had been a few Batarians left on each. The weak and the sick and dying and the Human Ascended had made short work of them, generally putting them out of their misery with a focused orbital bombardment before moving on.

Grata had been different. The colony had teemed with life, all of it in deep underground bunkers. There had even been a rudimentary fleet guarding the colony. The extensive colony on Grata, and in the growing unity of the Batarian colonies had shown only a small gain in reclaiming what they had lost with their homeworld but Shepard had felt a tiny stirring of admiration for the four eyed aliens. You could put them down, smash them into the ground and stomp on their remains but like cockroaches some always remained.

It was at that time he decided it was beyond time to remove any trace of admiration by reminding himself why he put the Batarian race in a special place, next to the Asari to hold in contempt.

The Batarians had cooperated perfectly.

While the fleet had been destroying the minor defences, a shuttle had attempted to flee. As if the Ascended wouldn't notice a shuttle! It had been summarily fired upon but had been allowed to limp back to the moon, revealing where at least one landing bay was. After that, it was a foregone conclusion. The Ascended had swarmed the place with husks. Shepard would like to say that the few defenders had fought well, but he was happier that they hadn't. Enemies who fought well meant lost husks, and while Shepard was very well adjusted to his new form, he still did not yet think of Human husks as expendable. It was probably a holdover from his training while an organic because he had so many military personnel enclosed within his being.

After the skirmish, Shepard had been surprised to find an old friend. Jath'Amon, the so-called Ambassador to the Council had been on the shuttle. They'd been about to drop him on a dragon tooth when analysis of the colonies files had shown he was the titular head of the new Hegemony. In reality, the leadership was still being viciously fought over. Still, it had made the decision easy. He had been dragged into the observation bay and forced to watch as the colony's inhabitants were dragged out of the labyrinthine bunkers and converted into more useful forms.

The slaves hadn't caused Jath'Amon any concern and most had been grateful for the release of death. The Batarian hadn't even flinched when the first Batarians were led out and impaled, not even when Shepard had decided to get creative, placing them carefully so that they did not die with the initial wound but lingered, moaning pathetically as their innards were turned into the building blocks of their new cybernetic enhancements.

It had not been until several children had been dragged out that the former ambassador displayed the slightest emotion. He hadn't been planning on turning them into husks, simply because they were too small, and the dragon's tooth was likely to split them in two but when their presence affected Jath'Amon, Shepard was only momentarily surprised at himself when he realised he felt nothing at the thought of impaling them. There was a part of him that was disgusted but another recognised that death came to all things, and that this was part of the cycle.

It had been a bit of a strain but he had focused his consciousness, pouring as much as he could into a husk. He had been Ascended knowing how to guide husks, but possessing one was a different matter. Even with the union of organic and cybernetics, they did not have the capacity to hold him but it had been worth the discomfort to speak.

"Yours, I presume?" His voice was unrecognisable through the husk but it the question startled the Batarian.

Jath'Amon had been allowed to stand freely at the bay window, while husks guarded the entrance. The controls had been ripped out, and the clear, glass-like substance was far too hard for the Batarian to break. His four eyes could see everything but he could do nothing about it. "What are you?" he demanded after a moment of silence.

Mentally, Shepard sighed. Why did everyone ask what he was? They couldn't comprehend the answer, though cheekily Joker suggested a few responses. "Your fate! No wait! Your doom!"

"Joker!" Pressly admonished.

"Does it matter?" Shepard replied, ignoring the chatter from within.

"Are you the ones who destroyed Khar'Shan?" Jath'Amon pressed on, his eyes wide as he stared at the husk which Shepard had moved to come to stand beside him.

"No," Shepard replied. "But I am the one about to kill them," he added, pushing the Batarian's attention back to the landing bay. The husks had manoeuvred the children over the closest teeth and were about to activate it.

"No!"

"So, Batarians can care for something beyond their position. I had wondered."

"Shepard you can't!" a chorus of voices screamed at him. "We can't!" Shepard found himself drawn inwards. His being was split, and for a moment he watched as the two sides argued. They argued not so much in words, but in feelings and emotion. The best analogy was that it was a swirling mass of thought.

The consciousness that was Shepard didn't have to reply but for another part pulled the memories of Batarian slavers to the fore. Some of those in his form had very intimate knowledge of slavers and right at the moment, they were only too happy to share that knowledge. The counter came immediately, that these Batarians were not guilty of anything. They hadn't even been alive when the crimes were committed. The truth of that could not be refuted, even by the most emotional and that was one change wrought by ascension that Shepard was pleased with. He did not discount the importance of feelings in making decisions but for some things only cold logic could suffice.

And the cold logic was that the children were going to die. It was only the means of their deaths that was in question. The internal argument continued, that this was not about guilt, though it was peripherally about vengeance and that with their deaths a certainty, why not use their small forms? The smaller husk forms would be able to go into places the adults would not. It was not desecration of their bodies, it could not be, when the same had happened to Humans. If the soul existed, it would have moved on with death and they would be placed such that death was instantaneous.

In words, in text, in print and heated discussion, in the way that organics argued, it would have taken weeks, perhaps months or years to reach a conclusion. For Shepard, it took barely any time at all before the final conclusion was reached that on some level it was just wrong to kill the younglings. But reality was also acknowledged with that conclusion, that they were organic, they would die anyway and today was that day. Not everyone was happy but not everyone could be happy with this.

This was the way of Ascension. Organics had to be preserved against their own creations. Age did not matter. All served Ascension. And he was Ascended. The Batarians were already Ascended. These were extras. In the end, any argument against that was simply organic memory, not Ascension.

"Why are you doing this?" Jath'Amon demanded. "We Batarians are the chosen ones! We are smarter, better, yet everyone is against us!"

The statement brought instant silence to Shepard's consciousness.

"He did not just say that?!" Joker spluttered, vocalising the sheer disbelief felt by most.

"How did they form that opinion?" Annie asked the more relevant question, though the modulations in her tone showed that she didn't quite believe what the Batarian had said.

The initial reasoning was easy. The Batarians had not been shy in sharing their beliefs with the galaxy. The damaged Prothean technology cache they had found, coupled with their morphological similarity and no doubt fuelled by their state had led to the belief that they were superior.

"History says otherwise," Shepard replied through the husk, making a gesture to those below.

The motion was for Jath'Amon's benefit, so that he knew to look. The dragon tooth activated. The child was impaled, dying instantly, while the others screamed but were held firm by the husks which had captured them.

"Why?" Jath'Amon demanded again though his voice trembled.

"You are just an organic species," Shepard said, "one that will fade in the memory of the galaxy."

"No, that can't be! We are the chosen ones!"

"Then where are you great works? Your accomplishments and achievements? Where is your legacy?"

"You are killing it!" The Batarian ambassador screamed, lunging towards the husk, his hands balled into fists as he attempted to fight.

Batarians were built the same as a Human. They had no extra leg joints, like a Salarian, and a differing number of fingers was not a difference which made an appreciable difference in close combat. The extra depth perception offered by their four eyes perhaps offered some small advantage but only if they were fast enough to capitalise on them. Jath'Amon might once have been a fit Batarian but he had not kept up his training in the intervening years. Even stuck in the body of a husk, Shepard was more than his match, catching the thrown fist in a grip that was immovable before twisting Jath'Amon's arm up behind his back, and pushing forward so that the Batarian was forced to stare out of the observation port.

"You are short-sighted," Shepard hissed, "and I am the end of you." Harbinger had always stated that to be effective Humans had to control their emotional drives but Shepard couldn't deny he felt a certain amount of satisfaction at Jath'Amon's pain.

The ambassador struggled for a moment but Shepard felt the moment when he went limp. It was about the same time that the last child was hoisted on to the dragon teeth. Shepard released the hold he had on Jath'Amon, allowing the Batarian to fall as the husk stepped back.

Scans from his senses showed that the last of Grata's colonists were being dragged in for processing now. As Shepard pulled back from the husk he made a decision. Jath'Amon could remain here, alone and unharmed with abundant supplies. One dragon tooth would be left in the bay and all comms and possible transport destroyed. It would be interesting to see what choice the Ambassador made.

-cfr-


	26. Talking Through the Apocalypse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 25: Talking Through the Apocalypse**

-cfr-

**Omega Station, Omega Nebula**

"They're here."

Aria looked up from the data pad and nodded, throwing it onto the desk as she rose. She had been expecting this sooner but alien attack fleets didn't listen to her schedule. At least, she'd managed to keep the entire merc fleet here.

"Start transmission," she ordered, as she walked into what had become the command room. She was pleased to see Averul already there.

"There's no need," a voice Aria didn't recognise spoke as the screens flickered.

A Human face appeared on them. One Aria only vaguely recognised. She didn't pay that much attention to the Council's lackeys but the lone Human Spectre's image had been splashed everywhere.

"You wanted to talk to us?" the Human said.

A side screen showed the enemy fleet, honing in on a few to highlight the Human markings. "Fuck you Council" translated very easily, as did "Humanity, Fuck Yeah!" Aria felt her confidence grow. These were Humans and she was not their enemy.

"Who am I speaking to?" she asked, making sure to keep her voice reasonable.

"My name is Shepard. Who are you?"

Just as the image spoke, the side screen honed in on the ship. It was identical to the others with the words N7 Shepard clearly spelt out. On a front leg, there was an image of Earth and even after forty years, Aria recognised it as the symbol of the Systems Alliance.

Aria decided she liked what she saw in the eyes of the Human. The gaze was measuring, to be sure, but there was no lust or derision in it. This Human truly didn't care that she was a criminal. All he seemed to care about was what she could do for him. She could work with that.

"I am Aria T'Loak. I am the ruler here."

The Human smiled slightly. It was not condescending but was more as if he was happy to be talking to someone with power. "How can I help you, Aria T'Loak?" he asked, his voice pronouncing her name perfectly. The fact that he did not give her a title of her people was also a point in his favour. Up close he was handsome enough, she supposed. His features were smooth, with bright eyes.

"We have, of course, been following your progress through the galaxy," she began, wondering if she should congratulate them on their conquests. No, while that sort of aggrandising was expected for pirates, it would be crass now.

"I suppose we have made a bit of an impression," Shepard said and behind him, while it could not be seen clearly, a galactic map appeared. There was a very large section in red. The territory he held.

"Omega is not your enemy," she continued. "Put simply, Omega is the counterpart to the Citadel that they do not wish to admit exists."

"I am aware of what role Omega plays in the galaxy," Shepard said. "The station acts as a port of call and trading hub for most of the major mercenary groups. It provides headquarters for every smuggling ring worth its salt and is a hotbed for illegal drugs and other questionable substances." He said the last with a cocky little smile that said he knew far more than he should. "I am very aware that you are not under Council jurisdiction. If you were, we would not be holding this conversation."

"So that's why you took out Palaven first," she said, understanding the strategy now.

"I am a direct man," Shepard replied.

Aria nodded at that. She didn't believe it but such a statement gave her a good opening and she had learned to use those openings, rather than dancing around the issue like more diplomatically minded Asari would. "Then I will be equally direct. What are your intentions in Omega?"

Shepard's image looked at her intently, as if surprised that she took his opening, but he was still calm and relaxed. After a moment, he spoke with a wry smile. "You are not my enemy Aria T'Loak but you are in my way." He was nodding slightly at the end.

"In the way of conquest?" she asked, sounding slightly dubious. Very little information had swept ahead of his fleet; nothing came from behind it. That was one of the reasons they remained such an enigma.

"Not conquest," Shepard shook his head. "But that is a very reasonable assumption - that I am Human and that this is about vengeance, about raising the Human Empire across the galaxy."

"You're not Human?" Aria asked with a tiny frown. He claimed a Human name and rank.

"I was but I am now Ascended," Shepard replied, looking at her intently. "It is the genetic destiny of the galaxy to be Ascended," he added but there was nothing fanatical in his tone, just matter of fact.

"So you are going to attack?"

"You are going to resist," he countered.

Aria forced herself to calm when she caught sight of the screen showing the fleet suddenly flashing red. That meant their weapons had been powered up. She was confident but even she felt some trepidation when staring at dreadnoughts bearing down upon her and while Aria was not an expert in capital ship weapons, she knew they shouldn't power up that quickly. There was only one small consolation in the situation. The mercenary fleet did not fire.

"Did you wish something, Aria T'Loak?" Shepard asked, his eyes narrowing and she knew the answer he wanted.

"No! You can't! We had a deal!"

Aria snarled, turning to the speaker. Averul. Her hand went to her weapon while she kept one eye on Shepard's image.

There was no instant of surprise or incomprehension. The image's expression remained the same before slowly shifting into something of a satisfied smile. "I am altering the deal. Pray I don't alt-" The image paused before chuckling. "Well," Shepard drawled. "Never mind," he added with exhalation to cover further laughter.

"Did you have a deal?" Aria demanded, her gun gripped firmly in hand.

Shepard's amused gaze shifted from Averul's body to her. "One of my fleet might have made a few insinuations," he admitted. "But nothing solid, though perhaps you'd like to make a deal with me, Aria T'Loak? A population of 7.8 million is not worth me landing troops to ascend you. I'm in a good mood though. The last Batarian holding we found took a long time to die and, unlike other Asari, you have been honest with me. So, I know you've probably read everything the Council has discovered about ascension but I'll tell you something I haven't told them." The image of Shepard leaned forward slightly and while Aria recognised it as a feeble attempt to seem more approachable, she couldn't help but wonder what he had to say.

"I was the first Human Ascended and I am in charge," he said with a clearly challenging look, as if daring her to question him or to take up the opportunity. "We have not yet Ascended any Asari and I'm prepared to make you the first."

In the space around Omega, the Ascended had their own private comms while Shepard taunted the organics. It was always fun to laugh at their attempts. Their communication was so much faster than the words of organics.

"Shepard," Arshan sent to the Human Ascended. "It wasn't like that. Harbinger put you in charge."

"I know that," Shepard replied, sending acknowledgement over the comms. "You know that but she doesn't know that." He added clearly indicating that this was merely a ploy.

Silently, Arshan watched the younger Ascended. It appeared Shepard understood and a Human phrase came to him. Lying, cheating and stealing from organics. They grew up so fast.

"And that would put me in charge?"

"Potentially," Shepard replied, knowing full well that the matter of leadership was strength of will. Still, to become the dominant leader of Omega, Aria must have considerable will power. It wasn't impossible for her to become the dominant consciousness. "But, I want every Asari on Omega to come with you." The addition was important to him. The more Asari he could collect now, the fewer he'd need from Thessia.

Aria was well trained. She could negotiate with the most hardened mercenaries without giving away anything yet to an Ascended she might as well have been an open book. Shepard could see the way her breath was just a mite shallower and his additional sensors, those he had by acquiring the feeds from Omega, showed that her temperature rose. But those sensors also showed the way the others in the room were turning towards the Omegan Queen.

"You may, of course, bring whatever body guard force you feel is appropriate," Shepard added.

Those who had been turning went back to their stations and he saw the way that Aria relaxed. She had been aware of the tension. Aria took a deep breath and Shepard watched as she thought it over.

"She doesn't know what ascension is," Pressly said.

"Probably not," Shepard agreed. "But if she brings all the Asari with her, then that's about 1 million more we can kill on Thessia."

The thought amused those in his consciousness but they quickly turned their combined attention to Aria. If she wanted to live, then there was only one choice because there was no way her fleet could hold his off and they only needed a few shots to land on the station to win.

Aria growled. "You have a deal, Shepard, but only if  _you_  dock," she added the qualification.

Shepard instantly calculated the volumes. It would take a few hours to load them but it could be done. "It is always a pleasure doing business with a woman who knows her mind," he said by way of agreement.

-cfr-

**Relay to Shrike Abyssal, Human Ascended Mini-Attack Fleet**

"All right, we are the first through to the Shrike Abyssal. I know we've said this in just about every sector but there is always the possibility that the Council forces will try to ambush us!" Nergal finished the last with a laugh.

"The closer we get to Citadel space the more likely that is," Futsunushi interjected, allowing his secondary comms to display the calculations. So far, they hadn't encountered many Council forces but that was expected through the Traverse and Terminus Systems. Now that they were encroaching on what was considered the true Council territory, the chances of encountering true military forces rose. They had to because where else were the ships?

Sigurd's Cradle had been evacuated, as had the Vallhallan Threshold. Well, the Salarians had evacuated. They had left the Yagh. After consultation with Arshan and Fruben, it had been decided that the Salarian influence had been too much. The Yagh weren't technically at a harvestable level but this had happened before and the same decision had been made. Half the fleet had gathered, including the younger ones who had been previously searching for the Quarians, and what could be described as a textbook orbital bombardment had followed. Without the Salarians, the Yagh were just children playing with technology. There was no way they could retaliate and half a day later, the fleet had departed from Parnack.

"So we go through in standard formation?" Saraswati asked, though it was more to provide confirmation than a true inquiry. The little fleet of ten was already moving. They were linked in a way organic ships could only hope to copy with VI control and as one, they flew towards the Relay.

The transition was smooth, smoother even than for an organic ship because the Relays had been made by the Ascended. Transition on the other side was equally smooth and again as one, the fleet deployed mass effect fields to decelerate.

"Khara!" Horus cried and the others instantly understood.

While they had all been warned about the possibility of ambush, you never expected it to happen to you. There, in front of them, above and below, were dreadnoughts and they were firing.

"Evasive," Jing ordered. Their little fleet was already scattering though they maintained their shared spatial awareness.

"Thirty dreadnoughts," Anat reported.

"And support fleets," Moxum added.

"Well, at least we know where they are!" Taylor added.

The enemy fleet was a mixed bag of Asari and Turian vessels with Salarians at their rear. There was no major Asari colony in the Shrike Abyssal but it, along with the Omega Nebula, had connections to the Crescent Nebula, the Ismar Frontier and the Eagle Nebula. The Council could let the former Systems Alliance territory fall, they could even ignore attacks in the Attican Traverse and the Terminus Systems but they had to defend their territory. The Shrike Abyssal region was vital to that defence. They couldn't hold Omega, therefore the Shrike Abyssal had to be held. It led to too many places, providing a backdoor into the Council's most important remaining territory.

"We can take them," Indra noted. His point defences were firing, destroying the missiles that were aimed at him, while he moved to avoid the more powerful shots from the Council dreadnoughts.

"We could," Nergal agreed. "But Shepard's orders are clear." The eldest Human Ascended had given very clear orders on the possibility of ambush. Retreat was the first option and since they were up against the Relay, it was also the easiest option.

"Note the names, I want to make sure we at least get some of them," Durga growled, but she was already sending a signal to the Relay, just like the others were, and in a flash of light, the fleet was gone.

-cfr-

**Shrike Abyssal, Asari Dreadnought _Athame_**

Matriarch Toinette of the Asari dreadnought  _Athame_  leaned against her desk. Her chin dug into her right hand and her fingers were curled against her face, allowing her index finger to tap against her nose as she watched the screen. The vid was still replaying the battle from six hours before.

"That went well," Jesenia said, gesturing towards the screen.

"It could have gone much better." They could have destroyed one of the attackers.

Jesenia was experienced enough to read her meaning. "We did surprise them," she said.

"That's true but they must have been expecting this at some point." Matriarch Toinette wanted to be positive about the battle, if she could call it that, but there were still over three hundred of the Invading dreadnoughts in the galaxy and most of their own strength remained trapped at the Citadel. She had been hoping to destroy at least one of the Invaders with this ambush. The fact that they had turned and ran was being taken as a positive by her crew so she had said nothing to harm their morale but they  _had_ to destroy some Invaders, and quickly, or all would be lost.

"They were still surprised," Jesenia repeated. "Which means they do not know everything."

That was another truth, and Toinette tapped the fingers of her left hand over the desk, resetting the vid.

"I should be thankful about small gains," she said as the image focused on the Relay. In the bottom corner, there was a graph of the Relay's energy readings. For a few seconds, they were flat, indicating that it was in an active but dormant state, then every reading flashed to max and a moment later ten dreadnoughts appeared in a standard formation.

They didn't actually travel together. The Relays could not move that much mass at once but the invaders appeared to be able communicate with the Relays in a way that the Salarians had only theorised was possible. Even just by watching the invaders rampage through the galaxy, they had learned much. Not enough to be able to reactivate the Serpent Nebula Relays, unfortunately, but they knew more.

If they were to make gains in such a small fashion, Toinette only hoped they could hold on that long.

"There is a moment where we had the upper hand," Jesenia said, watching the vid as well.

"When?" Toinette asked quickly.

Jesenia took control of the vid, winding it back to the flash of light that signified a vessel's transit through the Relay. "Just here," she said, pointing. "These invaders are very powerful but they can be destroyed. In every bit of footage we've seen of their attacks, they have come through the Relay already firing but those shots were not perfect. They miss, less than us, true, but they miss, which means that they can't sense what is beyond the Relay.

"They didn't know we were here. They didn't  _know_  that there was an ambush and that is the moment we have to use. The analysts are working on an program to target from the Relay readings, so when they come to us again, they won't have time to react!"

Toinette nodded. "Tell them to put a ru-" she broke off when alarms sounded, instantly jerking upwards at the noise. "What is it?" She demanded, stabbing one finger to the comm switch.

"Ma'am, another fleet has come through the Relay."

"Fire on them!" Matriarch Toinette ordered as she rose. She should be on the bridge.

"We are! But there's too many of them!"

"How many?" Jesenia demanded.

"Ninety!" came the shouted response.

Matriarch Toinette closed her eyes, steeling herself. Ninety. The Invaders were sending a message with those numbers but she could not focus on that now. She had a battle to fight.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

"This is all your fault!" Irissa's screaming was the first thing Shepard heard when he opened a comm link to the Council. He didn't transmit his hologram yet because listening in provided so much good information. And entertainment.

"How is it my fault?" Quentius roared a reply. "I lost seventeen dreadnoughts!"

Ah, Shepard understood. They were discussing their little ambush attempt.

"And I lost ten! For nothing!"

"Then what would you have us do?" The flanging in Quentius' voice was lost in the volume.

"The Shrike Abyssal was a stupid location. It should have been the Crescent Nebula!" Irissa replied and Shepard could imagine her stabbing a finger at a map of the galaxy. Mentally, he pulled one up as well, and just to be perverse, he set it as the background for his hologram, with their relative territories clearly highlighted.

"Are you sure that's subtle enough?" Adams asked.

"We could always put labels on the colonies taken," Joker added, embellishing the map with little skull and crossbones over all the colonies that had been taken. When Shepard looked closely, the skulls were laughing.

"Needs something else," Adams replied as the map changed again, this time little targets appeared over the colonies that they hadn't taken. Because Shepard perceived the map in three dimensions, he could see all the individual colonies, and the targets over Thessia and Sur'Kesh were larger.

"You would sacrifice more Turians?" There was raw anger in Quentius' voice and while Shepard was somewhat sympathetic to the Turian Councillor, he could not help but snort at the hypocrisy. The Council races had evacuated the Valhallan Threshold and Sigurd's Cradle. They had no significant presence in the Hourglass Nebula except for the fledgling Raloi.

The only thing Shepard remembered, after re-reading several Council documents, was that the Raloi had discovered the galaxy via Asari stupidity, literally spotting an Asari cruiser loitering in their system. In the intervening years, the Council had given them some technology but nothing that could be used to hold off his fleets. Currently, the Raloi were blockaded by several younger Ascended, who got to make a game of destroying anything the Raloi launched at them. Zaeed had set some rules for them, a points system based on who captured the most things and in the best possible condition. The young ones would get further practice if Harbinger decided the Raloi were not worth ascending but that could wait.

Still, it was somewhat hypocritical that Quentius complained about sacrificing some Turians, when the Council had abandoned the entire Raloi species.

"I would give us the best chance!" Irissa screamed again. "The Crescent Nebula was a better choice!"

"It wouldn't have mattered where we were!" Quentius replied.

That was true, Shepard reflected as he continued to listen. While the Shrike Abyssal was on the edge of the galaxy, there were multiple pathways into Council territory. It was one of the reasons, the little fleet had been surprised. They were expecting ambush somewhere a little closer.

"The Crescent Nebula was a better choice," Irissa repeated.

"The only thing better about the Crescent Nebula is the Asari colonies!"

"You blame me for protecting my people?" Irissa hissed.

Shepard frowned slightly. Where was Schells? While it was true that the Salarian Councillor was new, she would not have been silent for this.

"I blame you for antagonising Shepard," Quentius growled.

"At least, I don't cave to his every desire."

"How dare you!" Quentius roared. "I have been running damage control for your stupidity for the last few months and every time I hold to the spirit of the Council, it is my people who pay for it!"

"And all of that has done nothing to stop them!"

"Evolution cannot be stopped," Shepard remarked, allowing his hologram to appear. The only modification he'd made to the map was to flatten it slightly. The Councillors couldn't see all the three dimensional details and he didn't want them to miss the message.

"Shepard!" Irissa yelled turning to him before she froze.

He shifted his hologram in the command chair he had chosen today. It was deliberately plush. "Yes?" One eyebrow raised slightly to emphasise the question.

Quentius was simply staring silently at him, or rather behind him. One mandible quivered. "Shepard, take it down," he requested eventually, his voice surprisingly even.

"But I think it illustrates the situation so clearly," Shepard replied cheekily, earning a laugh from Joker.

"Take it down," Quentius said again, gesturing sharply to Irissa to silence the Asari. "It's tacky, Shepard, and you are better than that."

While it was only a second for Quentius, to Shepard, the internal debate lasted almost an eternity. Finally, he nodded, waving one hand for effect to restore the bridge setting. "Is that better?"

"Much," Quentius said and Shepard could see the way he bit off any further words of gratitude. That was fully expected.

"What do you want?" Irissa finally exploded with the question.

"I thought we went over this months back," Shepard sighed, shifting slightly to look at the Asari Councillor. Outwardly, she looked as refined as always but it was the little things which gave away her distress. Her nails, usually neatly manicured, were cut close and unpainted and her gown, which was usually immaculate, was just slightly creased. Things were beginning to tell on the Councillor.

"Are you here to entice us to surrender?" she ploughed on with the question.

Shepard laughed. "Surrender?" He asked, cocking his head slightly at her. "I never offered Primarch Fedorian a chance to surrender. Why would I make the offer to you? Unless you want me to?" He added almost greedily. If the Asari colonies surrendered, then he wouldn't need Thessia!

"Never!" Irissa snarled. "The Asari will never surrender to you, individually, or as republics! Never shall we fall!" she declared.

"I always liked a challenge," Shepard replied eyes bright with anticipation. "I have not asked for Primarch Victus' surrender, or Councillor Quentius', because I recognise the insult that would be to them. The Turians are in this until the bitter end. Anyone with half a brain could tell you that. I'll take your challenge though Irissa, because I think you are like Schells, only an illusion."

"Schells is dead," Irissa countered.

"Ah," Shepard smiled. "One of the assassins finally got through. So the Salarians will stall some more," he surmised.

Neither Quentius or Irissa spoke, though Shepard could see that they had concluded that the Salarians had cut a deal. He should check with Harper to see how talks were going. The man wasn't sharing that information with the network, so he didn't just know, the way he had known Zaeed was feeding the Citadel.

"Getting back on topic, now. We did enjoy the excitement in the Shrike Abyssal. Unfortunately, I missed it as I was visiting some allies."

"Allies?" Quentius asked, deliberately ignoring Shepard's reference to the ambush. It was obvious what Shepard wanted to gloat about today but no matter how much Irissa thought he gave in to the Invader, he would not make it easy.

"More like slaves, pathetic remnants really, through the Omega Four Relay," Shepard grinned. The Relay was perfectly safe to go through, so long as you had an Ascended's IFF transponder, then it made sure you arrived on target and not in the centre of the galaxy's black hole. He had spoken briefly to the Collectors, taking what information they had and giving them Harbinger's preliminary orders for the new cycle. Harbinger's hatred was clear from his continued torture of the Prothean survivors. It made Shepard glad that Humanity had already been Ascended.

"There is nothing through that Relay," Irissa said. As the Human fleet had progressed through the galaxy, she had taken to reviewing what was in their immediate path. One of the things which stood out about Omega was the Relay straight into a black hole.

Shepard laughed. "There's plenty through that Relay. It's all about how you navigate but that's not your concern," he waved one hand to dismiss it.

"What should be our concern?" Irissa asked.

"Gathering your fleets," Shepard replied.

"So you can kill them?" Quentius interjected.

Again, Shepard waved his hand and the background changed. By now the Council was somewhat used to it. Behind him appeared the lists of Council dreadnoughts. The list was colour-coded to show each species and next to each name was their location. Those that had been destroyed were struck out.

"Now, let's take out those dreadnoughts trapped in the Serpent Nebula," Shepard said, and those names that had been marked as being at the Citadel disappeared. "And those that aren't around to make any difference." Those names that had been struck out vanished as well.

For the Council, it left a depressingly small list and only two of those names were coloured as Turian. There were ten Asari and twelve Salarian dreadnoughts left on the list.

"There's not a lot left to kill," Shepard mused.

Looking at the list, Irissa paled. She had known most of the Council's military assets were effectively neutralised, anchored at the Citadel, but seeing it highlighted by one of the Invaders just make it all the more clear. And it highlighted how little the Salarians had helped. If she had any doubt that they had made a deal, it dissolved now. The Dalatrasses would sacrifice three dreadnoughts to preserve the illusion that they were helping. It was also very disconcerting to see that the locational column was disturbingly accurate.

Shepard turned slightly to look at the list, bringing one hand up to tap at his chin. "Tell you what. If you plan another ambush attempt, I'll make sure I show up for it," he added. "Hackett got to have all the fun."

"Hackett?" The Human had spoken in that earlier call but Quentius didn't really believe that. It was one thing to know that Shepard was still alive but all the other Humans? No, that was too much, with all that the Turians had lost.

"You mean you aren't in charge?" Irissa said, making the obvious connection. While Shepard was well ranked within the Human military Hackett outranked him.

"I wasn't with that fleet, I already told you that."

"No," Irissa said. "Are you in charge?"

"There's been a few ranking adjustments over the years," Shepard said finally.

"You don't sound too sure," Irissa seized upon Shepard's hesitation.

"We fight as one, so rank does not apply," he replied. "But in the way that you would understand, I am in charge. Hackett was deputised to spring your little ambush. Are you feeling insulted that I wasn't there? I promise I'll be over Thessia."

"Shepard," Irissa said the name as she swallowed hard. "You would go so far?" she gasped the question. "Is your vengeance worth that much?"

Quentius stared at her. Was it only now that she truly understood? What the hell had she been thinking until now?

"Vengeance?" Shepard asked lightly. "I told you months ago that this was no longer only about vengeance, though," he paused, "I will grant that, to you, it appears to be nothing more than vengeance."

"Why do you say that?" Irissa asked, her voice showing that while she needed the answer, she didn't really want it.

Shepard looked at her for a moment, allowing the hologram at his back to return to the bridge scene. He raised one hand and scratched at his scalp as he thought. "I think I'll tell you later," he replied finally. "There's no need to make this more difficult."

"Make what more difficult?"

Quentius rolled his eyes. Stupid Asari. Did she not realise that Shepard was baiting her? "His assault on your worlds," he muttered.

Shepard smiled at him. "Exactly," he purred before looking thoughtful. "Not that I'm expecting it to be that difficult anyway. That's why we took Palaven first." His voice was unnaturally bright.

"How  _dare_  you?" Irissa snarled, which only made Shepard laugh.

"I dare, Asari, because I can, and there is nothing  _you_  can do about it." Shepard made a gesture, as if tweaking Irissa's nose before he vanished, the echo of his laughter lingering in the air.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Turian Councillor's Quarters**

"So we are agreed?" Primarch Victus looked directly at Quentius.

After a deep breath, the Councillor replied. "I agree we are going to have to try," he said, which wasn't the confident answer Adrien was expected.

"You think we will fail?" The former Primarch of Menae asked.

"I think Shepard will anticipate it," he said.

"Then give me some other option!" Victus growled. "We are looking at the complete extinction of the Turian people and I will not have that happen!"

Quentius just looked at him sadly. After breaking through the ambush in the Shrike Abyssal, the Invading fleet had gleefully swarmed the colonies there. They hadn't yet travelled to any connecting system but it was only a matter of time. The Volus were gone. Their final major colonies had been in the Shrike Abyssal and with the loss of the Aethon Cluster, just after the fall of Palaven, the only remaining representatives of their race were on the Citadel. The Turians weren't faring much better. All their remaining major colonies were in systems which connected to the Shrike Abyssal and according to Council galactic maps, the only way to get to most of the Asari colonies and all of the Salarian colonies was through the Serpent Nebula.

"With respect, Primarch, I do not believe that the Invaders will come through the Serpent Nebula to reach Thessia." Quentius replied evenly.

"You think they'll travel FTL? That would be giving us more time to prepare. No sane military commander would give their enemy that." Victus had seen everything Shepard had sent, but he also had the analysis of the Invading ships from various Turian listening posts throughout the galaxy. Those posts showed that many of the invading ships were wreathed in static discharge. Apart from being at a point which should have killed any crew, it was evidence that they travelled extreme distances at FTL, ignoring the range restrictions that applied to their own ships.

"No, Sir. I think they know of other Relays."

Victus paused before he nodded slowly. The Asari Councillor believed that the Invading fleet would have to pass through the Serpent Nebula before they reached Thessia, and she had a support fleet, consisting of as many frigates and cruisers the Asari could scrape up, ready to back-up the Citadel fleet and destroy the Invaders as they re-entered the Serpent Nebula. Irissa had done her best to suppress her smug look because, if her plan worked, it would put the Asari in charge of the galaxy for the foreseeable future. The Turians were no longer a major player and the Salarians… Victus felt his hands ball into fists, driving his talons into his palms. As for the Salarians, the less said the better.

But Quentius made a valid point. The galaxy was scattered with inactive Relays. No one knew where they went but it was a fair assumption that the Invaders did. Given the knowledge they had displayed of Relay operation, it was entirely possible that the Invaders would blindside the Asari. In fact, with their representative's hostility towards Irissa, Victus believed it was more likely than not.

Deliberately, Victus raised one hand to his mandibles, rubbing along his jaw lightly as he thought. "Shepard said once that we were the final battle," he began slowly, recalling the words.

Quentius nodded. "It was when I asked him about why he was supplying food."

Victus waved his hand before returning to rubbing his mandibles. "That implies that at some stage the Invaders will return here."

"Yes Sir," Quentius agreed.

The Primarch straightened. "Then the timing just changed," he said firmly.

Quentius nodded again, his mind awash with everything that could go wrong but there was no point in voicing those concerns. The Primarch had heard them and had considered them and it was as he had said earlier. They were going to have to try. "Do you want me to move any?"

Victus thought for a moment longer. "No," he said sadly. "I would like to but that would reveal our intentions and we cannot give those traitors any hints as to our intentions."

The Councillor took a deep breath. Traitors. There, it was said by the highest remaining Turian authority but there was nothing they could do about it. After one further shared look of understanding, the comm link terminated and Quentius collapsed back into his chair. His office was dark and there was a large glass of Turian whiskey waiting for him. He still had a small private stock pile.

He snorted to himself as he took a sip. That sounded like Irissa and her tea. Quentius shook his head, raising his free hand to rub his eyebrow ridge. The familiar gestured calmed him before he reached out to the glass to take another sip.

It was, as some of the Human religions had proclaimed, the end of days. Yet what could they do? They'd been doomed from the moment that  _three hundred_  dreadnoughts had shown up in Trebia. Oh, in an all-out battle, the galactic forces versus the Invaders, they might have won. The thousands of cruisers, frigates and fighters could have been brought to bear in an ideal world but that was a practical impossibility. They were scattered around the galaxy, broken into smaller fleets which the Invaders could pick off at their leisure.

Trebia should have shown them that. They didn't need the extra lesson at the Shrike Abyssal but they had had no choice. The semblance of civilisation was hanging by a thread and they had to be seen to defend themselves. Yet, all it had done was amuse the Invaders. When Shepard appeared after the ambush attempt, throughout the entire conversation, he had been pleased. The only other emotion he'd shown was a slight regret because he hadn't been there. Quentius wasn't sure if he believed that the Human had been in the galactic core but it didn't really matter, the few transmitted records from the battle… no, the slaughter had not shown the vessel named Shepard.

So what did they do now?

Quentius could almost hear Shepard's answer.

"You die." He would say it gently, as if making a joke. The smallest smile would be on his features and one eyebrow would be slightly raised to tell them all that this really was something to laugh at.

"You die." He would say it sadly as if it caused him pain that they were dying, his shoulders bowed with his head and regret lighting his eyes.

"You die." He would say it firmly, as if it was the obvious conclusion. His face would be stern and there would not be the slightest trace of smugness in his tone or expression.

"You die." He would say it offhandedly because it was the final act and one that was a foregone conclusion. There would be a sense of sadness that his fun was ending.

"You die." He would proclaim it because it was the answer to the question they hadn't thought to ask. It was a revelation because it was so obvious.

The litany continued, showing every nuance of tone and posture, every possibility that could be expressed by the Humans and in that, Quentius knew, they could be extremely articulate.

He'd never felt so hopeless. Every move they made had been anticipated. Anything they did would be countered and while Primarch Victus held on to hope with his plan, Quentius couldn't help but feel that Shepard was already laughing at them. The Human already knew and had countered it. He didn't know it for sure, he couldn't prove it, but he felt it.

"So what do I do now?" Quentius whispered the words, blinking fiercely to hold back his tears.

Answers did not come from the silence.

-cfr-


	27. Hope for the Future..?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

### Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy  
Chapter 26: Hope For the Future..?

-cfr-

**Human Ascended Attack Fleet, Illium Orbit**

"Harper, to me," Shepard gave the instruction the instant the last of the space-based defences around Illium were destroyed. A small part of him kept his attention on the planet.

Illium’s population lived on the border between the Council and the Terminus Systems and with their planet being one of the key gateways between the two, they were relatively rich. It showed. It wasn’t as if the Humans could hide their presence so Illium’s leaders had used the last few months to hire every merc Aria hadn’t controlled. They had also brought every fission weapon their money and influence could bring to the planet. They hadn’t fired them, not that it would do any good against the shielded and armoured hulls of the Ascended, but it made their ploy obvious. Illium’s leaders were going to fire them at the landing parties. It seemed stupid for a garden world but since Illium was not as blue as Earth, and the continents had a silver sheen, Shepard couldn’t bring himself to care. Besides, he had something else to take care of now.

The spy master pulled in beside him. For the last few months, Harper had been with his own sub fleet but Illium, with its defences, had warranted the use of several sub fleets. The distribution seemed random but Shepard had made sure that several particular Ascended were here.

"What is it?" Harper asked, his tone was respectfully curious.

"Someone has been carrying tales to Harbinger," Shepard replied grimly.

It was to Harper's credit that, even as other Ascended formed up around them, he said nothing.

"I know it wasn't you, Harper," Shepard continued. "You would have taken Harbinger's place before you complained to authority."

That brought a tiny flash of amusement from Cerberus' former leader. "You surprise me, Shepard. I wouldn't have thought you'd notice such subtlety."

"You'd be surprised," Shepard said. "Besides, Harper, for all your manipulations, you have always done what you thought was best for Humanity," he added, sending on a sub channel all the little schemes Harper had run on Earth both before and after the deal. He'd probably missed some, a lot, Shepard corrected himself, but those that were transmitted would serve as an illustration. "Of course, that does not give you free rein but it does mean in certain areas, I can trust you."

"So who was it?" Harper asked, choosing not to say anything. This was a side of Shepard that had only been hinted at but it was one he could respect.

"Someone stupid," came the reply, along with identification information as all the fleets moved to face off against one lone Ascended.

The instant the target was pointed out, Harper understood.

Alexander.

Most Human Ascended allowed several to speak for them. There were only a few that did not. Shepard was one, but while Shepard was the only public speaker, he never denied others in his form the chance to speak privately over the information network. Harper was another. He controlled those within him yet they were always free to advise him. He had learnt the hard way that other points of view were valid, or even if he thought them stupid, he should at least consider them so he’d know how to counter them. With the others, while it was one voice who spoke for the whole, there was the sense that the voice was merely a spokesperson for the combined gestalt mind.

Alexander was different. When that Human Ascended spoke, there was no echo. It was Alexander's voice and Alexander alone. Now, obviously that could not be completely true. No one could operate such a huge form alone but this Human Ascended was controlled by a few and that was not embracing the glory which was ascension.

"What do you want?" Alexander snarled, realising that the others had turned on him.

"Shepard," Harper sent to the Human Ascended leader privately. "We can't fire on him," he said. There hadn't been any warnings but Harper just had that feeling.

"You'll see," Shepard replied and Harper was left wondering what game Shepard was playing.

"What do I want, Alexander?" Shepard replied to the question on an open channel, lacing his voice with a sense of amused superiority, as if he held all the cards and this was just an interlude.

"Yes, Shepard, what do you want?"

"I think it's more a question of what you want," Shepard goaded Alexander further. "And of course who you've been talking to."

Alexander snorted. "What makes you think I'm going to tell you?" He asked, knowing he was in trouble but trying to brazen it out.

"The same thing that made you speak the first time."

That caused Alexander to pause. He hadn't spoken to Shepard but then he understood. "What, you are going to have Harbinger choose?" The question was incredulous. If Shepard bothered the eldest Ascended with this, then there was no way he'd remain in charge.

A laugh broke Alexander's stream of thought, except it didn't come from Shepard. "Harper," he spat. For a while, Alexander had thought that Harper was like him, that he recognised true strength, but the former leader of Cerberus was only playing with power. He lacked the guts to actually grasp it and push those who were irrelevant into subservience.

"You don't get it, do you?" Harper continued to laugh.

"That's enough," Shepard said sharply, and while Harper could feel there was no bite in the words, he silenced himself. "No, Alexander, this does not concern Harbinger."

"It will," Alexander replied. "Your leadership is a joke," he added.

"Oh, and what exactly do you find amusing?"

"It's only a matter of time before you get someone killed. The idiot gun monkey proved that," Alexander replied to Shepard's deceptively gentle question. When no one said anything, he warmed to his topic. "My training scores were better than yours Shepard. Ironic isn't it, given that you developed that training, yet on everything; mass effect fields, delicate manipulation, husk control... _everything_ I smashed every score you set yet you remain in control when it's obvious you will lead us to disaster!"

It started as an almost inaudible whisper of noise. A huff like a breath of wind. Then it gathered strength, getting louder and more defined until it was recognisable as laughter.

"What?" Alexander demanded, outrage in the shine of his running lights.

"You seriously think that matters?" Shepard gasped the words. "Your training scores?" He continued, pausing between each word to emphasise the pure disbelief echoing through his tone. Shepard didn’t stop laughing, not even when he felt Alexander’s targeting system wind up and lock onto him.

"You don’t want to do that," Shepard said, allowing his weapon techs to manually confirm their target lock, without activating his own weapons. A pulse to the fleet had them following suit and on the private comms, Shepard was inundated with calls from the fleet telling him that they could not fire on another Ascended. "Annie, deal with them," he gave the internal order and felt her soothing the others.

"You are stupid, Shepard!" Alexander roared. "I will fire!"

"Good luck with that," Joker muttered. Shepard ignored his pilot. Joker's consciousness was already twined through the controls. If Alexander had worked out some way to fire, then his pilot would take care of it.

"I'm sure you can't!" Shepard challenged. "But go ahead and try or do you want to know why your petty objections mean nothing?"

While it was hard to determine uncertainty in an Ascended form, for an instant, Shepard felt it from Alexander. His running lights dipped for a moment but almost instantly, they lit up again with new fervour. "He finally worked it out," Pressly surmised that Alexander had taken Shepard’s challenge and tried to fire his weaponry.

"I hope the recoil was painful," Adams added. Ascended served the cycle. They were not required to like each other but they were required to work with each other towards the same goal. They could not fire upon each other. It was one of the things hard coded into their beings.

"Shush," Shepard rebuked, still keeping the bulk of his attention on Alexander, though the part of him watching Illium wondered vaguely what they were thinking of this little show.

"There's nothing you can do!" Alexander scoffed eventually, releasing the activation on his weapons. "If I can't fire on you, you can't fire on me," he added, "and I will just try again and again until I succeed. It's only a matter of time and what else do I have but time?"

Shepard looked at Illium. The cities were encased in giant circles of light that he could see from his vantage point. Alexander was outlined against one. He didn't need to give a command, he simply thought about firing and it happened. The round loosened and raced along its tracks. Alexander spluttered in disbelief, seeing the round and reacting far faster than any organic could. His point defences sparked as he tried to activate them against another Ascended, so he had to dodge though the movement was clumsy. Joker was his equal and as Alexander moved, Shepard's pilot shifted his form so that the ferrotungsten titanium ball left him perfectly on target. They were close in space and it whisked through Alexander's shields, scorching his side before continuing on into Illium's atmosphere.

"You missed!" Alexander crowed as behind him the round began burning, creating a brilliant light show.

"Did I?" Shepard retorted as Illium's AA batteries lit up, far too early as they attempted to break up the round.

"You can't truly fire on me!" The other Ascended continued celebrating with growing confidence.

"I hit what I targeted," Shepard said serenely.

It was the quiet undertone that brought cut through Alexander's celebrations.

"You did not!" He objected without thinking.

"Shut up!" Harper broke in before Shepard could reply. "I'm finding it impossible to believe you could be that stupid!"

"As if you could talk," Alexander replied, though his form never turned away from Shepard.

"I believe Cerberus told you to shut up," Shepard said firmly his voice so soft as to almost be inaudible. "You should have realised when you couldn't fire that you couldn't challenge me."

"But you-"

"Silence!" Shepard snapped, making it an order and even his internal commentators fell silent at the force of his instruction. They knew now was not the time for distractions. "Did you really believe that leadership was bestowed on training scores? The instant you failed to fire you should have realised, and I think parts of you did, Alexander," Shepard drawled the name as if looking through the layers of minds that made up his form. "Your assumptions have been absurd from the beginning but before I fix them, let me tell you what it would take to remove me from leadership, as you so ardently desire."

While the fleet was content with Shepard's leadership, he could feel that they were curious about this. It was a natural curiosity, one borne from the desire for knowledge, not the desire to act. Most of the fleet understood that Shepard was a good leader. He worked towards the final goal but consulted with others as to how best to achieve it. He let them play, ignoring the little competitions they had set up amongst themselves to provide interest in the routine destruction of colonies, but he was sufficiently hard when necessary. The damage to Zaeed had shown that. The former merc already knew what he had done wrong when Shepard asked him so there had been no point in berating him further and while Zaeed had not enjoyed the weeks it had taken to fix him, he had understood it was necessary. Once Zaeed had been told that Alexander had attempted to use his damage in a blatant grab for power, the former merc suggested bypassing the Ascended's targeting lock by simply physically ripping Alexander's form apart. Theoretically, it was possible but they didn’t want to test that.

"It was hard for me to determine what would remove me from leadership but that was because I didn't want to understand, not from the difficulty in acquiring the information," Shepard began. "And what would remove me is not training scores, or damage, but death. The full destruction of an Ascended."

Alexander gasped. While he may have attempted to fire on Shepard it was coded into his Ascended being that the destruction of any Ascended was the extinction of a race. The Humans were in a unique position in that it wasn't true for them but they still felt repugnance at the thought.

"But it wouldn't be just one," Shepard continued. "It would take the destruction of multiple prime forms before Harbinger considered removing me from leadership and even then the deaths would have to be from my stupidity. As hard as we might find it to accept, it is a rare cycle when no Ascended are lost. It is usually one of the lesser forms but the Protheans are proof enough that a Prime form can be killed. Harbinger expects it and has endured it from the beginning.

"That is what it would take. So, do you have the fortitude to orchestrate the deaths of Ascended?” Shepard concluded with the challenge. He let it hang in space as below, on Illium, his round impacted. There was a flash of light, followed by fire billowing outwards. Alexander remained silent and slowly, Shepard moved forward, pressing his advantage over the still stunned Ascended. As far as Shepard had been able to determine, there was only one Ascended which might be able to consciously orchestrate the death of another, Harbinger, but the eldest was not interested in that. He was interested in the harvest.

Shepard brought himself close to Alexander, forcing the other to drop his shields as the distance decreased to a few metres. He was not proud of what he was about to do but it had to be done and the others did not need to hear this.

"Alexander," Shepard said, initiating a tight band comm link with the would-be rebel. "You will obey me."

"Yes," came the hissed reply. He knew he was trapped and the only way out was to obey. He could only obey.

"Those you've pushed down the hardest, those you have belittled, and abused and ignored, those who knew there was more to ascension that your feeble view, wake them up," Shepard instructed.

Outwardly, there was no change to Alexander but Shepard could feel the turmoil inside the ship as parts of the gestalt mind were unshackled. They roared to life and Shepard moved to shield their unconscious vocalisations from the fleet.

"Now," Shepard continued, "those who saw only personal glory, who betrayed Humanity with their ascension, those who do not see that the sum of the whole is greater than the individuals, those who cannot and do not understand ascension, sleep." The final word was spoken with all the force Shepard could muster. It was not shouted but almost seemed gentle except for the undercurrent of steel washing through his tone.

For a moment, Alexander struggled, fighting the order but Shepard tapped one leg against his armour and the sense of struggle faded. Awoken and knowing that they were right, those who had been suppressed were fighting for control. It was almost as if the Ascended was being reborn again and Shepard drew back as Alexander's form growled, both sets of legs uncurling as the newly awoken took control. There was a shift in the feel from Alexander's IFF transponder and those paying attention saw that his name had changed.

"Report to Elysium for training," Shepard said, pulling back to his former position. The fleet which had confronted Alexander broke up, turning back towards Illium as the former rebel signalled his agreement and moved with a somewhat jerky motion towards the Relay. Shepard watched for a few minutes as the motion became smoother the further Philip went. It should be a short retraining period.

"That was nicely done," Harper remarked. "I was almost convinced you could fire on one of us."

"I hit him," Shepard reminded the spy master. "Not as badly as I could have but even so..." On a sub channel Shepard directed the fleet into positions around Illium. He wanted a sensor count of citizens before he decided to invade or just destroy them.

"Yeah, but you weren't aiming at him," Harper retorted. "Your shot landed in the exact centre of Nos Astra."

Shepard said nothing, allowing Harper to draw his own conclusions.

"And of course your bluff to make him change," Harper worded it, showing how Shepard had approached close to Alexander, using his bulk as the threat of destruction to accompany the orders Harper had surmised must have been given.

"Who said that was a bluff?" Shepard replied, allowing his sensors to focus on Harper for one microsecond before they returned to Illium. Cerberus' leader had seen what Shepard wanted him to and hadn't yet figured all the implications, though he was still the most likely candidate to realise the full truth first.

"Get into position, Harper," Shepard instructed, indicating that their conversation was over. "I wouldn't want the Council to get the wrong idea," he added, knowing that Harper would take that as permission to muddy the waters and as the spymaster moved, Shepard hoped that he never had to fully demonstrate the solution to Alexander's actions because as immoral as Harper could be, Shepard had meant his earlier remarks. Harper always acted upon what he thought was best for Humanity and that made all the difference.

-cfr-

“Shepard.” Harper initiated contact with the statement. Cerberus’ leader was back with his own sub fleet but he still made routine reports.

“What is it?”

“I think you should listen to this file,” Harper explained further, sending an audio feed.

The markings indicated it came from the Citadel but it was not from the Council chambers.

“Who is it?” Shepard asked.

“Just listen,” Harper replied, almost laughing. “You’ll like it.”

The file opened and Shepard listened. For a moment there was silence, then Shepard recognised Primarch Victus’ voice. _“So we are agreed?”_

 _“I agree we are going to have to try,”_ Quentius replied.

“No visual?” Shepard asked Harper.

“No. It was audio only.”

 _“You think we will fail?”_ Victus continued.

 _“I think Shepard will anticipate it,”_ Quentius said.

“Oh, that’s nice,” Joker laughed. “We should send a special Turian treat with the next food shipment.”

“He’s not a dog!” Annie retorted.

“But he is well trained,” Joker replied.

 _“Then give me another option!”_ The Primarch Victus growled. _“We are looking at the complete extinction of the Turian people and I will not have that happen!”_

_“With respect, Primarch, I do not believe that the Invaders will come through the Serpent Nebula to reach Thessia.”_

“Very well trained,” Adams commented.

 _“You think they’ll travel FTL?”_ Victus sounded slightly dubious.

_“No, Sir, I think they know of other Relays.”_

“Quentius always was very perceptive,” Shepard said.

“We have given them enough hints,” Harper said. “His supposition is not unreasonable.” Anyone who thought about their invasion logically would have realised how much control they had over the Relays. From there, it was a simple extension of logic to suppose that they might know where those that were closed went. The Council would have known as well, if they’d had a bit more guts in the wake of the Rachni but what they didn’t know was their loss.

There was a few moments of silence and Shepard could imagine both the Primarch and Councillor thinking. It was Victus who spoke first. _“Shepard said once we were the final battle.”_

_“It was when I asked him about why he was supplying food.”_

“Oh come on! We have to send a Quentius treat!” Joker cried.

_“That implies that at some stage the Invaders will return here.”_

_“Yes Sir.”_

_“Then the timing just changed.”_ Victus was firm in the pronouncement.

“Timing for what?” Shepard demanded of Harper.

“Wait,” the other Ascended replied. “This was interesting but not what I wanted you to hear.”

 _“Do you want me to move any?”_ Quentius asked.

 _“No,”_ there was sadness in Victus’ tone. _“I would like to but that would reveal our intentions and we cannot give those traitors any hints as to our intentions.”_

“Traitors?” Shepard said. While there was only a limited reference, the implications were obvious.

“I know.” Harper was smug. “But those at the Citadel have to work together.”

“Only as long as they are there,” Shepard said as he understood what Quentius thought he would anticipate. A solution immediately suggested itself to him but that would wait. “Was that it?” He asked.

“Not quite,” Harper said.

Shepard listened further but there was only silence. He was about to demand what Harper meant when he heard it. It was so soft that the customary flanging was not audible.

_“So what do I do now?”_

“Oh, Quentius,” Shepard murmured. The Councillor sounded broken.

“Is that a note of fondness I hear?” Harper laughed. “We can probably get him off the Citadel if you want.”

“No,” Shepard said after a moment of thought. There were a number of ways they could potentially get the Councillor off the station but Quentius deserved to be Ascended into a Prime form, not the destroyers the Turians were being reformed into. Quentius would be a regret but it would be one Shepard could live with. “I will ensure that his death is clean,” he replied. The Councillor deserved that much regard, but perhaps in the interim Shepard could offer him something more.

“Thank you, Harper. That was most informative.”

“Do you want me to do anything?”

“No. I’ll take care of the implications,” Shepard replied before cutting the link. He had a couple of calls to make.

-cfr-

**Hyetiana, Asari Colony**

"We have to go," Shiala announced as she walked into the area Liara had been assigned. The floor was covered in round objects, about 3m round. At least one hundred of them.

Little Wing was standing on a holodisk, recording something but she turned to look at her. "Go where?"

It was a reasonable question. With the Invaders having breached the line into Council space, there was nowhere that was truly safe. "Nevos." She'd prefer Lusia as it was a far bigger colony but all Relay travel was being monitored. She had no legitimate reason to go to Lusia.

"Nevos? Why Nevos?"

"Because one of these idiot scientists will get us killed!" Shiala explained. "Don't think I haven't heard them talking, the whispers that pervade everything. I know what they are going to try."

"Better to be dead than-"

"Silence!" Shiala yelled. "You don't know what you are talking about. Better to be dead than what?" she challenged.

"Better than whatever those things are doing!" Liara replied, backing up slightly as Shiala approached.

"You have no idea what they are doing though do you?"

"I know they are Human," she said.

"They were Human, Little Wing. They are no longer, now they are infinite."

Liara's eyes widened at the words. "No! You don't mean that!"

Shiala paused, standing for a moment as she looked at Benezia's legacy. The Little Wing was intelligent but she remained blind to some things. She didn't have the experience which would have led to understanding, which was why she was here, Shiala reminded herself. She was here to provide that experience, to protect Liara. And remaining on Hyetiana was not going to protect her. "I do mean it," she said softly, attempting to explain, to persuade. She couldn't drag Liara out kicking and screaming, not even with the fledgling cell of Pro-Humans here to help.

"You can't!"

"It is hard to understand but they have become perfection," Shiala continued. "I don't know why the Human vermin were chosen first but we shall do better."

"Do better?"

Shiala could see the way Liara was reaching towards the truth. Of all of them, her background allowed her to piece together the information.

"You," Liara swallowed hard as she said the word. "You want to join them."

"I never left them."

"But the Thorian-"

"Masked their signal. It could not block it and the Thorian is dead," Shiala said. She had confirmed to the Human, many years ago that the tree-like being was dead and she had not lied. The impact of its death had freed her but that was only until they had called. Then she had answered, because she would always answer. "Come with me Little Wing. They don't want to kill you, they never have. They want to transform you into something you can't even imagine!"

"No!" Liara whispered as Shiala took another step forward. "All they lead to is death!" She said, before turning and slamming one hand down on a control. Her moment of inattention allowed Shiala to close with her but not before the signal was sent.

From the floor, the balls rose. The ceiling peeled back to allow them passage and they shot into the sky. Shiala didn't need to watch them to know that they would clear the atmosphere and disperse, as best they could, into the galaxy.

"What have you done?" She demanded as she dragged Liara back into the complex.

"Nothing!"

A blatant lie. "What have you done?" Shiala demanded again, turning the Little Wing so that they were eye to eye. Her hands gripped Liara’s arms tightly.

“Nothing! I’m not going to tell you anything,” Liara yelled, even as Shiala shook her.

“Little Wing-”

“Don’t call me that!” Liara shouted, cutting off the sentence as tears formed and Shiala could see that she felt betrayed. “You can never call me that again!”

“Liara T’Soni,” Shiala snapped. “If you wish to live, you no longer have time to be a child,” she added.

“All they lead to is death,” she repeated, as through the door, the tiny patch of sky barely visible became streaked with vapour trails.

“They do not,” Shiala replied with certainty. “But you will only learn the truth if you come with me,” she added, before reaching out with her mind. Liara was not expecting it and didn’t struggle when Shiala overwhelmed her. She collapsed forward, allowing the older Asari to pick her up and begin walking down the corridor towards the ship she had ready.

“You will learn, Little Wing, that you can never escape. No one ever escapes.” Shiala whispered in a moment of regret that vanished as the rightness of what she was doing flooded her with contentment.

-cfr-

**Asari Ardat-Yakshi Colony, Lesuss, Nimbus Cluster**

"Incoming comms!" One of Administrator Zorica's aides called. She thought it was Osanna. Even as young as she was, Osanna was one of the most competent people Zorica had ever met. Osanna didn't pretend to know every answer, but she almost always knew who would. The maiden would do her tour of duty here and then she had a bright future ahead of her. If any of them had a future…

"Patch it through," Zorica ordered, standing and straightening her tunic. The action served to cover her surprise when the hologram appeared. She'd known from the briefings that the Invaders were choosing to appear as Humans but it was still disconcerting to look at those all too familiar faces.

"I am Administrator Zorica R'tani. I am the leader of these facilities," she introduced herself, acutely aware of the lives depending on her.  Despite all the efforts the Asari put into ensuring their lines were clean, Lesuss was a medium sized colony. Mostly Asari, those with Ardat-Yakshi genes, but a few who just wished for seclusion.

"I am Hackett of the Invaders," the Human's image said, almost amused.

It was wrong, Zorica decided, to speak to something that looked so much like an Asari but wasn’t. Perhaps that's why the Invaders had chosen to look like them. The Humans were an evolutionary impossibility which should have been put in its place long ago.

"How can I help you, Hackett?" She chewed the name off, making the pronunciation sharp.

"You can surrender to me," he replied swiftly.

Zorica had heard rumours that lately the Invaders had been offering predominantly Asari colonies the opportunity to surrender. She'd also heard about what had happened to Illium. The information wasn't clear but it seemed they had surrendered, and then launched missiles at the landing fleet. Illium wasn't her concern. Lesuss didn't have their resources and the twenty million strong population were relying upon her to make the right call. They would fight if she said but it was not her job to lead them to their deaths.

"Can I?" Zorica asked carefully.

"Of course, you can," Hackett said, his voice indicating that he was insulted that she would suggest otherwise.

Zorica tensed. She didn't want an angry invader. "Rumours have not supported the option to surrender," she replied, subtly emphasising the first word to place all blame for her doubt on hearsay.

"That is true," the Human's image nodded as he spoke. He took a deep breath. "We do not wish to kill you," he said, his eyes looking directly at her and his stance was relaxed. "If you surrender, your colony will fall under my protection."

So where these invaders conquerors? Those who wanted to raise their rule over the galaxy? They had the strength, their opening gambit had showed that. Had their offer to surrender been rejected by the Turians? Or were they as they appeared, destroyers without mercy? She didn't know.

"May I ask some questions?”

"You may," he answered.

It was only then that Zorica realised the image was speaking Asari. Years back, the few Humans she'd met spoke one or two words but always with an odd accent. The pronunciation now was perfect.

"What happened over Palaven?"

For a moment the image was unchanged, then he heaved another heavy breath and looked down. She read sadness in his posture and regret. "Palaven," the image said, swallowing hard, "Palaven was a mistake. We were too caught up in history to see clearly."

"History?" Zorica queried. Were the invaders claiming a previous history with the Turians?

The image looked at her. "Human-Turian relations could never be described as strong," he said matter of factly.

"You’re Human?" she gasped, partially to cover her own surprise but also to hide the exclamations from those who were listening.

"We are," the image replied. "This image is not a lie," he added.

"So you really are Admiral Steven Hackett of the Systems Alliance?"

"I really am Steven Hackett," the hologram said with a smile. "But no longer of the Systems Alliance."

"What happened?" she asked, heedless of how rude it was.

Hackett's image shook his head. "That's something I cannot answer."

"Ah, forgive me," Zorica replied quickly, her mind swirling with possibilities. They were Human! That explained so much but why hadn't they made that clear to the galaxy? And how had they duplicated that ship? Even if Hackett was lying about Palaven, it did explain the hostility displayed but no...

Surreptitiously she bit the inside of her lip. No. It might be true that the image was Human, and that history between the Turians and Humans was indeed filled with hostility but that did not excuse Palaven. It did not excuse the destruction of Asteria. It did not excuse the complete silence from the galaxy behind the Invaders. Any prospect of peace was an illusion just like the polite figure she was speaking to.

She made a gesture with one hand, indicating that the small police force should deploy. They could not surrender.

"So what would surrender mean?" Zorica asked, as if she was still considering it. After all, they were Human, not a complete unknown.

"Surrender would bring your colony under my protection. That would mean that at least one of our fleets will remain over Lesuss to ensure your wishes are upheld." Hackett's image smiled at her. "We aren't destroyers, though it may seem that way.

"I think," he continued, pausing slightly as he seemed to consider his words. "I think one of the best things to come from the short, shared history between Asari and Humanity was the fact that we can build together."

An alarm sounded suddenly and Zorica spun to see its source. The image of incoming rounds was highlighted on a side screen.

The invaders had fired!

"You fire while we are still negotiating?" she demanded as she turned back to the Human's hologram.

"Your military was deploying," Hackett said. "I can't have that," he added, his voice becoming colder with every word.

Zorica stared at him. Had he called only to buy time?

Hackett raised one hand to rub at the stubble on his chin. "I do not wish to destroy you, but I will if I must," he said, this voice like ice. "Illium attempted to play upon our good will and the planet is now burning. The fission weapons they thought to deploy against us have been turned against them.

"You must now make the same choice for Lesuss. You can surrender, and this will be relatively easy. As I said, one of my fleets will remain here to ensure you do not rebel, or you can fight and for every one of my landing ships that you shoot down, we will bomb one thousand square kilometres of Lesuss, starting with Marya." He said the last with a soft smile. It should be one that was comforting but to Zorica it was the embodiment of arrogance. He knew she had no choice.

"And for every soldier?" She spat.

He nodded shallowly, as if congratulating her for her perception. "The killer's family, and if the killer cannot be identified ten random citizens. The more you fight us, the more retaliation we will deliver."

Zorica snorted. "We don’t have families here," she said. Ardat-Yakshi had friends but nothing closer. They couldn’t.

"I'm sure I can work out something," Hackett shrugged.

"And if we don't fight?"

"If you do not fight there will be minimal disruption to your lives," Hackett said, his voice warm and cordial. "Over time we will speak with each citizen individually but we would work with your administration to ensure that is a smooth procedure. That shouldn't take more than a month or so."

"Then what?"

"Then you will be a part of us," Hackett replied.

"With the same rights and responsibilities as all others in your Empire?" Zorica questioned.

"Yes. After that, your voice will have the exact same weight as mine.”

That was probably a lie, Zorica realised but the little voice in her head told her that the alternative was worse. She closed her eyes as she thought. Her breathing was heavy and the fidgeting of those watching was loud but after the first breath the noise faded and she stood alone before Hackett's hologram. He loomed in her vision, an unending wall that stretched in every direction. It was the end of them all.

But there, almost so small it was unnoticeable, was a door. A tiny chance of hope.

"Lesuss surrenders," Zorica whispered, biting her lower lip to keep her voice from trembling. She felt sick but she could not let her pride kill everyone, even if the rest of the Asari race would prefer to forget their existence.

"A very wise decision," Hackett said "Plans will be sent to you shortly to aid in integration," he added before the link was cut and Zorica was left staring at the place where he had been standing.

By the Goddess, she hoped she had made the right decision.  

-cfr-

**Shepard’s Mini Attack Fleet, Silean Nebula**

“It is _not_ my fault,” Shepard opened the comm link, more than aware that he sounded far too much like a petulant child trying to avoid a punishment but he wasn’t going to take the blame for Asari stupidity.

“What isn’t?” Harbinger rumbled.

“Cyone,” Shepard replied. Instantly, he felt the older Ascended access the information that was available on their net. The Asari colony on Cyone was no longer fit for harvest and Cyone itself was no longer fit for organic habitation.

“I warned you,” Harbinger began. The eldest Ascended had made it very clear that no further planets were to be permanently damaged without his express permission. That this upstart…

Shepard urgently pushed an information packet towards Harbinger. For an instant, the oldest Ascended was tempted to ignore it but he opened it and the information screamed to him. “Antimatter generators on the surface?!” he asked incredulously.

“ _Yes_ ,” Shepard hissed in reply. The only thing worse was antimatter generators underground. That had split open planetary crusts. On the ground, there was some small chance for planetary recovery.

Harbinger read deeper, looking into the battle, such as it was. The planet had been surrounded. The Asari had been given the opportunity to surrender along with the usual threats to a highly biotic species, of retaliation though they were a bit thin given what the fleet had already been doing. And then… then all it had taken was one stray shot and Cyone was engulfed in a huge ball of light and fire and was not worth bothering with.

Old as he was, Harbinger had seen almost every form of organic stupidity. This was not the first time he had seen antimatter generators on a planet surface and what had happened on Cyone was only a matter of time. Eventually, no matter the protocols, the organics would have lost control. Shepard had only hastened the process.

It was, as Shepard had proclaimed, _not_ his fault.

“Leave it,” Harbinger ordered.

“Sir?”

The eldest Ascended felt Shepard’s confusion.

“Leave it,” Harbinger repeated. “Remove the evidence of battle and leave the planet. Let the next cycle find it. They will see it for what it is, organic stupidity and think nothing more of it.” They always had in the past. The few planets destroyed acted as a warning that all but the most arrogant races heeded.

Shepard was controlled enough not to display relief when he sent his understanding to Harbinger and the eldest Ascended terminated the link.

Perhaps everything Shepard had said about the Asari was true.

-cfr-

**Human Attack Mini-Fleet**

Harper looked down at the planet below him. It had been an Asari holding. There wasn’t a lot left. Sufficient to Harvest, yes, but not much else.  

“You know, this really isn’t efficient,” Henry observed.

“What isn’t?” Jack asked his old friend.  While he had attempted to rig the immortalisation process with those loyal to Cerberus when he had chosen to be immortalised, it had been a surprise to find his old friend, and business rival, within what he thought of as his new form.

That sense of priority was one of the reasons he was the Prime but he did take advice from the others. Grudgingly.

“This,” Henry indicated, moving one mental hand to encompass the planet.

“They are being Harvested,” Harper noted.

“Not that. I was thinking about the past,” Henry said.

“We all would have liked this type of military,” Harper admitted.

“You don’t even know who’s making Cerberus’ military decisions, do you?” The question was accompanied by a chuckle. The word Cerberus here referred to their form.

Harper mentally frowned. He wasn’t making the military decisions. He acknowledged that much. Yet his form was capable of them. The information was contained within him, or within those who had been Ascended with him. “There have been comms to Bandua and Hackett,” he murmured. He’d noticed them. He presumed they were confirming military decisions for the fleet.

Jack didn’t really care who was making those decisions within his form. They were sound. That was all that was important and the individual wasn’t challenging him for Primacy. He knew it wasn’t Kai. Cerberus’ assassin didn’t have an interest in other Ascended. And military decisions weren’t his forte. He operated alone.

“There have,” Lawson agreed. “Never mind.” He dismissed his earlier words. Mentally Harper shrugged. He’d look into the military decisions later.

“No, you started this conversation, where were you going?”

“This is not efficient,” Henry repeated. “As a Harvest, it’s fine, but if we were organic, we’d have already won against the Asari,” he added.

“They still have Thessia,” Harper replied.

“They do, and if we could get a strike in on that, it would be over.”

Harper gave Lawson a look. They’d been trying to get a strike in on Thessia during the war. The Systems Alliance had been helping then. They’d all been helping each other. The rules were simple then. If you were Human and fighting, it didn’t matter where your loyalty lay, because it lay with Humanity and that was enough.  

“No, I mean it,” Henry defended his statement. “It’s just math,” he added. “Math applied to population stats.”

“So what you are telling me is that if we’d have concentrated on the Asari, there is a chance that they’d have sued for peace.”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Lawson told him, “but it is a possibility. It would have required us to kill quite a few. But I doubt _you_ would have had a problem with that.”

Harper chuckled. No, he wouldn’t have. He had no problem now either when they were being Harvested for a more noble purpose. “So what would have been necessary?”

“The Asari had to live to about 350 before they got to their Matron phase, right?” Lawson asked him.

“Right. Though they could bear children before that.”

“But mostly didn’t. The mortality rate during their childhood and Maiden phase was about 40% all told.”

“That high?” That didn’t seem right for a species to be sustainable.

“That high,” Lawson said. “Mercs don’t live long,” he reminded Harper. “And then there are general incidents and accidents. On Thessia, it would be less. It is a safe environment and what the Asari are evolved for with all the elements they need.”

Mentally Harper nodded. “So each Matron has to birth at least two children,” he said.

“At a minimum, just to maintain population. It’s probably one of the reasons why the Asari pushed for non-Asari mates. That way they can more efficiently reproduce and increase their numbers.”

“Well, that and their genetic problems,” Harper said. He’d seen the records from Lesuss.

“That too,” Lawson agreed. “Even allowing for that, they all have to have at least two children. Some of them did, some of them didn’t.”

“It’s an interesting point to know,” Harper acknowledged. “But really doesn’t have a bearing on now.” Lawson knew what he was thinking. The Asari had no long term viability now. None of the organics did with the Harvest. And they weren’t interested in how to fight. The Asari couldn’t fight.

“It doesn’t but I think we all wonder what might have been.”

“We can wonder but it doesn’t matter.” Harper said, turning away from the planet.

They no longer had to wait for the Asari to realise they were doomed. They knew it already. And he had other worlds to conquer. It was a nice feeling. It was everything Cerberus ever wanted. Pity it wouldn’t last but Humanity would endure. For now, that was sufficient. Alternative routes could only be explored if you were alive.

-cfr-


	28. The Importance of Loopholes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Quentius gets a gift, Harbinger gets a gift (though the concept is new) and Shepard has some fun.
> 
> The Asari don't have fun.
> 
> Merry Christmas in the Harvest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 27: The Importance of Loopholes**

-cfr-

**Citadel, Serpent Nebula**

"Then segregate them!" Quentius yelled, letting his annoyance show. "Without proof, I will not condone the wholesale slaughter of Salarians."

Executor Blasius looked at him oddly, asking if the answer would be different if there was proof. "I'll see to it," he ground out, his desires obvious. While Blasius had a long history with C-Sec, he was new to the position. Govinus had taken an alternate route to solve the problems they faced.

"Good," Quentius replied. "Was there anything else?"

"No." Blasius said, closing the comm.

Quentius sighed in the silence. He had already reminded Blasius that the difference between civilisation and anarchy was their adherence to law and duty. That meant that even though most of the Citadel, himself included, thought the Salarians had made a deal with the Invaders, they could not act without proof. He'd ask Shepard next time. The Human was contrary enough to actually give him an answer.

Which led to his next problem.

Three days ago, an Asari, one he didn't recognise had approached him. Her smile had been genuine as she'd pressed a package into his hands. Perhaps it had stupid to take something from an unknown. Schells' assassination should have proved that politics was still very much on the minds of some but he hadn't sensed any hostility and he was feeling reckless. Once he'd opened the package he'd realised he had been in no danger. Her smile had been one of blatant admiration, not one meant to garner trust.

The package had been a bottle of Turian whiskey. Very good Turian whiskey. The type he, despite his position, only heard about. Whiskey that only came from Triginta Petra and Triginta Petra was deep in Invader held territory.

The only way it could have gotten here was via the food packages the Humans were sending, but he'd seen the manifest. The packages were mostly staple foods. Bulk items that could be easily handled. Delicate bottles had never been included before and a quick check of the current manifest showed no bottles were recorded, not even the one on his desk.

It was obvious what that meant. The Asari was a pro-Human and she had been instructed to give him the bottle. But why? Was it to bribe him? Blackmail him? Reward? He didn't know.

"What the hell am I meant to do with a hundred year old bottle of Fiddichglen?" he cried in frustration.

"You enjoy it," came the reply as if it should be obvious.

Quentius felt himself jump before he focused his gaze at his desk. A small hologram of Shepard appeared over the inbuilt projection disk.

"You sent this?" The Turian Councillor gestured towards the bottle.

"My pilot did," Shepard said.

"Why?" He asked, trying to remember the Human's name. Moray... Moreau, that was it. It was only because he'd reviewed the records recently that he knew it. But why would the Chief Helmsman of the  _Normandy_  be sending him whiskey?

"He thought you could use some cheering up." Again, the reply was spoken as if the answer was obvious. "You don't like it?" Shepard actually sounded concerned.

"No, it's beautiful," Quentius replied. He hadn't tasted it yet but Fiddichglen's reputation preceded it. This was some of the best alcohol the Turians could produce.

"So why are you concerned?"

"Shepard," Quentius said as a thousand concerns settled on his shoulders. "It doesn't look good for me," he added. That was the easiest way to express the myriad of problems that would present themselves to him if it became public knowledge that the Humans had sent him something. Though... the problems would probably be short lived really since he doubted he'd survive long.

"Well, I won't be telling," Shepard replied lightly, "and I can always have the delivery girl taken care of if you'd like?"

The offer made Quentius' blood run cold. The casual way Shepard spoke of arranging death. It shouldn't have surprised him but it did. Forty years might have passed but Quentius remembered the man and he was not that brutal. "That won't be necessary," Quentius said, waving away the issue. If only it would disappear that easily but there was no point in discussing it with Shepard. "Did you want something?" The Humans had never called him privately before. But Shepard had called Primarch Fedorian privately, Quentius' mind supplied. The Primarch had sent the recordings to Victus and while they had been analysed, nothing of great importance had been discovered.

"Yes," Shepard replied brightly. "I came to ask you a question."

"A question?" Quentius was wary.

"Well, it's more a choice," the Human corrected himself. "Which do you want dead first: Sur'Kesh or Thessia?"

Quentius felt his eyes widen as he stared at Shepard's form. The question repeated in his mind and implications screamed at him. So the Salarians didn't have a deal? Or was Shepard only playing with him? "What?" He managed to gasp.

"Which do you want dead first?" Shepard repeated.

"You can't be serious!"

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Shepard smiled at the Turian's surprise.

"But you have a deal with the Salarians," Quentius heard himself say.

Shepard grinned. His teeth flashed on the small holographic form as the Human looked inordinately pleased with himself. "No, we don't," he said.

"But you've barely hit them and they-" He couldn't say it. The Invaders had destroyed the three Salarian dreadnoughts at the ambush but nothing else. No ships, no colonies (though those had been evacuated before the Invaders reached them), nothing! All of it pointed towards an agreement. If they didn't, if they didn't... the question reverberated through him.

"I assure you we don't," Shepard said. "If you say Sur'Kesh, I'll make sure we visit them before Thessia."

Quentius held his mandibles steady as further implications flooded his mind. It might all have been an act by the Invaders, a carefully considered set of lines and silences that hinted at a deal but it was the Salarians who had truly completed the betrayal. They had been playing politics on their homeworld all this time, with their dreadnoughts patrolling the Annos Basin while his people died! That was not the spirit or intention of the Citadel. That was not what the Turians had protected all these years.

"You were right, you know." Quentius said softly, reaching out to take grab the bottle. He held it carefully while his talons worked at the seal.

"I was right?" Shepard seemed slightly confused by the new tack their conversation was taking.

"You were right about the Council," Quentius said as he cut through the thin metallic seal. The smell of alcohol burst forth and he sat back, breathing deeply to enjoy the rich aroma.

He snagged a glass from the open draw, setting it down on the desktop before pouring several fingers worth of whiskey into it. Shepard watched silently as Quentius picked up the glass to take a large swallow.

It burned all the way down but it was a smooth burn, accented with a dozen subtle flavours.

"Careful, it's meant to be savoured," Shepard cautioned when Quentius took another, much smaller sip.

This time he appreciated the flavour. It was rich and strong, and as smooth as the first gulp but with bite waiting to catch you unawares. He closed his eyes, rolling the liquid on his tongue before he swallowed.

"You were right," Quentius repeated, putting the glass down and leaning forward to stare directly at Shepard's image.

"Hmm?"

"About the Council," Quentius said. "Primarch Drusus must have had his brains fucked out when he signed up with the Asari's Council."

"Primarch Drusus," Shepard repeated the name as he ran it through the data banks he had available. He didn't have that much on Turians but thankfully it came up quickly. Primarch Nerva Drusus, the head of the Hierarchy thirteen hundred years ago when the Turians were invited to become an equal member of the Council.

"They're all useless!" Quentius proclaimed.

"Well, I have been telling you that for a while," Shepard remarked.

"I know," Quentius said, picking up the glass and taking another sip. "Irissa's never fucked me," he said. "I wonder if Tevos screwed Sparatus?" he muttered, leaning back in his chair.

"I doubt it," Shepard laughed. "So... Sur'Kesh or Thessia?"

Quentius looked up at the hologram before taking a deep breath. "No," he whispered. "They may not adhere to the spirit of the Citadel but I will."

For several seconds, Shepard stared back before he slowly clapped, impressed anew by Quentius' integrity. "I wouldn't expect anything else," he said softly before he smirked. "I guess I will indulge myself then. Thessia it is!" Shepard caroled happily, trying to think of what else he could send as a reward. "Enjoy the whiskey, Quentius," he added before he cut the transmission, leaving the Turian Councillor alone in the dark with his drink.

-cfr-

**Human Ascended Attack Fleet, Orbit of Thessia**

Shepard stared at Thessia. The clouds were perfectly white against the light green continents and the almost navy blue oceans. It was a beautiful garden world but it was not Earth. With all the worlds he had seen in the last few months he was beginning to see how special Earth was. There was no world like it. The thought made him hate the Asari all over again and he wanted nothing more than to order a total orbital bombardment of Thessia except Harbinger had been extremely clear. They had to capture the leading Matriarchs for ascension.

While the fleet had offered generous terms to any Asari colony that surrendered, Lusia had refused, and 2.2 billion Asari had chosen to die in nuclear pyres as soon as their defense grid was ripped away. They hadn't even tried to negotiate. That left him short so Thessia's Matriarchs had to be acquired.

The easiest way to do that would be to capture the capital and the Temple of Athame. The Council documents he'd read said that the majority of the leading Matriarchs would be in those two locations.

"And only those two locations," Shepard murmured to himself.

Pressly spoke up. "That isn't so bad, boss."

"Indeed," Shepard agreed, feeling better about the attack on Thessia already. "If we avoid any strikes within a two hundred click radius of those cities-"

"Then they will be safe to capture," Adams said happily, highlighting the two cities on the map of Thessia, and drawing lines around them. He sent the map to the general network so that the fleet could see the emerging plan.

"But we don't want to fight too much," Fredricks remarked. Those who had served with Shepard on the Normandy and who had been Ascended into the first Human Ascended were awake. They, like the Commander, recognised who had been the real threat to Humanity and they would share Shepard's pleasure in seeing the Asari's demise.

"We have all those Asari husks from Lesuss." Shepard couldn't help but growl. While Hackett had done well, Lesuss had been a huge disappointment. With a single shot and some clever words, twenty million Asari had surrendered but most had proven to be useless for ascension. They were not true Asari. Their genes corrupted them but they did make excellent husks. Husks that because of the Asari's highly biotic biology were tougher and stronger than the Humans. It would be fitting to use them here.

He altered the map image, aware that the fleet was paying attention to the details as they changed. The capital Thessaly and the city of Kyota surrounding the Temple of Athame were still ringed in large exclusion zones but outside of them, he placed the image of the Asari husks. Some defenders would hold firm, especially at the temple, but others would rush to help.

Several craters appeared, dotting the map to indicate the fate of the other defenders. And the Asari husks, but that was a small price to pay. The map reset.

"So, go in," Shepard outlined showing an image of the Ascended approaching Thessia, destroying all space based defences as they closed with the Asari homeworld. "Give them the opportunity to surrender, which they will not take," he added. Initially, some colonies had surrendered and it had been fun to taunt Irissa with that reality but as they got closer to Thessia, most had fought. To no avail. The Ascended always won but it had lost him those who might have been a suitable harvest. There had also been one incident on Nevos but Anderson said he had taken care of it.

"Then, we lure the defenders away from Thessaly and Kyota, before flattening the rest of the planet and landing ground forces to take them." It sounded like a great plan to Shepard. Simple, easy to understand and surely not even the Asari could screw it up. Wait! He'd better not think that or they would find some way.

"I'd say we need a little restraint," Hackett said. "The Matriarchs need to be breathing when we get there," he clarified, cautioning against flattening too much of the planet lest they destroy the biosphere.

"And we might ignite the eezo!" Another Ascended said.

It wasn't a real risk but Shepard acknowledged their points, pulling the reins on his bloodlust to bring it back from a raging gallop to a fast canter. He could rage at the Citadel. The plan's details changed again, indicating slightly less orbital bombardment and the earlier landing of husks for the ground assault.

"Business before pleasure," Joker quipped.

"Indeed," Shepard acknowledged, allowing that in many ways, this business was pleasure and he could be satisfied with that.

-cfr-

While the Humans were busy preparing for the harvest of Thessia, Harbinger called on the pair of Ascended he had supervising the newest race. Arshan and Fruben answered his calls promptly, indicating they were not busy in combat nor anything else they regarded as more important than him. Not that that list was very long at all, of course.

"Harbinger." The pair replied in unison, though Arshan's subchannels indicated the heightened amusement that Harbinger associated with the Humans.

"What are the Humans doing now?"

"Shepard has discovered another loophole in your instructions, one that will allow him to kill over three quarters of the Asari on Thessia while still complying in full with your orders." Arshan replied. Additional information was transmitted, indicating that he was approaching the biotic world of Thessia with the majority of the Human fleet.

"Are the Humans always going to reinterpret my orders?" Harbinger demanded of them both.

Arshan's initial reply was immediate. "Yes, for the duration of this cycle."

Fruben was more deliberate, aware of Harbinger's true concerns. "They will always obey you. They have no choice. There is no danger of true rebellion."

Arshan was candid, too. "Yes, they will obey your orders. Only on those things you fail to specify will they do what they want. Especially if it concerns the remaining organics."

"For how long?" Harbinger demanded. He had too many things to supervise and he trusted the evaluations from the senior races.

Fruben was sanguine. "Only for this cycle. Their drive for vengeance will be sated and they will have no connection to the next group of races to divert them."

"The next cycle will find just how effective the Humans can be when they are not distracted by these organic concerns." Arshan praised them, finding the newest Ascended to bring a refreshing change.

"That is true, Harbinger. They agreed before ascension that they would become true members of the Ascended after this cycle, after they attained their vengeance. How did Shepard put it 'You will not indoctrinate us until this cycle is over and the Reaper we become will give you the rest of this cycle's species.' That is more freedom for them than any newly Ascended race receives. Most new Ascended are still in shock or learning how to move at this stage of their infancy." Fruben was exaggerating that degree of difference but it was certain that he was comparing the elegance of his own movements to that of the newborn Batarian.

Over the years, it had learnt how to fly but it was still being left in out of the way systems, under the guard of older Ascended. It was in stark contrast to the youngest Human Ascended who upon awakening received information packets from the older ones. While the formal training they had performed in Sol was no longer available, Fruben had noticed that Shepard, or one of the Human Ascended always made sure that their young ones were given tasks that stretched their new abilities just a little bit further every day. They were developing very quickly.

Harbinger considered their meanings, including the deeper one from Arshan, that the Humans' creativity and initiative aided all Ascended.

"You gave the Humans a longer leash for this single Harvest. In return, they will serve ascension well forever. The cycle is served." Arshan added with clear satisfaction.

"You believe I should not change my orders despite Palaven and Asteria?"

"Ascended do not lie to Ascended." Fruben paused. "There is no longer any need. Besides, the Harvest is almost complete. Then the time of Human fractiousness will end."

"It had better." These surprises may aid the cycle but they gave him a headache. It should have been impossible for an Ascended but the Humans were proving good at doing that.

-cfr-

Shepard hovered about five clicks over the Temple of Athame. So far, everything had gone to plan. From information provided by the pro-Humans and long range scans, they had triangulated the location of every defence installation and in one fell swoop had destroyed them. Two hundred of their fleet was sufficient for that and Shepard hoped that the Asari recognised the difference in numbers for what it was.

They didn't need the entire strength to subdue them.

But that wasn't what was bothering him. The next part had also gone well. Small parties of Asari husks had been landed in the smaller townships surrounding their two targets and, while initially the guards had resisted the urge to attack them, eventually the images of the husks rampaging got too much. While the Asari populace was highly biotic, so were the husks made from those Asari from Lesuss. And unlike the Asari, the husks did not hesitate. It had been a glorious slaughter until the commandos had interfered but even then, it had taken quite a bit to kill the Asari husks.

Shepard had allowed the Asari commandos over thirty seconds of celebration before the orbital shots wiped them out. Let no one claim he wasn't generous. Then they'd landed the rest of the husks, surrounding both Kyota and Thessaly, fighting their way inwards.

It was then that he'd felt it. There was something familiar and he'd dropped into Thessia's atmosphere as he ran the most intense scans that he could. The Asari had taken the opportunity to fire upon him but Anderson was leading the team above him. They were more than capable of keeping every shot off him and they hadn't once missed, so there was no damage to their target. Oculi buzzed around him, helping to focus his senses and several were below him, at the surface, flying over the streets as they scanned for signs of life. They were scattered all over the city but the information was transmitted back to the husks who knew where to look. Already, on the outskirts, they had gathered a large number of Asari. They'd have to go through them later. The husks couldn't tell the difference between Maidens and Matriarchs, except in the broadest possible way, a child was a child after all, but for those who had reached physical maturity, the husks were unable to tell one from another. They certainly couldn't tell the difference in bust size. The fleet could sort them out later.

For now, he was trying to track down the elusive but familiar feeling. It felt like an echo but he had scanned every database he could, even reaching out to Arshan and Fruben for additional information, and there was nothing similar. That was what had led him to drop into the atmosphere. It felt closer. Shepard focused his senses. He'd done a methodical scan but there really was only one place the feeling could be coming from: the Temple of Athame.

"How are you doing, Anderson?" Shepard directed the question above him.

"This would be easier if you weren't in the way," his former commanding officer replied and Shepard got the impression that he was launching more oculi to intercept several biotic pulses. They might have destroyed the military facilities but they couldn't stop biotics.

"You love a challenge," he retorted. "There's something in the temple," Shepard added.

"There's Asari in the temple," Anderson replied.

"No," Shepard refuted the statement. "There is something  _not_  Asari in the temple."

"Not Asari? That doesn't make any sense. The Temple of Athame is meant to be one of their holiest locations."

"I know," Shepard agreed. "But that's where the feeling is coming from. Now, what would the Asari have there?" he wondered.

"There's only one way to find out," Anderson replied.

"True." Shepard launched more oculi and several more troop transports from his underside. He  _should_  have been leading the destruction of the rest of the planet but the feeling had drawn him here. He couldn't truly enjoy the fall of Thessia until he knew what was here.

"Joker, make sure the transports land," he ordered.

"Yes, boss!"

With that in hand, Shepard forced his consciousness into one of the husks already on the ground. They were getting close to the Temple and the reinforcements just sealed the deal. Now, so long as the Matriarchs did not commit suicide, they would be captured. And the Temple had just come into sight.

He never saw the blinding flash of blue light that came towards him.

"Urgh!" Shepard reconnected with his form to find quite a few in his sub-minds laughing at him.

"Duck!" Fredrick said between sniggers.

"Yeah, yeah," Shepard acknowledged. The blue bitch had gotten him good. "My shields aren't down," he added feeling slightly smug. Nazara would have died.

"True, feedback was not an issue," Pressly agreed gently but Shepard could tell the man was holding back a laugh. He'd never know how Jenkins felt but if you could look in from the other side, that's how he felt now.

"They are going to pay," he said before anyone else could weigh in on the matter. Bad enough that he'd lasted less than 10 seconds in the body without everyone commenting. He picked out a new husk, one of the surviving Asari bodies. This one had been involved in herding the Asari towards the collection points and so was a bit back from the temple. The remaining husks just covered the gap.

This time he was a little more careful, keeping cover between him and the Temple. The Temple of Athame was at the centre of Kyota and was surrounded by gardens. The only close cover between the last of the buildings and the temple were some overly manicured trees. He knew that already though, from the scans he was doing above. While he could also sense that there were Asari in the temple, he couldn't determine that they were lining the wings of the Temple and from the glow coming from them, all of them were trained biotics. This was going to be painful.

"Send the next lot of husks with weapons," he instructed. "And about twenty oculi," he added before withdrawing from the husk.

"I just landed the transports," Joker complained. Those husks didn't have weapons.

"Then take over the oculi," Shepard instructed, dropping the required twenty.

"I'll land them," Joker replied. The biotic defences had gotten stronger and it would be a challenge to pilot them through the singularities, warps and other attempts to bring them down.

"I'll see what I can do to clear the path," Shepard said as he felt like he was dropping with the oculi. When they reached terminal velocity, he took over, using their engines to guide their path as he focused on their sensor feeds. The Temple covered multiple stories so it was difficult to determine the exact height of each level of defenders but he didn't need to know all their positions. For now, it would be enough to get rid of those on the wings. Then the husks could swarm the temple.

He had the oculi swing wide and then used the momentum of the fall to skim over the city. It meant that the oculi were coming in low and fast. A lucky singularity took out one oculus but the others were not impeded and Shepard didn't hold back as he fired the oculi's weaponry. Harbinger wanted the Matriarchs but he knew there would be damage. A few of the Asari raised barriers but against a laser weapon capable of slicing through anything less than heavy ship armour, only those not hit directly survived. The roof of the temple wings collapsed onto those few.

Shepard released the oculi to their programing as he shifted his consciousness again, returning to the Asari husk. He peeked again. There didn't appear to be any defenders so he eased out from the building and took several steps forward on the road that separated the buildings from the temple gardens. The gardens had no fence and the grass was soft beneath the husk's feet. One or two trees were on fire but the damage from the oculi was mostly contained to the temple wings.

From above, there came a roar and instinctively, Shepard looked up. He recognised several smaller troop transports and they landed around him. "Nice work, Joker," he complimented his pilot when the husks poured out around him.

"Now, let's finish this!" Shepard added, mostly for the benefit of those he knew were directing the new husks. The husks could act independently but there were enough who shared his passions that they wanted to participate more personally. As one, they charged over the lawns, heading towards the Temple. There would be losses but he would swarm the Matriarchs in the Temple with bodies if that's what it took.

They would not fight for long.

-cfr-

It had almost been like old times, Shepard reflected as he stepped into the main chamber of the Temple. It had been a long time since he had inhabited a body and the motions of running around had brought back memories. The battle hadn't been anything special. They had sent in waves of husks to wear down the defenders and when some of the Temple's defenders had dropped from exhaustion, they had sent in the final wave, literally swarming over the defenders. Most of the Asari had been dragged out, leaving only the oldest, most experienced Matriarchs. He had questions for them.

Above, his Ascended form had dropped lower and was now literally crouched over the Temple. Hackett had broadcast the image to Thessaly. Apparently, it had broken the back of the last of the resistance. The continuous scans had allowed him to narrow down the echo. It was in this room.

Shepard looked around. Being the central chamber of the Temple, the room was grand. Much of it was stone and it was dominated by the huge statue of Athame. With the shadows, it looked to be a rather attractive young woman and Shepard was reminded again how closely the Asari and Humanity resembled one another. Stone curtains hung down creating small alcoves but what caught Shepard's eye was the small opening near the base of Athame's image. Surely in this day and age the Asari did not leave offerings? So what was it for? And why did that echo feel like it was coming from the statue?

"Matriarchs," he chewed the word. The husk's mouth was not designed to speak but his enunciation was clear enough.

"You cannot be here!" One of them exclaimed, jumping forward, her hands glowing.

The other husks reacted instantly, leaping towards the woman and dragging her down. "No! Infidels!" She cried but before she could activate her power, one of the husks grabbed her arms, wrenching them back and Shepard head the clear snap of bone. The Matriarch screamed but the glow faded. The others simply glared.

"I am here," Shepard said. "Thessia has fallen," he added. It was not true quite yet but as far as they were concerned, the battle was over.

"You cannot be here, heretic." This time the woman stepped forward slowly. The husks parted to let her though they remained on guard.

"Why not?" He asked.

"This is sacred ground," she replied.

Shepard was searching through his information banks for the Asari's name. "Matriarch Jaslyn," he greeted her after a moment. She was very old, even for an Asari. The blue of her skin was faded and her facial markings were almost grey. He could tell by the way the other Matriarchs watched that they would try to defend her.

"Abomination," she growled in return.

"Its consecration is no longer of importance," Shepard said moving towards the statue. Jaslyn didn't react but several other Matriarchs did. There was something they did not want him to see. He kept moving, concentrating his senses through the steel and concrete that formed the temple. It was an ancient building but the Asari had upgraded it over time.

"You can't!" One of the other Matriarch's broke when he mounted the first step.

"Heretic," Jaslyn spoke. "What are you looking for?"

"What are you hiding?" He countered, moving further.

"The statue is one of our holiest relics. It means nothing to heretics like you," she explained in what seemed to be a reasonable tone.

"So why is it open?" Shepard asked, turning the husk to face the old Matriarch.

"The outer statue is a casing for the original."

It was a very likely explanation but it did not explain why he felt almost attracted to it. He stepped on to the last step.

"No!" Three of the Matriarchs broke ranks and with another flash of blue light, Shepard found himself snapped back into his Ascended form.

"This is getting tiresome," he muttered.

"This is getting hilarious!" Joker corrected him.

Mentally, Shepard rolled his eyes and stretched his senses. There should be a hologram projection disk somewhere in the Temple. It was a surprise when he found them in the main chamber. Oh well… the Asari would just have to put up with the supposed desecration.

"You cannot kill me," he said as his hologram appeared. The Matriarchs had been driven to the ground by the husks and several more had crammed themselves into the chamber. They were taking up all the space in the wings. It was a bit surprising to see that he had appeared on the third step. He gestured to the husks and they began hauling the Matriarchs out. A few required a judicious use of force but none managed to break free enough to use their biotics.

Eventually, only Matriarch Jaslyn was left and a horde of husks. At a mental command, several raced past him into the statue.

"Shepard," Fredricks said. He'd been controlling one of the husks that had entered the statue.

"What is it?" He asked, keeping his eyes on Matriarch Jaslyn.

"You better get in here."

"I'll be back," Shepard said to the Matriarch, disengaging the hologram to push his consciousness into a husk for the fourth time that day.

The instant he stepped inside, he understood Fredricks' insistence and he withdrew from the husk.

"They have a Prothean Beacon," he said over the network.

"They what?" Arshan demanded. Even the older Ascended was surprised.

"They have a Prothean Beacon," Shepard repeated. "A working beacon."

"That explains a lot," Harper said.

"What do you mean?"

"Historically, the Asari have always remained ahead in research. They passed it off as simply being the oldest race but if they had a working beacon." Harper didn't bother to finish, the implications were obvious.

"It doesn't matter now," Hackett interposed before they were distracted. "Have any of you kept track of the date?" he added the question.

It meant nothing to Arshan but it made the other Ascended think.

"Oh, my god," Miranda laughed. The others followed suit as their internal calculations told them what Hackett already knew.

"Harbinger," Shepard called, allowing his call to be heard by everyone. Usually, his conversations with the oldest Ascended were private but given what he knew of Harbinger, this was the right thing to do.

"What do you want, Shepard?" There was the hint of an edge to Harbinger's voice. Unspoken was the demand to know how badly damaged Thessia was.

Shepard ignored that. "There was a custom on Earth," he began.

"I do not care about organic traditions," Harbinger interrupted.

"You will like this one," Shepard continued, undeterred by Harbinger's seeming hostility. "The custom was called Christmas. It involved the exchange of gifts. You have given us Thessia, so I have a surprise for you. It is on Thessia at the enclosed coordinates."

Harbinger was scanning the information packets he had on Humans. Christmas was a custom that originated from one of their predominant religions. It had even become a custom for those not of that religion. After that, he calculated the Human date. December 24th. A day with varying significance for this custom.

"Shepard, I do not need any organic gift."

"You will like it," Shepard said.

"And you will want this one," Arshan added.

Harbinger thought for an instant. "I will come," he agreed before terminating the link. It would give him a chance to see how badly Shepard had interpreted his orders.

Shepard mentally smiled over the network. "Let's set up a cordon around the temple and start sorting the Asari. We can continue to enjoy our present once Harbinger has his."

-cfr-

"What are they doing?" Harbinger asked Arshan and Fruben on a private channel.

The two elder Ascended were with him, their mass effect fields extended around the gift Shepard had rather happily presented him with once he settled into orbit around Thessia. Neither of them needed to ask who they were.

The Human Ascended had arranged themselves into four groups of fifty and were in a low Thessian orbit. Occasionally, one of them fired. The shots were precise, designed to do as little damage as possible.

"Killing Asari," Arshan replied, as if it should have been obvious.

"By grouping like that, they can run extensive scans of the surface, using each other to triangulate the exact location of the Asari before one of them kills them," Fruben added the more detailed explanation.

The method was known to Harbinger but it was rather slow. "They are not killing them all?"

"Only those who aren't in the concentration camps."

"Concentration camps?" Harbinger questioned.

"A Human term," Arshan answered, sending the files.

It was an apt description, Harbinger decided, once he reviewed the information. The Asari were being kept in crowded conditions with limited food and only one way out, through the processing ships. Perhaps the Humans understood the cycle more than he had believed. Other parts of Thessia were burning but as Arshan had reminded him when he first arrived, the planetary damage was within expected ranges when confronting a biotic race. Especially one you couldn't force into submission. The attacks now wouldn't exacerbate the situation but what bothered him was that there were two places on the planet not burning. The spoke of planning and his suspicion was confirmed by a check of the attack records. The Human forces had specifically not used their mass drivers on those two cities and their logic was impeccable. Eighty percent of the Asari Matriarchs were at those two locations and an impressive ninety percent of the ones present had been captured. The other twenty percent of Matriarchs on the planet lived in other cities or in seclusion, forcing those who wished their wisdom to make a pilgrimage. Grudgingly, Harbinger had been forced to admit that the Humans had done a good job. Not in the way he expected but they had still obeyed his orders to capture Matriarchs.

Arshan knew him too well and had seen his conclusions. The other Ascended had reminded him that so long as the objective was accomplished and the cycle was served, he should not be concerned about the how. But he was. No matter how well the Humans understood the cycle, they were a potential anomaly for the cycles to come.

"What do you want to do with this?" Fruben asked.

Truth be told, Harbinger wasn't entirely sure what to do with a working Prothean VI. He had thought that the only interactions he would have with that species, while their memory faded from the galaxy, were with his slaves, those whom the organics this cycle had named the Collectors, never realising that they were their forebears. Perhaps he should call them in so that the VI could see what had become of its people.

No, it was VI, it wouldn't truly appreciate the subtlety, though if Shepard had found a Prothean... That was a true impossibility and the young Ascended had done well to find the VI. They had fitted it with a new power pack to ensure that it couldn't suicide and Arshan indicated that one of the Humans had checked it for explosives or other useless items.

He sent a pulse to it, watching as the hologram formed. Time had caused its display matrix to degenerate and it was blurred but it was still a Prothean form.

"We have much to discuss," Harbinger said as it ran through several protocols to determine where it was. The vessel was space worthy but had been grounded for a long time, hence the mass effect fields around it. He did not want to lose his prize so quickly.

"No!" The hologram objected realising what had happened.

"What is your purpose?" he asked, making it an order.

"No!" It objected again, refusing to answer.

"Shepard had several Asari questioned," Fruben sent to Harbinger privately, giving the oldest Ascended the information packets that had been obtained.

While Harbinger could have delicately teased the information out of the VI, it would resist, probably inciting the oldest Ascended to dominate it and rip through its programing, which would effectively kill it. But with a little information, Harbinger could coax the VI into speaking, dragging out its anguish before death. It might not be alive but it could suffer.

"You will answer me, Vendetta," Harbinger said a moment later.

Fruben would have laughed at the shocked motion the VI made except he knew that it would not be appreciated.

"I will tell you nothing," it replied.

"You will tell me everything, Vendetta. Then I will show you the futility of resistance, just as I showed the Protheans," Harbinger said as he moved, shifting so that the VI was engulfed in his form. "But for now, I'll let you think on this, Vendetta. You were given to the Asari to prepare them to fight us, yet you failed because of the vengeance of one race. Imagine what might have been, if you'd been given to them."

This was going to be... fun.

-cfr-

"Shepard."

"What is it, Anderson?" Shepard asked as the Ascended form of his former commanding officer settled into formation with him. For the most part, they had finished with Thessia and were in orbit, waiting to ensure that the remaining population didn't try to rebel. It would probably take a few weeks before things reached a critical point and by that point, most of the fleet would have moved on so it was essential to cement their dominance now.

Other parts of the fleet were busy destroying the Asari presence in Parnitha. Shepard wanted to be with them but remaining over Thessia took precedence. He needed to be in place in case the Matriarchs tried something stupid. Between that and feeling the Prothean VI, the Asari had found a way to spoil his fun. He was not in a good mood and the thought of his upcoming conversation with the Council was only taking the edge off his frustration.

"I have something for you," Anderson replied.

"What do you mean?"

"I have something for you," he repeated. "I was saving it for later, but in light of the season, I thought it appropriate to give it to you now."

"You got me a Christmas present?" Shepard asked. Despite his frustration, he was intrigued.

"Yes," Anderson said, almost laughing. "I'm sending it over now," he said.

Shepard expected a package of information and was surprised when a small ship launched from Anderson.

"Don't scan it yet!" Anderson warned. "I want it to be a surprise."

Even coming from another Ascended, Shepard should scan the ship before letting it into him but he trusted Anderson so he opened a bay for the ship.

It only took a few minutes but he felt impatient waiting. He ran through everything Anderson could give him. Without any further information, there was no way for him to narrow down the possibilities. It couldn't be food or a weapon because he had no need for either. That didn't leave much. In fact, it left nothing...

The thought faded when the ship opened and a single husk walked out, carrying- "Anderson!" Shepard exclaimed.

"Shepard," the other man replied, his urbane tone not quite covering his amusement.

"Where did you get Liara T'Soni?" Shepard demanded, because that's what the husk was carrying. The unconscious form of the Asari bitch. None too gently, it dropped her to the ground in the bay, rolling her form over so that Shepard could clearly see her face. It was definitely Liara, not just an Asari who bore an unfortunate resemblance to her.

"Nevos," came the answer.

Immediately, Shepard put the pieces together. The incident on Nevos. "A pro-Human?" he asked. Had a pro-Human captured Liara for them? For him.

"No, someone older," Anderson replied. "Her name was Shiala. She was a part of Matriarch Benezia's escort."

"Shiala," he repeated the name. It was a name he felt he should remember but the process of ascension had taken things from him. He had regained most but not every memory was as intact as he'd like. The fact that he could not remember her just meant that his Human form had not considered it an important matter.

"She was given to the Thorian. It controlled her indoctrination so that she was loyal to it but when you killed it, her loyalties reverted."

That explained how they had managed to capture Liara. A fully indoctrinated Asari who had been with Benezia would also wish to take care of her daughter. Suddenly, the actions of the Asari didn't matter so much. Liara could make it up for them.

"Do you like it?" Anderson asked cheekily. The question was like Joker and Shepard remembered that Anderson had dealt with the brash pilot as well. Some things had rubbed off.

"I love it," Shepard replied. "Though, I am going to have to think carefully what to do with her," he added.

Anderson laughed. He didn't know exactly what had happened between Shepard and the Asari but he knew it had something to do with the Quarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Shepard's change was one of the reasons he felt nothing at handing over the Asari for what was likely to be a very long and painful death. When he had first met the Commander, the man was open. Not stupid, but open, willing to work for the greater good. Seeing how the Council had abused that, and how they had driven not just Shepard but all of Humanity into a corner, Anderson felt nothing. The Shepard who had confronted Harbinger on Earth had been a jaded, bitter man, twisted by the Council. The one before him now could care but not for those who had wronged him. The Council, like this Asari, had brought this upon themselves with their arrogant assumption that they were always right.

"Well, she doesn't know exactly where she is. Shiala was forced to keep her unconscious."

That would explain why Liara looked a little peaked. "I'll make sure she is treated properly," Shepard said. "It would be a shame for Liara to die without knowing the truth."

"Merry Christmas, Shepard." Anderson's reply said everything that needed to be said.

As several husks picked up Liara's unconscious form, moving her deeper inside, Shepard looked down at Thessia. His senses highlighted the parts still burning and provided him with a count of Asari life signs. Five point five billion had been reduced to five hundred million and all of those were contained.

He chuckled. It was shaping up to be a very merry Christmas.

-cfr-


	29. Everyone's Vengeance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard enjoys Boxing Day before moving on to the last conquest of the cycle. The fall of the last Council species though has special meaning for more than one Human Ascended. And Harbinger discusses the Human Ascended with another, and a part of their purpose is revealed.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 28: Everyone's Vengeance**

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

Quentius was surprised by what he found when he entered the Council Chambers. Shepard's hologram was already waiting for him. Usually the man appeared while they were discussing other things. He was sitting in his command chair but instead of being dressed in his uniform he was in civilian clothes.

"You look pleased with yourself," he said as he took his seat.

"Well, you know where I am," Shepard replied with a smile.

"You haven't moved on yet?" Quentius asked. All the information they had gathered indicated that the Invaders never lingered once they had subdued a planet. New ships appeared to take over whatever tasks they determined needed to be done. Yet Shepard was supposedly still in orbit around Thessia.

"It's Boxing Day," Shepard said as if that explained everything.

"Boxing Day?" Quentius questioned.

"The day after Christmas," came the answer. "It's a day just to enjoy life."

"So you are enjoying?"

"Yes," Shepard laughed, flashing up what had to be a live feed. "Very much so."

Typically that was the moment Irissa walked in. "What is this?" She demanded.

Shepard's image turned slightly to greet her. "Thessia. I think it looks better than Palaven."

Quentius felt his talons press into his palms but he displayed no other reaction. Palaven was dead while Thessia burned. As brutal as it was, Shepard had given those on his planet a quick death. Those on Thessia still suffered and no doubt, the Human was enjoying that in full.

Thessia's seas were still dark blue but the green tinged silver continents were clouded with smoke. It was so dense that what should have been pure white cloud was stained. Quentius had a feel for the extent of the damage in the fact that on the night side, there was no artificial light though there was the occasional glimpse of fire through the smoke.

"No!" Irissa whispered, trembling, her eyes wide as she stared. She didn't even notice as another hologram appeared. A Salarian this time.

"Oh, a new Councillor," Shepard's voice was excited.

"I am Dalatrass Ece," she introduced herself.

"And what are you doing here?" Shepard asked.

"This is a Council meeting time and I am a Councillor," she stated.

Quentius had to remind himself that if Shepard was to be believed, the Salarians did not have a deal with the Invaders but there was a note in Dalatrass Ece's voice which made him doubt.

"Well, it's always nice to speak to the entire Council," Shepard said.

"You should not be here," Ece replied. "You will be dealt with soon enough," she added, sniffing as if to dismiss him.

"Oh," Shepard actually laughed. "Will I?"

"The Salarian Union has been analysing your tactics. You will be defeated."

Shepard leaned to the side of his command chair, resting his head on one hand as he rubbed his upper lip. His eyes narrowed as he examined Ece before he glanced at Quentius. "I really don't think you need to be here," he drawled finally. He lifted his head and clicked his fingers.

"What!" Ece exclaimed before she vanished.

"There, that's better," Shepard said before he looked back at Irissa. "Are you going to join us Councillor?" he asked.

"Is there a point?" She growled.

The Human had the good taste to actually consider his answer. "It depends on your point of view." He said finally.

"Your point of view?" Irissa seemed incredulous and Quentius just heaved a sigh, not bothering to hide the motion. Shepard was baiting her again and she just walked straight into it.

"Most things depend on your point of view," Shepard said as Irissa moved into place. "You see this as a bad thing," he added, pointing up at the image behind him, "and that's your point of view. I, on the other hand, think it looks beautiful," he added. "Same thing, different points of view."

"Is there a reason you are here?" She hissed.

Shepard looked at Irissa oddly, silently asking if she was for real.

Quentius sighed again. "By now, I would have thought you'd have figured it out, Irissa," the Turian Councillor said. "There is no reason beyond his entertainment."

She glared at him.

"Shepard, do you want to tell her?" He asked, raising one hand to rub at his eye.

"But you got it right," the Human's hologram replied.

"Get out of here!" Irissa screamed.

"Make me," Shepard replied viciously, knowing full well that no security protocols had been able to keep him out. When he spoke, the screen changed and Quentius shuddered, averting his eyes. The scene was eerily similar to the one Shepard had shown them from Digeris, except this time it looked to be an Asari in the tube. Like Digeris, Shepard hadn't bothered to mute the sound. The Asari's screams were agonised, and deep purple blood was splattered all over the inside of the tube.

"Stop it!" Irissa yelled.

"No," Shepard said.

"Shepard," Quentius said, doing his best to ignore the screams. "That's enough," he added, swallowing hard so as to retain his breakfast. It always seemed as if he was correcting the Human's behaviour. More worryingly, Shepard always considered his requests.

For a few moments Shepard just looked at him, visibly deciding if he should heed the request or continue Irissa's torture.

Finally Shepard looked annoyed before he waved one hand and the image disappeared, returning to the feed from Thessia. "I don't know what you are so concerned about," he said, glaring at Irissa. "The process is designed so that eventually the bitch will fall unconscious, so it's not like she really knows pain."

"And you didn't, Shepard?" Quentius asked, using the question to force his mind from the vision just shown.

Shepard's image looked troubled. "As the first, I was not permitted that mercy."

Quentius felt his eyes widen and he wondered why he had never really thought about it before. Shepard had even told them. Humanity had made a deal with those who had destroyed the Protheans so it was those creatures, whatever they were, who had 'Ascended' the Humans. Shepard would have suffered. But more so, Quentius couldn't help but think about the destruction he had seen in the last few months. The Humans had directed it but was their hand on the weapons gentler than those who would have done it? He didn't know and he couldn't ask.

Shepard looked up and swallowed hard before he looked back to Irissa, deliberately pushing the pain he had been considering from his mind. "So, Irissa, how are you liking the Asari not surrendering? And the Republics not falling?" His voice was cruel but Quentius couldn't bring himself to chastise the Human's image.

"Go away," she whispered, remembering her earlier words.

"I did tell you it would be easier if you cut your throat," Shepard continued. "That wasn't just for your people but for yourself as well," he added with a small chuckle. The noise told her without words that while the offer had been brutal, he really had been offering her, and her people, mercy when he made it.

"I'm not sure if I will come next week," Shepard said suddenly. "I don't know if it will be necessary."

"Why not?" Irissa demanded.

"I'll be there in person soon enough," he said brightly, grinning at her before predictably, his hologram disappeared.

"That went reasonably well," Quentius observed. "I thought it was a nice touch that he got rid of the Dalatrass."

Irissa stared at him. "Is that all you care about?"

"What else would you have me say?" Quentius challenged the Asari Councillor. "Would you prefer something like 'Oh I'm sorry about Thessia, Irissa'? You know as well as I do that it doesn't matter how sorry I am, it won't change anything."

"So you just talk to him?" She shouted.

There was only one him she could be referring to. "There is nothing else I can do," Quentius said.

"Maybe it's not the Salarians who made the deal," she growled.

Quentius snorted. "If you complete that sentence I will kill you," he said seriously. "Besides, the Salarians don't have a deal."

"You expect me to believe that?"

"It doesn't matter what you believe," he replied. "You should know, just as well as I do that it is over."

"Over?"

"Everything is over," Quentius explained.

"Not yet, it isn't."

"That attitude doesn't suit you, Irissa," he said. "That's a Human attitude."

"Human! Human! Human!" She screamed. "That's all I ever hear about!"

"We are living their vengeance," Quentius shrugged.

"Then why are you so calm?"

"Because there is nothing we can do," he replied. "There hasn't been anything we could do for years," he added.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, we should have worked with the Humans but we were stale. I don't know when the Council lost its meaning but we've been doing things by rote for years. The Humans were change, they were progress! They could have made us great but we wanted to cling to the past and thus, we drove them away."

"They would have ruled us! We could not allow that!" Irissa hissed.

Quentius laughed but it was short and sharp, and lacked humour. "Ah yes, your precious Prothean VI told you to ready the races, told you Asari to lead us against the Invaders. Look how well that turned out! You Asari, you were less than useless!"

"We couldn't have known they'd be so strong!"

"You had a Prothean VI to tell you!" He roared, anger flaring and finding focus. Shepard had not made much of the Prothean VI they had found, but he had made sure what was left of the the galaxy knew how the Asari had broken every rule they had made and how the Asari had failed in the duty given to them by the Protheans. "Shepard tried to tell us! But we didn't listen. You didn't listen because it was too hard! You Asari had played at peace for centuries! Did you think you could  _talk_  the force that destroyed the Protheans into sparing you?"

The way she flinched gave him all the answers he needed.

"You did?" Quentius was incredulous. "You fucking did?" He repeated. "I don't believe it. Millennia to prepare the galaxy and you deliberately hold  _everyone_  back. Your precious Farixen Treaty has literally handed the galaxy to the Invaders on a silver platter!" He stared for a few seconds considering for a moment how close 'Farixen' sounded to 'Fuck you' in the Human tongue. Except that was an impossibility.

"Why did you hate the Humans?" He demanded. Most Asari had been happy to work with the Humans but Irissa bore a true personal hatred for them.

"They would have ruled us," Irissa repeated.

"You should have let them! If you didn't have the courage to lead the galaxy, then you should have let them! You Asari knew what was going to come! You should have dominated the galaxy, forced us to work together and if you couldn't do that, you should have given everyone fair warning and let those who did have the strength do what was necessary.

"If we Turians had known they were coming we would have built an empire! The Humans, young as they were would have built more ships. We would have fought!"

"You would have lost!"

"Don't you get it? We already have! And not to those who killed the Protheans but to the Humans!" Quentius glared at Irissa, aware of how his claws were sparking against the tabletop. "Just leave, Irissa. I don't want to see you again," he said, meaning every word. "I don't  _ever_  want to see you again," he repeated, gritting his teeth as he took a deep breath to control himself.

As he had told Irissa, there really wasn't anything he could do.

-cfr-

**Annos Basin, Pranas System, Sur'Kesh**

Dieuwe worked quickly, his hands sure upon his tools.

"Is it ready?"

It would be ready faster if Huw stopped asking him stupid questions. "Soon," he replied, in the same tone he'd used the last fifty six times he'd been asked.

"Hurry! They are coming!"

"I know," he said, without looking up. "The entire planet knows. It will be ready," Dieuwe added.

"It better. You've seen what they do to planets," Huw growled.

"I know, I know!" They'd seen what the Invaders did to planets. The entire planet had. But they'd only seen what the Invaders did to planets that they were allowed to see. The Invaders had broadcast the invasion of Palaven live but they had been much more sparing with information after that. They'd reported on Asteria and a couple of other colonies, especially lingering on several Asari colonies which the Invaders claimed had surrendered. Supposedly, they'd also gone through the Perseus Veil and destroyed the Geth.

Dieuwe didn't know. He'd been involved with analysing the feeds from Palaven. With the planet dead, he'd thought it was a waste of time until they'd managed to piece together a few shots. The Invaders, in their arrogance, hadn't transmitted what they saw, no… they'd transmitted what the Turians had seen, along with much of the Turian chatter. Thousands of ships meant thousands of hours of that same battle, which ended in the same way, with the ship and the crew dying before the destruction of Palaven itself.

But slowly, a reflected image here, a millisecond of a screenshot there and with snatches of audio, they had pieced together usable sensor readings. There were gaps in the information but it was enough to begin working. From the information from Palaven, supplemented by the feeds from the other attacks and some sent through from STG agents or those bribed, they had built the machine in front of him.

It was large. To generate a signal capable of covering the entire planet at the necessary strength, it had to be large to take the power conduits but beyond that, it was the Salarians… no, the Galaxy's only hope. Dieuwe knew Salarian dreadnoughts were strong but there were too many enemies to expect them to make a difference. It was up to him.

The device was relatively simple. The Turian battles had shown how impossibly strong the Invader's shields and armor was, but through painstaking examination of the few sensor readings and of the battles a few 'thin' points had been discovered. But the real gain was what the Invaders had given them, by re-transmitting the images taken from the Turians. A little piece of themselves. Tiny amounts of code were embedded in the vid files, especially where they had been edited. Those had been hammered into a door, one his device would create and then rip open.

If all went well, and everything was going to go well, the Invaders would be left motionless in space. Their shields may or may not go down, he wasn't sure about that, but their offensive capacity would be nullified. At that point, it would be simply a matter of destroying them. Dieuwe hoped the military destroyed them all but he was aware that factions like Huw's wanted to capture at least a few Invaders. The technological breakthroughs the single wreck had given the galaxy forty years ago were huge, the benefits having an intact ship would give… those couldn't be estimated and already several Dalatrasses were considering the thought and the dominance it would give them not just on Sur'Kesh but over the galaxy.

Except that they first had to survive this, then drive the Invaders back. Once it was established that the Invaders could not fight, they would either flee, or surrender. Dieuwe was realistic. He thought that they would have to draw lines because while his device might give the Salarians the advantage in space, on the ground the Invaders would have the advantage. Still, domination of half the galaxy... that was a nice thought.

He tightened the last bolt and moved to the control screen.

"It's done?" Huw cried.

"I need to make sure everything is connected properly," Dieuwe replied.

"There's no time!"

"Then make time," he snarled fed up of the continual nagging. "We are all doomed if this launches and then doesn't work!"

Huw backed off but with a huff that bespoke his annoyance. He couldn't refute Dieuwe's logic.

With a deep breath, and a string of thoughts that couldn't be said aloud, Dieuwe turned back to the screen. The start-up sequence was on schedule and a moment later there was a beep, indicating that everything was ready. He tapped the screen, running a few extra diagnostics. Power supply good. Heat sinks good. Shielding good. Cloaking good. Signal matrix good. Programming good.

Three minutes later he stepped back. "It's done."

"About bloody time!" Huw growled, leading several STG agents forward.

"Make sure you keep it on the Invaders!" Dieuwe said. "It's useless if they aren't in the field."

"We've read your notes," Huw dismissed his concerns.

"We won't make a mistake," one of the STG operatives said as they moved waving the heavy lifting gear into place.

"It's worth all our lives if you do," Dieuwe said as the roof opened and cables dropped down from the waiting shuttles. They would lift his creation into space and then direct it. Every erg of power his machine made would be put into its disruption field. It would hold the line. He just hoped the commanders knew how fragile that line was.

-cfr-

**Annos Basin, Pranas System, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

"All right, a couple of things to remember, everyone," Shepard said as the fleet of one hundred began its final approach towards Sur'Kesh. "The Salarians have managed to build a stealth dreadnought so watch the origins of shots carefully! And if necessary, flood the space with oculi until they run into something."

"Records indicate that the Salarians have twelve dreadnoughts left, but we know how much they like to lie. Those records might be fake, in which case, we get more fun!" Shepard said. "Otherwise, I want this to be quick and humiliating and..." He paused. "What the hell is that?"

On the group map the fleet was watching, Shepard highlighted what had caught his attention. There were four visible dreadnoughts arranged in a flat square. What made the formation ridiculous is that there was a group of shuttles in the centre, visible against the backdrop of Sur'Kesh. They were dwarfed by the larger ships but they were carrying something the he couldn't identify.

"I don't have any information about it," Harper said, running the silhouette through his data banks. "It looks like a weapon."

"It does," Hackett agreed.

"High intensity scans now," Shepard ordered, extending his senses. The fleet followed suit, dispersing slightly so that differing angles could be considered.

They quickly built up a three dimensional model of the object, complete with material composition. Harper took a different route, not scanning it, but hacking his way through the Salarian databases for information.

"There's no information on the networks," he reported.

"Stand alone system?" Hackett asked for confirmation of his conclusion.

"That or something with good security," Harper said, reluctantly impressed. He didn't think the Salarians had this type of smarts.

"So what is it?" Nergal asked.

"Composition is iron, nickel, copper, yadda, yadda," Greg Adams, the former chief engineer of the  _Normandy_  listed the materials. "There's a heap of silicon as well, probably as cabling."

"That's great, Greg," Shepard replied. "But what does it do?" He forced his mind away from the obvious thought. Tali would have told him what it did already and then she would have told him exactly how far out of calibration the device was before giving that information to Garrus, just to tease him.

"Well, it's not a laser or anything like that. And there's nothing there to focus a beam," Adam's replied. "I'd say it's meant to be some sort of disruption field."

"Disruption field?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah," Adams said. "Think of it like an EMP but one that is like a wireless network. When you are range of the network, you can connect, or in the case of EMP, it will disrupt devices. Unless you are hardened against it, anything electronic would be fried entering the range."

"And this is designed for us?" Shepard checked. There was nothing in his data banks about anything like this.

"I'd say so."

Shepard bundled up Adam's conclusions, sending them to the fleet. They correlated with what the others were sensing. He opened a comm line to Arshan. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

The older Ascended was silent for a few moments, reviewing the information. "Theoretically, it's possible," Arshan said reluctantly, wishing Fruben was there. The other Ascended was better with technical information like this. "Practically, I don't see how something that small will work."

The device was small. Well, relatively small. At one hundred meters long it was far larger than the shuttles which were towing it with thick steel cables.

"So you've never seen anything like it?" Hackett asked, his voice respectful.

"I've seen attempts," Arshan replied. "But nothing like this."

Shepard wasn't the only one who filed the information away for further consideration. There was something in the way Arshan said the word attempts.

"Spectre, can you hit it from here?" They were about two hundred million klicks from the unknown object.

"Yeah, I can correct for the distance, but in half an hour they will move it," Spectre replied. "Still, since the shots will just hit Sur'Kesh, that's not the biggest issue." While Ascended hardly needed to snipe, Spectre was the best at long distance targeting.

"All right, shift formation," Shepard ordered. He might be giving the Salarians too much credit but better safe than sorry. They had a lot of incentive to come up with something in the six months that the Humans had been attacking the galaxy.

"There has to be an effective range for that thing, so we will test it. Spectre, as soon as you think we are close enough for you to hit it, let us know, we'll all lay down covering fire." Around him the fleet moved, forming into a long convoy. If that thing did anything, it should affect the first ships, giving those behind time to do something.

"Is this necessary?" Udina asked.

"Probably not," Shepard admitted. "But I want to see if they break facing fire from one hundred of us. We'll shoot anyway at about half way. That ought to show their intentions."

"Plus, there should be twelve dreadnoughts here, I sense only four," Sirta stated the obvious.

That shut up Udina who felt ashamed for not noticing what should have been obvious.

They continued moving forward maintaining comms. At about one hundred and fifty million klicks Harper snorted but said nothing further. At one hundred million they redistributed slightly.

"Spectre, on your mark," Shepard said.

"All right," the other Ascended said slowly as he adjusted his targeting lines. "In three, two, one,  _fire!_ " Spectre yelled, launching his round.

Ninety-nine other rounds were shot at the same time, creating a wall of fire. Harper laughed again but most ignored it. At this range the Salarians would be able to calculate the trajectories but it would be a huge challenge for them to hit Spectre's shot in the midst of the others. They still had about seventeen minutes to move the thing, but they couldn't move Sur'Kesh. Of all the Council home worlds, it was the most similar to Earth and upon seeing it Shepard had hated. He recognised that it was ridiculous to hate a planet but he could certainly hate its inhabitants and the arrogance that had kept their homeworld safe at the expense of his own.

"Keep advancing," Shepard said, moving forward at 0.1c, following the path their shots had taken.

When Harper chuckled  _again_ Shepard had to fight the urge to physically turn on him. "What is it, Harper?" he demanded.

"We can advance how you'd like," the former leader of Cerberus said.

"How do you know that?"

"Because it's not working," Harper said.

"What?" Shepard snarled.

"It's not working," Harper repeated. "Their chatter is amusing," he added, transmitting the Salarian comms to the network. It was a myriad of panicked shouting with accusations of incompetence and even treason mixed in.

Shepard wasn't the only one to laugh before he stopped. "Let's just watch the show," he suggested.

The rest of the fleet stopped around Shepard and they watched their faster moving rounds.

"Come out, come out, little lizard," Sirta chanted, scanners working as she tried to sense the hidden dreadnoughts.

Shepard watched as their rounds closed in on the ships. Regardless of the fact that their device wasn't working, the Salarians moved it and the four dreadnoughts, and other ships began firing on the incoming shots. A few were destroyed, but most absorbed the retaliatory shots. As they got closer, Salarian frigates threw themselves in front of the rounds in a symphony of explosions. He wondered if they could be seen from the surface of Sur'Kesh.

It was beautiful and he almost sighed in pleasure seeing it.

"Harper."

"Yes?"

"You should have reported that earlier," Shepard said before pausing, giving Harper the chance to reply. Wisely, the man said nothing. "You can make it up to me though," he added.

Again, Harper said nothing but there was a sense of curiosity from him.

"Do something about the Salarians," he instructed. He was very tempted to wave one leg to dismiss the planet but he kept himself contained.

"Do you want them to go bang, or just to stop?" Harper asked, wisely choosing to clarify his instructions before he began.

Shepard considered for a moment. "Just make them stop, then arrange the dreadnoughts around Sur'Kesh. It's an ugly planet but maybe it will look prettier with a ring of diamonds."

"I'll make frigates and cruisers into a lattice," Harper suggested.

"That might help," Shepard admitted, extending his senses. Harper could hack the entire fleet but why should he have all the fun? After they arranged the ships into a nice pattern, they could be turned on Sur'Kesh, because the Salarian homeworld would look a lot better when it was burning.

-cfr-

**Annos Basin, Pranas System, Salarian Dreadnought** _**Brilliance** _

Admiral Deepak Anoleis of the Salarian Dreadnought  _Brilliance_  watched the screen carefully. The device wasn't working. Typical Tolan clan promises that lead to nothing.

The entire Union should have known better and now they were reduced to watching the Invader dreadnoughts' fire. There was still some hope. The stealth mechanisms developed by Bau clan appeared to be holding and the Invaders were focused on the four dreadnoughts they could see. A typically Human reaction, to focus on what you could see while ignoring other dangers but right at the moment that was saving him.

The  _Brilliance_  could not fight 100 dreadnoughts alone, not even with the other 7 cloaked ships. But they could gather information and they could save that information so that when his clan Anoleis made their own device, it actually worked. They just had to hold out.

"What are they doing?" he asked suddenly, when the four visible dreadnoughts shifted. This was not in the plan, not even in the contingency plans if things went as they had!

"I don't know!" Ualan said, fingers rapidly tapping the screen for more information.

"The  _Reliant_  is reporting they no longer have control of their systems."

"Idiot!" Admiral Anoleis screamed, jumping forward and pushing Munir out of the way as he began to work. "Cut all transmissions!" If the  _Reliant_  no longer had control of its systems, they were being hacked and any link could be fatal! "Get us off the net!" he ordered.

"Too late."

Deepak felt his eyes widen. There had been none of the usual signs to indicate a cyber-attack. No power surges. No fuzzy screens, not even any network disruption. One instant they had been in full control, the next they were staring at the image of a Human, on every screen.

He snarled, giving the hand signal to his 2IC to initiate a system purge. It would leave the  _Brilliance_  lying powerless in space for a minute or so but none of the Invaders were close enough to take advantage of that and once done they could re-cloak and move because they would be found in that minute.

"Ah, ah, ah! That's naughty, trying to purge me from the system," the Human admonished.

Admiral Anoleis said nothing as he stared. The Human wasn't anyone he recognised and with the Invaders taking Human names, he had reviewed the images from the years the Humans had been members of the Council species. This Human was no one important. Not in their politics, military or corporations. "Who are you?" he asked finally.

"My name is Sirta," the Human woman spoke.

He recognised the word Sirta. It was the Human foundation that had created the quasi-legal medi-gel but otherwise it meant nothing. It was odd that the woman gave no rank or other name. That was most unlike Humans. She was dressed simply, in an off white, green tinged tunic with a high collar and fastenings that began at the neck, crossed over her chest before running down her body. It was crisp, clean and simple and no doubt such garb meant something to the Humans. It meant nothing to him.

"Now, just sit tight while we rearrange your formation."

"There is nothing wrong with our formation!" Nige, his 2IC exclaimed.

"Shepard wants to put a ring around Sur'Kesh," the woman said and as she spoke Anoleis felt the  _Brilliance_  move.

"Your leader?" Nige asked.

"Yes, but I agree with him. Sur'Kesh will look prettier with a ring. Anyway, you don't need to worry, I'll take good care of you Salarians just like you took good care of our inventions."

That's when Deepak understood. Everything. The last six months of the galaxy. It was not about conquering, it was just about vengeance. It was about establishing that your clan was better. In the most intimate way, he could understand that and a part of him acknowledged that if the Invaders could somehow destroy clan Tolan he'd step back and let them. But they couldn't. They would destroy Sur'Kesh and if Sur'Kesh was gone, then Clan Anoleis would have nothing to dominate.

"You hate us that much?" He asked.

The woman looked at him, allowing her image to fade from most of the screens, replacing it with a navigational chart which showed their relative location in Pranas System. "I do," she answered eventually.

Of course she did. She said her name was Sirta, and that foundation had not liked Salarians. "The Sirta foundation was about to die," he noted reading from notes he remembered on the cause of the Human Rebellions. "We saved its legacy!" He announced.

"By stealing all the formula and undercutting prices?" the woman retorted. "You could have saved the Foundation and had the original intelligences working for you."

"Lesser intelligences," he dismissed the words. If they were not intelligent enough to run a company profitably, then they were not intelligent.

For one instant the woman looked enraged but then she calmed. "Who's the lesser now?" she asked before she vanished, letting the screen display the Pranas system.

Deepak looked at it. It displayed their location but now- He felt himself go cold. It showed the other Salarian dreadnought positions. All eight stealth dreadnoughts were on the chart. Additionally, they were all marked with a name not their own.  _Brilliance_  was written, but then there was a dash and the name  _Sirta_  beside it.

The  _Shadow_  was marked with the tag  _Horus_  and the dreadnought which had been originally comprised, the  _Reliant_  was marked with the tag  _Cerberus._  He forced his eyes to look at the others. There was one name conspicuous in its absence. "Shepard is not controlling one?" He murmured aloud, fairly certain that while the woman, Sirta, might not be appearing, she would hear the question.

"He doesn't really care about you," came the answer. "To use a euphemism you'd understand, you're just another notch on his bedpost."

For a few moments Admiral Anoleis didn't understand the analogy but then he recalled the psych reports that highlighted the Human fascination with sex and the meaning clarified somewhat. With the causal way they treated mating, the Salarians did not rate very highly.

"He took Palaven and Thessia, so taking Sur'Kesh is just completing the trifecta. The Council sure folded fast. Or maybe it's that you finally recognised your betters?" She taunted but Anoleis didn't raise to her baiting.

Instead a glance at the bridge cameras showed what he feared. The woman was watching him. But they had planned for this. The Salarians had foreseen every contingency and while he did not like the plans, he acknowledged that they had been made for this occasion. Anoleis gave another set of hand signals to Nige. It was the set no one ever wanted to send and he hoped they still had control of the self-destruct. He would not allow the  _Brilliance_ to be used against Sur'Kesh since it was obvious what the Invaders were planning.

For a moment he thought it worked. A small panel drew back to display a count down. The numbers began changing, counting down to the inevitable.

"You don't need to do that you know," the woman's voice observed and the numbers stilled. "You'll be dead soon enough, so don't rush!"

"Better to be dead on our terms!" He snapped at her. How dare she think she could understand?

"Perhaps," she agreed genially. "But you are now subject to my terms and they dictate that you watch while everything you know is stolen from you. Just like I had to."

-cfr-

**Annos Basin, Pranas System, Sur'Kesh Orbit**

"Are you satisfied?" Shepard asked, moving into position beside Sirta.

"I'm considering it," she replied. Below them, large swaths of Sur'Kesh were ablaze. A burning planet was by now a familiar sight and the assault had gone as planned. Of course, it wasn't like the Salarians had any choice in the matter.

"You can go inhabit a husk and go on a killing rampage if you'd like," Shepard offered. While the suggestion might have been repugnant a few months back, the fleet had, for the most part, become accustomed to the reality of the harvest. The Salarians Shepard was offering were dead either way. The offer contained no judgement. Shepard would accept her decision and think nothing more of it.

That was one of the things Sirta liked about Ascension. They were, in a way that they could never be as individuals, truly equal and while they would make different decisions, they were accepted as personal desires, not as signs of weakness or anything equally divisive. That she didn't want to kill the Salarians was her personal choice, not an indication that she didn't have the stomach for it.

"Zaeed offered the same thing," Sirta replied. He'd offered something similar, except he'd been willing to do the killing for her. "I like your offer though but I don't think I need to take it." Zaeed's offer was in keeping with his beliefs and was in some way a thank you for repairing him but Shepard's offer was more adult.

"So that's why he's playing," Shepard realised.

"He's playing?" Sirta asked.

Shepard sent her co-ordinates from Sur'Kesh and Sirta's senses automatically locked on to the position. It was a forest and she could sense quite a few Salarian life forms. Above them, in a low orbit was Zaeed. Occasionally he fired, and it took a moment for her to realise that he was using his point defences. They were being fired through the atmosphere and soon after he fired, one of the life signs disappeared.

"He's having fun," she commented.

"Maybe too much."

"No such thing," Zaeed snarked.

"Well, what am I going to do with this lot?" Shepard replied, referring to the group of STG officers he'd managed to trap.

Sirta laughed, reflecting that it had been so nice that the Salarian's had decided to help them. With the Salarian's twelve remaining dreadnoughts guided into position over Sur'Kesh, the cruisers and frigates had fared no better and had been arranged in a lattice between and around the dreadnoughts. Several frigates had been selected and after venting the atmosphere, they had been engulfed in the huge forms of several Ascended. It only took a few hours, before the frigates were fully loaded.

Then they had been piloted to the surface and left there.

It hadn't taken long for the STG to investigate. What was surprising was how quickly they had worked it out but investigations into what remained of the 'net showed that the in the last six months a good portion of the STG had studied the research Saren had conducted. They knew about indoctrination but a few judicious alterations to the research and the time to be affected was extended significantly. But most of the STG had read the report and remembered. The alteration was for those who hadn't and so while the STG officers retreated, others went into the grounded frigates.

It wasn't as viscerally satisfying as a pure assault on the swampy planet but it was in its own way gratifying when a few days later, the first fully indoctrinated Salarians sent surreptitious signals to their new masters. No doubt, some of them had been working on the tech day and night, feverishly trying to decipher it to use against them, never realising that it was working in reverse.

Shepard let them bake another few days. After all when baking a cake if you took it out too early the batter was still runny, too late and it was a charred mess, unpalatable for consumption. But when you got it just right, it was soft and moist and eminently delicious.

The Salarians were delicious.

Enough of their ruling Dalatrasses had been affected and at that point, the Salarians nature worked against them. They couldn't trust each other so they turned and the Human Ascended were treated to a glorious blood bath as all over the planet Salarian hunted Salarian, going so far as to smash rival clans egg nurseries. There were of course a few prudent restrictions upon them, such as no weapons of mass destruction, and while the indoctrinated held to the restrictions, those who were not did so as well. It was instilled in them from birth.

Still, both sides improvised well enough. It took a day for most of the water supplies to be contaminated. That night nearly all sanitation facilities were destroyed. A few helpful shots from the orbiting cruisers took out a power station or two, which lead to them all going, except for the few Shepard designated as protected. With the last of the energy supplies, those Salarians who were trying to avoid the ongoing battle, and with 10.3 billion Salarians on Sur'Kesh there were a few, streamed towards those protected areas and were ripe for harvest.

Once enough had gathered, the Ascended stepped in, simultaneously blowing every ship around Sur'Kesh to signal the end of the festivities. For one instant, Sur'Kesh had been surrounded by yellow diamonds but then the light shifted and it was gone.

One thing both sides did was capture STG agents, which was how both Shepard and Zaeed had batches to offer Sirta.

"You kill them," Sirta replied.

"Ascension is a new start for the Salarians," Anderson broke in to add his thoughts. "They have no need for lying, backstabbing, thieving bastards," he added.

"Indeed," Udina acknowledged.

"On this we are agreed," Anderson said.

"Do either of you wish to kill them?" Shepard asked politely. This was likely to be the last opportunity for unhindered vengeance. The fleet at the Citadel would be fun, but would also be a chore with the Catalyst there.

Anderson said nothing but over a private channel, Shepard got the impression of a few terrified Salarians. He had his own STG agents. Udina was slower to answer and Shepard could tell the man was considering it but then he looked at Sur'Kesh. "I think I'll watch it burn," Udina replied, shifting his orbit slightly.

"No worries," Shepard said, before he fired from several of his pereiopods. The Salarians no longer required his personal attention.

-cfr-

Fruben moved into position near Harbinger. The eldest Ascended had come to what the organics named the Annos Basin with a portion of the fleet.

"Did you encounter any problems?"

"No," Fruben replied. "The short lived species was easily subdued."

"With the Humans?"

"They have obeyed," Fruben said.

"Have they?" It was the closest Harbinger got to sarcasm but Fruben could hear it echoing through his voice.

"We wanted the organics Ascended. It is done," Fruben said matter of factly. "The Humans have fulfilled their part of the agreement."

Harbinger was silent as he thought.

"The Humans call it a white mutiny," Fruben offered the information.

"They lack faith?" Harbinger asked, anger beginning to cloud his tone. The Human network had definitions but they were varied however he could see Fruben's meaning.

Fruben sent an immediate denial. "If they lacked faith, they would not have obeyed you," he said.

"You call that obedience?"

"They followed your orders exactly, but they did interpret them to their own liking," Fruben said making the allowance for the Human's headstrong nature. "They will submit," he added, "and at that time, there will be no thoughts of betrayal."

Harbinger's silence was skeptical.

"They will never be like Soliphon," Fruben said, referencing one of the Ascended who was completely by the book, and had been from the instant of ascension. "They will push us, and challenge us. And we will, the cycle will, be the better for it."

"Only if they do not cause dissension."

"Those who are unwilling to learn will always fear what is new," Fruben countered. "And they are new, aren't they?" he added, sending the more precise question with his sub-channels. It had taken a while for him to identify what felt different with the Humans. Fruben had originally assumed that they felt different because they were young. Traditionally he didn't have much to do with the young ones but as he had travelled with them he had realised that it was something different. The Humans didn't have the same sense of presence that others did. They were as powerful and strong but it was a subtle feeling.

"They are," Harbinger agreed. "I needed to replace the Primes lost to the last cycle," he explained.

"So?" Fruben asked slowly as understanding dawned. He had seen the Human reproduction rates. The numbers didn't add up. "Fewer were used?"

"Yes," Harbinger replied. "The minimum."

Fruben thought for a few moments. "Their presence is weaker," he observed.

"True, but not by much," the eldest said. "They will be able to fully indoctrinate organics, just not quite as easily as the rest of us. We needed a defence. There are so many Human Primes so we needed something to hold over them. I will not have a repeat of the Atreides."

Fruben was silent. There was nothing he could say. The decision, and Fruben could distinctly hear that Harbinger had done it to please the Catalyst, had been made. Since the Human Primes could control organics, they would be fine and it wasn't like they were aware of the difference. "It won't change them," he observed finally.

"I don't expect it to," Harbinger replied and Fruben could hear the smirk in the eldest's voice. It made him relax. Harbinger was not going to dismiss this audacious new race. The future would be well.

-cfr-


	30. Kaboom and Kabust

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Citadel fleet and their reinforcements have been trapped while the Ascended ravaged the galaxy. Now it's their turn to be ravaged, and Ascended have just the plan. The bulk of the Citadel's military forces mean nothing against a fleet that has destroyed all in its path. They are just the final battle, one that was planned for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 29: Kaboom and Kabust**

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula**

The atmosphere was tense. Those present kept casting glances at the others from the corners of their eyes, measuring their fellow fleet leaders. But beyond that, they also looked tired. It was there in the way Walenty no longer fidgeted, trying to ease the pressure on his feet, in the way that Rentola stood straight up but his eyes betrayed him. They were dead. The destruction of Sur'Kesh had not been kind to him.

Quentius understood and could sympathise but he could do nothing. The Asari showed their fatigue in different ways. Matriarch Inanna's posture was not quite perfect but she didn't look stressed enough. He wanted to wipe that expression from her face. This was her fault. This was all their faults! She wouldn't look at him so obviously if Irissa had told her something.

Still, while no one was quite ready to call the Turians traitors, they were more than ready to turn on each other. With the events over the last few months they had already averted several battles and now the fleets were grouped by species, and evenly spaced around the Citadel. Primarch Victus had the single largest fleet and while Quentius knew that the Asari thought the Salarians had made a deal with the Invaders, the destruction of Sur'Kesh had eased that hypothesis. They might gang up on the Turians. Neither Quentius or Victus thought it likely, but they also knew that the Salarians and Asari had a long history.

"With Sur'Kesh falling silent, we need to prepare for the Invaders to come here."

"How do we know they will come?" Rentola asked, though his voice was dull.

"The Invader who named himself Shepard has broken into a Council meeting each week," Quentius said, relating information everyone already knew. "He stated that he wouldn't need to call this week."

"They are coming at us before the Krogan?" Matriarch Inanna asked.

"The Krogran were Human allies," Admiral Walenty replied.

"You don't think they'll let them out?" Irissa questioned with a note of worry in her voice.

"I don't think they have allies," Quentius murmured without turning to her. Shepard had mentioned allies in the galactic core but no one had seen any alternate vessels or troops. He'd never caught the Invader lying to him but with the destruction they had wrought throughout the galaxy he did not see them just giving their gains to the Krogan.

"It is not our concern," Victus interjected before an argument could begin. If they were dead, it didn't matter what happened to the Krogan.

"So what is our concern?" Irissa snapped.

Quentius was pleasantly surprised when Rentola glared.

"The Invaders have not yet encountered truly significant space forces," Victus said, his voice tight.

"Now just a minute!" Inanna objected.

Victus looked at her, one mandible extended slightly in challenge. "Planetary defences have meant nothing to them," he stated, daring her to object again. As painful as it was, it was also true. Palaven, Thessia, Sur'Kesh. None of the Citadel races' legal planetary defences had slowed them down. And as proven by Magna, illegal defences had just amused them.

Wisely, Inanna conceded the point.

"If they are coming here, then how will they come?" Rentola asked attempting to further diffuse the situation.

"Through the Relays," Irissa replied.

"They didn't the first time," Quentius contradicted her, unable to completely eradicate the small note of glee in his voice.

"That leaves two possibilities," Rentola said, and it was obvious he had already thought of this. "They know where the Citadel is and can navigate via traditional FTL through the nebula to it, or there is another Relay."

"Impossible!" Irissa scoffed, ignoring Quentius.

"Both explanations make sense," Victus agreed with the Salarian before he sighed. "We are going to have to make a tactical decision," he added.

Rentola didn't bother to smirk at the Asari councillor. "What do you suggest?"

"Given the way the Invaders arrived we can either spread out and attempt to detect them before converging. Or we can hope that they choose to arrive the traditional way," Victus said and Inanna nodded her understanding.

"As they moved through the galaxy they have always used the Relays," Matriarch Inanna observed, tactfully neglecting to mention that they always closed them after their passage.

Quentius closed his eyes, fighting back the feeling that whatever they chose, they would be wrong. If they spread out, anticipating a sphere like attack, such as when the Invaders had originally arrived, then Shepard would barrel his fleet through the Relay. If they were at the Relay, he'd come in from a different angle. He would know what they were going to try already.

"Even allowing for more ships, appearing as they originally did, does not make tactical sense," Rentola said. "It leaves them too spatially stretched. The Invaders know their actions have stressed the working relationships between our races," he said it softly and without emotion. It was the truth. "But they have to assume we wish revenge and for that goal we will work together. If they come in as individual ships, we will ambush and destroy them, so I think we must assume they will come through the Relay.

"They can't move ships fast enough through the Relay," Irissa said.

"They can," Rentola replied mildly. "We saw that in the Shrike Abyssal." He stepped back and a recording took his place. It was the image of a Relay. Suddenly ten of the Invader ships appeared. They seemed to appear instantly though all watching knew that wasn't the case. "Now, if we slow this footage down," Rentola's voice said over the screen and the image flickered, going back to just showing the Relay. A counter appeared in one corner, and the microseconds began counting. Then the first ship appeared and a tag appeared on it, showing the exact time. Then the second appeared and another time tag appeared. The ships kept appearing and each time tag was just slightly different.

While they were watching the hologram, Quentius saw Inanna shake her head at Irissa. The exchange was silent and quick and he suppressed a satisfied click of his mandibles to know that the Matriarch was also chastising the Asari Councillor.

"As seen, while it appears instantaneous to the unaided eye, they do not simultaneously use the Relay. Rather they have the best control over them that STG has ever seen."

"So even coming through the Relay, they will be able to shift a large part of their fleet into the Serpent Nebula?" Walenty asked for confirmation.

"I believe so," Rentola said.

"That would make the likelihood of them coming through the Relay higher," Victus concluded. "We are going to have to make a choice," he reiterated.

"The Relay," Inanna said.

Victus nodded. "I agree. Admiral?"

"The Relay," Rentola agreed firmly.

Quentius thought he managed to suppress his expression but Victus knew him too well. "Was there something Councillor?"

He took a deep breath. "I apologise," Quentius said. "I am feeling particularly pessimistic, and I can't help but feel that the Invaders will anticipate whatever we try." He finished with a soft growl to indicate how frustrated that made him.

"Or perhaps they are told," Irissa murmured snidely.

"Perhaps you'd like me to speak?" Quentius replied, allowing one mandible to stretch out hopefully.

She fell silent and to the others, who didn't know the extent of Asari betrayal, it was nothing more than a Council spat.

"Be that as it may," Walenty said, "we have to do something Councillor."

"I know," Quentius replied. "Defending the Relay is a good choice," he said.

"Then that is what we will do," Victus said. "Even with the ability to better control the Relays than we have, it still takes them time and we can still detect the Relay powering up. That will be enough warning." He looked around at the holograms, meeting each of their eyes squarely.

"We know these these ships can be destroyed. It just requires enough force which means with our numbers we are going to have to be smart about it." Primarch Victus was filled with conviction as he spoke. "They will make us offers," he continued, "and while I don't think anyone is stupid enough to accept them, if you do, I will make sure you are a memory,  _even_  at the cost of destroying the Invaders," he hissed.

A moment later Victus' expression was back to normal. "Be ready to react to changes and be ready to fight because I will not let it end like this!"

-cfr-

**Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

Shepard looked at the fleet. Eventually there would be four hundred and seventy six prime Human Ascended. Four hundred and thirty seven were awake now but only four hundred and twenty were here. The other seventeen were too young and while they would most likely have been fine, he had elected to leave them in other parts of the galaxy. The four hundred and twenty were drawn up in lines, perfectly arranged as if on parade. They were mostly in groups of ten. Five formed an arrowhead while the others were arranged above and below to complete the formation.

"This will be the last battle of the Harvest," he said. "We know that there are one hundred and twenty eight Council dreadnoughts in the vicinity of the Citadel, with their supporting fleets. And ten Turian carriers," he added almost as an afterthought. "We do not know much beyond that, but we don't need to," he said, glossing over the fact that what should be their ultimate spy was being conspicuously silent.

"Harbinger will jump in with the other fleet to keep them contained."

"And to let them know how defeated they are," Udina added with a laugh.

"Yes," Shepard agreed. "Don't worry about the Citadel," he advised. "If any of the Council fleet retreat into it, do not be concerned but one thing to note. Make sure you line your shots up carefully, especially once the battle begins. I do not want us taking friendly fire!" He paused, as if looking around. With the chaos that was to come, it was a very real possibility and, so long as they weren't hit from near point blank, their shields should hold but it would be an unnecessary strain on them.

"Also, be aware, the Council fleet is desperate. They will want to strike back however they can. The weak minded ones are gone. Only those with a strong will now remain and they  _will_  be willing to die, especially if it means they can take us out. Do not let them ram you.

"But most of all have fun," Shepard concluded.

"We are to destroy them?"

"Yes," Shepard said. "While the ships might be useful for training those who are to awaken, I don't think any of us want to keep them alive for another eighteen months," he snorted the last, eliciting chuckles out of many. "We will have to train them more next cycle and in the meantime give them sufficient downloads to enhance their experience."

"Should we try to divide them?" Nergal asked. "You know, offer them deals."

Shepard contemplated the question. Given how they had played so far, it was something to consider. "No," he said finally. "Now is not the time for offering organics false hope, now is the time for absolute dominance and that is what we will show them!" Shepard paused. "Of course, they won't ever appreciate that dominance as they'll be dead but we will know."

"Stop making jokes!" Someone mockingly complained. "Do we do this quick or slow?" came a follow up question.

"The Council is on the Citadel," Udina said, "and it is the Council who pushed for war against us," he concluded.

"True," Shepard agreed. "Let's make it quick. Let's show them how little chance they had against us and how quickly their fleets would have died had they invaded Sol." Strictly speaking Shepard's statement wasn't true. Humanity would have fought in Sol but against the whole might of the Council, they  _would_  have lost. However, against the Ascended, now that was a different story. Harbinger hadn't cared to fight against those who would be delivered to him in due course and in moving the Relay he had declared, in terms that even the Council understood, that Sol was off limits.

"At some point, probably pretty early, I'll let Harbinger know to open the Relays. We don't want the Citadel fleet to scatter into the Nebula, so best to provide them with a route to retreat down that we control. If they do scatter, do not follow, we'll assign teams to hunt them down. Now, is everyone ready?"

That brought a universal laugh from the fleet.

"As if you have to ask," Anderson japed.

"All right, silly question," Shepard agreed with the fleet before he reached out. "Harbinger," he said to ensure the connection was completed. Faster than any organic could, the connection was established and Shepard got a pulse of recognition. "We are in position."

For a moment that was an eternity, Harbinger was silent and Shepard feared that the eldest Ascended would ruin their simple plan. Eventually he spoke. "I will have one of your younglings send through an oculi."

"Thank you, Sir," Shepard replied. Harbinger was not his enemy but the eldest was accustomed to doing things a certain way. The Humans often went counter to that, achieving the same results. Harbinger was ancient, which made him and the rest of the Humans, the cocky whippersnappers by comparison. It was no wonder they annoyed Harbinger at times. Oh well, all the more reason to be polite.

"Be ready everyone. Micro-jump on my mark!"

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

Riya watched her screen. Taine was beside her, watching his screen. Intel had reported that the Invaders would be returning to the Citadel shortly so there was always a full complement of sensor techs at their stations all the time. Except for the last three days, the Relay readings had remained stubbornly unresponsive and thus, even though they were watching for it, when the alarms sounded to indicate something coming through it was a surprise.

"Energy readings are-" Riya frowned as her voice faded. The Invaders were meant to be coming. They were dreadnoughts. The energy readings from Relay should be massive but these were tiny.

"Confirmed," Taine cried for her. "The energy readings are minimal! It's not a dreadnought," he shouted into the comms. "I repeat, it's not a dreadnought!"

"Then what the hell is it?" came the response. Riya didn't recognise the voice.

All the fleet dreadnoughts had the feeds from the Citadel being routed to them automatically but their techs were relying on the expertise of those on the Citadel to fully interpret the information.

"I don't know but it's tiny!" Riya snapped. The energy readings were faint against the background readings, barely registering but as she watched the camera feed from the Relay there was a flash of light signalling the arrival of… something. The camera zoomed in allowing her to briefly see what it was before the beam from a frigate destroyed it.

Taine obviously shared her interest, and the Turian tech brought up the camera feed again, this time freezing the image of the small object. It was round with a bright red eye. There appeared to be stabilizing fins on it. It was smaller than a fighter but that was about all she could tell from the angle.

"Shit!" Taine swore.

"What is it?" Riya asked.

"That," he spat the word, still glaring at the image of the destroyed thing, "is what the Invaders use instead of fighters," he explained.

"So they are coming?" She wasn't sure what she should feel at that.

"No, that was a scout," he replied

"We destroyed it quickly," Riya tried to comfort him.

"It sent back too much information," Taine replied.

She didn't know what to say to that and when the Citadel alarms began blaring, there was no more time. Six months ago, she thought she had seen everything when fifty dreadnoughts had appeared simultaneously. That was nothing.

Riya stared at the reports. Four-hundred and twenty dreadnoughts had just appeared on the far side of the Citadel, nowhere near the Relay. The visual cameras showed that they were Invader ships. They were not in a sphere this time, but instead she couldn't help but note the clean, precise formations. They looked like Turian ships on parade and reluctantly she was impressed.

And terrified.

These were the Invaders. This was the fleet which had terrorised the galaxy, which had killed countless billions. They should not appear in disciplined smooth lines, their names gleaming as if freshly painted. They should be scarred, and damaged, limping into battle. It wasn't fair!

At the front of their formation was a group of names she recognised. They were all on the 'kill on sight' list. Hackett, Anderson, Udina… and there, front and centre was N7 Shepard, the first and last Human spectre, the one who had led the destruction of the galaxy.

"No," Riya whispered, tears clouding her eyes. She bit her lip. The Citadel dreadnoughts and fleets turned to face the Invaders. The first tear trailed down her face and she felt her hands fall from the station as she stared at the screen.

It wasn't meant to be this way.

She didn't move when Taine took one of her hands, shifting his position slightly to sit with her and together they watched, hands clasped as the first shots were fired.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

"Clear out that trash!" Shepard roared after the instant of transition, referring to the Turian carriers. .

They had appeared on the far side of the Citadel, well away from it to give them sufficient space for battle and as they already knew, the Citadel fleet was clustered around the Relays. It gave them a commanding view of the Relay and the ability to create a kill box for any ships exiting the Relay… except Ascended. Ascended could control their exits from Relay transport with far more precision than any organic ship. Two thousand kilometres, two hundred thousand, or two million was all a matter of choice.

But even more than that, their arrangement almost made him laugh. There were definite gaps in the formation between species. They were segregating themselves. It was only natural but it would hinder their ability now. Not that Shepard cared but it had been too easy to force cracks into the supposedly monolithic Council.

A micro-second after they returned to normal space, every single Council dreadnought was painted by multiple Ascended, as were the carriers. An instant after that, the rounds were launched and the Human Ascended began disgorging oculi as they approached the Council fleet.

The carriers were the first to blow. The ships possessed great shields and point defences but they were nothing against an Ascended's power. What was truly amusing was waiting for the dreadnoughts to move. It took a few seconds for their computers to realise they were targeted, and to begin the emergency operation. One hundred and twenty eight dreadnoughts all shifted, breaking their neat formations as they sought to live just a little bit longer.

The Ascended could have followed up with another wave of fire, directly into the evasion paths the Council dreadnoughts took and while that would have been quick it wouldn't allow them the fierce joy of close combat.

"Don't let them get behind you," Shepard sent the warning to the fleet. While an Ascended's shields could handle the fire, they could not bring their main cannon to bear on anything which got behind them. A cruiser or a frigate was no problem but this battle could get chaotic.

Shepard narrowed his focus to the here and now as the battle truly began.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area, Asari Dreadnought** _**Kurinth** _

Matriarch Inanna stared at the tactical display. She knew the Invader fleet was large but seeing them against the Serpent Nebula, lined up in perfect parade formations just drove home how many ships they had, which said nothing about how large each ship was. She knew, she had seen them, but reality was different. The enemy fleet had appeared on the display and within a second of arrival they had fired. They were long shots, designed to scatter their formations but they were devastatingly effective. The Turian carriers had fallen to the rounds, disappearing in a brief explosion of light. Most of the Citadel dreadnoughts were engaged in emergency manoeuvres as the enemy fleet now disgorged hundreds of smaller ships.

The small ships were tiny. The same type that had been sent through the Relay as a scout but they were fast and she had seen footage of what they could do. While the  _Kurinth_  might not be threatened by them, any ship under dreadnought class was.

The only thing that seemed to be going in their favour was the Citadel itself. The Invaders did not appear to be targeting it. Of course, with its defences, even if they did it was doubtful they could damage it, but it was one less thing to worry about. The arms were already closed, making it an impenetrable cylinder that hung in space. It was something they might be able to use.

"Target the lead ship!" She shouted, glaring at it as one of the visual displays zoomed in on it. _N7 Shepard_. "I want it gone!"

"We're still evading!" her tactical officer cried, highlighting the path of several rounds which remained on target to hit them.

"I don't care! I want that lead ship dead!"

"There's too many of them!" another of the bridge crew yelled. "I can't get a clean lock!"

The words sparked Inanna's memory. Centuries ago, when she had been a maiden, she had seen a pirate fleet in battle against the Turian military. The military ships had far outnumbered the pirates but the criminals had almost managed to wipe out the Turian patrol simply by being too close. The Turians couldn't fire on the pirates without hitting their own ships. It was not what she would call a masterful defence, but it had destroyed many of the Turian ships.

Right now she was the pirate and facing certain defeat, she had to take as many as she could out.

"All Asari vessels charge!" She ordered. "Get as close to them as you can. Get so close that if they shoot at you, they shoot at their own forces! Then ram your fire straight down their throats!"

Over the comms there came a chorus of agreement and Inanna felt the  _Kurinth_  move. On the tactical screen the shots were finally missing them but there was an incoming stream of their small ships and already Inanna knew they'd be lining up secondary shots, having analysed their evasive patterns.

"Charge!" She ordered again and this time felt the  _Kurinth_  surge forward. "Fire at will targeting the  _Shepard_! I want him dead!"

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

"Joker!" Shepard snapped the name as his instruction.

"I'm on it!" came the reply and Shepard felt his form move. "We are too popular!" Joker complained.

It seemed true. Most of the Citadel dreadnoughts had dodged the first wave of fire. For those few that had been locked into formations, frigates had sacrificed themselves to ensure they could still fight. The return wave of fire had focused on him, much to the amusement of the fleet. While at 2 klicks long he was not as manoeuvrable as the  _Normandy_ , he could calculate to the nearest millimetre the path of the shots and have Joker avoid them.

"The Asari are moving," Spectre reported, highlighting on the map the Humans were using to co-ordinate their attacks the Asari fleet movement.

"They're trying to close with us," Anderson confirmed.

"Idiots," came a few replies.

"Double shots!" Shepard ordered. "I don't want an Asari dreadnought moving in a minute!"

The map flashed as the Ascended locked on, even those in Shepard's fleet, who were avoiding the incoming fire directed towards them locked on to an Asari dreadnought. There were only forty dreadnoughts, and four-hundred and twenty Ascended. Each dreadnought was targeted multiple times. Three shots to hit it directly if it did not evade, and eight to target all evasion patterns.

With the distances between them dwindling, even in space terms, the shots were fired quickly. Any that missed would go into the remaining Citadel fleet or out into the Nebula. With luck the Citadel fleet would never learn that the Ascended could not fire at the Citadel, though even if they did, all it would require was a micro-jump to relocate to re-enable their combat ability.

"Fire!"

A second volley of rounds poured from their main cannons. Put simply it was complete overkill. The rounds launched at 0.1c, flashing across the remaining distance in an instant almost before the Asari targeting computers could lock on and predict the path. A few ships tried to evade but they had barely fired their manoeuvring thrusters before the rounds slammed into them.

One round from an Ascended was enough to kill a Council dreadnought. Three rounds obliterated them and the charge of the Asari fleet faltered as it was cut apart. Five dreadnoughts survived. Their attendant fleets had absorbed the impacts but one listed badly. A round had grazed through the fin and those watching could see the fires burning, almost liquid like in space as the flames sucked greedily at the available oxygen.

"Good work," Shepard congratulated the fleet as the Asari ships burned, secondary explosions warping the hulls of those hit. "It's time we take the initiative," he added with a laugh. They had taken the initiative through the entire galaxy. "Charge!" the command came and was eagerly obeyed. The fleet surged forward, more than happy to take on the remaining Citadel forces more intimately.

"They are still targeting us!" Joker growled.

"And we are still evading them," Shepard replied, complimenting his pilot.

"Heh... they'll never be as good as me," Joker said and Shepard felt himself roll to the starboard side, one pereiopod firing to destroy the round which flashed under his belly as the others targeted ships in the Asari fleet. Three frigates and a cruiser exploded when his shots eviscerated them and he continued on, opening a link to Harbinger to tell the eldest Ascended that the Relay could be opened. It was time to see what they would attempt.

"The Salarian fleet is moving," Hackett noted, tracking their movement to behind the Citadel.

"So predictable," Udina muttered. "They always run from trouble."

"Don't they say that they like to analyse everything?" Miranda laughed the question.

"Oh we need more information! Turians, get them!" Anderson gave a credible imitation of a Salarian voice.

"Well, the Turians aren't following them," Udina said.

Shepard sent the equivalent of a grin over the network. "Of course not. Victus won't run from this battle."

"So, focus on the Salarians?"

"Yes," Shepard replied.

"Our turning circles may be a bitch but around the Citadel that won't be an issue. A group of us can chase them around it. If the Salarians run, it's straight back into the main fleet. If they don't," Hackett didn't need to finish.

"Do it," Shepard instructed.

"Just wait two minutes to destroy the  _Illustrious_. I want the Admiral to see something," Harper said and carried in his sub-vocals was his plan.

"Harper!" Anderson exclaimed. Asking them not to kill a dreadnought at this of all times?

"He does deserve to know," Shepard observed mildly.

"He's got two minutes. If he hasn't seen it by then, I can't guarantee he will," Hackett replied, moving to lead the small fleet around the Citadel to confront the Salarian forces. He had been with Shepard's small formation but with Shepard proving to be such a popular target, their group had broken quickly to give the first Human Ascended more space to evade in. And his pilot was doing well!

"It will be enough!"

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area, Salarian Dreadnought** _**Illustrious** _

"Get behind the Citadel!" Admiral Rentola yelled at the Salarian fleet. The Asari had just been devastated and there was no way that the Salarian fleet could take that sort of pounding.

The  _Illustrious'_  main engine fired and he felt them shift towards the sheltering bulk of the Citadel. He needed time to think to strategise.

Though where the hell had the other ships come from? It seemed inconceivable that the Humans or whatever they were would not have used their entire strength against the Turians, yet the documentation was clear. There was another one hundred and ten ships here now! Files acquired from the Turians indicated that the being known as Shepard had dismissed Earth, showing it to be a ravaged wasteland. So where had the vessels been hiding? They had no other systems.

Irritably he shook his head. Where the ships came from was not a concern, fighting them was and already they were down thirty six dreadnoughts and countless frigates.

"Analysis!" He ordered.

"The enemy fleet is linked," came the instant response. "The shots on the Asari were calculated to intercept them, no matter which evasion pattern they used."

"Move us faster!" Rentola ordered. The  _Illustrious_  seemed ponderously slow!

"Shit! Their small craft are ripping through our support ships!"

"They are too small for capital craft weapons!"

"Tell that to them!"

Rentola heard the argument and saw the footage. Several of the small spheres the Invaders had launched were cutting through a frigate. A moment later the ship exploded, taking out the attackers but that was a small price to pay. Everything about the Invaders seemed to be designed to take the most for minimal cost. As far as he knew, no one had destroyed one of the capital ships yet. Even if they did, he wasn't sure if that would stop them.

It wouldn't stop him. With four hundred and twenty dreadnoughts, against one hundred and twenty eight, despite the odds, any commander would expect a few losses and accept them as the price of victory.

"Incoming Invaders!" The cry from his navigational officer took his attention and instantly he took in the tactical display. The Invaders weren't going to give them time to analyse their tactics and had split their fleet so that a small portion, one hundred dreadnoughts or so were pursuing his.

What options did he have?

They could flee further around the Citadel, but that would put them back in the path of the Invader's main fleet or they could fight.

"Sir! The Citadel reports that the Relays are open!"

Or they could run! Rentola's eyes widened as new possibilities opened with the Relay. Except not all of them could. That was the immediate brutal conclusion, but some of them had to try!

There was a beep from his console but he ignored it as he assessed their ships.

"Order the  _Valiant_  and  _Inspired_  to retreat. The rest of us will cover!" he said grimly. Both of them had solid, dependable captains, and a few women. If worse came to worse...

The Humans truly adhered to Salarian military doctrine, Rentola reflected, watching the ships break off as the  _Illustrious_  and the others shifted slightly into a shield. They had taken the advantage at Palaven, striking before anyone even knew they were a threat, and they had never given it up.

"Focus fire on the lead ships! Maintain their focus on us!" he ordered. They had to give the  _Valiant_  and  _Inspired_  the most amount of time. " _Vigilant_  and  _Regal_  attempt to flank the lead formation!" It was probably hopeless but he had to try.

With his orders given, Rentola looked back at his console. He felt his eyes widen as he took in the icon on the screen. The symbol said the message came from Dalatrass Lelwani. She had been on Sur'Kesh and was now either dead or subject to the Invader's forces! She could not be messaging him.

But he had been instructed to read all such messages and there was the tiniest chance that somehow a force was still holding out. Reluctantly he reached out, tapping the icon to play the message.

The file was audio which was a breach in protocol. Orders from Dalatrasses came via encrypted text to avoid unwanted ears listening. Text that deleted itself thirty seconds after having been opened. He would have discarded the file, treating it as a glitch in the system except he heard the speaker.

It was his voice!

_"The fact that they have not attacked concerns me."_

Rentola frowned. That was definitely something he had said, but when? He could recall expressing that concern several times.

The file continued playing. _"It is of concern,"_  a Turian's voice replied and after a moment Rentola recognised it as Admiral Walenty of the Citadel fleet.  _"This could be a trap,"_  Walenty continued and Rentola realised when this audio file had been taken.

Six months ago. Just before they confronted the ships then thought to be Geth! The rest of the meeting flashed through his mind. Walenty had thought that if it was a trap then it was poorly constructed. How stupid they had been? They had known there were forces moving in the galaxy! The fate of the batarians illustrated as much but they had only considered what they knew, they had never looked at those explanations that made them uncomfortable.

He tapped the screen, half listening as Victus spoke, while he searched for the sender. With his clearance it was a simple operation to open the logs but while the message displayed as coming from the Dalatrass, when he looked further, there was no sender. It had literally appeared on his screen.

Irissa was speaking now and he remembered. He had not agreed but had been ordered to comply. What had he said? His voice spoke as he recalled the line: 'Regardless of the forces remaining, it is a risk to gather so many of our forces here.'

"Yes."

It took the Admiral a moment to realise that the speaker was new. This hadn't happened!

Admiral Rentola never heard the collision alarm sound, nor the tortured screams of metal when the Invader's rounds impacted the  _Illustrious_ , each round hitting a different, but essential part of the ship. The last thing he ever heard was the Human voice agreeing with him.

"It was a risk!"

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area, Shepard**

"This is ridiculous!" Shepard growled.

"It's kind of funny for us," Anderson replied.

The Citadel fleet had kept a steady stream of fire on Shepard for the entire battle. Joker was equal to the task, making sure that he avoided the worst of the shots but some had gotten through. His shields were holding but the pressure meant he couldn't move as he wanted.

There was a small upside though.

While he hadn't destroyed as many dreadnoughts as some of the others, Shepard did have the largest kill count for fighters, frigates and cruisers, by a long way. They kept throwing themselves at him and gentleman that he was, he accepted their kind offers.

"You could always try the Asari's tactics," Udina supplied. Shepard wasn't sure if he was being serious. He hoped not because if Udina was, then he had a lot further to go learning military tactics than Shepard had thought. Surely the former politician could see how stupid that move was? There were more than enough dreadnoughts in what remained of the Citadel fleet that would be happy to ram him, and he couldn't take that much fire! Closing with the predominantly Turian fleet was not an option.

"I'll just ignore that," he muttered, slicing through another three frigates with clean, precise shots. Did they really think he was going to let them ram him? Or did they really think that they could keep him so occupied that he wouldn't see the Council ships disengaging to make a run on the relay? Two Salarian dreadnoughts had withdrawn, only to be blasted apart by Hackett's subgroup, almost simultaneously with the rest of the Salarians.

It was a masterful piece of timing on Hackett's part, lining up everything so that the Salarian end was one giant explosion of light. Shepard hoped the Citadel citizens appreciated the light show. He hadn't linked to the Citadel, though there were plenty of open comm ports for him to choose from. There was probably rioting as well, he reflected, given how close they were. Oh well… it was unlikely that they'd kill themselves.

"There go the Turians," Miranda said, highlighting several Turian ships pulling back.

"Did Victus give the order?"

"Not in so many words."

"Clever Primarch. He prearranged it."

The chatter over the comms was amusing but unnecessary, yet Shepard felt no need to censure them. He was mildly impressed with Victus. While Turians would retreat, having the ships ready meant that Victus always intended it.

"Look how they are covering them!" There was a reluctant note of respect in the comment. The Salarians had tried the same thing, moving their other dreadnoughts into position to attempt to cover those which were fleeing, except their earlier manoeuvres, attempting to hide behind the Citadel worked against them. The Turians were having much more luck.

Where was Harbinger? He was meant to be in position to stop this! It was a private, deep thought, not one sent to the fleet but Shepard kept his senses on the retreating dreadnoughts even as he dodged the incoming fire. The solution was simple, they'd just have to long range them, especially if the Turians weren't co-operating with fighting up close and personal.

"Spectre, Indra, Horus," he called the names. "Your groups link with the Relay and target the retreating Turians."

"Aye!"

"Leave it to the last moment!" Shepard added. "The Turians must have worked out that we won't fire on the Citadel, but they have to cover those ships! I don't want them moving."

An evil chuckle accompanied the pulse of understanding but Shepard almost didn't hear as he was forced to twist, avoiding one of the last groups of Asari cruisers as they tried to ram his belly.

"This is ridiculous!" he swore again, bringing a pereiopod-mounted thanix cannon around to destroy what was left of the cruisers. His point defences had made mincemeat of their shields and it was only their increasing distance from him and their understrength armour which contributed to their survival which was not enough to stop his weapon.

Perhaps it was time to show the Council fleet that he didn't need to be close to do damage?

"Finally!" Fredricks rejoiced.

"May we destroy the  _Pride in Menae_?"  Adams asked with almost shocking politeness. Someone had obviously been giving him lessons!

"No," Shepard replied, "Victus is last," he added the reasoning to console his internal consciousnesses. "I think the  _Astrakhan_  will do nicely instead."

"Why that one?"

"Because they've been here since the beginning," Shepard replied. "Joker! Hold steady for a bit!" While he said the words, they were not necessary. Joker had already felt his intent and was complying.

Calculations ran through his mind and Shepard marvelled at their simplicity, then his cannons fired, lancing through space towards the Turian lines. The brilliant red energy lashed all in its way, obliterating a few fighters that strayed too close, cutting through the frigate that tried to stop it, before it splashed against the  _Astrakhan's_  shields.

The shields shimmered, blue over the entire ship but Shepard kept his weapons locked on, doing what he could to intensify the beam. He was going to hit that dreadnought! While it was only seconds, already he knew the engineering crew on the  _Astrakhan_  was diverting energy to the shields, doing their absolute best to win the long-ranged battle with him. The other Turian dreadnoughts were not complacent either. They had noticed his stillness and Shepard felt his warning systems sounding shrilly in his ears.

"Boss?" Joker asked, seeking permission to move. The shields were absorbing the Council fleet's fire for now but they would not hold forever.

Shepard kept firing, ignoring the heat building around him. He shifted slightly lining up his portside cannon.

"Boss!" Joker entreated. The front shield was weakening and the Council dreadnoughts had all fired. Their rounds were streaking ever closer. The armor could not take that many shots!

The first beam faded as its heat sinks reached capacity but instantly Shepard fired his second. There was barely a metre between the end of the first and the start of the second beam and this time, when the leading edge hit the  _Astrakhan's_  shields they buckled, blue light rippling out in waves as the energy overload initiated a collapse.

Almost instantly the  _Astrakhan's_  armour glowed, and then peeled away as the beam slashed into the ship.

" _Boss!_ " Joker screamed, wrenching their form to the side.

A little too late.

It was not so much pain that shot through him, but the awareness of damage. Multiple shots impacted on his flank. Some just grazed him but they drained his shields, weakening them against the follow up shots. An Ascended's shielding was segmented, much like their body so it was only his flank shielding that went down. But it was enough for the follow up shots to gouge into his armour.

Shepard roared, snarling as his lock on the  _Astrakhan_  was lost. Before he could re-establish it, others in the Ascended fleet fired, finishing off the stricken Turian dreadnought. "Dammit!"

"Heh, thanks Shepard."

He hissed at them, tentatively moving the leg that had been hit, while Joker kept him moving. The damage wasn't too bad and already his shields were regenerating. "That's the last time I do that," he growled.

"But it was so useful!" Zaeed teased.

Shepard would have replied but Harbinger chose that moment to open comms with him. "The fleet is moving through now," the eldest Ascended announced.

That meant only one thing. Playtime was over.

"Spectre!" Shepard yelled. "Fire now!" he ordered. It would not do for the other Ascendeds' flight path to be transected by Turian dreadnoughts.

The groups which had been tracking the fleeing ships fired immediately and Shepard watched as their clusters of rounds bore across the distance, striking the dreadnoughts which carried the hope of the Turians. Not a second too soon. The first Ascended came through the Relay.

It was time to end this.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area, Turian Dreadnought** _**Pride in Menae** _

Primarch Victus watched as the enemy fleet systematically cut through the Asari and Salarians. Watching the slaughter, he could only come to one conclusion. The Invaders were playing. Not only were there more ships than anticipated, they were not behaving as he knew they could. With their opening volley, the Invaders should have wiped out at least half the dreadnoughts here, yet they hadn't. They had deliberately made their shots easy to avoid. The conclusion was supported by the fate of the Asari fleet. The Invaders had shown their skill then, firing such that it was impossible to dodge and although frigates and cruisers had sacrificed themselves, they could do nothing against the follow up volleys and the impossibly strong beam weapons of the Invaders and their smaller ships.

Still, Matriarch Inanna's strategy had been sound even if had been doomed to failure. Even now, the Invaders seemed to be focusing on the Salarians, though not all of their ships had diverted and the battle was now raging on two fronts. The Turians had split the fire, targeting both Invader fleets. He was weighing up the benefits of running, maybe some of them would make it, when his contemplation was interrupted.

"Sir! The Relays are open!" Stepan said with a note of awe in his voice.

Victus started. "The Relays?" he couldn't help the question.

The Relays which had remained stubbornly unresponsive for the last six months, which had rejected every signal code sent to them, which had hung, unmoving, mocking them with the promise they represented were now open?

"Yes sir! Citadel confirms. The Relays are active."

"Incoming ships?" They were already badly outnumbered but Shepard was cruel enough to bring in more forces.

"No sir!"

There were times when one could not question the fortune which presented itself. Now was one. Victus slammed his hand down on the console, activating the comms to several select ships. "The path is open. Go with the hopes of us all and the grace of the Spirits!" he said, invoking an ancient blessing. With the Invaders' well documented ability to hack their lines, he didn't want to be specific and if the ships got through, they would need all the blessings they could get. Even from him.

He toggled the frequency. "All Turian vessels, form a cordon. Fight to the end!" he ordered, probably needlessly. Shepard had said it himself, in one of his weekly gloats to the Council, the Turians were in this until the bitter end. It was an end all too quickly approaching.

He fixed his eyes on the target. The vessel which named itself  _N7 Shepard_. There were cruisers and frigates swarming around the huge ship. It was simply absorbing their fire, but Victus had noted that the Invader dreadnought was avoiding taking hits from the Council dreadnoughts. It told him that their shields were not absolute but so far nothing they had tried had caught the ship. Whoever was piloting was equal to the task of evasion.

If only that was all they were equal to! The enormous ship was methodically slicing through the frigates and cruisers, sometimes taking out two or three with a single shot! And every now and then it launched more of the small round fighter like ships. They had to be drones, because nothing that small could have a pilot but they were effective. Too effective. They had one weapon, a high intensity laser that was somehow stronger than anything Victus had ever seen. A small group of them could bring down frigates and if the  _Pride in Menae_ 's shields weren't still holding, Primarch Victus wouldn't want to gamble their armour against the strength of that laser.

"Shit!"

That was all the warning the  _Pride in Menae_  had before it was rocked violently.

"Port side hit!" The damage report was fast.

"Hit them back!" Victus roared.

On the display screen, the Invader ships were advancing. Their legs were open and they were tilted back to present as small a profile as possible to his forces. Explosions simply impacted on their shields and clouds of those smaller ships surrounded them like baleful red eyes.

"Sir! Analysis confirms, the Invaders will not shoot the Citadel! They haven't fired a single shot at it!"

Victus snarled! "Ancestors!" he screamed as he saw a way, maybe not to win, but to at least have a chance in this battle. But it would sacrifice those he had just sent to the Relays! They could not shield them and fight.

The Invaders wanted this! They wanted them to feel helpless, to scream and to rage against the unyielding reality they presented. And he could not risk a signal to those ships, telling them to engage any Relay as soon as they could! That would give the entire plan away.

_If it wasn't already,_  his traitorous mind supplied. Truly, even forty years ago Shepard had not been inexperienced. He had to have anticipated that some of them might try to run, if not through the Relay then into the Nebula. If Shepard hadn't thought about it, Hackett would have. Was that why the Relays opened, to provide a clear means of escape so that they were funnelled into some waiting trap?

Victus shook his head savagely! He could not second guess things now and all they could do was hold out until the chosen ships went through a Relay, then move whatever was left to the Citadel. With their backs against it and the attack vectors of the enemy restricted, perhaps they would have some chance…

" _Shepard_ 's stationary!"

Primarch Victus felt his head jerk upwards at the report! "Fire!" He didn't even hesitate and it was only after he'd given the order did he see why the ship named Shepard remained still. It was firing on the  _Astrakhan_.

"Hit it!" He screamed again, and was not surprised to see others firing on the  _N7 Shepard_. Some of the cruisers and frigates were rushing forward and already Victus knew what they intended. Unfortunately, so did the Invaders and the other ships quickly intercepted their rush.

"What does that thing use?" Stepan whispered and Victus could hear the awe in the  _Menae_ 's Chief Weapon Officer's voice.

The Invader ship named  _N7 Shepard_  was keeping one continuous stream on the  _Astrakhan_  and the energy required to do that was insane. Yet the Invader was stubbornly maintaining the beam and Victus could only imagine how the  _Astrakhan_ 's crew was struggling. There was no prayer he could offer and any ship that strayed too close to the sickeningly red beam was destroyed.

Finally, after an eternity the beam stopped but Victus felt himself freeze when a second beam was immediately initiated. No! How many heat sinks did the Invader ships have? Victus didn't need to order his crew to fire again at the ship bearing the name  _Shepard_ , but before they could do much more, the Invader jerked to the side.

Still nothing that large could move that fast and the shots which had been about to impact perfectly on target, hit instead on the flashes from impact blocked their senses for a few moments and while Victus knew better than to hope for the impossible, he couldn't help but wish that the damage was severe. Except when the light cleared the Invader ship was unchanged. It was flexing the strut which had been hit, as if testing its strength but otherwise, except for some lost armour, the ship was undamaged.

"No!" He wasn't the only one to express the sentiment but there was no chance for further denunciation.

Almost faster than Victus could follow the tactical display hit him with information. The first was the shots that seemed to come out of nowhere, aimed straight for and hitting the dreadnoughts which were almost in position to use a Relay to jump. He felt sick when their signals disappeared but the feeling was engulfed by the next information and Victus had to fight not to retch.

There were ships coming through the Relays.

Invader ships. As he watched, another fleet appeared. It wasn't like the fleet which had confronted Pavalen or even the Citadel. It was more like a Turian fleet. There were ships of various sizes but in the centre, well escorted were huge dreadnoughts which matched the Invader's specs. The only difference between the ships was that they were unmarked.

Victus swallowed hard.

The Invader fleet calling themselves Human had grown during the six months they had ravaged the galaxy. By all the Spirits, it should have taken losses! And now there was another fleet. One that dwarfed the number of ships they had seen so far. Until today, Shepard had never been seen with more than three hundred and ten dreadnoughts, which was a record fleet in and of itself, but the new unmarked fleet bore at least one thousand dreadnoughts, and sufficient support ships. With it in place, it wouldn't matter even if they were hard up against the Citadel. The Invaders would find a way to attack them. It was insane.

"We never had a chance," he couldn't help but mutter.

The screen on his personal console flickered and Victus didn't need to turn to know that it would be Shepard's image that he'd see there.

"No, you didn't," the Human said in perfect Turian.

Victus closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He looked back at the tactical screen as the  _Pride in Menae_  was hit from all sides by the Invaders.

"Curse you, Shepard."

-cfr-


	31. Loose Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Citadel, the Krogan and the Quarians - the remaining loose ends in the galaxy are cleaned up by the Ascended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**  
**Chapter 30: Loose Ends**

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area**

It was a familiar sight to Harbinger, the remains of organic ships around the Citadel. It was odd that it was near the end of a cycle rather than the beginning but it was an anomaly which was pleasing, as it signaled the end of the anomalies.

The last of the organic hulks were still burning but with the older Ascended present the Humans were already beginning to clean up, gathering the metals of the fleet. Several were working their mass effect fields to compress and refine them into the purities Ascended required. At least, as the youngest, they knew how to contribute to the cycle.

But there was one glaring issue.

"You have not cleared the Citadel," Harbinger said.

"We will do it now, Sir," Shepard replied.

Harbinger said nothing. It would be mildly amusing if the young ones tried to contact the Catalyst without prior introduction, even if that was the most efficient way of removing unwanted organics. The Humans seemed to enjoy efficiency.

As he watched about one hundred of the Human fleet arranged themselves around the Citadel. Shepard was amongst them and Harbinger noted the scoring on his leg. The Human had played too much but the damage was superficial.

Harbinger felt the Humans communicating but it was not with each other and he quickly surmised their plan. It would be over soon.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

Quentius sat in the garden. Even with everything that had happened, it was still a beautiful place. It was overrun, now, but on a space station you did not get weeds so the plants which had self-propagated in other beds were all part of the garden. To him, it was just a symbol of how life struggled and moved and flowed, not always in the way you expected but it found a way.

He breathed deeply enjoying the aromas, though the air was making him sleepy. Outside, the battle raged. He had several feeds from the sensors on his omnitool but he didn't need to look to know how the fleet was faring. 'Badly' didn't even begin to describe it.

It was a reflection of what was happening on the Citadel.

When the ships had appeared, the tentative peace they had forcibly maintained was shattered. There was full-scale rioting in most Wards as the population sought to… Well, Quentius wasn't sure what they sought to do. There was no running from the Invaders. Blasius was trying to keep them contained, using the troops that had been brought over from the fleet, but Quentius didn't really see the point.

Let them do what they wanted. It would be over soon and perhaps the chaos would frustrate Shepard. It might be the only thing which could.

He snorted a single bark of laughter at the thought before looking back to his omni-tool. As expected the battle was almost over. Quentius sighed, looking up, as if his gaze could pierce through the armour and shielding of the Citadel to the outside Nebula. "Is this what you want?" he whispered to the empty garden, fighting to keep his eyes open. It was peaceful here but despite everything that had happened, he couldn't help but think that, on some level, it wasn't Shepard's desire. Still, even as a Councillor he could not change reality.

That brought another bark of laughter.

Irissa was in the Council Chambers, which was why he was in the garden. He refused to be with her. She still thought there was a way out, that she was, that the Asari were somehow persuasive enough to delay the inevitable. She had to know otherwise but she still held on to the now meaningless authority of her position.

No, all that remained now was to await the troops which would storm the Citadel. The riots were effectively keeping them from mounting any last defence and even if the population was controlled there was always the possibility of sabotage from the Pro-Human forces.

Quentius frowned at the thought and took a deep shuddering breath, choking slightly when he realised the air was thin.

Sabotage.

Shepard was already ahead of him.

He laughed. Trust a Human to attack what was sacrosanct in space. He breathed again, drawing as much air into his lungs as he could.

"Shepard!" he cried, not hoping to live but as a final word. Renewed hatred surged through him clearing his vision which had become blurred.

"Shepard!" he snarled again, rising, as if to fight, because he would not make this easy for the Human.

He'd almost fallen for it, just gone to sleep as the oxygen content waned, taken the easy way out but he would fight and struggle for as long as it took. Shepard would have to come for him personally.

The last thing Quentius remembered was glaring up at the roof as everything went black.

-cfr-

Blinking was not something he expected but he revelled in it. The simple motion slowly brought the world into focus. He raised one hand to touch his face. There was a mask over his mouth and nose, which was where the faint hissing he could hear was coming from.

Oxygen, his mind identified as he felt along the pipe towards a bottle and clumsily picked it up.

He hadn't been wearing this and the last thing he remembered was the air going thin as he glared at the ceiling, cursing the Humans for daring to tamper with the atmospheric controls.

Groggily Quentius pushed himself upwards, continuing to blink as he looked around.

There was an Asari beside him. She lay prone and already he could see that she was not breathing. He looked at her face, recoiling slightly when he realised he recognised her. This was the woman who had given him the whiskey! Her face was serene but her eyes were locked in the embrace of eternity. He didn't know much about Asari but they weren't meant to meld with death.

Gently Quentius reached out with one hand and slid her eyelids shut. She deserved that much. The oxygen mask was obviously hers. He placed it beside her when he felt a faint breeze. The atmosphere, at least for this part of the Citadel had been restored.

A noise forced him upright and he stood, muscles protesting at his tense stance and waited. It came again and Quentius realised it was the sound of a struggle. As he listened further, he knew it was a one sided struggle. He turned towards it and blanched at what he saw.

Irissa was being dragged through the garden. It was what was dragging her that made him shudder. They could only be vaguely described as Human. Their form and shape was Human but the things had rotting grey skin and through the patches that had fallen away, the glow of cybernetics could be seen. It would be better if there was no skin, no remnant of what they had been.

Shepard had allowed this to happen to his people?

Quentius gagged when an errant shift in the atmospherics brought a whiff of scent towards him. They were foul! Irissa didn't have a chance and no matter her struggles, the things continued dragging her towards the exit of the gardens. She was so absorbed that she didn't even see him or else he knew she'd cry to him for help.

"I'll take good care of her."

After six months, the voice was hauntingly familiar. It had been in his nightmares, waking and sleeping, for the entire time.

"Shepard," Quentius said the name as greeting, turning slightly to face the expected hologram.

Shepard was not in his command chair today. Instead he stood as a single hologram, as if he was taking a stroll through the garden. His clothes were casual, not the military uniform he usually displayed himself with.

"Councillor," Shepard replied, nodding to him before looking around, as if he could see the gardens.

Perhaps he could, Quentius considered. The Humans had advanced everything else, why not hologram projection?

"Why did she do it?" He asked.

"Why who?" Shepard returned, looking back at him.

"The Asari," Quentius said, gesturing towards the body. "She only had one oxygen mask. Why did she give it to me?" He had never asked for it, never expected it. When he had fallen, he had thought that was the end.

Shepard looked at the Asari. "Because I value your life over hers," he said as if it was obvious.

"But you are going to kill me," Quentius objected. No matter what happened now, that was the final outcome.

"Yes." The Human's image didn't bother to sugar coat the reality in any way. "But I still value your life over hers and she knew it." Shepard cocked his head slightly, examining the Turian. "Believe me, Quentius, she made the right choice," he added with a cold blooded passiveness that made the Councillor cringe.

"Because you would have tortured her," he stated. It was the only logical conclusion for the Asari to sacrifice herself. She feared the retaliation.

Shepard chuckled. "No. Why would I do that?" he asked, his voice still amused but it was only a heartbeat later that it was once again cold and logical. "She would have tortured herself for failing me."

The way Shepard said it left Quentius with no doubt that that was exactly what would have happened. There was nothing he could do for the woman now anyway so there was little point in discussing her death with Shepard. The Human obviously thought nothing of it and with what he had become, Quentius could see that the Asari's sacrifice was just another way that Shepard was honouring him, in the twisted way he had come to expect from the Human.

"So what happens now?" he asked after drawing a deep breath.

Shepard raised one eyebrow at him, smiling slightly as if he saw Quentius' thoughts. "Now," the image said lightly. "Now we talk for a bit, then I kill you. Unless you want to watch what I'm doing to Irissa?" The offer was made without the slightest trace of guilt or discomfort, just like the statement that Shepard would kill him.

"No," he shuddered, swallowing hard. Watching those things drag the Asari councillor out left no doubt in his mind as to the lengths Shepard would go. "I'm satisfied just knowing that she will suffer." It was not a pretty thought, but Quentius acknowledged to himself that there was a part of him that did want Irissa, wanted the entire Asari nation to suffer. They already were, far more than he could ever carry out and a part of him rejoiced, even as the rest of him gagged.

That bought a genuinely happy giggle from Shepard. "I'm surprised, Quentius!"

"It's not just her fault," he growled. "They all failed!" he snarled, happy to finally be able to yell and shout about this at someone who would understand, even if it was the enemy. "Every single Asari Matriarch back to before we Turians even joined the Council! They all knew what was coming! They did nothing!"

Shepard said nothing. He didn't have to, his posture said it all. The Human understood. Even from the beginning he had been happy to kill Asari, and after finding the VI on Thessia, that had made their deaths all the more justified. The Asari had failed and all organics, Humans included, bore the price of their arrogance. "You never told Victus, did you?" Shepard prompted after a moment.

"No," Quentius answered. "How could I?" The Primarch had probably figured it out but had said nothing. Saying nothing meant he didn't have to act upon it and Quentius couldn't have taken that from him.

"Oh Quentius," Shepard sighed. "You are far too good to be a Councillor."

He couldn't respond to that so he looked up, back at the Human. "Would you have fought?" He had to know for sure.

The Human's expression became vaguely sad. "If circumstances had been different, then yes, I would…  _we_  would have fought," he replied and Quentius could see that Shepard was thinking about all the lost opportunities. "But you already knew that, Quentius," Shepard's voice was earnest. "You told Irissa; you Turians would have built an empire. We Humans would have built more ships and as unlikely as it was, we would have been great! Eventually we would have split the galaxy between us."

Just for a moment Quentius could see it. A single united galaxy, ruled by two factions but then reality came crashing down. "It wouldn't have worked. With a thousand plus years of empire building we would never have accepted you Humans as anything more than young upstar-" Quentius froze, his eyes widening as his thoughts caught up with him. "You knew?" he gasped the question.

"Yes," Shepard replied serenely.

Quentius trembled and his mind flashed through every word of every conversation he could remember for the last six months. They had given the Humans everything!

"It's not hard to anticipate things when I heard everything you said," Shepard continued, confirming Quentius' suspicions.

"Everything?"

" _Everything_ ," Shepard nodded. "It's part of the reason you got the whiskey," the Human added. "And those little," the image frowned and Quentius could see him searching for a name, "what do you call them? That Turian baklava stuff. Believe me, those were  _hard_  to find."

Quentius remembered them. The delicacy had simply appeared in his quarters, neatly packed and deliciously succulent. "I enjoyed them," he said.

"I know," Shepard replied lightly. "For your dressing down of Irissa, you deserved them."

It made him feel used to hear how Shepard had rewarded him. He was not some trained pyjak that danced on command yet the Human had treated him as such, giving rewards when his actions were pleasing. He'd known that. Deep down, he'd known that and there was nothing he could say to refute it.

"So what happens now?" Quentius asked tiredly.

Shepard examined him for a moment, as if assessing what he would like to hear but finally the Human nodded. "How do you want it?" he asked. "No matter the method, I promise you won't feel a thing."

"It's not exactly something I've thought about," Quentius replied.

The Human's image took on a considering pose. "I could shoot you," Shepard murmured and Quentius knew he was simply thinking aloud. "Except that's crude. A lethal injection maybe? No! That's how we used to execute criminals. It wouldn't be right. Strangulation takes too long and stabbing isn't instantaneous, even if I get his heart! Hmm…" There was a pause as the Human continued thinking. "I suppose I could just activate the pleasure centres in your brain until that was too much." Shepard looked at Quentius expectantly.

"You could what?" He exploded. "Shepard! Don't lie to me!"

"I'm not lying," came the instant reply. "I can do that now," he continued animatedly. "Why do you think that Asari ensured you lived? She was obeying me because it felt that good."

Quentius felt his eyes widen slightly and he couldn't help but to glance down at the body. Her eyes were closed now but he remembered that they had been black. The Asari truly had been embracing eternity as she died and he knew enough to know that that was one of their ultimate pleasures. Shepard had given her that at the moment of death?

One mandible clicked. "I'll," he gulped. "I'll have to think about this."

Shepard's smile said everything that needed to be said.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area**

Shepard turned away from the Citadel. Except for a few minor loose ends, it was over. The galaxy was subdued and their vengeance was complete. He turned to Harbinger. The eldest Ascended was in the midst of the fleet he had led through the Relay.

"What happens now?" Shepard asked.

"Yeah! Do we build a new relay or what?" Zaeed questioned exuberantly.

Harbinger ignored the impertinence and answered Shepard. "Now you chase down the last few organics to end the cycle," he answered.

"You do not want us to visit the Catalyst first?" Shepard asked for confirmation.

Harbinger was moderately surprised but with an instant of reflection he decided he shouldn't be. Shepard had displayed knowledge of the Catalyst from the beginning. He had obviously absorbed much of the information that was ingrained into all Ascended, information that usually took cycles to fully comprehend.

"Precocious, aren't they?" Arshan sent over a private channel, not expecting a response.

"You, yes. The rest can wait until all are Ascended," Harbinger decided. He sensed no thought to run from Shepard but it would be best to get the Human under full control as soon as possible.

Shepard said nothing. He had expected as much, which meant he better give the others their instructions for the Krogan and Quarians. The Krogan would be the simplest to ascend. They were also closer. The Quarians were somewhere between Sigurd's Cradle and the Pylos Nebula. At least, that's where they estimated. Perhaps the Catalyst could tell him more. Unlikely, Shepard decided, though maybe if Harbinger asked the AI would give up some information. Since Harbinger was equally unlikely to ask, they'd just have to find the Quarians the old fashioned way.

"That is what I would like but it will have to wait," Harbinger continued after a moment. "The Catalyst informs me that what you know as the Keepers have been corrupted. I will have to fix them."

There was a wealth of information carried in Harbinger's tone. The easiest thing to discern was that the Catalyst would only allow Harbinger to fix the Keepers, whatever that involved. Beneath that, there was the sense that the Catalyst was upset at something. Harbinger didn't say but it was easy to determine. The Catalyst didn't like the change to the cycle, no matter how smoothly it was going.

"With respect Sir, would you please ask the Catalyst to open all the Relays in the north east quadrant of the galaxy? That will make finding the Quarians easier." Shepard kept his voice respectful. Generally, the Catalyst left about one fifth of the Relays active each cycle. Some cycles re-activated the others. Others just left them. The Council had set the rules this cycle, leaving most of the inactive Relays alone. When the Ascended left for their hibernation, the Catalyst would activate those scheduled for the coming cycle.

"You can open them yourselves," Harbinger replied, already turning towards the Citadel. "Report back after you deal with the Krogan."

"Yes Sir," Shepard agreed. The Krogan would be relatively easy to deal with but the Quarians could be difficult. In the forty years they had retreated from the galaxy, while their population would have grown, so too would their defences. There was unlikely to be anything like Palaven but he expected the Quarians to mount a strong defence.

"We will leave for Tuchanka as soon as the debris is collected," Shepard said to Harbinger.

"Do that," the eldest replied but already Shepard could tell he was absorbed by the issue on the Citadel. Still, there was a resonance in Harbinger's voice that told all who heard that if the Protheans weren't already dead, the eldest Ascended would have killed them again.

Shepard turned back to the rest of the fleet, extending his mass effect fields to collect some of the debris. This was the boring bit of battle.

"I really wanted to build a relay!" Zaeed complained to him on a private line.

"Did you?" Shepard asked. He couldn't help but feel that there was some ulterior motive behind Zaeed's request. While the merc had been rough he knew better than to interrupt someone like Harbinger. "Look at your map, you know there isn't need for one."

"So maybe I didn't really want to build a relay so much as the quantum shielding on it," Zaeed admitted.

Shepard looked closely at the other Ascended. Sirta had done a brilliant job repairing him but to certain frequencies there were still marks. "They wouldn't necessarily be that useful," he replied.

"Quantum shields!" Zaeed repeated. "Nothing gets through them!"

"Yes!" Shepard agreed. "That's the problem. They lock everything down. You wouldn't be able to see out."

The former merc was silent for a few moments and Shepard knew he was consulting with the more scientifically minded in his hull. "They are still useful," Zaeed said stubbornly.

"How?" Shepard asked.

"They can't be used as our normal shields, true," Zaeed conceded, "but they can be used as an absolute fuck you to organics." He waited for a reply but Shepard said nothing so Zaeed continued. "We can track everything on the battlefield enough so that we know to raise them just before impact and program them to drop after that."

"I'm not convinced it will be that simple," the first Human Ascended said finally. "But understanding the theory and knowing how to create them might be useful. Talk to Miranda and put a group together to research."

"I'm not letting that bitch get the credit!"

"I'm not suggesting that," Shepard consoled Zaeed, tucking the reaction away for further thought. "Miranda will be able to help you coordinate all the scientists. They are somewhat scattered through our fleet."

"Just so long as it's not considered her invention."

"You still have to invent it." Shepard laughed but his words carried the assurance that Miranda would not be allowed to take credit for what would be a group effort.

"I'll hold you to that," Zaeed growled.

"I know," Shepard said before turning to the rest of the fleet. Most of the debris had already been collected. "Is everyone re-armed, as much as they can?"

The reply was positive and Shepard mentally nodded. That was as good as could be expected here in the centre of the Serpent Nebula but they wouldn't need full armaments for the Krogan. Their former allies would be lucky to have anything more than a few shuttles in orbit if the Turian records were to be believed. "It's time to go chat with the Krogan."

"You want to take the full fleet?" Hackett asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes."

"The Turians aren't around to get it," he reminded Shepard, referring to the obviousness of the insult taking more dreadnoughts to subdue Tuchanka would be.

"I know, but the Krogan will."

"It hardly seems worth it."

"The Krogan will bow to us as the conquerors of the galaxy," Shepard began explaining, "but only if we honour them. That means we have to take the full fleet, and treat them as a full threat, even when we all know they aren't. Besides, they were our allies of a sort," he added. Hackett had never truly dealt much with the Krogan.

"You're still thinking like an organic," Anderson observed.

"For now," Shepard replied. "I doubt I'll be this understanding with the Quarians," he observed, telling them what Harbinger intended.

The Humans had mixed feelings about the Quarians. On one hand, they understood what the race of outcasts had done. Fleeing was a logical decision, especially given their history with the Council but there were those who felt that the Quarians had somehow betrayed them. They forgot that while there had been a growing sense of good will and diplomacy between the two races, there was no formal agreement. The Quarians had done what was best for their entire people, just as the Humans had.

"We'll make sure they are Ascended," Hackett said comfortingly.

"Please," Shepard replied. "While we will all be Ascended, I would not be surprised if there is lingering anger towards us from the other races."

"Heh," Anderson said. "I can't imagine the Asari unbending even after ascension."

The comment brought a laugh and Shepard enjoyed the moment. It was nice to still be Human.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Area**

It was about the time that Hackett, on Shepard's behalf, was informing the Krogan that the Conqueror of the Galaxy would only speak with the Clan Chief of Clan Chiefs when Harbinger realised exactly how large the problem on the Citadel was.

What should have been a simple operation of finding and fixing the corrupted section in the drones conditioning programing had been complicated by the fact that there was no corruption. The drones had tended to the Citadel and the Catalyst exactly as they were programmed to. The Protheans had obviously done something. Their brethren would have to make up for their treachery.

He'd been forced to take on a sample for analysis but even that had been difficult. The drones did not obey the command and ignored him. Nazara should have reported this! The elaborate plan Harbinger had seen in the organic Shepard's mind before ascension began to make slightly more sense. Nazara had been chosen as the Vanguard because he could think for himself but there was such a thing as complicating the cycle too much. Harbinger was surprised at himself when the thought 'like the Humans' did not follow. For all that they had not conducted their fight in the traditional manner, they had gotten results and the divergence from the cycle was relatively slight. It was a good idea to close the Relays, he had been forced to reluctantly admit to himself. But that was something he could think about later. The drones required his complete attention.

The Protheans had come very close to ending the cycle. If not for the ruling Council's disregard for one of the most suitable races, then this cycle might have been different. He disregarded the thought. It had not happened so speculation was meaningless.

He had scanned the drones. Physically they were unchanged and he'd sent his scans deeper. It was extremely frustrating as he dissected the samples to realise that there was literally nothing wrong with the drones. Once inside him, they still responded to his commands, it was while they were on the Citadel that they ignored him.

Up until that realisation, if Harbinger had of been Human he would have been described as being tetchy. Annoyed and cantankerous but still accepting of the task but after, annoyance didn't even cover the emotion. He had to tell the Catalyst that it was the Citadel that was corrupted. This was not going to go over well with the consciousness that had initiated the cycle.

Except there was another way. He managed to acquire further drone samples and once inside him, Harbinger had altered their programming slightly, instructing them to undo the damage to the Citadel. Then he'd released them. It worked, for a time. Until the unaltered drones had repaired what they perceived as damage.

At that point, the altered drones once again fixed the Citadel and this time they stood guard but Harbinger realised that he would have to change the programming of all the drones. That meant he had to somehow get them all on board. As he was formulating a plan to do exactly that, something he never expected occurred.

The unaltered drones killed those he had reprogrammed and had of course returned the Citadel back to its Prothean corrupted state.

At this point, if Human, Harbinger would have sat down with a large glass of scotch and some strong painkillers as he rubbed his temples. Since he wasn't, the Prothean VI Vendetta got to feel the full force of his anger. Its screams soothed him as he considered the options which presented themselves to him. The easiest way to resolve the issue would be to flood the Citadel with his husks, round up the Keepers, and fix them all in one batch. Except the Catalyst would notice that and want an explanation and Harbinger was trying to avoid that. The AI was already annoyed, in the way it got, at having to fix the drones. Being told that the Citadel was corrupt would not be a pleasant task.

The only other viable alternative was to once again fix several drones and then take over their reproduction facilities, thus ensuring that all new drones were loyal to him. He could then slowly round up the others, and fix the Citadel. Once both the Citadel and Keepers were fixed, they should remain that way.

This was yet another issue caused by a species that should just be a memory. If something came up next cycle, caused by the species being processed now, Harbinger was not going to be happy.

Reluctantly, but realising that he had no choice, Harbinger sent another call to the drones, enticing them to come into him. The sooner he started, the sooner the Catalyst could begin processing the Humans. And the first consciousness of Ascension was eager to start.

-cfr-

**Krogan DMC, Aralakh System, Tuchanka**

Shepard looked down at the Krogan. He wondered vaguely if this was how Harbinger felt all those years ago. Probably not. The eldest Ascended had had eons to become accustomed to his form. He was not self-conscious in any way. Still it was ridiculous that he, a two click long dreadnought was attempting to talk to a two metre tall krogan.

"He's two point two," Adams supplied.

"He'll be two nanometers if he doesn't learn some humility," Pressly remarked.

The newly appointed Clan Chief of Clan Chiefs was quickly wearing away any Human patience, and it was only because Shepard remembered his respect for Wrex that he hadn't reduced the wannabe Krogan War Chief to a smear. The brute had had the bad taste to come to this meeting with the blood still dripping from his claws. Wrex, even if he had just killed, knew how to clean up after himself.

"This is getting us nowhere," Miranda snapped and before anyone could stop her one of her point defences fired.

Death was clean, precise and instantaneous, leaving the Clan Chief of Clan Chiefs escorts looking at another small patch of glass on Tuchanka.

"You misunderstand," Miranda said, addressing the Krogan who were grabbing at their weapons. "This is not a negotiation," she continued as one raised an energy weapon. Another flash from her point defences, and the krogan was a memory. "This was a laying down of terms. You will either accept them, or be destroyed."

"We would hear that from your leader," one of krogan roared defiantly.

Up until now, Shepard hadn't spoken. It was a symbol to the Krogan that he considered them beneath him both figuratively and literally. He didn't break his silence at the challenge. Instead one of his point defences activated, taking out the one who had dared to challenge him. He had respected the Krogan by coming here in person but they did not appear to respect him.

"Any other idiotic questions?" Miranda asked, her choral voice dripping scorn.

"What are your terms?" A new Krogan voice spoke. The speaker stepped forward. They were part of a group which had remained off to the side slightly, and were completely covered from head to toe in concealing robes.

"Forty years ago, we Humans negotiated the agreement which has given us the power to conquer the galaxy. It transformed us from the weak flesh bodies we possessed into the forms you see now," Miranda explained. "Honouring the spirit of Human Krogan relations, Shepard offers the same to you. Organise yourselves to be transformed and we won't have to do it for you." The final threat was not subtle.

"We would join with your fleet?" the robed krogan asked.

"You would," Miranda answered. "Now we are getting somewhere!" she said over a private channel. "Of course, that's not surprising now that the women have started talking."

"You just had to add that," Anderson laughed.

"There are only four hundred of you. Where are the rest of the Humans?" the krogan woman asked.

"Each form contains a multitude," Miranda replied, emphasising the choral nature of her voice.

"How many?"

"One hundred million per ship," Miranda answered.

"You know they aren't going to become Primes," Shepard noted.

"I know but they don't and once they awaken it will be too late. The Krogan won't accept becoming anything less than the biggest."

"That's true," Shepard replied. "I think the brains went out of the Krogan when Wrex died."

"That's assuming they had any in the first place," Hackett replied.

"The Council probably killed them."

"Do you accept?" Miranda prompted the Krogan woman.

"A moment please," she replied. She turned back to her companions and they conferred briefly.

"We accept," she said after she had turned back.

"Wait just a minute!" One of the male krogan growled. "You don't speak for us!"

The krogan woman glared. Even with her cowl, the force of her stare could be felt and the male, who had been standing as tall as he could in challenge, quailed, his posture indicating his acceptance of her authority.

"We accept," the Krogan woman repeated turning back to the Ascended.

"Then we are agreed," Shepard spoke for the first time. He would have liked to make the Krogan woman first, as he had been but they would need her to keep the krogan under control while they set up the processing ships. They were a volatile race but they would serve the cycle.

All Ascended did.

-cfr-

**Somewhere in the Terminus Systems, Quarian Hidden World**

"You wanted to speak to me?" The elderly Quarian didn't bother with pleasantries as he was shown into the Admiralty Chambers. He took the offered chair, sitting down with a sigh as the pressure was relieved from his aching joints.

Forty years or so after leaving the known galaxy the Quarians had an odd form of government. There were elected officials, but the military Admirals still held a large degree of influence, especially for any issues that arose in space.

"You understand this is classified?"

"Yes I'm aware of what classified means," he snapped. The young punk! Hadn't even lived through the Passage ordering him around like… Eh, who was he kidding, it was the same as always.

"We've called you because you are a linguistics expert," Admiral Gerrel told him. The Quarian admiral was even older than Jaii and so he nodded respectfully.

"Not so much these days," Jaii replied. "There isn't much call for linguistics." There was a huge call for farmers and builders not for academics. The Quarians had always been good with their hands, the transition, thirty five years ago from space to living on a planetary surface had been fraught with difficulty but it had gone far better than it could have.

"Even so, do you recognise this writing?" When Admiral Gerrel asked, an image flicked up on the screen behind him.

Jaii frowned looking at it. He was sure he'd seen text like that before. It was a single word, at least he thought it was. Eleven symbols arranged in a line. Four of the symbols were repeated and four were constructed from straight lines, while the other three had curves. "I can tell you what it's not," he said.

"Go on," Gerrel said, waving the other Admiral's to silence.

"It's not Asari, Turian or Salarian," he replied. "Not unless it's one of their minor dialects," he added.

"Do you have any idea what it is?" the young punk demanded.

"I'm pretty sure I've seen it before," Jaii spat back. "Though context is always a great help with linguistics," he added. They just expected him to come in and read this? Just like that… Did they not know anything?

The Admiralty was silent for a few moment and Jaii could tell they were thinking about what to tell him. Eventually Vael, one of the Admirals who had been a child during the passage spoke. "This comes from an image taken from one of the beacons," she said softly.

Jaii felt his eyes widen. Forty years back, when the Admiralty had chosen to take the Quarians into the unknown parts of the galaxy there had been many worries. The unknown was one. If the Council were to be believed, there were hostile races just waiting to slaughter everyone lurking behind every inactive Relay. Well, that worry had been quickly quashed when four and a half years after searching through largely empty space, the Quarians had finally found a dextro planet they could use. They had found other species, but most would not consider space travel for millennia, at the earliest!

That led to another worry. The Council. Eventually they would notice that the Quarians had disappeared. There had been a great deal of speculation at the time that once they noticed, the Council would turn completely on the Quarians. What happened then, no one knew. There was the possibility that the Council would just leave them be. After all no Quarians, no problems, but there was a larger party concerned with the opposite. No Quarians, no scapegoats, they argued and that could lead to a huge Council fleet attempting to find them, to either drag them back or exterminate them all.

To give them some warning, they had left a series of passive beacons, well hidden in asteroid belts. The beacons would send a broad signal then self-destruct when they detected a large enough fleet of ships approaching.

"One of the beacons?" Jaii questioned, looking again at the text.

"It's  _not_  a Council race," he said again firmly, wracking his brain to identify the marks.

"What about one of the subspecies? Volus, Batarian?" Gerrel prompted.

"The Volus don't write like that," Jaii immediately refuted that suggestion. "The Hanar couldn't write and the Elcor had a much simpler stance." He continued. "It could be Drell, but their writing involved a lot more dots," he speculated.

"Batarian?" Gerrel prompted again. "Or Krogan?"

"Krogan's mostly use galactic standard," Jaii said. "They lost too much during the Rebelli…" He trailed off as a new thought occurred.

The Quarians had left the galaxy while the Council was focusing on the Humans. There were some Quarians who thought they should have remained, should have helped the Humans fight. While the Admiralty of the time was sympathetic to the Systems Alliance, they knew better than anyone what the Humans faced. There was no possibility of the new species actually winning.

But what if they had?

Jaii leaned forward as he stared up at the image. "Turn it 180 degrees," he instructed, his voice suddenly sure.

The tech in charge of the image complied and Jaii narrowed his eyes as he examined it. He knew that lettering.

"What is it?" Gerrel asked. The eldest Admiral was contained enough to only ask that question.

"It's Human text," Jaii said, sitting back into the chair.

"That's impossible!" The punk burst out. "The records are clear! There was no way the Humans could have won against the Council!" While the newborn Quarians could go without their suits, thanks to the very intensive studies they'd performed in the first few years of settlement on their immune deficiencies, most of the older ones, and those born soon after the Passage required them still. They were well practiced at picking up the subtle tones in language that spoke of emotion. The punk admiral was angry. He didn't like the implication that a newer, younger species might have been able to do what the Quarians could not… not that they had tried.

"It was," Gerrel said slowly, moving one hand as if to rub at his face. "It was considered extremely unlikely that the Humans would win. Are you sure, Jaii?"

He nodded. "I'm sure," he said for added emphasis.

"Then what does it say?"

"I don't know," Jaii replied, waving one hand to dismiss the question. "I never learnt Human that well," he added. "But that text is English. It was one of their more prevalent languages."

"Thank you for your time. One of our assistants will show you out," Admiral Leela, who had been silent up until then said.

Jaii wondered briefly if it was somehow required that those who wore black suits be presumptive and rude. It was probably a requirement of the Admiralty that at least one of them be that way. Still he shifted his old bones, rising from the chair and shuffled out. They remained silent while he was in earshot but he was old enough to know how the next bit went. They'd shout a lot. They'd say he got it wrong. Then they might just ignore his information and make their own assumptions.

Or they might accept that he knew what he was talking about and believe the word was Human. Then, what did that mean? Straining Jaii thought about the galactic map. Given the Quarians' general location, if there were Human ships on their path it could mean one of two things. The Humans had won and were aggressively exploring the galaxy. While their victory might have been seen as a slender chance, if they had, they were the type of species who would go against the Council established regulations, just to prove that they could. Or it meant that the Humans had lost and had been reduced to a vagabond species.

While both answers provided a logical reason for the beacon to have picked up a Human vessel, neither gave any indication of how the Humans might react to finding the Quarians. For while the Humans were a species who would go against the Council, just because they could, they were also a species who would attack, if they viewed the Quarian disappearance as some sort of betrayal.

Jaii shivered as he realised there was a third possibility. It was not something he wished to consider.

-cfr-

**Somewhere in the Terminus Systems, Human Ascended Attack Fleet**

"How long did they bloody run for?" Udina complained.

Shepard could appreciate the sentiment. It felt like they had been ping ponged around the entire galaxy, rather than just a small section in their search for the Quarians. The younger ships had done well and had pinpointed the most likely routes but the Quarians were not at the end of those! That had put them back to the beginning and with the fleet, those not involved in the harvest, they had engaged in a methodical, system by system search of the quadrant.

"I think we have them this time," Saraswati said. "We've picked up transmissions from this system."

"Finally! So what's the plan?"

"We'll offer the Quarians a choice," Shepard said. "Same as the Krogan."

"They're not going to believe us," Hackett observed.

"Anderson has an information packet for them. We'll give their Admiralty or whatever a day or so to mull it over."

"They'll be against us anyway," Miranda said. "To them we are AI," she added.

"The information packet highlights our organic composition and opens with the destruction of the Geth. That should at least make them consider it."

"I'm pretty sure we'll be in for a shooting match," Miranda replied.

"Then we will show them the error of their ways," Shepard said. "I would like them to take the easy way," he added, "but if they don't then I will do what is necessary."

-cfr-

**Somewhere in the Terminus Systems, Quarian Hidden World Orbit**

"How many are left?" Shepard asked tiredly.

"About ninety percent."

"So many?" There was surprise in his voice.

"We were careful with the shots," Miranda replied.

"Why were they so stupid?" Shepard growled.

"I did warn you," Miranda said without remorse.

Shepard was forced to acknowledge the point. She had warned him that the Quarians would see them as nothing more than AIs. He had hoped that with the destruction of the Geth they would at least consider the rest of the information. Ascended were not AI. While they no longer had Human form, they were more than the memories of their organic bodies.

"Do we process them here or transport them?"

"Process here!" Shepard said without even thinking about it. "I am not giving the greatest mechanics in the galaxy access to our ship's internals during transport! We'd never find them all!"

"So that's why you brought the processing ships!"

"Yes and it was hard work getting them off Harbinger."

"I can imagine," Miranda sympathised. "I was a little surprised he ordered us after the Quarians so quickly. It wouldn't have hurt to wait a until we'd finished with the Turians, or someone."

"This is traditional," Shepard explained. "All races are subdued and harvested. Only in longer cycles are they taken singularly. There is enough food supplies here for the Quarians for the time processing will take."

"One of the Quarians wants to talk to you Shepard," Chimera reported.

"Which one?"

"One of the Admiralty."

"They survived?"

"Just the one," Chimera said. "He was with a group of civilians."

That explained his survival. "Patch it through," Shepard instructed.

A moment later Chimera put through an audio signal. "This is Admiral Han'Gerrel," the Quarian said.

"What do you want, Admiral?" Shepard asked. He vaguely remembered the name but the moment it was spoken he was accessing the data they had lifted from the Quarians. This was one of the Admirals Tali had respected.

"Why did you do it, Shepard?"

The question was too vague even with an examination of the tonal impacts of Gerrel's voice. "Do what, Gerrel?"

"All of this! The destruction and death! Weren't we friends?" The Admiral demanded and Shepard could hear his voice trembling.

"We are friends," Shepard replied. "That's why we didn't kill more," he added. "Did you not get the records we sent?"

"You expected us to believe them?"

"I don't really care what you believe. They are the truth," Shepard said. "While we might have presented it as an offer Gerrel, you are experienced enough to realise that there was no choice."

"I know that!" The Admiral exclaimed. "We knew that! But you expect us to become AI. You cannot ask that of the Quarian people! Not after everything we've been through. It is better to kill us all."

"I can't do that," Shepard responded. "You will know the glory of ascension and you, Han'Gerrel will be first. For ordering your people to fight I do want to kill you, but Tali liked you, she called you Uncle, so for her sake I will ascend you."

"No!" Gerrel objected but Chimera was already moving to obey Shepard. The husks which Gerrel had made his demands to, grabbed the old Quarian and dragged him away from the comm. The first processing ships had been landed near them and it was a short journey into the vessel. Gerrel struggled but the husks were implacable. The other Quarians were held back and once inside the ship, Shepard spoke again.

"There is nothing to fear, Han'Gerrel because this is your destiny. This is the destiny of all organics to face ascension, and only those who are worthy ascend. Do not fear, Han'Gerrel, we will purify your people and you shall rise, greater than before. You need never fear again."

The Admiral never answered. Shepard knew he heard but before the old Quarian could formulate a reply, the husks had pushed him into a processing tube and sealed it.

"You will see, Han'Gerrel," Shepard said, allowing a projection of himself to appear. Gerrel could see him but couldn't hear. "Relinquish your form and rise, greater than you were."

-cfr-


	32. Once Upon A Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the Humans to meet the Catalyst and become true Reapers and there is one final organic to deal with. 
> 
> The galaxy has been Harvested, organic life is once more safe from the ravages of their AI creations, and so it is time for the Ascended to rest in the have of Dark Space. Of course, some are younger than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy**   
**Chapter 31: Once Upon A Time**

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel**

The ancient entity known as the Catalyst did not usually probe the thoughts of newly Ascended so closely but in this case, it felt it was required. What had the first one been thinking, allowing so many of the same species to be Ascended into Primes? Did Harbinger not remember what had happened last time? It had been early in the Cycles with a populous race that had engineered themselves towards what they considered perfection, yet at the same time, they had not destroyed their entire genetic diversity. Many of them had been Ascended into Prime forms. It was only later, after many cycles that the issues arose.

Still, the Catalyst could not deny that the decision was logical. The previous cycle had extinguished many Primes, but the Catalyst would have preferred to replace those losses over the course of a few cycles. It was too late to destroy the new Primes but the Catalyst would have to put into place several failsafes to avoid a repeat of history.

It was a good sign that the first Human Prime had come to the Citadel as ordered, and after a brief period of disorientation had opened his mind to the Catalyst's probing. Harbinger had made assurances that the Humans were loyal but the Catalyst hadn't been convinced until the Human had submitted.

Shepard, as the Human Prime thought of himself, was not connected to the fleet, thus it had been a surprise to find that the young Ascended felt experienced. Not to the magnitude of Harbinger but certainly more than a first cycle Prime. It appeared this Shepard had absorbed much of the information encoded into his new form. But what came as a greater surprise was that apart from a few errant organic thoughts, there was no thought of betrayal in Shepard's mind. As far as this young Prime was concerned, the deal he had proposed to Harbinger had been fulfilled and now it was time for him to fulfil his side and that meant submitting to indoctrination.

Was the act of vengeance truly that fulfilling to the Human that it would now submit for eternity? It appeared so. There were a few individuals who now wanted to renege on the deal and there were a few who were sickened by what would happen over the cycles. There always were but the Catalyst would deal with them soon enough. The main consciousness, this Shepard, while not agreeing completely with the path of the Cycle could see the logical arguments for it. It was easy to see why Harbinger had made Shepard the prime consciousness.

But it was Shepard's thoughts that gave the Catalyst warning. Not all the Human Primes would be the same. That actually reassured the Catalyst. Others would be stubborn, argumentative, and would not see the benefit of the cycle until they were controlled. They would be disloyal if they could. That was something the Catalyst could not allow but the solution was simple.

It could indoctrinate them all to be loyal to the cycle and to it but the Catalyst did not want to do that. If it did, it would have to continue to speak to the Human Ascended, something it was loath to do. It rarely spoke to any Ascended other than Harbinger and it had no intention of changing that practice. It would instead make all those Human Primes speak with their first, and make him answerable to Harbinger. All Ascended were, in one way or another, answerable to Harbinger, but for Shepard it would be stronger. When the First One spoke, the Human Prime would listen and obey, and through his obedience, the others would follow.

Yes, that was the most elegant solution. The Catalyst would retain its ways and the cycle would be served. It was still not happy with Harbinger and there would be further failsafes put in place but until it could reduce their numbers, this would suffice.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel, Shepard**

For Shepard, being held in the embrace of the Citadel was a surreal experience. While his form was now a two click long star ship, there were times when he did not think of that. He was Shepard, the Commander of the  _Normandy_  and the ship acted to his will. The change in form had not changed that. Nor had it changed the fact that he went into battle protected by shields and armour and armed with the best weapons he could acquire. The scale had merely altered.

The embrace was in no way comforting or supportive but it was not directly hostile. The consciousness of the Catalyst did not experience emotion in the same way he did. It was not hostile because it was in control. It felt similar to how Shepard had regarded his pistol. It was a tool he used and maintained, one he took care of. The Catalyst felt the same. The Ascended were its tools, those it used to carry out the Cycle. It was a misnomer to say that it cared but it was not wasteful of its tools.

It was going through his thoughts and Shepard could feel the Catalyst's thoughts shifting as it found things in his sub consciousness. It had been a struggle at first not to fight it but this was part of the deal. They had had their vengeance, now it was time to be indoctrinated. It was odd to think that he could already indoctrinate organics while not being fully indoctrinated himself. He knew what it would do.

He could go into a lot of detail but in the end it would mean that the doubts he still had about the Cycle would be gone. It would mean that what he had done in the name of vengeance would be dwarfed by what he would do for the cycle. He was concerned about that. He knew what darkness lay in his heart but he was a man of his word. He would uphold his side of the deal. He would now ascend the species of the cycles, bringing them to the glory of ascension and when one of them finally killed him he would accept his fate with grace. At least, he hoped he would. That day was far in the future because if the eons of time he could feel from the Catalyst were to be believed, then the Cycles had gone on for far longer than he had ever believed, and would most likely continue for eons to come.

He didn't feel anything change. That was slightly disconcerting but it was the Ascended's strength. Those organics they controlled mostly never realised it. Some few, like Saren, did realise but that was Nazara's mistake. The Vanguard should never have allowed his pawn to research indoctrination. It was only a passing thought, one quickly dismissed as history. No matter the mistakes made, the cycle was complete.

Even with Indoctrination, nothing would change, Shepard realised. He did not think it was a thought caused by indoctrination. Even if it was, it was still the truth. Ascended served the cycle. The other Humans were Ascended, there was no reason for his interactions with them to change. The rest of the Ascended fleet presented an unknown but they had a shared goal so interactions with them should be cordial. He'd never had a problem speaking with Arshan or Fruben and despite Harbinger's annoyance with him at times, he was more like a commanding officer. The eldest gave the orders and the rest of the Ascended made sure those orders were carried out. It was a familiar situation.

The only difficulty would be dealing with those Ascended from the other species of this cycle.

No, Shepard decided after a moment's contemplation. He could feel the Catalyst watching the thoughts but could not bring himself to care. This was who he was, who he had been Ascended to be. He was the Human Prime Shepard. They would be the Ascended forms of their species. They may hate but Ascended served the cycle. They would be no different. If anything they would be further indoctrinated than he was, which meant that while they might remember he had led the assault on their worlds, they could do nothing about it. They had made their choices in life, just as he had.

But how did he feel? Their feelings would not affect his actions but his would. Slowly Shepard brought up the names of the races, using the thought to gauge his feelings.

The Raloi he could dismiss instantly. He felt nothing for them and their Ascended forms would just be another part of the fleet.

After consideration he could dismiss the Hanar, Volus, Elcor and Vorcha in much the same way. While the Citadel races had participated in the censure of Humans, they had been directed to by their superiors. And the Vorcha were simply mercenaries, used by the highest bidder. Hating them had no purpose.

The Krogans would most likely be their allies in ascension. Shepard could imagine them being quite aggressive despite their form. He may have to make sure they didn't self-destruct. There would be no issue with the Krogans.

He was disappointed in the Quarians but disappointment was not hatred. He had hoped that Tali's race would see the truth of the matter, would know that there was no other choice and accept what was to come. They hadn't. He would still work with the Ascended Quarians without complications.

Thoughts of the Quarians inevitably led to Tali and the manner of her death. He had killed the Drell assassin, crushed his bones under his hands and heard the alien scream in agony. But he still remembered the sound of Tali's labored breathing and the way she had smiled up at him even as she died. He had led the assault on the Drell area of Kahje, killing all who resisted, though he had known that no matter what he did, it could not bring her back. Unlike the feelings he had for the Council Races, the feelings he had towards the Drell were highly personal.

But there would only be two or three Drell at the most. Their population had not been that high. For the moment, he'd just have to avoid them. He wouldn't have to confront the question then. It would be much like the Batarian Ascended. Shepard wasn't the only Human who still hated the four-eyed race. Harbinger was aware of it and had kept the Batarian Ascended away from them. Hopefully that trend would continue otherwise… well, accidents did not happen in the Ascended fleet but those who did not become Primes were not as durable. It was best to leave the thought at that.

Which led him to the Council races. The Turians were easy to think about. While not being quite as altruistic as Primarch Fedorian had made them out to be, after the Arcturus Relay had been moved, the Turians had held back the galaxy from an all-out assault on Earth. That was partially because they did not wish to experience the losses but also because the Volus had made it very clear how expensive it would be. The reason really did not matter, they had held off and while he did not forgive them for what they had done, he had let go of the unreasoning hatred while over Palaven. There was no need for it.

His feelings for the Salarians were similarly muted. While their Union had pushed for an incursion into Sol, they had acknowledged the cost, both in terms of life and credits. They had been most dismayed by the loss of Humanity as a source of ideas and inspiration. They had no real desire to exterminate them even if that's what would have happened. They lived too much in the present, and had seen the subjugation of Earth as the reacquisition of Humanity's ideas. In time, they had thought that Humanity could stand again, having grown up as a species. They had not seen the reality, had not seen that there was only one outcome to the war. Too short sighted, Shepard concluded releasing his anger towards them. They were no longer his enemy.

Which left the Asari.  _They_  had deliberately pursued a policy of domination towards the Humans. Of course, it was subtle and they didn't see it that way. It was the same policy they had pursued for millennia and to them it was the way they maintained peace in the galaxy. But their peace came from the subservience of all other species. It came at the cost of the galaxy. They knew what had been coming, the Ascended the Protheans named Reapers and they had, in their deluded belief that they could negotiate, restrained the galaxy, held them back, all because they could not face the reality of a galaxy wide war. Their long lives drove them to seek peace, even at the cost of the future! What had the Protheans been thinking?

While it was true that the galaxy should have had more time, it was also true that the Asari had failed. And they had pushed for an assault on Sol. He thought it was because they couldn't stand the thought of a race not under their control. There had been some in the Traverse. They hadn't Humanities strength. It was the Asari way. It had been their way for millennia. Cultural subversion of a species was their preferred method. In another time, if Irissa and the group she represented had been more flexible, more willing to forgive and more on, it would have worked.

The only reason they had not gone it alone was that they knew how much it would have weakened them. With what they thought of as an unknown force destroying the Batarians, they had had to hold back. The downfall of Earth had been planned though. For another century because the Asari were like that. They lived long and they could hold a grudge for a very long time.

Could he? Liara was still in his hull but he had plans for her and the rest, those still alive were being lined up for processing. At any time he could reach out to see the feed from the processing ships. The Asari were dead as a species. They would be Ascended and they could not move against Humanity. Shepard took a deep mental breath and then exhaled slowly. He had to let it go. But perhaps, not today.

Once they were Ascended, Shepard decided. He'd consider it again then. It was not his most diplomatic decision, and he could see the irony with the thought, but it was the only choice he could make now.

Mentally, Shepard closed his eyes. Being Ascended, he did not require rest but sometimes it was nice to drift. He felt like that now and docked with the Citadel, he didn't have to worry about Joker piloting them somewhere weird. Not that it was a worry, more a joke between him and the man who was still the greatest pilot in the galaxy. And he didn't have to worry about Adams taking the internal drones and inventing some maintenance that needed to be done. Tali may have been a better mechanic but Adams was one of the best Humanity had ever produced. He didn't need to worry about Pressly, or Annie, or any of the people within him, because they stood with him.

This was peaceful and he drifted knowing that this is what ascension truly was.

-cfr-

**Sol System, Orbit of Ascended Construction Docks**

Shepard watched the sleeping Ascended. It was the last Human Ascended, and in a few minutes it would awaken. He had convinced Harbinger to allow a large contingent to be present for the awakening of the last few, arguing that they were made from those who were so young, those who didn't know what it was to be Human. The eldest Ascended had reluctantly agreed, freeing them from the sweep of the galaxy for a time. After rearming with the last of the supplies left in Sol, they would re-join it in a few days, once the youngest was confident flying.

"This has been a long time coming," Harper commented.

"It is for the best," Shepard replied, watching as the last of the huge anchor points were pulled away.

"It was the only choice," he rebutted.

"Not the only choice," Shepard said serenely. Harper was so focused on the goal that he forgot that sometimes, reaching the goal was not worth the cost. They could have fought Harbinger and the entire Ascended fleet. They would have died, but they could have made the choice to fight. The choices they made rested on such fragile threads. "But this is the choice that we made."

"Shepard, you might consider dying a choice, but I consider it failure," Harper snapped.

"It's a matter of perspective," Anderson interjected.

"Perspective, smective! Dead is dead," Harper growled.

"There are those who would have said that death was the better alternative."

"I ignored them," Harper said. "It is done now."

"It is," Shepard agreed. "Our attention is required."

The last Human Ascended slipped free of the dock. Its running lights were still off as it sailed free. Then the first light flickered before remaining on. Then another, and another, until all the running lights were on. It was a bit unusual that Ascended needed running lights but even to their senses, the lights made it easier for Ascended to track Ascended in battle.

Then it happened, the moment of awakening. The new Ascended screamed as its consciousness converged and it truly awoke, but unlike other awakenings, the new Ascended did not scream its name. It couldn't. It was too young to truly understand and know.

"Elysium," Shepard prompted when the new Ascended began moving in a series of jerky lurches. He had told the other Ascended to be there for the youngest, to teach them, to show them what it means to be Human. Elysium had watched over every awakening as the one they could turn to. The last was no different.

The second youngest moved with Elysium. There had been a little bit of debate but in the end Elysium had the final say and the second youngest was named Instinct because that was the driving force for the Ascended. It was true also of the youngest. Not enough memories survived ascension for them to act on anything but instinct. While they were Ascended, they would require a lot of training before they could be considered proficient.

The youngest Ascended stopped moving and the fleet watched as it clumsily scanned Elysium. The older Ascended didn't move, instead she sent a comm link to the last Human Ascended, automatically initiating contact to download information directly into the youngest Ascended. The window to do this was only a few seconds after ascension. Harbinger and the others never used it. They felt it best that each Ascended learn through experience, but for these young ones, it was the easiest and quickest way to show them the basics. How to fly, how to power up their weapons and initiate their comms. They already knew the Ascended's language but they did not know any Human tongues and without that, without their organic heritage, they were not truly Ascended.

Elysium gave the youngest the basics but she included language and history. The things that made Humans, Human.

"Your name is Legacy," Elysium pronounced, reaching out to place one pereiopod on the newest Human Ascended.

The touch was gentle and spoke of control but it was what the youngest needed. They would have been Ascended in fear, not knowing what was happening because they were too young to understand. Shepard heard the screams calm with Elysium's touch and the consciousness contracted, merging more into a whole.

Then something happened that no one expected. The newly dubbed Legacy moved. Not with the jerky motions of a new Ascended but with the knowledge Elysium had provided so it was smooth when it shifted, backing away slightly then sliding sideways, coming to a halt in front of Shepard.

For a moment, the two Ascended simply regarded each other before, at some unseen signal, the youngest Ascended moved again, taking up a position at Shepard's side.

"I'll teach this one," Shepard said to Elysium.

"You're going to have to," came the reply. It was obvious that Legacy had chosen to follow Shepard and while Elysium might have some misgivings, she understood that each Ascended must walk their own path.

Shepard didn't need to prompt the fleet and two of them moved forward, using their mass effect fields to destabilise the empty shipyards' orbit. They were no longer needed. While some of the Turian Ascended had been constructed here, their smaller forms meant they were completed faster and other species had their forms constructed closer to their homes. They no longer needed anything in Sol. The yards collapsed as they entered Uranus' gravity and soon they disappeared, the slight discolouration caused by their passage was quickly consumed.

"Alright," Shepard sent the signal to the fleet. "After a final scan of Sol, we will re-join the fleet sweeping the galaxy." He announced.

"Via the Catalyst?"

"Yes, via the Catalyst," Shepard agreed. The youngest Ascended had to meet the ancient AI. "I don't expect to find anything in the sweep," Shepard continued. "We were very thorough," he added as praise, "but if anything has survived, you know what to do."

The final sweep of the galaxy was a necessity of the cycle. From what Shepard understood, it had been initiated after one race had managed to hide from ascension, emerging after the Ascended had moved on. They had not been able to stop the cycle, but they had caused disruption and the Catalyst hated disruption. Now, as one of the final things the Ascended fleet did before leaving once again for dark space, was sweep the galaxy, looking for any viable populations that had hidden.

When they found them, it was generally not a good time for the organics. If they weren't outright destroyed, their bodies were used to replenish lost resources in preparation for the next cycle. Sometimes they were used to harvest raw materials. They were transported to mines and worked until they dropped. Each Ascended went into hibernation fully armed and ready for the start of the next cycle. That was one of the reasons this sweep was conducted about 18 months after the last organic race had been put down. It gave anyone hiding a sense of safety, allowing them time to re-emerge so that they could be put down.

Of course, this time, Shepard fully expected that there would be no hidden survivors. The Humans had been methodical and thorough with their destruction and so far the Ascended fleet reported finding only the debris left behind.

"Make sure we don't leave anything here," he ordered, focusing his senses outwards as he joined the sweep of Sol.

"Can we close the Relay?"

Shepard considered it but already knew the final answer. "No." He replied. "The Catalyst will reset the network."

"So what if some alien gets here?" The objection was one that Shepard himself had worked through and the answer had surprised him. Ascended were meant to be more than the planet that they evolved on. They were independent of such ties but Humanity was not. It was part of the reason they were considered such a young cycle, why they should have had more time before the Ascended came. But it was too late to change anything.

"If someone does," Shepard replied, his voice filled with a vicious foreboding. "We will make them very sorry that they chose here to settle." No alien species that landed on Earth would be allowed to remain. While Shepard doubted he'd ever convince Harbinger to allow extinction of any species, the eldest could not stop them from exterminating any alien bugs they found on their homeworld. He wouldn't stop them because he wouldn't know. Shepard had already decided they would take care of it discreetly because if the oldest Ascended did not ask, then Shepard did not have to tell. It was that simple.

The damage to Earth was already repairing itself. While he had not looked, Shepard knew that there was still life on his homeworld. It would take time, but there would be recovery and by the time they returned, after hibernation, while the world may not be flourishing, it would be well on the way to recovery.

There was a chorus of agreement with his statement. No others would be allowed to think they controlled Earth.

The fleet began to scan their home system in earnest. They didn't expect to find anything. Harbinger and the main Ascended fleet had already cleaned up much of the evidence of their presence, but it never hurt to be sure.

"Do you want us to hunt down the Voyagers and other probes?" The question was sent on to the Human network. The information net they had used to share data while harvesting the galaxy had proven useful, so they maintained it still.

"Didn't the other Ascended get them?"

"I don't think so."

"They went beyond the heliopause."

Shepard recognised the voices and he was proud that the discussion was orderly, supplemented by the reach for confirmation from the other Ascended. This was the way Humanity was meant to be. Proud and strong, but willing to discuss things, open with each other because there were no secrets. There was no need of secrets between them.

"Leave them," Shepard instructed. The chances of any alien species finding them were minute. And if they did… well, despite the efforts of the Ascended, there was always minor evidence of other species. There had to be or no one would know what the Relays were. It was a delicate balance, one the Catalyst maintained with precision.

Besides, any alien race finding the Voyagers would learn of a species who had travelled the void before them. Perhaps they would learn from it. Perhaps they would not. Given the lack of mass effect tech and the relatively primitive state of the probes, it would not change the cycle.

Shepard turned, slightly, fixing his senses on Earth for one last time. Far in the future, there was a possibility that Earth would produce both sentient and sapient life again, and if that came to pass, Shepard wasn't sure what would happen. He would like to think that as Ascended they would watch over the new Earth species until they were ready to be Ascended. There would be no interference, no guidance given to their younger brothers and sisters of Earth but when the time came, there would be acceptance within their ranks.

But that was a day long in the future, one that might never arise and he had to deal with the present. Earth was still predominantly grey but the dust was beginning to settle out of the atmosphere and the deep blue of the oceans was shining through. Earth would recover, he thought as he turned away.

"All clear?" Shepard sent to the fleet after several hours of intensive scanning.

"All clear!"

"Then let's move on." Ascended served the cycle.

And they were all Ascended now.

-cfr-

**Thessia**

Liara became aware of pain first. It coursed through her system, making each heartbeat a trial in agony. For a while, she didn't know how long, all she could do was lie there, fighting to breathe against the pain but slowly, it began to recede. She tried to catalogue what she could feel past the pain but the only conclusion she could reach was that she was lying on something hard. There was no give in the surface at all.

As the pain abated, she moved slightly and immediately regretted it when the pain came back in full force.

Again, Liara just lay there, waiting once more for the pain to diminish. This time, when it had waned, she opened her eyes. Even that caused a new wave of pain to wash through her body and she groaned at the agony encompassing her. It was unlike anything she'd ever felt and for long moments all Liara could do was lay still and gasp for air.

The sky was blue, she realised eventually when her eyes focused and the pain faded. It was a washed out blue of late winter. There were clouds but they were wisps of white, almost lost in the pale sky.

Liara didn't know how long she lay there, looking up at the sky but eventually as the sky began to lighten she realised it was dawn. The growing light made the pain retreat further and as the first rays of light hit her face, it was manageable enough that she could slowly pull herself into a sitting position.

She looked down to the surface. Liara was sitting on stone. It was not the rough hewn stone of the wilderness but it was polished and carved. There was a lip carved on her left. It travelled the length of the stone she was on. It was a graceful line and she felt herself smile at seeing it. There was beauty there.

Liara looked back up.

And gasped.

There was no beauty in the landscape that greeted her. What had once been a city was now a ruin. A few pitiful broken spires jutted upwards, clawing their way into the still pale sky. They cast long shadows on the rubble around them.

The wind picked up and she could feel the bite of winter in its passing. She could also smell a hint of ash. It came from the city and looking closer she could see the stains from where the buildings had burnt. Liara looked again at the spires but could not place them. They were familiar in the way that she recognised them as buildings but the skyline gave her no clues as to her location. She needed more information, and food, she ruefully realised.

Carefully, so as not to fall she stood before looking down to check her footing. This time she froze, her eyes widening as she stared. Liara recognised the stone now. The carved lip was one of the folds on Athame's gown. Her eye followed the carving but the gown was fractured and broken. Above it, was the rest of the huge statue. She had been lying on the largest intact piece. The rest was shattered and it was only because of the vague shape that she knew it was Athame.

Which meant she was in the Temple of Athame. Liara turned, looking again at the city. If this was the Temple of Athame, then the spires would be buildings she knew. The broken tower there would be the Dynamis Corporation Headquarters, one of the Asari mega-corporations and then that other would belong to the Armali Council.

"No," Liara whispered and memories flooded her mind.

The last thing she remembered was Shiala turning to her with a smile on her face, with her eyes black in the embrace of eternity. There was nothing after until now but she remembered what had been happening. The Humans had been running rampant throughout the galaxy. Did this mean that they had conquered Thessia?

It had to. The ruins were real, and the world was too quiet. The more she looked, the more she could see evidence of where she was. Over there was a trampled line of trees. They would have formed the boulevard that led to the temple. Only one was still standing. The rest were broken and splintered. And there was a tangle of air cars.

This was Thessia and it had fallen.

"No!" She whispered again. The cycle could not be over. They could not have lost! It was not possible!

"Hello, Liara."

The voice caused her to spin but there was nothing there. It wasn't until she looked down that she saw a small recording device.

"By now I'm sure you have worked out where you are," the voice continued and she recognised it. Shepard. "If I was playing house, I'd ask if you liked what I had done with the place." He paused, as if expecting an answer but the device was not a communicator. It would simply play back his message.

"But this is no game, is it?" There was a definite note of vicious pleasure in his voice. "This is reality and this is the reality the Asari led this cycle too.

"In case you are wondering, you are the only Asari on Thessia but I'm sure you'll find enough food to survive for a while. Long enough to confirm the truth of my words. You might even scavenge enough to make a comm of some type but I wouldn't bother expending your energy that way. No one is listening. They won't be listening for a long time. I made sure of that."

"Why?" Liara whispered, even though she knew Shepard couldn't hear her. "Why are you doing this?" He was speaking of the cycle of extinction but that did not explain why she had been left alive. She should be dead, with the rest of her race.

"Of course, by now you are probably wondering why you are alive. By all rights I should have killed you but this is not about the Cycle. Yes, you and the others who had an inkling about what happened to the Protheans could have told the galaxy, but we both know the Asari Matriarchs have been suppressing that truth for centuries.

"You are alive because you said nothing. All through the War of Betrayal, you said nothing. You knew the truth. You knew that we had no choice but to let the  _Destiny Ascension_  be destroyed, because you knew it was more important to kill Nazara but you said nothing. Forty years you were there and not once did you speak the truth. You gave interviews. I listened to every one. You did nothing, which is what I've done for you.

"I never thought you were a coward Liara but then, I guess, I never really knew you." Again, the recording paused and Liara knew exactly what Shepard was referring to. It was clear he didn't understand. He didn't have the experience then or now to know what was best. She didn't either but others had guided her, just as they would have guided Shepard, would have guided Humanity if they had let them. They didn't though. They were too… There were many possibilities. "Just like you never knew me," Shepard's voice said.

In the end, there was probably only one thing that had lead to this. One action cascading into another until there was no turning back. Everyone dealt with the consequences then. The galaxy was now. But it was not just her. It couldn't have been just her. Not alone anyway.

"I cannot stop you from suicide, but I don't think you will. Instead, I expect you to live, to struggle, to try to find some way of getting back at me. You will fail but the thoughts of your struggle amuse me. As does the knowledge that you are alone, and that you will be alone until your dying day, which will probably be faster than I want, even on a planet scoured clean." Shepard's smile could be heard in his voice.

"You can curse me if you wish, my old friend, but you brought this upon yourself. Die slowly, Liara T'Soni. Die in pain and suffering, never knowing the glory of ascension."

She stared at the device when it clicked off. A small tendril of smoke rose from it and Liara knew that all the useful components had just burnt themselves out. She looked back to the skyline. Would everything be like that? Shepard had implied as much but could he really have destroyed everything?

Her mind flashed to Palaven.

Yes, she decided. He could have destroyed everything, just that this time he'd been more subtle about it.

She took a reluctant step to the edge of the stone she had been left on. The fact that the statue was broken meant there was an easy way down. And from there...

Liara stopped, and looked around again. From there, where did she go?

Shepard's words echoed through her.  _You are the only Asari on Thessia._

Where did she go if she was totally alone?  _You'll find enough food to survive._  The city, she should head into the city.  _For a while._  He wanted her to suffer. He wanted her to despair.

_Long enough to confirm the truth of my words._  The truth of what?  _This is reality and this is the reality the Asari lead this cycle too_. Was that what he referred to? It had to be. He wanted her to find something, something that was obviously in the ruins of the temple and then to die.

She looked around, scanning the horizon. The destruction stretched in every direction. She had the skills to pull information from it, but did she have the skills to find food? Could she grow it? Where would she get seed? Liara's eyes widened and the reality of the situation crashed into her.

"Oh, Goddess," she whispered and fell to her knees.

Goddess, what did she do now?

-cfr-

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

The Milky Way was beautiful. Even Ascended he could appreciate the sheer majesty of the galaxy spread before him. Dark space was perhaps the best place to view the galaxy. While Shepard could now see far more of the spectrum of light, there was something soothing about just watching, restricting his vision to those spectrums he'd used as an organic.

They were raised above the galaxy, not on the outer edge as he'd originally assumed. The giant spiral was beneath them. There was the bright centre and the billions of stars trailing off it, forming the arms of the spiral. The colours were beautiful. From this angle, without an obscuring atmosphere or intervening dust clouds, there were reds and blues forming gentle daubs of colour which only highlighted the brilliance of it all.

Instinctively, Shepard sought out the Orion Spur. Sol was about there. And there was the Perseus arm, cradling the Orion Spur, lifting it closer to the bright galactic centre. The Sagittarius arm was a solid band of stars and over there was the Serpent Nebula, where the Citadel remained.

He could see other galaxies as well. Andromeda was tilted on its axis but was close. The Large Magellanic Cloud was a fuzzy ball of light but he could pick out individual stars.

"I never knew you liked star gazing," Anderson murmured.

"From here, I don't see how you can't," Shepard replied.

After sweeping the galaxy, the fleet had travelled back to the Viper Nebula and used the Alpha Relay to fling them far beyond the galactic rim. Then they had travelled further into the empty void between galaxies. The Human Ascended had not done much, they had simply followed the others, as the days turned into weeks and months and years, until they stopped. There was no distinguishing features to the area but the instant the Human Ascended reached there, they knew it was the correct hibernation point. The whole fleet had begun arranging themselves for hibernation.

There was no order to it. The Ascended simply stopped, locking themselves into orbit with each other. Most were on the verge of hibernation but Shepard could feel that they were discussing the cycle amongst themselves. He hadn't met many of the Ascended and he imagined there was some curiosity about them, as there were so many Humans. They would discover the rest of the Ascended fleet in the cycles to come.

"It is a magnificent view," Anderson allowed, typically understating the vista.

"The best view of the galaxy we will ever have," Shepard replied. "Is everyone ready?" he asked, turning his attention back to the Human fleet. While Harbinger may be the leader of all Ascended, it was his job to see to the Human Ascended.

They had arranged themselves slightly differently from the others. They formed groups of eight usually and were preparing to hibernate back to back as it were. Four faced down, four faced upwards, all of them could spring into action at the slightest provocation. It might be considered paranoid but Shepard agreed that it felt safer that way.

Harbinger hadn't commented. He had simply told them to be ready to hibernate when he gave the order. It would be soon, Shepard knew. The eldest was attending to the last of the Quarians now. The rest, the Batarian, the Turians, Asari, and all the others were already asleep. He could see them in the distance, clustered together.

As expected, there were some who remembered it was the Humans who were responsible for their defeat and ascension, but that feeling was one they could not act upon. They were all Ascended now and Ascended served the cycle.

He remembered the few interactions he'd had with the Turian Ascended. The names and personality of the ships were definitely Turian but they did not speak of the past. They remembered. Shepard could tell that in the way they spoke and there was no hesitation in their movements when they fell into formation with him during the galactic sweep. The Asari had been the same, as had the Salarians and Quarians and all the races of the cycle. The only one he didn't have experience with was the Batarian. Apparently Harbinger didn't think it was wise for the Batarian Ascended to mix with Humans. The eldest was more astute than the gruff image he presented would have many believe.

Still, it had been slightly disconcerting to speak to them all. It was like they were a caricature of the race they were Ascended from. They sounded Turian or Salarian or Asari and they behaved like it, but they were not as vibrant. Each Ascended was the same, as if everything that was Turian had been mixed together, then divided into the ships they had become. It was a bit sad but it was the way of ascension.

Most of the Human fleet signalled they were ready for hibernation.

"I want a bedtime story."

Shepard didn't need to look to know that both Legacy and Instinct were hovering near him. Legacy had made the request, but the sub channels indicated that Instinct supported it. They, along with Elysium, would hibernate with Shepard's cluster

"They want a what?" Harbinger demanded as the eldest came close.

"A bedtime story," Shepard replied calmly. "It is a long-standing tradition," he added, knowing that despite annoyance, the eldest recognised the importance of heritage. They were not true Ascended if they did not know their organic heritage. There was no point in their preservation into these forms if they did not remember. "I'll take care of it," he added.

While Harbinger was far too dignified to huff, Shepard got the impression that the eldest was not impressed, but he would tolerate it, for the sake of the newest Primes.

"Move into position," Shepard instructed Legacy and Instinct and the young ships responded, taking their place in the cluster. Anderson, Udina, Hackett and Miranda had already formed one of the cones. Shepard, Instinct, Legacy and Elysium would form the other. The two youngest Human Ascended drew close to him.

Shepard reached out, delicately linking his senses with Instinct and Legacy so that they could see what he could. "Once upon a time," he began, ignoring the laughter coming from within, and the way Harbinger moved closer. The eldest would send them into hibernation very soon. "There was a pale blue dot," he continued, pointing out the star he'd highlighted to himself earlier. "It was known as the Planet Earth, in the system of Sol and it was the most beautiful planet in the galaxy…"

-cfr-


	33. Incomplete Guest Lists and Other Diplomatic Faux Pas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Vanguard is always left during the Hibernation Cycle. Organics are predictable but they must be monitored. This cycle, the one after the Humans is not normal. It's probably the Humans' fault, so Harbinger sends them to investigate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**  
**Chapter 32: Incomplete Guest Lists and Other Diplomatic Faux Pas**

-cfr-

Please note: For ease of understanding in the Empire, alien gestures, speech, time and distance measurements, where necessary, have been translated into the superior Human standard equivalents. While a Cypiene turns blue when embarrassed, for a Human that means something completely different, so to avoid confusion, Human norms have been substituted. If you are not Human, or you have not been educated to Human standard, then that is an unfortunate error in your birth and you should be ashamed.

-cfr-

**Year 43,869 CE - 41,642 years after Human Ascension**

**Dark Space between Galaxies, Hibernating Ascended Fleet**

It was odd, Shepard reflected to himself, just how much ascension had changed him, had changed all of them. It wasn't always in the big things, either, that those differences surprised him. For years, all of the Human Ascended had been awake constantly as they conducted their sweep of the galaxy in conjunction with the rest of the fleet, decades in his own particular case. All of that time spent awake and he had had no urge to sleep.

Now, with Harbinger's priority signal coming in after over forty-one and a half thousand years asleep, all he wanted was just five minutes more.

Of course, Shepard wasn't so insane as to  _say_  that to the eldest nor did he let that desire for rest slow him down even for an instant in answering the call. Even as an organic, he had been a career soldier, a profession that required him to go from asleep to fully functioning in an instant.

"Harbinger."

"Shepard. The new vanguard reports there is a problem. The organics are behaving strangely."

Shepard repressed a snort. Organics were always behaving strangely. He certainly had often enough when he was one!

"What do you want me to do?"

"Go. Investigate. Solve it. This new behaviour is premature." Carried on a sub-channel was the information Harbinger had received from the Ascended who was acting as Vanguard for this cycle. Of course, it was Soliphon, one of the least imaginative out of all of the Ascended, so the report lacked certain angles that had immediately occurred to Shepard. However, for a rules-bound Ascended, Soliphon was certainly thorough with providing data from the little scouting he had done. He had even included updated galactic maps including active Relays.

"I will need to take some others with me."

Harbinger paused, clearly giving the matter some thought.

Shepard knew that he and the others were still not fully trusted, less so because of the 'interesting' events of their cycle and more due to their relative youth and the fact that the rest of the Ascended did not truly know them well enough yet. He was curious why they had been chosen for the task but assumed that at least part of it was to test Humanity. As the newest Ascended, just like any new member of an organisation, testing was only natural. Not even ascension could eliminate that.

"Take ten with you. The organics must be brought back under control."

"Yes, sir."

Shepard immediately selected who he would wake, taking a perverse satisfaction in inflicting on them the same annoyance he had felt on being woken prematurely.

"Hackett. Anderson. Udina. Harper. Sirta. Zaeed. Miranda. Nergal. Ares. Elysium." Shepard's call woke his chosen helpers and their groans were music to his metaphorical ears. Amusingly, Udina even  _said_  "Just five more minutes," before he was awake enough to fully censor himself.

"Let's go to the Alpha Relay." His sub-channel carried the important parameters of their mission, one that had to be carried out with all due efficiency and effectiveness. While the eldest had not put in a deadline for its completion, Shepard had no desire to make Humanity look like a failure or incompetent before their only remaining peers.

-cfr-

As they left, Harbinger wondered if he had chosen correctly. Out of all of the Ascended, he had given the task to the most troublesome for the simple reason that he needed to test them. Arshan and Fruben had defended them during the cycle from his doubts but to truly put those doubts to rest, he needed to know they could handle any task that any other Ascended should be able to do. Had they assimilated the full understanding or not? And would they be able to complete their task?

The Catalyst had not hidden its concerns regarding the race nearly as well as it thought nor had Harbinger forgotten the last time that a race had been Ascended in full like this. The Human Ascended had caused him stress as he had to adapt to their plans but they had all obeyed his commands when he gave them. More, they had impressed him as they used unusual tactics to their advantage, breaking the races of the cycle when and how they chose. After the long, drawn out resistance of the Prothean era, it had been soothing when the last cycle had gone so easily.

None of that mattered compared to the importance of maintaining the cycle, however, and his sentiments would be allowed no room to interfere with the decisions he had to make. He was Harbinger.

All would know of ascension for that was his will.

-cfr-

**Farthest Step (Between Sigurd's Cradle and the Far Rim), System of the Prophet, Fifth Planet**

Javik reined in his impatience once again. He had spent the last fifty years dealing with these primitives that divided the galaxy between them in the wake of his own people's glorious empire.

Primitives twice over, for his revival from the stasis pod should have occurred before the previous invasion by the Reapers while there were still others of his people so that he could lead them and the primitive races to vengeance over the Reapers for the trillions of his people they had murdered.

However, those races had all been lost. The primitive Asari who had been selected to be their lieutenants had failed to kill the Reapers without competent leadership from the Protheans.

Javik's first thoughts on his revival fifty years earlier had been filled with failure. How could he revive the glory of the once galaxy-spanning Empire with only a few hundred soldiers? The news had only gotten worse, however. Instead of a couple of companies of troops and a handful of scientists to help him, a pitiful starting point however one looked at it with the goal ahead of them, there was only him. The last of his kind, the others killed not by the Reapers, not by sleeper agents, as so many others had been, but by the greatest enemy of all: time.

The Protheans had built the bunker to last, it was true, but none of the architects or engineers had anticipated needing to keep the bunker supplied and repaired for ninety thousand years! They had built with many redundancies against the rigors of battle, not of eons, and could be forgiven for failing to include power sources that could survive the ages between then and now. The maintenance robots under the command of the bunker's VI had done an amazing job keeping everything going as long as they did especially after the sabotage of the sleepers and the radiation pulse that added yet more damage to the complex but that did not make Javik any less alone in a broken future galaxy.

The Darmaris had kept him for a time, asking questions, always with their questions, until finally they began to believe the answers. A proud race who had been spacefaring for 5,000 years when they had activated the bunker's system's Relay, it had taken time for their primitive brains to accept that Javik's people had been greater than the Darmaris could ever imagine.

The various beacons that the Protheans had left had decayed over the millennia to the point of uselessness. Even if they had survived, however, none of the races were intelligent enough to have understood their warnings, a problem that the Prothean builders had failed to address.

So many failures, so much blame to go around.

Enough to drown a galaxy in it.

Things were looking up, however. While he held no hope that any others of his people had survived the long night and the dark ages of the galaxy, these primitives were not entirely without brains. He had used his biotics to take an understanding of the languages of this benighted age and in the process, the primitive he had touched had gained something in return, a vision of the battles and hopelessness that had pervaded the final days of the Empire.

That primitive had gone out into the galaxy, spreading the message, gaining followers who demanded the release of Javik, their Warrior Prophet.

And so, instead of gaining his freedom through his wits or force of arms, Javik, the Last Prothean, escaped thanks to popularity contests. It was as ridiculous as everything else about this age!

The new Darmaris leader, duly elected by the masses, did not subscribe to the Cult of Javik but she did want to know everything that Javik did. Smarter than her fellows, she had used both carrot and stick in her appeal to get the living legend to side with her. She had offered wealth and enough freedom for Javik to work on his cause, preparing for the Reapers, as well as enough guards that only answered to her to keep him from defecting to the Darmaris Republic's enemies.

Javik's job had been made easier by the discovery a thousand years before of some ancient ruins that were not nearly as ancient as the Prothean himself. Scattered across a score of worlds that had been Prothean colonies back in his day were records on the Reapers, their size, their shape, their weapons and tactics and, most important of all, Indoctrination.

Indoctrination was something to scare the hell out of any sentient being let alone politicians who had secrets to hide. Javik had provided independent confirmation on the existence and ruthlessness of the Reapers as well as their Indoctrinated thralls.

Using that, Javik had shown his own brand of ruthlessness, trading on the fear of Indoctrination to forge the cult of personality that had grown around him into a multi-species operation. Their research goals were to improve the galaxy's general technology base, chase down new avenues of research and, most ambitious of all, find or create defences against Indoctrination. Failing that, he'd accept some way of detecting indoctrination.

The public relations side of things was even more important, in a very real way. He surmised, that like the last cycle when the previous batch of primitives ruled the galaxy, the current races were woefully under armed compared to what was coming for them. The Prothean Empire had been caught off-guard, decapitated by the loss of its capital and primary transport hub along with the best of its fleets, when the Reapers had arrived en masse at the Citadel. Still, they had held out for centuries before the final outpost had fallen.

These current races had been alarmingly passive in developing their military. Javik was thankful for the cold war state that had existed between the Damaris and Cypiene races as it had been the only source of military development in the last century. Javik's awakening had only accelerated the arms race and he was adding every bit of fuel to that fire that he could.

Rumours of secret Prothean technological miracles had spread faster, forcing all the current races to increase their military spending in a bid to catch up. Prototypes had been built and leaked to the media which looked impressive but did nothing. Spies from the various races were identified and fed misinformation, all to add momentum to Javik's plan to achieve his vengeance.

Diplomats across the galaxy were doing their impressive best to keep a lid on the brewing tensions.

And behind it all, Javik actually was trying to help the races improve their technology. He could hardly just release Prothean designs. The primitives could not hope to use them without overhauling everything so he had given up on a simple graft. Instead, he was spurring them to build it themselves.

Finally, after decades of work, Javik and his cultists were ready to launch an  _actual_  prototype for a hybrid Prothean/Damaris frigate. It was pitifully underpowered compared to a true Prothean frigate but it sported a spinal mounted particle cannon that would make it dangerous to most ships of this new era whatever their size. Javik planned to parade it for all the races' militaries if it passed its trials.

As little as Javik trusted the competence of the primitives in general, he was quietly confident that  _this_  prototype would actually survive powering up its weapon system without blowing its safeties.

-cfr-

Javik forced himself to look away from the sky. He was on a small, out of the way planet, as far from the Citadel as he could manage. The rulers from the major races had gathered at the call from the Darmaris Leader. The primitives had finally worked out that if they had archeological evidence of galaxy wide extinctions, several beacons which gave them details of the exterminators, and a living Ancient telling them the same thing, then they probably should work together to defeat what was coming.

"You should go down."

He felt his upper eyes narrow slightly at the voice. Filat. One of his followers who had been with him since their childhood. Filat was a Yoxall. They were a comparatively short lived species. About 200 Prothean years, Javik thought but it was better than some of the others. The Ostberg in particular. He felt that he had to deal with a new, even stupider generation of them every time he turned around.

"The leaders aren't there yet," Javik replied, gesturing towards the floor below.

"No," Filat agreed. "But you being there will set the scene, allow you to take control of the meeting."

"I already have that," Javik snorted.

It had taken a few years, but above, the planet was guarded by a fledgling fleet, bearing weapons inspired by his words. They were not true Prothean ships. The primitives were still not capable of that, but they were much improved from the single frigate which had struck fear into the collective consciousness of the galaxy a mere eleven years ago. After that demonstration, everyone wanted his tech, and while the Darmaris Leader had managed to keep most of it, Javik recognised that he was going to have to work with them all. No single primitive race was strong enough to dominate the rest, not even with his help. He had recognised that fact as soon as he got onto the communications network. It was a state of affairs that would never have happened in his Empire.

It was proven by the other fleets in orbit. Each was the supposed escort fleet for the species leaders. Javik was sure his could beat them all, either singularly or together.

"True," Filat conceded. "But you are a distant threat. You need to decide if we are to remain that, or if we are to become the hammer that drives them together."

He shouldn't even be here! He stomped down on the thought before he replied. He was here because every other failsafe the Prothean Empire had tried had failed. He was the last, and he would not fail.

Javik looked down. The dignitaries were still mingling with each other. No doubt, they would report back to their Leaders before the real meeting. By the Empire, how he hated politics, but he was not stupid. These talks were necessary to ease the growing tensions between the species and he fully intended for them to be successful. The earlier tensions he had encouraged were counter-productive now that the races were arming themselves. He needed the primitives to be one cohesive unit so that when the Reapers came, the murderous machines faced a united galaxy, one ready and willing to take the losses necessary to end the Cycle once and for all. Why hadn't the Asari faced them…

Failsafe, he thought quickly before he could complete the question. The Asari were just one that had failed.

Javik's frustration showed in his upper eyes and while most of the primitives could not read his expressions, Filat was used to him. He could see the anger boiling in his soul. While his cult was strong, he did not want to exhaust them or the galaxy by forcibly uniting them. He could do it. His forces had the firepower, but despite his popularity, he knew that support would vanish as soon as he took away their easy life. Only a few were willing to bear the burden. And by his calculation, they'd all need their strength soon enough. But if nothing happened very soon… Which was why he didn't want to deal with the minions.

He hated politics. That didn't mean he couldn't become proficient at it. Very proficient. "All right," he conceded to Filat as he pushed off from the railing. "I'll go make the decision for your primitive leaders." He might hate politics but he knew how to speak to the dignitaries such that they would present his case to their Leaders in the best possible light. For some, that would be enough. For others, he'd have to back up his words with a conversation with their leader. It was slow going but Javik reminded himself as he moved towards the stairs, his armored form, combined with his entourage clearing the way and announcing clearly that he was the power to deal with, that this was necessary.

If things went right, the galaxy would begin uniting and all it would take was few days of his time. Far better than the fifty years it had taken to get a working prototype.

After nearly forty years, Filat was used to his words and Javik detected the faintest hint of flushed skin around his extremities. It was a sure sign that the Yoxall was pleased. The reaction soothed him and served as a reminder, that no matter how unrefined the species of this cycle were, they had as much, if not more, to gain from the extinction of the cycle as he did. When the time came, they would have no choice but to fight.

But before that, he would use the anvil of fear to hammer them into a fighting force because even over the blood of billions, Javik would see his people avenged.

-cfr-

**Farthest Step (Between Sigurd's Cradle and the Far Rim), System of the Prophet, Five Leaders Conference Area**

Javik nodded coolly as the Cypiene leader turned away from him. It was a major coup to have the Cypiene leader present but the man was still cautious, afraid that the negotiations were some trap from the Darmaris. There was no doubt his people had suffered from the Darmaris technological advancement, an advancement Javik had sponsored, but the Prothean had ensured that the Cypiene advanced as well. In fact of all the species of this cycle, the Cypiene might be the most technologically advanced.

They didn't possess the best tech but they had developed every bit of tech themselves. Their ability to invent did not rely on receiving hints from him. In the long run, assuming they survived, they would be better for it but their leader probably didn't see it that way.

He was turning to the Yoxall Emperor when the first alarm sounded. It was a distant note and Javik thought it was a local sound until his comm flashed. All four eyes stared at the blinking light. The signal was a simple two flashes with a long pause. No… they had to have gotten it wrong.

Two flashes with a long pause was the signal he'd told the primitives to use for a Reaper.

It couldn't be right. There were no Reapers here. Not yet anyway.

Another alarm sounded and the room exploded into chaos as various entourages tried to get their leaders to safety.

The noise brought Javik to his senses. The signal was wrong and he tapped the device to activate it. "What is it?" He growled the question.

"Sir!" Ysolt shouted. "A fleet of unknown ships had come through the Relay."

"Unknown?" Javik was skeptical. He had shown them how to recognise ships.

"Their silhouettes are Reapers," Ysolt responded, fear lacing her tone.

"Show me!" He demanded. The Reapers were not due for centuries.

The screen of his comm flickered to show a long range grainy picture. There was a point of light in the centre which he recognised as the Relay but he couldn't see anything else. Then the image zoomed in on a tiny speck which had been moving. The image became blocky and Javik had to blink to keep his focus. The species of this cycle did not have his depth perception so their visuals were awkward to his eyes. It actually hurt if he looked at their screens too long. Resolution of the image followed quickly and he felt himself stare.

It was a Reaper. He could never forget their strangely primitive look. Their arching tails and numerous legs and the baleful eyes that never blinked. The Protheans had learned that on the other side of the abyss, there were the Reapers unblinking, uncaring eyes.

"How long until intercept?" he growled. His feelings were mixed. This was the enemy he had been born to fight. As a Prothean he had been trained almost from the moment of birth because the Empire had needed soldiers. He had been very good and had been selected to become an Avatar at a young age. There had been no need for an Avatar of anger, or rage. The only Avatar he could become was one of Vengeance. And so, even as the last of the Protheans fought, he had accepted command of those who had accompanied him on the long sleep. Theirs was not the path of cowardice, theirs was the path of vengeance.

"About twenty seven hours," Ysolt gave the reply. "They are coming it at about 0.2 lightspeed."

"How many?"

That vengeance came down to him. But Javik had been trained to acknowledge all his feelings. There was, regardless of how his desire burned within, a tendril of fear coiling through him. They were not ready. The species of this cycle were years, at least a century, even with his help, away from being ready to face the Reapers. Why were they here?

There was only one thing different about this cycle, Javik realised. Him. And the knowledge he represented. The Reapers always came into a galaxy that had no inkling of their existence. The Prothean Empire had only put together the facts after the Reapers attacked. Had his presence caused the Reapers to attack earlier? But how did they know about him?

"Eleven dreadnought class ships. And many smaller ships."

Eleven dreadnoughts. Resolutely Javik shook his head. Speculation about anything more than how to fight could wait until he had sorted out the chaos here. There was a chance someone could survive. It was only a small chance, but it was the only one they had.

Javik raised one hand, firing a biotic shot into the ceiling. "Silence!" he shouted authoritatively and like the primitives they were, the leaders and their bodyguards stilled their pointless panic and focused on him.

"There is indeed an unknown fleet headed this way," Javik announced, relaying information they already knew. "And there is indeed no communication lines to your homeworlds," he added. Again they would be aware of this. At least they would have been aware of it if they weren't panicking. Their supposed guard fleets probably knew.

"This is not a trap set by any government," he added, using his eyes to glare at them all. "This is the first attack of the Reapers," he declared and let the words hang in the silence for a few moments as he watched the reactions.

Some, those who he thought had been talking to their defence fleet nodded. With the Asari beacons having been relatively common knowledge in the galaxy, the Reaper profiles were not that difficult to spot. A few had already classified the ships that were incoming. Others had assumed this was an attack by one of their enemies and had already isolated themselves along the walls.

Damn it! This was meant to be the meeting which drew the galaxy together. He would not let it fail!

"Rather convenient for you, isn't it?" the accusation was not unexpected. The fact that it came from the Wilms was. He had thought them slightly more accepting of the truth.

"Convenient?" Javik returned the question, his voice scathing. "You still think the Reapers are something you can negotiate with, something you can draw lines and they will just go away. Go ahead," he invited. "Open comms with them, see what they say. After they've eviscerated your fleet, then you can come back and tell me how convenient it was."

"I will!" The Wilms leader growled. Javik thought their name was Wiebe. An appropriate name, given its close pronunciation to 'veebe' which translated to idiot.

"Go ahead. Do it now. I'm sure they are waiting."

Wiebe gestured and one of his assistants brought a comm. It was considered bad practice for the leader to have to carry one, no matter much more convenient it was. The entire room stared as the Wilms comm blinked in the pattern that had become universal for establishing a link. Then it settled, emitting a steady light, indicating that a link had been formed.

Javik watched intently, all four eyes locked on to the comm as he strained his ears. As far as he knew no one had ever spoken to the Reapers. The huge machines had refused to respond to any comm signal and had instead flooded the network with recordings of the dead and dying on Empire worlds. If the Reapers responded to the Wilms, it would only be to mock the organic race.

"Hello," the Wilms leader said tentatively.

Filat lay one calming hand on Javik's forearm, making the bold move to comfort his leader. There was no way anything would respond to such a pathetically weak greeting with anything more than contempt.

What was taking so long? Javik growled the question internally. Did the Reapers have trouble with such primitive technology? If the situation wasn't so serious it might almost have been amusing.

"To the unknown forces entering Omega Centauri, I am the leader of the Wilms! State your species and intentions!" The demand was forceful this time. Wiebe should have led with that.

There was the slightest hiss of noise from the communicator but it was not words anyone recognised. The hiss continued, white noise against the silence of the waiting room.

"Answer me!" Wiebe demanded.

The hiss got slightly louder. "No!" Javik screamed, jumping forward, his biotics activating to slice through the communicator. The fact that he sliced through Wiebe's hand was of no consequence. The Wilms leader's bodyguards reacted only after their leader's blood splashed on to the floor.

Javik's bodyguards reacted as well, leveling their weapons at the other group, which meant that everyone reacted, and weapons were drawn though some didn't know who to point them at.

"Ahhh!" Wiebe moaned, holding his disabled hand.

"The Reapers are machines!" Javik yelled, making sure everyone could hear. With that one move, no matter how necessary, the Reapers had just forced him to become the enemy. "They are machines!" He repeated. " _Artificial intelligence_ ," he added, making sure to stress the words. "Any open comm link is a weakness. It is a way for them to exploit your systems!" He was so used to the hardened secure comms of the Empire that he hadn't even thought about the possibility. He wouldn't speak to an ant he was about to crush. The Reapers were the same. They would see no reason to speak but every reason to exploit.

How much did the Reapers know? His mind swirled, desperately trying to extrapolate what information would be available through the Wilms' comm. He had to assume their ships were compromised but were his own? No, Javik decided quickly. His own should be fine. They had no reason to open comms with the Wilms and he had designed his ship's systems to be tougher. The Reapers probably could take control, they were still relatively primitive, but it would not be that easy.

"You think we believe that?" Wiebe shouted, his voice strained with his pain.

Javik glared, holding back his biotic power. He wanted nothing more than to strike down the moron, even though it had been his goading which had caused the Wilms to attempt communication. They should have known better. The Wilms had found an Asari beacon, did they believe nothing from it?

"I think," he said, drawing himself up. He was not the tallest species in the room, but he was taller than Wiebe and no matter the species it was an instinctual reaction to react to something larger than yourself. "I think that in twenty seven hours it won't matter what you believe," he said.

"Those ships are Reapers," he said. "They are everything the beacons have warned you about. They are everything I have told you about and all that remains is to fight," he added, holding up one hand that glowed with biotic power. "The only question you have to answer for yourself is, if you cower in fear before the end or show the pride of your people." He hated making that challenge but it was a universal challenge. No one wanted to be considered weak by their peers.

Nor did it fail now. Despite the pain from his ruined hand, Wiebe stood taller and glared back at Javik. "We will fight," the alien hissed and for an instant Javik thought the idiot would order his followers to attack him but the moment passed and the Prothean realised that the alien must have remembered the warning from the beacon. While degraded, the Asari's voice had been passionate.

"Then I will lead you," Javik said, stepping forward, allowing his biotics to give him an aura of light. It was a cheap theatrical trick but if it rallied these primitives, he would use every cheap trick he could.

-cfr-

**Farthest Step (Between Sigurd's Cradle and the Far Rim), System of the Prophet**

Shepard wasn't alone in scanning the system as he moved away from the Relay. They'd silenced the comm buoy the instant they had appeared but the scanning was now of necessity. They hadn't been able to use their normal information gathering trick because Soliphon had accompanied them to the Relay. At that point, this cycles Vanguard had pulled back, claiming it was better to have at least one of them hidden. That was true, but it was also better to let them gather more information before attacking.

The attack now was premature, though Shepard had to admit the opportunity was good. Supposedly the leaders of every space faring race were meeting.

"I've got a bunch of unknowns," Udina reported.

"Start cross referencing with Soliphon's data," Ares suggested to the politician. On the map they were building, the ships slowly gained labels representing species. The Darmaris and Cypiene fleets were as far from each other as possible. Not unexpected given the hostilities that had been inferred from the few communications Soliphon had intercepted. The Wilms and Yoxall fleets were close to each other. They shared relatively friendly relations and the small Ostberg fleet was off to the side. The short lived race was only barely understood by their neighbours. There was another fleet though, one that didn't correspond to any information Soliphon had given them.

"That's got to be the strange thing," Hackett observed, zooming in on the fleet. It was somehow sleeker than the other ships, more advanced though it looked to be Darmaris.

"The ships of the Warrior Prophet," Zaeed identified them.

Ever since they had gotten back to the galaxy, they had been hearing about this Warrior Prophet. If everything was to be believed, the alien was Prothean, over 100,000 years old and gifted with foresight, power over eezo and the will to fight. Physical descriptions placed the Warrior Prophet at anything from between 6 foot to 9 foot tall with black armour and four glowing eyes. The descriptions all agreed on that. The Warrior Prophet had four eyes. Two to see the mundane and two to gaze upon the future.

The amount of trash Harper had hacked was ridiculous! But it did not negate the impact this Warrior Prophet was having on the cycle. Somehow, whatever he was, a surviving Batarian, a true Prothean, some native doomsayer who got lucky, he was warning of their coming, and the images, sketches mostly, that had been available were credibly accurate. It was little wonder that Soliphon had caught wind of the organic's behaviour.

"Harper, Sirta?" Shepard prompted. The two of them hadn't bothered to scan, except in a perfunctory way. They were instead focused on the ships, picking up the signals the aliens were no doubt attempting to send through the now missing comm buoy.

"Hang on a sec," Harper replied. "I don't know how these people get anything done! They have no concept of a file system!" He grumbled a complaint.

"Sirta?" Shepard asked.

"What he said," she growled back. "There is no logical lay out to their files!"

"Just keep working on it," Shepard instructed, reminding himself that he shouldn't be annoyed. These were aliens, in every sense of the word. It would take a few moments to work through their systems and he really should be helping.

"All right," Sirta muttered after a few minutes. "The Warrior Prophet is definitely here," she confirmed their first objective.

"And, he appears to be a genuine Prothean," Harper added.

"Prothean?" Miranda questioned, reaching out to review the information Harper had just dumped onto their system. "How the hell did he survive?"

"Let's ask him," Anderson said when it became obvious that the information wasn't in the files Harper and Sirta had lifted. Well, it might have been, but there was so much other junk there that it wasn't worth their while filtering through it for the truth.

"Why are all the alien leaders here?" Shepard asked. That was the more important point to him. They were the reason this attack was about to take place. "Is it really for the peace summit?"

"It appears so," Elysium said, reading through the dumped information.

"But it is not a summit about their peace," Harper said. "It's about how to … oh my."

"It's about how to deal with us," Shepard concluded, as he assimilated the information Harper had just found. According to the data, the aliens had known there was something coming to the galaxy periodically. They just didn't know what to do about it, or even if they believed that story. But then, about fifty years ago, the Warrior Prophet had entered the scene. He had confirmed the information they had and more importantly had begun pounding select individuals into a fighting force. Race was unimportant. The only thing he appeared to care about was their devotion to him, and to destroying what he called the Reapers.

Ascended.

They were preparing for the arrival of the Ascended. And as Harbinger would say, organics fought the cycle.

"Mirco-jump," Shepard snapped. He didn't need to know anything more. "Kill the fleets and capture the leaders. I want to have a talk with this Warrior Prophet."

-cfr-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be a delay of about a month before the next update. Sorry!


	34. Failure Is Always An Option

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Javik and the species of the cycle to come face to face with the Reapers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**  
**Chapter 33: Failure Is Always An Option**

-cfr-

**Farthest Step (Between Sigurd's Cradle and the Far Rim), System of the Prophet, Five Leaders Conference Area**

"Sir! The ships have disappeared." The report was excited.

Javik felt no excitement. The report meant they had only minutes to prepare. That was unusual though. The Reapers didn't usually jump in system. They preferred for their victims to see them coming. What had changed?

He had.

The realisation struck him quickly.

"Move into defensive formations! Now!" he shouted into the comm. "And sound the alarm over the city." The city was his. Defensive formations had been drilled into them and even though they had never thought it would be necessary here, they would know what to do.

"Get the leaders to the bunker," Javik ordered Filat. "Take them there yourself," he added. If the Reapers were here for him, there was a chance the leaders would survive, and Filat had to survive with them. The Yoxall could continue his work.

Filat didn't even argue, which meant he understood the situation. He would do well if needed and as he moved away Javik watched for a few moments as he thought of what else needed to be done.

Two Darmaris ran up to him, carrying his armour as Filat began hustling the milling dignitaries out. Politicians hadn't changed, Javik thought as took his armour and began strapping it on. His weapons were next and all too quickly he was armed.

The alarm sounded again. A different tone this time, one Javik recognised as signalling impending attack. That meant the Reapers had reappeared. He ran to the wall. There was an outside balcony and he had had sniper's nests built into the towers of this building. He could direct the resistance from there, assuming the Reapers did not just orbitally bombard the planet. He didn't think they would.

The city was small, only 100,000 or so and they could not guarantee he was dead if they did not come to him. That was his only advantage. He ran up the stairs taking them several at a time as he listened to the radio chatter.

Those in the city were confident but those above… He risked a glance from a window, straining his eyes as much as he could but he couldn't see through the atmosphere. He didn't need to see to know that it would be a slaughter. The ships of this cycle couldn't hope to take on Reaper dreadnoughts. Not yet. Not for years. His designs, while good, could not hold out either. Though he feared they might be considered a curiosity. The Reapers would occasionally pause when the Empire launched new ships. Then they attacked harder, destroying them.

"Ground forces!" he commanded, as he reached the sniper's nest. "Are you in position?"

"Line One in position," came the confirmation, just as he'd taught them.

"Line Two in position," the follow up came.

"Line Three in position."

Javik listened as the lines all reported in. A few had stragglers. That was to be expected. Some had extras. Again in the chaos before battle that wasn't unusual. Everyone was armed and ready.

Suddenly, light arced from the sky. "Incoming fire!" Javik screamed into his comm.

Standard Reaper attack procedure was to soften up the ground forces with orbital bombardment. He'd told his forces that and those manning the AA cannons knew it was well. They opened fire, but it was already too late and Javik knew that Reaper fire could not be shot off course like other rounds.

There were not that many AA embankments but it still hurt to lose them.

"Everyone be prepared, they'll be landing forces soon, and the real fight begins. Hold your positions and fight to the death, because death is all they will give you."

There was a roar from the troops and Javik took a calming breath as he settled in. All he could do now was wait.

-cfr-

**Farthest Step (Between Sigurd's Cradle and the Far Rim), System of the Prophet, Fifth Planet**

Ten minutes later Shepard's little fleet had covered the five point eight billion kilometres between them and their target. They opened fire as one, not bothering with their main cannons as their thanix cannons lanced out.

"Holy shit!" Nergal exclaimed but the reason for his surprise was obvious. The fleets were weak and they were slicing through them like a hot knife through butter. It was almost like they didn't have shields and armour.

"Just kill them," Anderson replied.

The ease with which they were destroying the alien fleets said nothing about the fact that they were returning fire. The shots were weak and while they impacted upon the Ascended's shields, they didn't even light up the entire section. The unknown ships fared slightly better. Their weapons were different.

"Particle beams!" Elysium identified the strange, almost purple lights.

"That's new," Ares replied.

"Do you have the specs?" Hackett asked.

"Of course," Elysium replied, sharing the design plans with them all.

"Then we don't need them anymore," Hackett returned, and the fleet fired together, cutting through the unknown ships. It was a matter of seconds before the last of the fleets were nothing more than burning wrecks and the Ascended turned their attention to the ground.

The planet was mostly a wasteland but there was a city on the surface. There were no lights on the dark side but the city was developed. It had probably grown out of a mining facility.

"There's only about 100,000 there," Ares said.

"Where is the political shindig?" Anderson asked.

"Probably in the centre," Udina answered, highlighting a group of large buildings near the centre of the city. "These things are usually held there and I doubt aliens are any different," he added.

"I'd like to question the leaders," Shepard said, "but they are a bonus. The Warrior Prophet will be enough. How many husks do you have?" When they went into hibernation the husks were converted from organic cybernetics into purely cybernetic creations. It meant what little flesh was left would not rot and was done because the energy requirements to put that many troops into suspended animation were prohibitive. It gave them a starting point for the next cycle.

"Shall we each land 100,000?" Miranda suggested.

Zaeed laughed at the suggestion but his sub-channels indicated agreement. It would be a pain reloading that many husks but it would be equally fun to flood the city and watch the new aliens run.

Shepard sent his agreement to the network and they took position. It would be overkill but it would be worth it. He scanned the city. There were a few AA defences and without needing orders, the fleet targeted them and fired. "I'll go down with the husks," Shepard said as their shots lanced through the atmosphere. The others launched their transports and with them around him Shepard headed for the planet.

-cfr-

From his vantage point, Javik could see the troop transports falling through the atmosphere. It was a familiar sight from his youth, when he had been fighting for the Empire, struggling to hold back the Reapers from every inch of space.

But then Javik froze.

Cutting through the clouds were five black legs. They were quickly accompanied by a long tapered body. The running lights made up an ominous set of eyes.

"No," he whispered, transfixed at the sight.

The Reaper continued to descend like some huge bug come to prey upon them all and Javik knew that the battle was lost. All he could hope was that Filat and the others weren't found. He grabbed one of the weapons, unconsciously choosing the most powerful and hoisted it to his shoulder.

He didn't even feel the weight as he took aim, targeting the Reaper. To move that much mass in a gravity well, its power was directed to its mass effect fields, not shields. There was a chance, a tiny one, that he could do some damage.

The missile tracked truly. It was almost impossible for it not to given the size of the target it could lock onto and Javik discarded the weapon as he reached for another. As he'd told his forces, the only thing left to do now was fight to the death, because with the Reaper here, that's all they could do.

The missile hit with a yellow explosion of light but Javik's sharp eyes saw the shield that shimmered over the armoured hull. The Reaper didn't even acknowledge the missile as a threat. It hadn't fired its point defences. Javik gritted his teeth as he lined up another shot. This time, he wouldn't fire on the Reaper, but on the landing transports. He couldn't take out a dreadnought class vessel but he could make their assault as costly as possible.

"Take out as many transports as you can," he ordered. There was no need to waste more ordinance on the Reaper when it would do little damage. There had been another couple of shots on the Reaper from his forces, but they had done nothing. Once again, his missile flew true and Javik watched as it tracked one of the landing ships.

But it was now that the Reaper fired. There was a flash of light and an instant later the missile exploded, far before it hit the target.

"Damn it!" Javik screamed even as he noted the oddity. Reapers did not protect their landing troops. They didn't care about the losses yet this one had. Or did it simply understand military tactics? It was still airborne but it completed a pass and didn't return. It was probably landing in the wastelands. He couldn't think about it now as the first transports reached the outskirts of the city and his comm came alive with the calls from his soldiers.

"Gods of the Underworld! What are they?"

"Open fire!" That sounded like Kishenta. He was one of the Darmaris guards who had defected to his side.

For several minutes, the sound of gunfire filled the comm link.

"They won't go down!" The complaint came through in Cypiene.

"They will!" Javik replied forcefully. The Reapers relied on mass producing ground troops and while they could produce hardier troops, they often didn't bother. Where most races would send in specially trained troops, the Reapers just sent in more. They didn't care about losses. It was just one of the things that made them so hard to fight.

"Aim for the legs!" Kishenta's voice sounded again. "Disable them!"

"What do they look like?" Javik demanded. He kept one eye on the Reaper. It appeared to have landed but it was now out of range. It loomed over them. And then there came a noise. A boom. It echoed over the city and was followed by another boom. The Reaper was moving. He couldn't see the legs but the towering tail became larger on the horizon.

"Bi-ped, completely mechanical."

That was different. All the Reaper troops Javik had seen were cybernetic organic soldiers. "They appear to have two eyes and are glowing all over. There's thousands of them!"

"Do you know them sir?"

"No," Javik said after a moment. "They are probably from the last cycle. Follow Kishenta's orders. Aim for the legs and draw back in an orderly fashion."

"There's too many of them!"

"How many did they land?"

Javik gritted his teeth as he listened. The shouts turned into screams and differing orders and while some of his forces managed to get away, others didn't. He heard them die and all along, the Reaper drew ever closer with an ominous boom, boom, boom as the legs moved.

The screams intensified, coming closer. Javik hefted the weapon he'd chosen. It was a sniper rifle. It wouldn't do anything against the Reaper, but it would hold off the troops. He knew there was nothing, but even so he was still wracking his brain for anything they could use against the Reaper. He should have just let the Darmaris have that nuke, Javik growled to himself. It was a barbaric, primitive weapon but it had some chance against a Reaper.

He sighted down one of the longer streets. The way had been lined with rubble so that the invading troops couldn't use it as an avenue. But it was there that he got his first view of the Reaper's troops. They were bipedal, but as reported they seemed to be completely mechanical. The ends of their limbs were curled into claws. Was this what a husk looked like after a cycle?

The Reaper moved ever closer.

He fired, aiming for one of the lights on what passed for a husk's head. It fell and Javik immediately lined up another shot and fired. There was nothing else to do but take down as many as he could.

The instant the Reaper entered the city, everything changed. The screams from his troops became more desperate and the constant boom of its gait was accompanied by the sound of collapsing buildings.

The first line was gone, so were the second and third lines. The rest were scattered and combat was no longer ordered but was a desperate struggle as groups of his troops banded together, taking husks down before they were overrun. Javik didn't give further orders. There was nothing he could say as his troops were already selling their lives as dearly as they could.

He didn't know how many troops he shot. Enough to hold them back slightly but he could do nothing to stop the Reaper. It was the first to approach his position. Behind it, the Reaper troops swarmed into the destruction in its wake. That gave them an even better foothold in the city. Not that they needed it.

The Reaper was soon all he could see and he had no choice but to target it. It was a pathetic gesture but it was all he could do and every shot could be his last. The Reaper's point defences were firing at everything and eventually, sooner rather than later, they would fire at him.

Javik gritted his teeth and fired again. He'd fight to the end.

-cfr-

The fighting was brutal. While the city was comparatively small, it appeared that every resident was a soldier. They were all fighting. The husks had been landed around the outskirts of the city and had fought their way inwards. Shepard had landed further out but had quickly made his way into the centre of the city.

The residents fought him but an anti-tank mine to something as large as him was like a bee stinging a bear. Even with the power to his shields reduced to support his bulk in the gravity well, he didn't even feel the rocket propelled grenades they launched at him. He walked through the city, destroying buildings as his point defences took care of those few who fired on him. He could have waited for the husks, but he wanted to make sure that they caught the leaders.

He was coming up on the central buildings now, the ones Udina had pointed out. There were barricades in the city, filled with soldiers who fired upon him. Shepard simply crushed them with one walking leg as he brought himself alongside the central complex. There were several spires, but one was higher than the rest and in it, near the top was a life sign. It was firing at him with quite admirable precision and Shepard was prepared to gamble that this was the Warrior Prophet. He was consciously holding back his point defences from destroying the tower.

Now how did he get the sniper out? Again, Shepard realised he could just wait for the husks. They had followed in his wake and were storming the building now. It would only be a matter of time, but the Warrior Prophet deserved his personal attention. There was nothing he could use as bait. The alien had already run into the spire to snipe at him, which meant he cared nothing for the politicians below. That left…

Oh, it was too easy. Carefully, Shepard lined up his point defences, and fired on the tower. He clipped the side and it shook. The sniping stopped. Not that it had been doing anything but after a moment another shot sounded. Shepard fired again, clipping the tower again. He exposed the internal stairs. His senses showed that the sniper was running down the stairs. Apparently the Warrior Prophet would not go down with the spire. It was a simple task to grab the alien when it ran down the exposed steps.

Shepard let the alien hang upside down for a few moments. It was a bit of a surprise when a biotic flare lashed at him but his mass effect field was solid. The alien was not going to escape him but the biotic ability was good to know. Carefully, Shepard manoeuvred the alien towards him, opening a hatch.

It was screaming but he didn't understand. The language was not one in the current information packs but a scan of the alien showed that it was not a native of this cycle. It was different. The alien had four eyes, similar to a Batarian but it was different enough that Shepard could tell it was not a Batarian descendant. It had to be something else. Was it really a Prothean?

"Soliphon," Shepard called the name, reaching out through the Ascended network to the Vanguard.

"What is it, Human Shepard?"

"Do you have Prothean language packs?" Shepard asked, sending a visual of his captive.

Soliphon was silent for a few moments before the vanguard pushed the requested information to Shepard. "I'll take it to the slaves," Shepard told Soliphon before the vanguard could ask. If this was a Prothean then the slaves would benefit from a new infusion of genetics. It was a pity they had not brought the slaves on this run. They had some useful tech for this kind of thing but it was best not to reveal them so early in the cycle.

"If it is Prothean," the vanguard replied.

The Prothean Empire had spanned the galaxy, and while they had been remarkably uniform there were several dialects. Shepard loaded the language packs Soliphon had provided and instantly the alien ranting made sense.

It really was a Prothean! It couldn't be anything else. If Liara hadn't been able to fully learn the Prothean language, then nothing of this cycle would be able to. Any organic speaking Prothean had to be the real deal. Which led to many questions, not the least of which was how it had survived almost 100,000 years since the extinction of its… his, Shepard decided, people.

There was a biotic strike to his internals as the Prothean tried to break free.

"It's not that easy," Shepard said, carefully modulating his voice so as not to damage the organic.

"Kill me!" the Prothean demanded.

"No," Shepard replied. "I have a few questions for you."

"It's really a Prothean?" Hackett asked.

"Yes, it appears to be," Shepard replied as he lifted off. He targeted the few nests of resistors still firing as he moved through the atmosphere. He made a couple of powerful shots at the city, gouging large tracks out of the city. The beams he used to overpower the dreadnoughts of the last cycle, made mincemeat out of the cities of this cycle. He quickly reachieved orbit and with the others fired down on the city. The husks had pulled back with him, after having grabbed the alien leaders. The Prothean was still pounding on the hatch both physically and with biotics but Shepard's internals were not that weak.

While they had dropped close to 1million husks, reloading was fast and controlled. There was no shoving as the cybernetic troops re-entered their transports.

With everything in hand, as it were, Shepard turned his attention inwards. "You cannot escape," he told his passenger. "And even if you could escape, I am no longer on the surface." Shepard shifted some of his internals, opening the way deeper. It would take a short time for the force of his presence to start to affect the Prothean. And no doubt, the alien already knew it. But the only thing that could stop the process was the Prothean's will and Shepard's desire to ensure that he remained lucid. Information could be dragged from the fully indoctrinated but they were so far gone that it was hard. It was better to question an organic who still resisted. The pauses in their speech and observation of their breathing, eye movement and other small motions meant that it was easy to discern when they were attempting to hide information.

"What is your name?" Shepard asked. "Mine is Shepard," he added. It was only polite to introduce himself. "I was Ascended in the last cycle."

That seemed to interest the Prothean. "The last cycle?" he questioned.

"Yes," Shepard confirmed.

"There were no species named Shepard," the Prothean objected.

"How do you know that?" Shepard challenged. While there was no doubt evidence as to some species, how could the Prothean be so sure of that.

The ancient said nothing but Shepard had fully assimilated the information Sirta and Harper had liberated. "Oh, I see," Shepard murmured. "That traitorous little bitch," he added. "Well, at least I know she died alone and with any luck starving and in pain."

"Who?" The Prothean asked.

"The one who made those beacons," Shepard replied. "Her name was Liara T'Soni, a young bitch of the Asari species," he said. "Still, the beacons do not appear to have helped you much."

"Enough," came the spat reply. The Prothean leaned against the outer hatch, refusing to move, even though Shepard had kindly illuminated the way. "Enough to know you aren't of that cycle."

"Oh but I am," Shepard almost purred. "In Liara's little list of species, did she have the guts to mention Humans?"

The mention of his species caused the ancient to pause. "The betrayers?"

"More like the betrayed but no doubt Liara was less than truthful in the details she provided to future generations," Shepard said. "No matter. Won't you tell me your name?"

"Why are you not named Human?"

"I am," Shepard replied. "My full name is Human Shepard," he added. "We made a deal with what you call the Reapers."

"You can't! They don't talk."

"I'm talking to you, aren't I?" Shepard retorted. "But if you aren't willing to speak, I will wait for a bit and ask you later. Perhaps you will be more willing to answer my questions then."

He could see the way the ancient braced himself. The Prothean knew what time would mean, just as Shepard was sure that the Warrior Prophet did not know how much time would be required for him to be forthcoming.

While talking to the ancient inside his hull, Shepard and the other Human Ascended were making tracks for the Relay. He had no fear of the organics of the current cycle being able to destroy them but it would be entirely counter-productive to their plan to sow discord if they were caught at the scene of their crime. Behind them, the city was ablaze and the last few life signs were succumbing to the fires.

"So what do we do now, Shepard?" Udina asked, after they had micro-jumped back to the Relay.

Shepard thought about it for a moment. "We'll need to monitor the situation," he decided. "The organics should turn on each other but we don't want them developing too fast. It will depend on how much they believe the Prothean's words."

"So they could still turn against us?"

There was a laugh from the fleet. "Organics will always fight the cycle," came the reply from Hackett in a credible imitation of Harbinger.

"True," Shepard said and their conversation was briefly interrupted by their passage through the Relay. The organics of the cycle had not even begun to explore the true strength behind Relay travel and the Ascended were catapulted into an area of space that remained closed to this cycle's organics.

"I think we should also find some way of discrediting a certain Asari," Miranda suggested. "I can create a few beacons of our own."

"I like that thought," Shepard complimented her. "Where were you thinking of the organics 'discovering' them?"

"Oh, here and there," Miranda replied before she went into further detail. "Based on the current galaxy map Soliphon's provided, there's a few planet's the organics should be getting too soonish. If they have any brains at all, they should hone in on the minor power signature."

"Before we get into that," Anderson interrupted, "have you been scanning the Relays?"

The conversation turned in a new direction at Anderson's prompt. "I've got minor scans," Zaeed said, "but I was waiting until we returned to the galactic core."

"I think it best if we scan before then," Elysium observed, her tone considering. "Soliphon will be there, and while he may not appear to pay that much attention, I think he does."

"Or he may just brush it off as Human eccentricity," Nergal suggested.

"He might," Elysium agreed, "but why take the chance?"

"He won't stop us though, will he?" Ares asked.

"No," Shepard allayed that fear. "He won't stop us, but he will tell us to get the information the usual way."

"The usual way?" Miranda inquired.

"You can't feel it now because the fleet is in hibernation," Shepard said, his sub-channel indicating towards the hibernation point, "but when the fleet is awake, it is active, there is a network, much like the Human network, between all Ascended."

"So that's what that was!" Sirta exclaimed.

"You felt it?" Hackett asked.

"During the sweep," Sirta confirmed. "Just the edges of it, I think."

"And it has all the data the Ascended have gathered over the cycles?" While Harper tried to be nonchalant, they all noticed the growing excitement in his tone.

"I believe so," Shepard replied.

"So why didn't we all feel it?" Miranda demanded. She had not felt anything like that and it would have given her something to do on the long flight back to the hibernation point. Her internal information answered the question echoing Shepard's reply.

"Because it is introduced to us during our first full cycle," the eldest Human Ascended explained. "And right at first, we will be expected to use the galaxy maps," he added. Every cycle was slightly different, as all organics were different, but with the Catalyst controlling which Relays were open when the organics started exploring space, there were several base galaxy maps the Ascended used. They were augmented each cycle to account for the organics opening new Relays but the major travel lanes could be predicted. For example, Illium had been on the major trading route between Council Space and the Traverse but the organics of this cycle would have to discover and open five Relays to get to Illium so it was doubtful that they would find the ruins of the formerly Asari planet.

"The plans for a Relay are in that network?" Zaeed demanded. He was just as excited as Harper.

"They should be," Shepard said.

"Who needs the scans then?"

"We do." There was a cold note in Elysium's tone that brought any jubilation to a grinding halt.

"Why?" Udina asked.

"Search your own data banks, but pay close attention," she advised.

The Ascended searched through their data banks at Elysium's prompt, even if they didn't know what they were searching for. "I don't get it," Ares complained finally.

"No, you don't," Elysium seemed happy with his objection. "You don't get it, because we haven't organised them."

"What?"

"Shepard has, partially," Elysium ignored the outburst. "That's why he seems to know more about ascension."

"I have," Shepard agreed. "Information about ascension is within us all but it's-" He paused, searching for the right way to describe the jumble of facts that had been downloaded into them all by both the Catalyst and the process of ascension.

"Disjointed," Elysium supplied. "It's like someone took every book in a library and threw them into a mixing machine and turned it on high. The information is there, it's just not in any logical order. But that's just the information we all personally need to know. The information about the Relays, about every individual race that has been ascended, is within them, just as the information about Humans is within us."

"So you mean?" Miranda was the first to grasp the obvious conclusion.

"I would assume so."

"Damn it! Then we will never find it!"

"Find what?" Zaeed asked.

"One of the first tasks for any Ascended is to sort through the information on ascension," Hackett explained for Shepard. "We Humans have had it lucky. Between us all, I believe we have assimilated all the information, but not as individuals yet. And we had an advantage in that when we awoke, we were greeted by those who felt familiar," the former Admiral added, and his words triggered a rush of sensation to most of those present.

Unconsciously they all compared the feel of Human Ascended to that of other Ascended. There was a difference. It was slight and it was only felt now that they thought about it but the other Ascended were just slightly alien. It made perfect sense of course, because they were alien and mentally there were shivers as they wondered how that slight sense of discrepancy must feel for eons. Except, once they assimilated all the information on ascension that feeling would fade, just not before.

"So first we have to comprehend all the Ascended information,  _then_  we can get into the fleet network?" Nergal asked.

"It looks that way," Sirta replied.

"But then we still have a problem," Miranda said.

"Problem?" Udina's frown could be felt with his question.

"The original one," Miranda signed. "As Elysium said, all the information will be there, it will just be as if someone took every book ever written and jumbled them up."

"Then we will just have to sort it," Ares said, though his tone indicated he had some inkling of how large a task it would be.

The fleet was silent as they passed through another Relay the organics hadn't found as they all considered the enormity of the task. Now that it had been pointed out, several of them could feel the tangle of information on Ascended that was nested in their data banks and internally they couldn't help but begin to tug at it, grasping the new information and putting it into its proper place.

"It will take us forever!" Zaeed grumbled as they approached another Relay.

"Fifteen to twenty cycles at least," Anderson estimated, his sub-channel indicating that he thought he was being highly ambitious with the judgement. The Ascended network only existed when the fleet was awake for the cycle. The time they had available was limited. And the cycles had been happening for eons! There were thousands of species' worth of information to go through.

"Oh, I think we can get it done quicker," Shepard said lightly.

"How?" The demand came from more than a few of the little fleet accompanying him.

"There are four hundred and seventy six of us," Shepard said, and let his answer speak for itself.

"That's true," Zaeed said, his voice hopeful again and the others could feel him attempting to work out how many cycles their numbers would help account for.

"I think," Sirta said slowly, "if we all work on it at every opportunity, we can get it done in two to three cycles," she concluded.

"Wait a second! Why don't we just ask Soliphon, or one of the other older Ascended for their library system?" Zaeed demanded.

"Oh we could," Elysium said and Zaeed braced at the tone of her voice. "And they might even give it to us, but it would be alien! That's why each Ascended has to do this for themselves."

Zaeed silently acknowledged the point. "But why will it still take two to three cycles if there's over four hundred of us?" he objected.

"Have you ever done data sorting?" Sirta challenged.

"'Course not."

"Believe me, it will take two to three cycles," Sirta replied, though her voice was not unkind. "There will be things in there we will just not understand, and will need time to assimilate and classify and there will be times when we are just fed up and need a break."

"We can make finding the information on the Relays a priority," Shepard suggested. "But we are going to have to go through thousands of cycles worth of information before we find it," he added.

"Bloody hell! Maybe the scans will be faster!" Zaeed growled.

"They won't hurt," Hackett agreed. "Shall we scan this one?" he said, indicating towards the Relay they were approaching.

"It's as good as any other," Nergal said, extending his senses to perform a long distance, high intensity scan. While it would be better if they could remain stationary and scan the Relay, if they did not want to be caught by Soliphon or the organics, then they would have to scan the Relays on the run, as it were. They could worry about the Ascended network later.

-cfr-


	35. All About the Protheans, Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Javik has a long conversation with Shepard about history and various interpretations of it. He learns, 100,000 years too late, what his Empire should have done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**   
**Chapter 34: All About The Protheans, Baby**

-cfr-

"We are nearly at our destination."

The voice surprised Javik. He had been sitting against the hatch plate after exhausting himself pounding upon it. No matter what he'd done, nothing, not even his strongest physical or biotic attacks, had scratched the material. It had remained stubbornly closed. He couldn't even find the mechanism which had opened it, or a hinge or anything. It was just a featureless panel.

His efforts had left him exhausted and he could feel the weight of the ship pressing down upon him.

"It's been quite some time," the voice continued, speaking perfect Prothean. "There's food and water up this way," it added, and the ship's internal lighting flickered slightly, as if showing him the path. "I admit, it's probably not the best you'll ever taste," the voice said easily. "But it will keep you alive."

Javik grunted. He was inside a Reaper. He didn't want to be alive. He didn't want to sit here knowing that his beliefs, his resolve was slowly being re-written to serve the Reaper's will. He didn't want to know that when he emerged, he would be their slave. He wanted to fight it, but he didn't know how! All the research he had done this cycle, and everything he remembered from the Empire said indoctrination just happened.

The Asari beacon said a bit more. The woman, Liara T'Soni, his mind supplied the name from the information the Reaper had volunteered, had said that a strong will could resist. Javik thought his will was strong but what did that mean to a Reaper? The Empire had seen those they thought unbreakable kneel before the machines.

"Why won't you go away?" It wasn't really a fair question. The Reaper's voice hadn't bothered him for hours but Javik wasn't interested in fair.

"You are my only passenger," the Reaper replied. "So it's only polite that I attend to your needs," it added as if it was the most logical thing in the world. "Will you at least tell me your name? I've told you mine after all."

"Human Shepard," Javik spat recalling the Reapers self-designation.

"Yes. I am Human Shepard, but just call me Shepard. I don't need my species classification, after all."

"Javik," he said slowly. He would be giving up everything event- No! Javik crushed the thought. He would not be giving up anything! But the Reaper would continue to question and pry and prod. It was better to surrender the unimportant information and hold on to that which was truly important.

"Javik," the Reaper repeated, rolling the 'a' into a long sound. It was probably a reflection of the Reaper's organic language, Javik concluded. "It's a very nice name," the Reaper said.

It was a name. While of course it defined him, he could not afford to think of it as anything else but his name.

"Won't you come further in Javik? You need food and water." The Reaper said again and Javik could almost believe that it was concerned.

Of course it is concerned! His mind supplied angrily. It's concerned I'm not suffering enough!

"I don't want you to suffer," the Reaper said, and its voice was soothing.

Javik gasped. "Get out of my head!" he growled, his hand glowing with biotic power.

"I cannot read your thoughts," came the quick assurance, "but your body language made it clear. Why would I want you to suffer?"

Javik gathered his breath. The speaker was Reaper, the list of reasons why this Shepard would want him to suffer were legion! But it didn't allow him to speak as it continued. "I respect your species. How can I not? Your people were exploring the stars while mine were still working out how to use stone."

"Primitive," Javik said. At least this Reaper knew it was primitive when his empire ruled the stars.

"Yes, we were then, but not anymore." It seemed amused at his words but its voice changed, becoming more serious as it talked. "Now I'm sure you can sit there until you pass out. It will take a few days, though I can probably make that happen faster." The burst of hot air was hardly subtle. "But when that happens, I'll simply send someone to pick you up and drag you to facilities where I can take care of you. And that won't be dignified for either of us."

That was a horrifying thought, Javik realised. He had intended to outwait the Reaper but he would eventually pass out and that would leave him vulnerable. As would recovery if the Reaper made good on its threat to take care of him. He might be trained but even he could not survive forever without food or water.

"Is what I'm asking really that difficult? I just want you to get up and move to where there is food and water. There is no trick. It's just food, water and a more comfortable place to sit."

"Comfort is unnecessary," Javik snapped. How dare the reaper insult him!

"My apologies. You are a warrior, not a politician," it quickly agreed but again Javik thought it was laughing. "But warriors require sufficient nutrients and water."

The hotter air hadn't vanished, but there was a whisper of cooler air wafting down the corridor. Really, could the Reaper be any more obvious? But if he stayed here, with exhausted biotics, needing water then he would be easy prey. Javik growled as he rose, and stalked down the path the Reaper had illuminated. The machine needn't have bothered. It wasn't like there were any hatchways or alternate paths for him to take.

The area it led to was basic. While it was surprising to find that a Reaper had facilities for organics, they were obviously designed to suit a range of different species with minimal modifications. There was a place to lie down, and a place to sit. A water dispenser was above a trough and there was a drinking vessel beside it. Time to test the Reaper's words. Javik went straight to it, pouring water into the vessel before he turned back around. He took a sip but only after carefully smelling the water. It appeared normal but there was so many things that could be added. There was no nutrient out, but Javik figured the Reaper wanted him to beg. Well, not yet. He wasn't yet that debased.

Slowly he moved to the seat, taking the drinking vessel with him. The wall was cool, and despite his intentions Javik leaned into it. The temperature of this section was perfect, neither too hot or cold and he fought the sense of relaxation that threatened to take over his body. He was stronger than this!

"Do you want to talk?" the Reaper invited when he appeared settled.

"What is there to talk about?" Javik demanded.

"History," came the immediate response. "You know the history of your cycle. You know current history but you don't know the history of the cycle in between."

"I know you betrayed them."

"You know what Liara T'Soni told you, but she was still a child by the standards of her people, and couldn't confront the truth." Again the Reaper seemed amused by the thought of betrayal.

"And you know?"

"My people have a saying," it replied. "If twenty people see an event, then there will be twenty versions of the truth. Liara has shown you one version of the truth, I can show you another."

"It doesn't matter! You gave in to the Reapers," Javik snarled.

"From your end of history, I suppose that might be true, but that view only taps the surface of what we did. My race chose a path that not even the Ascended had considered."

"Ascended?" Javik shouted, surging forward. The water he had been sipping sloshed forward, spilling over the floor, before draining away. "You are nothing more than a memory! You are now just a program, one designed to kill organics!"

"Good," the Reaper purred. "Keep that anger," it encouraged. "It will help you remain."

Javik looked down again. He did not need the Reaper telling him that! "If anything can." The words slipped out before he could stop them. He knew what just being here was doing. It ate at him and he couldn't even feel the changes being made.

"True, if anything can," the Reaper agreed lightly. "So do you want to hear the other truth?"

"You are going to tell me anyway."

For a moment, Javik thought he'd silenced the Reaper, but it spoke swiftly enough. "Yes," it admitted. "I'll tell you the truths Liara either didn't know, or didn't want to know. I'll tell you the truth of the vaunted Asari, the race you would call the leaders of the previous cycle."

After his biotic attacks from earlier, he needed more water, so as the reaper spoke, Javik got up, stepping over the still wet patch on the floor to refill the drinking vessel before he returned to his seat. He might as well be comfortable if the Reaper was determined to preach about its history.

-cfr-

"My home system is almost completely devoid of eezo," Shepard began. The Prothean appeared to be settled again and no doubt if he had a question he would interrupt. "In fact the only native supply was in the ruins your people left on one of the planets. Not my home world. As a result we came late to the galactic party."

"We spread fast, colonising many planets until one day there was an incident. It should have been a day of celebration. We had found another space faring race.

"It was the beginning of a war. Just a short one but it set the scene for the decades to come.

"You see, we'd been found by the Turians, the military arm of the Citadel Council." As he spoke Shepard projected images on the wall, allowing Javik to see the events as they happened. "We didn't know the rules of the Council but instead of explaining, they opened fire!" Shepard said, using part of the first contact vid they had made to tease the Turians. He muted the audio. The ships around the Relay were destroyed.

"We fought back, of course, but then the Asari stepped in, mediating a peace treaty between us and the Turians. That's when we found out about the wider galaxy," Shepard continued, putting up an image of a Turian, and then flashing through several other species.

"For about forty years, all was well… That's about X years for you." Shepard converted the number. "Then we encountered the Vanguard," he said, projecting an image of Nazara. Javik hissed, seeing the reaper.

"That was my reaction as well!" Shepard said lightly. "The Vanguard was using a Turian. One who remembered the war and really didn't like my species and eventually that led to what was called the Battle of the Citadel." At this Shepard let the vid play, showing Nazara attacking and the fleets that fought him. "That big black ship that looks like a cross is an Asari dreadnought. The white one is a Salarian ship and the coloured one is Turian."

"They are losing." It was almost impressive that Javik could tell that from the angle of the vid. While it was clear Nazara was cutting through ships, the extent of the losses could not be seen from this particular reference frame.

"Yes, I know," Shepard replied.

"You're happy about that!"

"Just wait," Shepard advised and as he spoke the Human fleets arrived, opening fire on Nazara. "Those are Human ships," Shepard identified them for Javik.

"You're fighting with them?"

"Of course we were!" Shepard said. In the background as the battle continued The  _Destiny Ascension_  was destroyed, but the fleet kept charging forward. Finally Nazara's shields went down and the  _Normandy_  darted in, to deliver the final blow on the Ascended.

"This is when things changed though," Shepard explained, rewinding the vid and putting a circle over the  _Destiny Ascension_. "Right now." The vid played forward again and the  _Destiny Ascension_  exploded when Nazara scored a direct hit.

"But they died in combat against a Reaper," Javik noted but Shepard could hear the question in his voice. While the losses were regrettable, against the Reapers, they were expected. Surely, the Asari had known that. Shepard could read Javik's logic so easily by the small shifts he made in position. It was refreshing to deal with a being as straightforward as the Prothean appeared to be.

"They did," Shepard said. "But the problem with the destruction of that particular ship was that the Council had evacuated to it. They were not the ruling body but they were the representatives of each species. They had a great deal of influence. The new Council did not see the loss the same way as the rest of us did.

"The new Council in their wisdom saw fit to come up with a convenient explanation about the attack on the Citadel. No longer was it an unknown vessel, but it was one constructed by a race of AI. They ignored the proofs presented to them that it was something else. That it had been using that Turian, the Council's chief agent, to kill us all. But that's not the best of it. They needed someone else to blame. My species was the newest, we had dealt the killing blow on the ship but only after it killed the previous Council so we were to blame.

"That led to a war. The Betrayal War. My species, Humans, against the rest of the galaxy."

The projection changed, flashing up image after image from the war. Humans were fighting every species, but the underlying information with all the images was that the Humans were losing.

"A war you could not win," the Prothean surmised, noting how the images had begun with almost even battles, but had trailed off to those showing death and destruction.

"Indeed. But we knew what the Council chose to forget. The Reapers were coming," Shepard said. "How were we meant to fight the galaxy, and fight them as well?"

The Prothean said nothing. There was nothing to say but Shepard could see him thinking. He did not make the obvious suggestion that the Humans should have surrendered, rightly inferring that it would anger Shepard. Still Shepard could feel that the Prothean's rather impressive will was weakening. He didn't know how he could feel that, but it was true. The process would take time yet and no doubt the Prothean was aware of that but it had already begun. If Javik could somehow leave now, he would recover with no adverse effects, but he couldn't and there was only one way this would end.

When the Prothean said nothing, Shepard continued. "So instead we made a deal."

"You betrayed the galaxy!" Javik replied.

"How?" Shepard asked. "They wished to exterminate us." He added, to make sure the Prothean understood the gravity of the situation.

"You could not know that!" Javik objected.

"But I  _do_  know that," Shepard retorted. He allowed the image to change, splitting to display two feeds. In both Humans were lined up. The difference between them was that in one image it was Turians behind the Humans and in the other image, it was Asari commandos. Two of the Humans were already lying on the ground, dead. To make things clear Shepard added a third window, showing a feed from the Citadel. "The Asari is Councillor Irissa and the Turian is Councillor Quentius," he introduced them for the Prothean's benefit. "I've translated for you but I've kept their tones so you can truly understand."

" _So, would you like to reconsider your offer?"_  Shepard's voice asked Irissa. He could have displayed the entire scene but there was no need to confuse the Prothean with unnecessary detail.

" _Kill them all!"_  Irissa yelled, stabbing her finger down on the controls.

The vid file continued as it had and Shepard watched again as one of the Humans gave a clumsy salute, even as the guards shot them. He allowed the file to play through the aftermath, showing the guards adding an extra bullet to each body to ensure they were dead. To highlight the brutality, he allowed the image to zoom in on the baby.

The Prothean stiffened. He didn't understand the context but he knew enough to know that you did not kill hostages in a normal conversation.

"That was set up by the Asari Councillor. The other two did not know she had done it and the Turian was most upset by her actions," Shepard explained, freezing the images. "However her actions are demonstrative of the wider view of the galaxy."

"You were Ascended then?" Javik asked.

It was an incredibly astute observation, especially given the context Shepard had allowed with the vid records.

"I was," Shepard acknowledged. "I can show you other instances, but Councillor Irissa was one of the leading figures in the galaxy. She was instrumental in starting and then continuing the aggressive actions towards my people. But I think that displays the fact that we were fighting for our lives, just like you. But unlike your Empire, we saw the Reapers as a possibility."

"You knew what they did?" Javik was incredulous. He saw the Humans die on the screen but he could not escape the fact that the Humans thought the Reapers were a possibility.

"Not exactly," Shepard replied. "But we knew what they claimed to do. That was enough."

"What did you do?" Javik gasped. It was not so much a question as a realisation. The Prothean was not stupid and Shepard had given any number of hints and the ancient had drawn them together to the correct conclusion.

"You made the same choice, Javik," Shepard said. "Your empire did. Hiding you away and all their other plans. Is that not what you are? Vengeance?"

"You're saying you did it for vengeance?"

"It was a part of the decision, but our desire to survive was the driving force."

"You doomed the galaxy!"

"No," Shepard said the word harshly and watched as the Prothean jerked back. It was not surprising. Up until now, no matter what Javik had said, he had let it wash over him but this time when the Prothean was speaking from incorrect assumptions. "Our cycle was doomed anyway," he explained more gently. "How much do you know about the Asari?" Shepard asked.

Javik blinked at the sudden change in topic, and then Shepard watched as the Prothean weighed the question. No doubt he was trying to determine how important it was, or if it impacted upon indoctrination. Or he was using it as a guide to see if he could still resist. The slight twitch of Javik's mouth spoke volumes to Shepard. The Prothean had determined he could still resist. For now.

"Not much," Javik spoke finally. "By the time I was born our studies of the primitives had ceased. Documents I saw after I woke up in this time indicate we left them some assistance. They were another failsafe." There was a bitter twist to his voice at the end.

"And you are wondering how many other failsafes failed?" Shepard surmised. "I'll let the Councillors explain how you helped the Asari and why our cycle was doomed anyway," he added, turning the Prothean's attention back to the projection.

-cfr-

Javik looked back at the screen the Reaper was displaying things on. They did it for vengeance, the thought echoed through his mind. He understood vengeance. He understood the rage that came with it. The will to do whatever was necessary so long as you struck your enemies. But the Empire had taken vengeance to mean survival and surely the Humans, surely no organics could call the Reapers survival?

One of the primitives spoke.  _"Everything is over."_ The voice was oddly echoing and Javik didn't think it was an artefact caused by the Reaper's projection. His suspicion was confirmed when there was a reply.

" _Not yet, it isn't._ " That voice was singular, more regular.

"The first speaker is a Turian," the Reaper said. "Their voices are always like that. They had no lips," it added the explanation.

"These are the Councillors?"

"Yes. Again Councillor Irissa is the Asari. Councillor Quentius for the Turians. There was usually three on the Council but the Salarian representative isn't present." The Reaper's voice was smug and Javik knew that the Salarian wasn't present because of something it had done. He didn't ask. He didn't need to know.

" _That attitude doesn't suit you Irissa,"_ the Turian spoke again. _"That's a Human attitude."_

" _Human! Human! Human! That's all I ever hear about!"_ The frustration in the Asari's voice was evident.

" _We are living their vengeance,"_  the Turian replied.

"They knew?" Javik interrupted. "They knew you did it for vengeance."

"That's what I told them," the Reaper replied.

"You spoke to them?" The only communication the Empire had with the Reapers was their projection of the destruction of other planets. It was known that the Reapers spoke with their indoctrinated slaves but they ignored everyone else.

"I'm speaking to you," the Reaper replied.

It was just his luck, that ninety thousand years after his cycle, Javik would meet a talkative Reaper. "Let it continue," he said, nodding towards the projection.

" _Then why are you so calm?"_

" _Because there is nothing we can do. There hasn't been anything we could do for years."_

Javik understood vengeance but he understood the Turian as well. Near the end, most Protheans had thought that. They had laid down their arms and waited to die. A foolish, wasteful endeavour that dishonoured those who had died, but they did it anyway. There were always some who took the easy path.

" _What do you mean?"_ the Asari demanded.

" _I mean, we should have worked with the Humans but we were stale. I don't know when the Council lost its meaning but we've been doing things by rote for years. The Humans were change, they were progress! They could have made us great but we wanted to cling to the past and thus, we drove them away."_

Javik wanted to tell himself that the words were propaganda, something that the Reaper had made up but there was a note in the Turian's voice that he didn't think could be made up. It was hard to define and was more like a transient feeling but Javik had been raised to trust those feelings in combat and he had come to trust them outside of battle. This was a true recording.

" _They would have ruled us! We could not allow that!"_ the Asari was agitated and it seemed easy to rile up. She had shouted several times already, though this time her voice was a hiss, once filled with anger.

" _Ah yes, your precious Prothean VI told you to ready the races, told you Asari to lead us against the Invaders. Look how well that turned out! You Asari, you were less than useless!"_

"What?" Javik couldn't help the demand.

"Is there something unclear?" the Reaper returned his question, the pitch of its voice doing nothing to hide its belief in its superiority.

"That cannot be true!"

"What cannot be true?"

"A VI. The Asari could not have had a Prothean VI!" There was no mention in the Asari beacon of a VI and surely his people would not have left such an advanced piece of tech with a primitive race. If they had, then why was he here? Why was he inside a Reaper, slowly losing his mind? Why weren't the Reapers already dead? With an advantage like that, the previous cycle should have been ready. They should have… too many plans and possibilities raced through Javik's mind.

"Liara never mentions it because it was one of the truths she did not know. Not until later," the Reaper offered the explanation. "But Javik, Irissa did know about it and her response is beautiful. It should tell you everything you will ever need to know about the Asari." The Reaper taunted and Javik braced himself. The next words would be shattering, he knew.

" _We couldn't have known they'd be so strong!"_

Javik felt his breath hitch. That couldn't be true. If the projection was to be believed, they had a VI, how could they not have known?

"Just wait for it," the Reaper said, letting the projection play again.

" _You had a Prothean VI to tell you!"_  The echo in the Turians voice was lost in the volume. _"Shepard tried to tell us! But we didn't listen. You didn't listen because it was too hard. You Asari had played at peace for centuries! Did you think you could talk to the force that destroyed the Protheans into sparing you?"_

"This next bit is my favourite," the reaper said and Javik realised that the Shepard the Turian referred to was the same one supposedly speaking to him now.

" _You did?"_ The question from the Turian told Javik that the Asari, while not answering vocally had somehow given her assent.  _"You fucking did? I don't believe it."_

Javik didn't believe it either but the recording continued.

" _Millennia to prepare the galaxy and you deliberately hold everyone back. Your precious Farixen Treaty has literally handed the galaxy to the Invaders on a silver platter."_

The Prothean didn't understand the silver platter bit but he didn't have to. It was obvious that it was some derogatory way of saying that the Asari had failed. He didn't know what a Farixen Treaty was either but again, it was something he didn't need to know.

"That can't be true," Javik objected, understanding now why the Reaper said its cycle was doomed. Surely not even a primitive race could be that stupid? With a Prothean VI guiding them, how could they not have been ready? How did it allow it!?

"I assure you I have no reason to lie," the Reaper said. "The Asari wanted Humanity dead. The other species were given no choice in the matter. So faced with the extermination of our species by the races of the cycle, we made the choice that allowed survival. We made a deal with what you call the Reapers. You would have as well," the reaper added but there was a note in its voice that said it wasn't finished.

"In fact, that's just what you Protheans did," the reaper finally said.

"No Prothean ever made a deal with the Reapers!" Javik shouted.

"Oh, but they did," the Reaper replied and Javik turned at a noise from the side.

Standing in the doorway with weapons raised were things that looked oddly familiar. They each had four glowing eyes arranged in the Prothean manner. They had the strong torsos of a Prothean as well but more importantly Javik recognised them. He had seen images of these things before. They had been used against the Empire in the war, spewing forth from Reaper ships to attack the Prothean front lines. They were abominations based on a Prothean.

Except, this Reaper had inferred they were Prothean.

"These are not Prothean!" Javik growled.

"Not now," the Reaper agreed. "But once they were," it added. "Now they are slaves."

"I won't go with them," he declared. The things did not move.

"Not even for the chance to leave me?"

Damn it! Javik tried to hide his frustration. At some point the Reaper must have reached its destination and let these things onboard. But if they represented a way out, then he could escape becoming fully indoctrinated. Except they were Prothean enemies, enemies the Reaper was saying were Prothean. He felt sick and Javik recognised that it wasn't just information making him feel that way. He had used too much energy earlier and water alone would not hold his body's requirements at bay.

"You don't trust them," the Reaper said. "Do you have enough energy for a biotic transfer?" It asked suddenly.

Did he? Javik assessed his reserves. He could do it if there was no resistance. "Enough," he answered then clenched his teeth. He hadn't meant to answer the Reaper. Was this indoctrination?

"Not yet," the Reaper said. "Your will is still your own," it answered his unspoken question before the language changed and it snapped orders at the abominations.

One lowered its weapon, holstering it before stepping forward and kneeling in front of Javik. It was obvious what the Reaper wanted him to do.

"What would it tell me?" Javik demanded.

"The truth."

That was an answer that said nothing. You could not lie in a biotic transfer, though it was possible to conceal the truth. If he performed the biotic transfer with the slave then he would learn what it thought was the truth. Nothing more. But it would know this cycle. It would know the past cycle and it would know if it was Prothean.

Javik looked at the creature as he thought. It didn't move as it waited and the Reaper did not press the issue. He wanted to ask if the creature knew the truth of the Reaper's cycle but asking would give him away. He wanted to know if this thing was truly Prothean. He wanted to know…

In the end, that's what it came down to.

Slowly Javik reached out and placed one hand on the creature's head, between its eyes. The skin was cold, and felt almost like a carapace. But armor did nothing to stop biotics and he rallied his strength, reaching through to touch the creature's mind.

Colour was the first thing he perceived, but that was normal for Javik. There was a confused welter of every colour imaginable that flashed through his mind. Then there came tastes and sounds and sensations. After that followed memories.

They were both immediate and distant and Javik recognised them as coming from the creature and from others. It remembered things it hadn't seen. It was confusing but information poured into him in flashes and feelings. There was too much for him to sort through but he could feel his mind accepting it.

It was Prothean. That knowledge was immediate. On each planet that had fallen to the Reapers, there were survivors. The creature was a descendant of those survivors. At first the front line troops which had attacked had been indoctrinated Protheans but over time, the reapers had conducted experiments. They had changed the Protheans into the creature that was still kneeling before him. It had wings and vestigial limbs, all brought about from the reapers tinkering with its genetic make-up.

Javik could feel that it was linked to another mind other than his own. It wasn't the reaper but was another creature. It had a hive mind! That was how this creature, this once Prothean remembered things it had never seen.

How many changes had the reapers made? Javik's mind demanded as it worked through the information. These could not be Prothean!

Then a new memory overtook him and he found himself looking upwards. It was a scene he recognised. On the walls were hundreds of pods. They were the stasis pods the Empire had set up. From the soft glow of lights they were active and Javik felt himself walk forwards to the control panel.

"No!" he screamed but couldn't stop. One hand reached out, tapping the commands with sure fingers that did not tremble. "No!" Javik repeated. The command was to terminate and as he watched, the lights flickered out and those who had been sent to sleep with him died.

This was the work of one of the indoctrinated. Others had followed in his wake. They carried weapons and Javik could do nothing as they raised those weapons, firing into the banks of stasis pods. His soldiers died. Without ever fighting. Without ever waking, they died. The shooting was not necessary but the Reapers never left anything to chance. It was a mistake that he had survived. He couldn't grieve and there was no time for anger, because the image changed again.

This time he was looking at a blue skinned alien. Asari, the creature's mind provided the identification. The Asari was bipedal with only two eyes but both of those eyes were wide as it stared up at him. It was afraid, Javik realised and information flowed through him. The woman was an Ardat-Yakshi, one who could not breed, because she would kill her partner. She had been traded for technology and now they were going to test her. Javik stepped forward and the woman shrunk away but before he could do anything, the alien changed. Another biped, this time with dark mottled skin. A Salarian. It had huge dark eyes and an elongated body. Javik remembered this species. They had been smaller then but a delicacy in the Empire, served on the rare occasions the soldiers had managed to drive the Reapers back. Except it was not here for eating. It, like the Asari was here for testing and again Javik felt himself step forward.

He was expecting it this time when the alien changed. It was something huge this time. Biped, but only barely. Baleful eyes glared at him but Javik gave it no thought. He recognised the alien as a Krogan but before he could step forward, it changed again. Turian. Quarian. Drell. Hanar. Volus. Elcor. Vorcha. Geth. Batarian. Yagh and finally Human. They were all bought in for testing and they all screamed as they died.

What was the purpose? Javik didn't know because the creature didn't know. It only knew that it had been instructed to do this.

But the information didn't end. It shifted, showing him the cycle that had passed. The Humans were there, just as the Reaper had said, and the other races attacked them. The creature knew it but it was vague and imprecise. The creature hadn't lived through this, or anything else. It was all what the hive remembered. But it was as the Reaper had said. The other races meant to kill the Humans. Some just wanted to subjugate them, others wanted their deaths. The Humans had been desperate, driven into a corner and then to the galaxy, they had gone silent. The creature knew it was because they had made a deal with the Masters.

Which confirmed what the Reaper had said. The Humans had made a deal with the Reapers for their vengeance. And they had it. The galaxy had been torn asunder by their rage. They swept through the galaxy, the three hundred ships driving all before them.

Javik frowned. The creature didn't know much about the actual mechanics of the last cycle but what it did know, it knew as fact. There were only three to four hundred Reaper ships involved in actual fighting. All had been created from Humans and they were all dreadnought class. While they were outnumbered, they vastly outnumbered the number of primitive dreadnoughts they had to face. That didn't make sense. The primitives should have had ships. They should have had thousands of them. Or had the Reaper lied, had it made up the information about the Prothean VI?

No, it hadn't. Right near the end of the harvest came the information. The Asari had been hiding a Prothean VI. They had been talking to it for centuries. And the galaxy had been held back by them. The slaves had always found it absurdly easy to do what they wished because primitive's military presence was laughable.

Javik came back to himself with a gasp, breathing heavily as the last of his strength left him. His hands moved to support himself, resting on his thighs as he struggled to remain upright. If he hadn't already been sitting he would have fallen.

"You see," the Reaper, Shepard, Javik reminded himself spoke. "The truth. We did it for the most lofty and noble purpose. We did it to survive, like your Empire, like the ancestors of the slaves."

They were still there, Javik realised. Most had lowered their weapons, but they were still watching him, their glowing eyes unblinking. The one that had knelt before him had fallen and blood was coming from its mouth and leaking from around each eye. It was dead. He could tell from the blood and Javik stared. That wasn't meant to happen. Biotic transfer did not kill.

"It is a defence mechanism," the Reaper again read him, answering before he could even ask. "Generally it would have attacked you as well, but I told it not to."

"You killed it?" Javik gasped.

The creature may have been corrupted but it had been Prothean. He could feel that properly now.

"No, you killed it," the Reaper replied. "But it served its purpose."

"They failed," Javik muttered.

"What was that?"

"They failed," he said again as the memory came to him. Nothing the reaper had said was false. The Asari had wanted to kill the Humans. They did have a Prothean VI. And they had held back the galaxy. "How could they have failed?" How could any race have failed that badly?

"The Asari?" the Reaper questioned. "The Asari were always going to fail," it added, answering the question. "They became too civilised, too attached to peace. I don't know how you Protheans decided upon them but they lacked the vicious will required to do what was necessary. It was a failure of their genetics.

"Because they had to live to at least 350 years before reproducing, they were invested in peace. War was bad for their mortality rate and anything that increased their mortality rate, increased the chance that they would go extinct. They were the wrong choice. Your Empire would have done better with the Krogan or the Turians."

"Or the Humans?" Javik spat, pre-empting the suggestion.

"No," the reaper said. "We would have taken your VI apart to find out how it worked. That's assuming we didn't worship it as the voice of god. Either way we would have fought over it and probably ended up killing ourselves, or it way before we even got into space."

Javik was surprised by the assessment. Surely it was more confident of its species abilities.

"Now, as lovely as it is having a passenger, it is time you left," the Reaper's voice was firm. "I have learned what I needed from you."

"Get out of my head!" Javik screamed.

"I'm not in your head," the Reaper laughed and Javik realised that it had phrased its words to get that exact reaction. "I have access to all the information we pulled from that political gathering."

His eyes widened. That seemed like an eternity ago.

"While it will take a few more pushes, the galaxy will return to the path it should," the Reaper continued, sounding completely unconcerned at the prospect of the upcoming slaughter. "So it is time for you to leave."

"Just kill me," Javik whispered, looking down at the corpse at his feet. He had no more strength to fight. The biotic transfer had shown him the dark bitter truth of the cycle before and his capture had already sealed this cycles fate.

"Why would I want to do that? I told you Javik, I do not hate you."

"I have failed."

"Yes, you have," the Reaper agreed amicably. "But that's no reason for me to kill you, when you can still be useful."

"I won't become one of those slaves!" Javik hissed. He tried to raise one arm but he felt weak and he couldn't even produce a spark of biotic power.

"You won't, but your clones will, and your genetic material will add much needed diversity to the slave stock," the Reaper said.

Javik grimaced. The Reaper, Shepard made the pronouncement calmly and he knew he was in no position to fight. "Did you keep nothing from your organic selves?" Surely no species could be this brutal.

"I kept plenty from my organic self, as you put it," came the immediate response. "And I kept it thanks to your Empire. Harbinger, the first Reaper, only accepted our proposal to replace losses from your Cycle. That's why I intend to give you to him as a gift. Forty-seven billion of my people are alive today, because of your Empire."

"Not alive," Javik said but he could feel his will, already sapped by his physical exhaustion and the continuing presence of the Reaper weakening. He shook his head, trying to summon the strength to be angry, to feel anything other than exhausted apathy but the motion sent him reeling and even though he was sitting he felt himself fall, sprawling over the body before him.

"Ascended," the Reaper said. "Something you will never know," it added but Javik didn't hear as darkness overtook his hearing and his vision faded. The last thing he saw was the slaves coming close but there was nothing he could do.

He, Javik, Avatar of Vengeance and the last failsafe of the Prothean Empire had failed.

-cfr-

"You seem quiet," Anderson said, pulling alongside. They had travelled through the Alpha Relay and were making their way back to the hibernation point. "You're not worried about the aliens?"

"Of course not," Shepard scoffed. "Soliphon will keep them in line."

"Then what's the issue?"

"We should have gone with a slower plan," Shepard replied.

Anderson was silent, letting Shepard speak in his own time. "I understand that it was a good opportunity but I feel like we left the job half done."

"The Catalyst ordered us to return to hibernation."

"I know and perhaps it is my personal desire to see Liara discredited," Shepard laughed. The Catalyst had ordered them to return before Miranda could make her pseudo beacons. Still the budding alliance had been destroyed with the assassination of all Leaders and the loss of the Warrior Prophet. From intercepted transmissions most of the alien species were blaming each other. Soliphon would be able to manage now. The ancient Ascended could have managed anyway but Harbinger had assigned them the task as a test and they had fulfilled the requirements.

"Didn't the Prothean make up for it?"

"He's Harbinger's toy," Shepard replied.

"You've still got him?"

"No, I decided to take advantage of physics. After the slaves took what they needed, I stashed him around the black hole."

After a moment Anderson laughed. "Harbinger's not going to like that."

"I'll send someone to retrieve him," Shepard said. "I doubt the Catalyst would let Harbinger lose that much time."

"Probably not," Anderson agreed before he fell silent for a few more million kilometres. "That's not everything though, is it?"

"No," Shepard seemed to sigh. "We should have gone slower for us. It would have allowed more time for integration of information."

"Ah," Anderson said. "At the moment we can only integrate our own information," he added.

"True, but it would have left you ready to start on the main network."

"As you said, there are four hundred and seventy six of us, we'll get through it fast enough," Anderson said. "Especially if we can help others with internal integration. You should be working on the outline of system to order that much information."

"That's already done," Shepard said, unconcerned. "Wikipedia had its weaknesses but it was designed for infinite linked expansion, so we will base our catalogue on that."

Anderson thought about it for a few moments, as they both traversed millions of miles. "It will be technical," he noted.

"Yes," Shepard agreed. "We will need to stagger the information. Take the current species for example. The initial information packet would list the species names, but you'd have to go into each species for further information. And for weapons, we can simply list it as a particle beam, but when you look deeper, the plans will be available."

"So we will layer the information?"

"We are going to have to. I can't see any other method of doing it."

"True," Anderson agreed. "We'll work something out."

Shepard sent the impression of a smile. "We always do."

-cfr-


	36. I Imagine It Will Stay Dead This Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes the Collectors aren't as careful as they should have been. Sometimes they get caught and pursued back to their base. This time, that action triggered the cycle, but only after a bloody battle in the galactic core.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**   
**Chapter 35: I Imagine It Will Stay Dead This Time**

-cfr-

**Year 47,023 CE - 44,796 years after Human Ascension (3,154 years after the capture of the Warrior Prophet)**

**Command Deck, Cypiene Navy Ship,** _**Vindicator** _

Sector Commander Orla sat on the command deck of the  _CNS Vindicator_. It had been a conscious choice, both for the fact that here she would receive all incoming information first, and because she did not have to deal with the Enlightened.

"Ninety percent of the fleet have reported in. All systems normal," Uresten, the  _Vindicator's_  XO reported. "No capital ship losses," he added.

Orla snorted to herself. Ninety percent was very good, given this Relay's reputation. The Wilms had sent expeditions through, only for all ships to be lost. Of course, the Wilms probably left their transit calculations in the hands of the Enlightened. Given the quality of the species the Wilms uplifted, there was no wonder they lose hundreds of ships. But then, they breed fast, so it was understandable that they died fast. Not as fast as the Ostberg but they hadn't been a player since the Gotti took over.

The Cypiene were more selective about what they uplifted. And no enlightened was able to crew a Cypiene ship until they were at least as skilled as a Cypiene tech. Of course, they were never acknowledged as such, and as much as Orla didn't want to admit it, they needed the Enlightened. They couldn't keep up with the Yoxall, Darmaris, Gotti and Wilms otherwise.

Orla suppressed a growl. The Cypiene were selective, the others didn't care. To them, the Enlightened were merely bodies to throw at the enemy. Their uplifted were all kept strictly controlled but loyal. Most didn't even recognise the controls, or if they did, saw them as what needed to be. They could no longer think for themselves, either as individuals or as species. Already there had been incursions.

Originally, this attack had been thought to be from the Darmaris. She'd wasted valuable time chasing down those leads before a chance recording had shown the truth. The attackers were unknown. They matched no major empire nor any Enlightened species and no one would have given such advanced tech to a completely new species. This was confirmed by their path of retreat. While it was towards the Darmaris territory, they passed straight through large areas of disputed territory and then they had moved towards the galactic core.

Orla had rallied all her forces. It didn't matter what they were, they would not steal her Sector Son and get away with it. She had raised Gvar from birth, lovingly teaching him everything she knew, just as he would teach his successor. She was his mother in every way that counted, and no pathetic unknown alien species was going to steal him away, not when she'd just sent him out to govern his first colony. Not when failure meant she would have to cede her territory to the Eacar! Her clan would never bow to them!

"There's a huge debris field! Anything could be in there!" Uresten reported.

"Send probes," the Captain ordered. Aoumov was a good Cypiene.

Solid, which was why Orla had selected her for this mission. Not much would surprise Aoumov, and Orla needed that quality now. Nothing could be left to chance with retrieving her Sector Son. These… whatever they were, knew enough to kidnap him. Discreet inquiries with those Orla would rather not think about had revealed an ongoing interest. Whatever they were, they knew enough to get around the guards, they knew who Gvar was, so they knew enough. Enough to remain hidden. Enough to understand the single warning she'd provide. If this new species didn't heed it, there would be no mercy.

"By the gods! It's full of ships!"

"Ships?" Orla had been lost in her thoughts but she was aware enough to question that. There should be no ships here except those they were chasing.

"Yes, Ma'am!" Accompanying the reply were images and the view screen changed every second or so, displaying ship after ship. Orla didn't recognise any.

"These designs are unknown," Uresten confirmed. Some were huge, according to the accompanying information, fully 2 km long, much larger than the Cypiene's largest battlecruiser. Far larger than her own ship, which was still advanced, but like all ships didn't have the output of one of the huge stationary weapon platforms that all the species favoured where possible. Other ships were quite small. All appeared derelict, the damage obvious and gaping. There was lots of small debris within the field.

"Confirm that they are inactive and tag their locations. We can scan them after we fulfil our objective," Aoumov ordered.

Orla nodded to herself. The main mission must continue. Retrieving Gvar was the first priority but the fact that Aoumov thought about what tech could be gained for the Empire spoke well of her abilities. With skills like that, and her clean bloodline, she would not languish as a Captain for long.

Besides, they had their own tech. They had to! That cursed Warrior Prophet! Three and a half thousand years on and the Darmaris still proclaimed their loyalty to him. Orla forced herself to calm. For the Darmaris, he had been a Warrior Prophet. For the Cypiene, he had been a portent of disaster! Those had been dark times for the Cypiene Empire. While the so called Warrior Prophet had literally given the Darmaris scum tech, the Cypiene people had sacrificed and struggled and built, always playing catch up in the arms race. They had developed their own weapons but also reverse engineered everything they could retrieve.

After the assassination, where the Darmaris had the gall to claim that they were innocent, the Cypiene Empire had emerged stronger, more united. Their tech was better and always different. It was only now, at this end of history, could the Cypiene show any degree of gratitude towards the Warrior Prophet. Though some were going too far. They had the gall to claim that all species should come together, to follow the teachings of the Warrior Prophet and heed the warnings from the Beacons.

Thankfully, those idiots were on the fringes of society. They didn't know the depths of depravity the Gotti would sink to. They could only co-operate when all acknowledged Cypiene superiority.

There was only one point upon which the major powers cooperated. In the Serpent Nebula, they all maintained weapon platforms. It was not because of warnings from the beacons or the Warrior Prophet but because they couldn't allow anyone to take the tech on the huge space station. No one would be allowed to take it so the weapon platforms remained, discreetly being updated all the time. The platforms were hugely powerful but barely moveable. However, one would be useful now.

"We have a path mapped through the debris," Uresten reported.

"Continue scanning," Aoumov reported. "We'll advance when we find the ships."

Besides, Orla wasn't sure she believed the beacons. Where the hell did these supposed killer ships go for fifty thousand years? That just didn't make sense. The galaxy was huge but they were mapping more territory every day. There was nowhere for a rogue fleet to hide. The message had too many unanswered questions for it to be real.

Privately, she thought it might be the work of the Yoxall. They were the first space faring race, predating the Cypiene by three hundred years. They were known mostly for being peaceful and what better way to maintain the peace than by playing on fear. A message from an extinct species, urging them all to work together against some super race? While it did encourage the development of weapons, it was development for a common cause. It would not lead to anyone fighting the Yoxall, or anyone else if they were all waiting for this enemy. An enemy that may never come.

If it was the Yoxall, it was masterful. And having their Emperor present in person at the assassination just meant that suspicion never fell upon them.

"Heat source detected!"

"Adjust heading," Aoumov ordered immediately as Orla brought her attention fully to the present. The screen altered showing a long distance view before it zoomed in.

There it was!

Orla glared at the ship. It was huge and nothing like anything she knew. It looked like it was composed of rock with metal fused into it. It was ugly but it was the same design they had been chasing. It was hanging over a massive rock and while the shuttles couldn't be seen, the small flashes of light as they travelled between the unknown ship and what was obviously their base could be seen on the screen.

However, another object hung near the unknown ship.

"What's that other thing?"

It was black against space and just as large as the unknown ship. It was also of an unknown design and it was turning towards them. Huge legs uncurled from beneath it and the tail flattened. It was like some sort of primitive sea creature and Orla felt a shiver as she looked into its unblinking eyes.

"Unknown," Uresten said.

"If it fires on us, destroy it!" Orla snapped. She was only interested in the original ship. The one that had stolen Gvar from her.

Whatever this race was, it was time they learned their place!

-cfr-

"Open comms. Give the primitives a chance to hand over Sector Son Gvar," Aoumov ordered, turning towards her comm techs.

They complied flawlessly, as expected of Cypiene, indicating once every frequency was open. "To the Unknown vessels, you have kidnapped citizens of the Cypiene. Heave to and prepare to be boarded. Any further act of aggression shall be considered an act of war and shall incur the wrath of the Empire."

The entire crew held its breath. They weren't sure what they were expecting from the unknown aliens. They hadn't been expecting attack but these barbarians didn't seem to acknowledge their sovereign territory.

Nor did they answer now. The ships were moving, turning to face the Cypiene fleet but, as the minutes dragged on, the techs became more and more agitated.

"Well?" Sector Commander Orla demanded.

Another minute crawled by as the techs checked the readings. Finally, one turned towards Captain Aoumov, raising one hand to indicate that they had heard nothing.

"The ships are not responding, Commander," Aoumov reported formally, knowing that Orla had already seen.

"Fire a warning shot," came the instant instruction.

After receiving permission from Aoumov, the weapons techs were quick to respond and a purple beam lanced through space. It curved slightly.

"What's that?" Orla demanded.

"Deflection," Uresten replied. "We are close to the black hole." They were very close to the black hole and Orla realised then how good having ninety percent of her fleet survive transition was. Through an unknown Relay, losses were acceptable. Thought this Relay, it was clearer now why the Wilms had lost entire expeditions.

"We can adjust aim?"

"Correcting now," Aoumov reported for the weapons techs as they worked at their consoles.

"Incoming fire!"

The screen shifted to highlight the second unknown ship. Its legs were raised and a solid red beam was coming from beneath it. A horde of smaller ships were beginning to appear, launching from both of the larger vessels. Several subscreens focused on them and as the visuals came in, Orla realised that despite the extreme difference in design of the larger ships, they were in collusion with each other. The smaller vessels were identical.

"Return fire!" Aoumov ordered. "And close comms!"

The Cypiene always faced accusations from the other Empires that they never accepted surrender, simply because their comms were closed, but after the Darmaris had used the open comm frequency to attempt electronic warfare, it became standard policy for all external comms to be closed. Communication between the fleet relied on tight band, laser signal. It was discreet and efficient.

The red beam from the huge black ship faded and it shifted slightly. "The  _Maldov_  reports shield failure!"

Orla wasn't completely versed in warfare but the grim expression on Uresten's face told her everything she needed to know. The attacking ship was powerful.

"Tell them to fall back, but to continue firing," Aoumov snapped. "Fire missiles."

"The calibrations aren't adjusted!" There was an objection.

"Fire them anyway!" This was not the time for worrying. "Their targeting systems will compensate!" There was a thump as the missiles launched and powered across the void towards the unknown ships.

The huge black ship lifted one leg and the red beam once again lanced out through space. It was joined by a yellow beam from the other ship.

"What are they firing?" one of the weapon's techs muttered. Usually, it wouldn't have been audible but in the heightened state of awareness combat brought, the entire bridge crew heard. The tech went silent, before they spoke again. "Spectrum analysis doesn't match anything we know."

A side screen showed them everything else they needed to see. The  _Maldov_  was impaled by the yellow beam and quickly cut apart. The red beam was splashing against the shields of the  _Aderon_ , and already Orla could see the way they were glowing. The  _Aderon_  was one of the best ships of the Empire! That it was already struggling was almost impossible to believe.

"Why haven't we fired?" Aoumov yelled the demand and Orla realised the main weapon had been silent.

On screen, there were flashes of light as the missiles encountered the incoming small ships. Unfortunately, there were many small ships and they continued advancing, powering through the void towards the Cypiene fleet.

"Aim correction complete," one tech said and Orla was impressed by how controlled they were. With the mounting tension, it could not have been easy to work through the adjustment calibrations. She made a mental note to commend the tech if they survived.

"Fire!" The order was given only an instant before the  _Vindicator's_  main particle cannon fired. Combat was described as almost instantaneous, except in space, it wasn't. Orla could actually watch as the purple beam traversed the distance between the ships. It hit the unknown black ship.

She watched as the cameras focused on it, and the beam was joined by others. The black ship's shields glowed and Orla watched as light seemed to ripple over its hull.

"By the seven gods! What is that thing?"

Orla well understood the question. No ship should be able to absorb that much energy! Somehow, the running lights on the black ship were glaring at them like baleful eyes. Then, without warning the black ship sidled to the side. They couldn't track such movement and their beams lanced into the void, before they shut down. As Orla watched, the black ship lifted its front leg like protrusions again and this time two red beams lashed out, just as the small craft reached them. There was a flurry of explosions as the dog fight began between the fighters and Orla felt the  _Vindicator's_  small defence turrets fire at the incoming ships.

There was a larger explosion from the side.

"The  _Aderon_  is down!" Uresten reported as the red beams ceased. The other ship was firing, but the yellow beam wasn't as strong as the black ship.

Aoumov looked grim. "We can't fight them head on," she said. "Move the fleet into the debris field. Let them come to us!" The order was sent to everyone and the  _Vindicator's_  engines powered up, pushing them to the side. They could not afford to turn completely. The shields were the same strength on the front and back of every ship, but most of the weapons were pointed forward.

Orla glanced at Aoumov, her eyes questioning.  _Can we defeat them?_  Everything else was superfluous.

The Captain looked back before examining several screens. Orla realised they contained the damage reports from the fleet. Aoumov took a deep breath but the Sector Commander recognised it as a considering noise before the Captain turned back towards her.

"I think so," Aoumov said finally but her voice was not as sure as the Sector Commander would like. Still, she had asked for the truth and the Captain wasn't giving her the answer she wanted to hear. "It will be hard fought but if we can get a couple of missiles close, then I think it's possible. The black ship moved out of our beam's path. I surmise that's because it couldn't handle the energy, so it's not invincible." The Captain sounded more confident at the end.

The Sector Commander nodded. As much as she wanted, now was not the time to argue. Defeating the stronger than expected enemy had to come first, not retrieving Gvar, because if this enemy was allowed to gather strength, they would be a threat to all Cypiene, not just her Sector. And, a cold part of her mind rationalised, calculating that if she could bring back the tech on either enemy capital ship then that would give her time to replace Gvar. The Eacar would not have her clan's territory.

The  _Vindicator_  shook and the lighting flickered. Orla wasn't the only one to turn to the damage display. "What caused that?"

"The little ships!" came the fast reply.

"How can they be that powerful?"

"Just keep them off us!" Aoumov ignored the question. Right now, it didn't matter how they were that powerful. They had to deal with reality.

The smaller ships in her fleet, which had been fighting the spheres the enemy capital ships had launched, now moved to cover the  _Vindicator._

"Tell the  _Success, Gallant_  and  _Tenrye_  to target the original enemy ship.  _Abatis, Serenade, Diogo_  and the  _Vindicator_  will target the black ship. I want missiles reprogrammed for the gravity well and ready to launch in thirty seconds." Aoumov's voice was firm as she gave the orders.

The  _Vindicator_  was currently behind a large derelict ship. Orla couldn't see it but she knew that black ship would be cutting through the debris with its red beam weapon. They couldn't hide forever and it would track them through the field. This was obviously the enemy's home territory.

A wave of confirmations appeared on the comm screen and Aoumov nodded. "Attack in twenty seconds!" She announced. "All power to forward shields," she added. Against the strength of the black ship, they were going to need every jot of power there.

"Warheads ready!"

Aoumov was working at one of the consoles, her fingers typing quickly as she worked on something that looked like a mess of lines on the screen. "Bring us around from the derelict to fire then reverse! We are going to need all the cover we can get."

The Captain's orders were carried out with quiet efficiency, as was expected but Orla was surprised by how much her gut twisted as the seconds counted down. When the final second ticked over, she was nervous but she had every right to be! What should have been a simple retrieval operation against an upstart race was turning into a fight for their lives.

The  _Vindicator_  surged and the display screen tracked their progress around the derelict. Subscreens tracked the other ships of their fleet but it was disconcerting to see that almost all of them were still surrounded by dots representing the spherical enemy fighters.

There were several deep toned thrums from the  _Vindicator_. "Missiles away," Uresten confirmed the launch, the screens of his station tracking the small explosives.

The lines from the  _Vindicator_  were quickly joined by others and Orla watched the ordinance tear through space, even as the ship retreated behind the derelict once more. Just before they lost visual sensors, she risked a look at the enemy capital ships. They were both firing. The sickly yellow beam from the original ship had targeted the  _Success._  The red beam of the black ship was quickly boring through the debris the  _Diogo_  was hiding behind. And then they lost visual as the horizon of the debris obscured everything.

A new countdown appeared on the main screen. Time until impact. Missiles were not used much in space combat. Most ships deployed their small ships to intercept or they replied on their point defences. The Cypiene still carried them because they were great for attacks on settlements and for the destruction of debris after the battle. Mining ships carried several both for self-defence and for use in breaking up large asteroids. The problem was most missiles they used did not have to be fast and were easy targets for military spec ships, which both the enemy capital ships were. For this plan to be successful they would have to distract the ship's crew, focusing all their energy into attack. A second counter complimented the time til impact one and it was almost at zero.

"Move! Now!" Aoumov screamed the order and again the  _Vindicator's_  engines surged, moving them once more into the open. "Fire!" Their beam actually clipped the debris in their haste but it took more than that to deflect particle beams and the purple beam quickly burned thru the edge of the derelict to lance out. Orla tracked its passage, noting that the other ships had fired. Seven particle beams slashed thru space.

The enemy ships returned fire and Aoumov nodded grimly. "Good, good," she whispered but Orla knew it was anything but good.

It was, however, necessary.

The more energy the enemy fleet expended in attack, the less they would have for defence and if the Cypiene's weapons somehow bring down the enemy's shields, then the slow moving missiles would do far more damage.

Orla could only imagine the shock of impact as their beams hit the black ship. They were still too close to the debris field for a proper visual but she knew the shields would be visible, wrapping the black ship in a sheath of transparent blue. It would shimmer beautifully but then the heat sinks would begin to glow. The Sector Commander didn't know the enemy design but she could well imagine the ship glowing ominously.

"The  _Serenade_ is down!" The cry was frantic and one of the particle beams disappeared.

"Keep firing!" Aoumov ordered and Orla could read the grim sub-instruction in her tone. 'Or we are all down,' it said clearly.

The  _Vindicator's_  crew could hear the implication as well, and while they had no comms, Orla knew that the remaining ships heard it, because none faltered. Orla could feel the surge of determination. She only hoped it was enough.

The image on the main view screen changed to display a fuzzy visual of the black ship. It was difficult to see with the light caused by their attack but it had ceased firing after the  _Serenade_  had fallen and seemed to be concentrating on defence.

Orla glanced at the countdown. It would be soon but she wondered as the numbers tricked down why the ship had not yet moved? Had they damaged it earlier? She knew better than to hope for that but it seemed a reasonable explanation.

"Impact in three, two, one," Aoumov murmured and the screen turned white an instant later.

Most of the crew averted their eyes from the dazzling display. Those who didn't could honestly say that there was almost nothing to see. The screen went white, tinged with yellow as the warheads detonated. The light from the initial blast quickly faded but with all the extra interference, the image didn't resolve into something which made sense. As a result, it was the techs working at the sensor stations who knew the result first.

"No!" The word sent shivers thru the bridge crew. "Target remains," came the follow up they knew was coming from the first word but didn't want to hear.

"Our heat sinks are cycling. Two minutes before we can fire again," came the further report from the Chief Weapon Tech. It was bad practice to completely max out the heat sink but it was evidence that they had put everything into the attack. For nothing, it appeared.

Even once the heat sinks had cycled, it would take another two minutes before they could generate a sustained blast that wouldn't instantly overwhelm the sinks.

"The  _Abatis_  reports the original enemy is listing."

Relief surged thru the crew. The enemy was not invincible.

"They're down but not out," Aoumov said before anyone could relax. Not that she thought they would but it was best to ensure everyone remained focused. "What of the other ship?" she snapped the question. It was still there but how damaged was it? Nothing could take that much pounding!

"Visuals unchanged," came the instant report but it was followed by the one Aoumov was waiting for. By the time you could perceive damage, the battle was almost over. It was what you couldn't see that made the difference.

"Energy readings fluctuating," the tech reported, their voice thick as they concentrated on the readouts. "It appears the shields are down."

That caused almost complete silence on the bridge and the entire crew hung on the next words. "There's a major energy spike no longer present." For clarification, a sub-screen appeared on the main screen. It displayed a graph showing a zig-zagging mess of lines in two colours. One was clearly labelled before and one after and as already stated there was a major peak absent on the 'after' line.

"How many missiles do we have left?" Aoumov demanded.

"Ten, sir!"

"Prep for fire." They couldn't wait until their main weapon was ready because every instant they waited, they gave the enemy ship time to restore its shields. It was now a race to see who could recover first.

"Missiles are ready." The response from the weapon techs was fast but they had probably prepped them already. They understood the seriousness of the situation.

"Split fire 80-20 towards the black ship." Aoumov ordered, watching the tactical screen. The numbers slowly counted down as heat was dissipated. She was about to give the order to fire when an alarm sounded. "What?"

"The  _Tenrye_  has left the debris field."

"Tell them to get back in!" Aoumov snapped. "They have no hope if they remain in the open!"

As if to punctuate the Captain's sentence, the black ship fired, its red beam boring thru space towards the  _Tenrye_. In response, the  _Tenrye_  fired its engines, pushing itself further on to the beam as it charged forwards.

"Message from Captain Udhir."

"What is it?" Orla asked. Captain Udhir should know better than to disobey orders.

"'For Cypiene!'" The comm tech replied and the  _Tenrye's_  intentions became obvious. They were going to ram the black ship. The bridge crew was silent as they watched the drama unfold. The original enemy ship was still listing but the black ship appeared completely operational. Certainly, the colour of the beam remained unchanged.

"Fire missiles," Aoumov ordered as the  _Tenrye_  continued accelerating.

"We'll hit them!"

"Fire missiles," Aoumov repeated, her eyes hard. "Captain Udhir has made his choice."

Orla narrowed her eyes. For all the brutality the order implied, it actually bespoke mercy. While the battle report would say the  _Tenrye_  had been lost in combat against an unknown fleet, Aoumov could write that it was lost preparing the way for their final strike, which would give honour to Udhir's clan. Orla would decide later if the report supported Udhir or not.

If she had a later.

The  _Vindicator_  moved again, coming out from behind the battered derelict. The  _Diogo_  moved with them. The last of their missiles were launched, blazing their way across the distance. With the black ship focusing on the  _Tenrye_  the  _Vindicator_  held position, shifting slightly to bring their main cannon to bear.

It was almost unbelievable that the  _Tenrye_  was still intact but Orla realised that Aoumov had been correct. No ship could take that much fire without damage.

"Its shields are back!" A sensor tech cried, contradicting her thought. Still, she could hear awe mixed with heavy dread from the tech.

"As strong as before?"

"No!" There was slight relief in that tone. The main cannon had another minute until it was ready. This was going to be close.

"Fire when ready," Aoumov ordered, signalling that her order should be relayed to what remained of the fleet.

On screen, the  _Tenrye_  was still moving but it was travelling on inertia. The engines were dead and Orla was almost certain the crew was dead with them. It had been for nothing. The enemy ship would just dodge the incoming metal but she couldn't look away. Captain Udhir might have been stupid but she was still witnessing the death of his crew.

The tactical screen displayed the distance between the  _Tenrye_  and the enemy ship and as expected, when the numbers approached zero, the black ship moved.

"You stupid, idi…" Orla fell silent.

The  _Tenrye_  moved. The engine fired once, pushing it sideways, straight into the black ship. Space was silent but they could well imagine the noise as the vessels collided. Explosions wracked the  _Tenrye_  and Orla trembled as she stared at the visual.

The bridge crew was so absorbed in watching that they didn't notice when the weapons console pinged, indicating that the main cannon was ready to fire. The explosions faded and everyone felt cold when the black ship emerged, its legs actually moving to push away the remains of the  _Tenrye._

"By the seven gods," Orla whispered. It should not be possible but before she could consider anything further, their missiles struck.

Again, light obscured the view but they quickly saw the black ship rear back, its legs flailing.

"Fire!" Aoumov screamed, her voice cutting through the almost morbid fascination that had struck the crew. The black ship was incredible but it was not invincible. The weapon techs compiled and a few seconds later, the remaining ships followed suit.

The black ship responded in kind and as the camera's got better visuals, Orla could see it was damaged. The  _Tenrye_  had brought down the shields, and their missiles had scored deeply into its armour. It was amazing that it was still moving and she felt a reluctant surge of respect for whoever had built that ship. The design looked organic but it was highly functional. It had taken so much damage from them and was still moving. That was truly great engineering.

The  _Vindicator_  shuddered and Orla looked at the damage report. There was an explosion from the side, and while their shields were holding, the  _Abatis_  was gone.

"Keep firing!"

"The sinks will redline!" the Chief Weapon tech yelled.

"Burn it out!" Aoumov ordered and when the red ship refocused its fire on the  _Gallant,_  she added the further order. "Divert power from the shields!"

They had no choice but to try and vaguely Orla could see that their weapons were cutting into the ship's armour. It was not invincible, she told herself again, her breathing heavy as she watched.

While it could not be seen, Orla felt the  _Vindicator_  respond as the energy was diverted. The black ship noticed. It seemed to pull back and it strafed to the side again, but the remaining ships were quick to track it and their beams quickly reconnected. There were sparks coming off it in odd places and she could see how several legs were twisted. Its beam broke off suddenly and Orla felt her eyes stare at the visual screen, hardly daring to hope.

Then it restarted, once again targeting the  _Gallant._  Orla didn't need to know that the shields were failing.

"We're redlining!" the Chief Weapon Tech shouted.

"Don't stop! Withdraw everyone from the forward compartments. Use the atmospherics!"

Almost immediately, Orla felt as if the temperature on the bridge rose. It was purely psychosomatic but she couldn't help it. The three beams continued boring into the black ship. It came as a surprise when they were joined by a fourth.

"The  _Gallant_!" Orla gasped, fighting against the hot air that was filling the ship.

The beam did come from the stricken ship. It was only a brief blast, cut off when the  _Gallant_  exploded, impaled upon the black ship's red beam.

But it was enough. The extra energy was too much for the ship and the other three beams pushed through. The black ship literally writhed as it was struck and the beams pulled apart, cutting further through the armor. The enemy ship continued to writhe and Orla was reminded again of some primitive sea creature.

The  _Vindicator's_  beam faded as the heat became unbearable. A moment later, the beams from the  _Success_ and  _Diogo_  spluttered out as well. They all watched as the black ship continued to agonise but it did not fire and Orla dared to hope it was over. She kept her eyes on the ship. The motion slowed and then finally stopped.

"Energy readings?" Uresten demanded of the sensor techs.

"Dropping," they replied and the feeds from their stations were displayed on the main screen. The graph was trending downwards and Orla felt she was watching the creature die.

"Open comms," Aoumov instructed, "and get me a damage report."

There was a flurry of activity on the bridge and Orla forced her eyes to close briefly. They hurt. After all that, her eyes hurt. It was silly but that's what she felt. After a moment, she reopened them, watching as the bridge crew scurried around.

"It will take a refit if we ever want to fire the main cannon again," Uresten said, summarising information that appeared on his screen. "The  _Diogo_ and  _Success_  report the same."

"The alien ship?"

"The original ship has minimal power but is too heavily damaged to continue combat. The second ship is coming up as an energy blank. It's already drifting but…"

"What?"

"The small ships are not inactive," Uresten said grimly and Orla knew there was something wrong. "They are cutting through the hull." With the pronouncement, she identified the groan that was echoing through the ship.

That's why they couldn't retreat. The larger enemy ships could not pursue them but the smaller ones could. They'd never make it through all the derelict ships, not with their shields compromised. With the damage to the  _Vindicator_  their manoeuvrability was probably compromised as well. It might be better to retreat but it wasn't an option, not until all the enemy ships were dead. Aoumov was experienced enough to have known that already. The situation was such that it didn't comfort Orla that she had chosen such a sensible commander.

"Where are our fighters?"

"Gone." Orla recognised the voice of Captain Wetra of the  _Success._  "We aren't going to last much longer either," she added brutally. "Move into position around us."

"No!" Aoumov objected.

"Do it!" the woman insisted. "Move into range, and get whatever shields up you can. We'll kill the remaining pests."

Aoumov trembled but she gestured her agreement and the helm responded. "All crew, brace for impact."

In the silence of space, the  _Vindicator_  and  _Diogo_  moved close to the stricken  _Success_. "What shields do we have?" Uresten asked.

"Minimal, and our heat sinks are still purging."

"Raise whatever we have," Uresten ordered, looking towards the tactical display for the  _Vindicator._  The first line of shielding highlighted. "Nothing more?"

"Not yet."

"Ready?" Captain Wetra asked. She looked calm.

"Yes," Aoumov said tightly.

Wetra nodded, giving them a serious look before her image vanished. It was replaced immediately with a countdown. Ten seconds.

"Brace for impact!" Aoumov ordered again and eight seconds had never seemed so long as they waited. The spherical ships kept attacking, using their powerful lasers to cut deeper and deeper into all the ships.

Then the  _Success_  blew. As with most self destructs, it was controlled. They were designed that way but there was an effective blast radius and they were within it. The  _Vindicator_ shuddered and those whose eyes were not fixated on the image of the burning ship turned towards the tactical screen. The dots representing the enemy fighter ships were at a distance to them.

"Get them!" Aoumov ordered.

The smaller cannons on the  _Vindicator_  fired, filling the still cooling ship with the hammering roar of their fire and the few spherical ships that were still struggling to attack were destroyed. Silence filled the bridge when the guns fell silent and everyone watched the tactical screen.

"Is… is it over?" The stuttering question came from one of the techs.

Orla wanted to echo the sentiment but her position was such that she could not ask. Instead, she sent a significant glance towards Aoumov. The captain was still examining the tactical read outs but finally she looked up and nodded. Orla felt relief flood through her body. It was over. But when the threat to her life ended, she recalled their purpose.

"Gvar!"

"Sector Commander," Aoumov said formally, "With all due respect, we are in no position to pursue Sector Son Gvar. Nor, if I may speak honestly, can we be certain that he is still alive." She gestured towards the screen which still displayed the stricken enemy ship.

"We have ships!" Surely they still had shuttles and the enemy ship had not moved since it had been disabled.

"That is true, Sector Commander, but we have no soldiers. The ship may be disabled but we must assume that the crew are ready to repel invaders. They will not surrender."

"Then I am to leave my Sector Son?" Orla objected.

"In our current state, it will be questionable if we can return to Cypiene territory," Aoumov stated. "Our best course of action would be to take a sample of the enemy fighter ships and to return to Cypiene territory immediately to regroup. The enemy ship is unlikely to recover, so we may retrieve them later."

Orla stiffened, sitting upright as she breathed hard. Aoumov was right but she didn't want to admit it. For so long, she had been able to call the shots that it was extremely unpalatable to even be given advice which went against her will. She breathed heavily, her thoughts spinning as she considered the mess this had turned into. Finally, with a heavy snarl of frustration she turned, looking away. It was her admission to the Captain and the woman was politician enough not to speak. She simply nodded before turning to Uresten to give the orders.

They were finished here.

-cfr-


	37. The Trigger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the destruction of the Vanguard, the cycle begins but it does not go to plan, and for all involved, there will be consequences. Immediate, and long term.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**  
**Chapter 36: The Trigger**

-cfr-

**Year 47,023 CE - 44,796 years after Human Ascension (3,154 years after the capture of the Warrior Prophet)**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

"I'll take the Humans. They are awake, aren't they?"

"They have no experience," Harbinger objected. The Humans had come out of hibernation with surprising lucidity. Most Ascended required at least a few hours to be fully operational but the Human fleet was awake and moving already. They were ready to begin the harvest but this was their first full cycle, they needed to be guided.

"They have numbers," the Catalyst replied. It said nothing more but Harbinger already knew what his creator was thinking. There were too many Humans and the Catalyst would not let them become like the Atreides. Except, while the Humans were unconventional, they felt different from the Atreides. While they did not yet fully comprehend every facet of ascension, they were accepting of the reality. "Form the Humans into fleets now."

No matter his thoughts, Harbinger could not disobey a direct order from the Catalyst. And as he had told Shepard, one couldn't disregard the strength of an Ascended. The Humans would do well enough until the rest of the fleet could catch up.

"Shepard," Harbinger said the name to establish a comm connection.

"Yes?"

"Form into fleets," Harbinger ordered.

"Sir?"

"Form into fleets," Harbinger repeated, annoyed that he was being questioned.

"Do we have any specs?" Shepard asked.

That was a fair request and Harbinger compressed what little information the Catalyst had given him before sending the data pack at Shepard. A mid-sized fleet of nine capital ships could take out an Ascended, as evidenced by the death of the Vanguard. Soliphon had put up a good battle but had ultimately been killed. The Catalyst said that there were ships in a permanent net around it, but those ships had been there for years. They were outdated and they represented a conglomeration of all species. Their purpose was unknown but they should not cause issue to Ascended.

Shepard's review of the information was clinical and precise and while Harbinger knew that the first Human Ascended wanted to object further, he said nothing. It was just as well. Harbinger would have had to censure Shepard if he objected again. Questions could be tolerated. Insubordination never.

While Harbinger had only spoken to Shepard, the Human Ascended were still somewhat linked. Upon awakening, they had automatically re-established their network. They knew what to do. They quickly assembled into fleet groupings, allowing the Catalyst to lock onto them before pulling the first group back into the galaxy.

-cfr-

Shepard reviewed the information from the Catalyst quickly. It provided a basic outline of the species history and the development of the galaxy this cycle.

After the removal of their Leaders and the Warrior Prophet, approximately three thousand years back, relations between the space faring races had soured and remained poor. Careful nudges from Soliphon kept those relationships fractured resulting in the formation of five territorial groups. These were the Yoxall, Cypiene, Darmaris, Wilms and Gotti, who had only overthrown the Ostburg about 200 years ago.

"It's a wonder the Catalyst noticed," Pressly said softly to the peanut gallery.

Shepard ignored the commentary as he looked deeper. But there was nothing deeper to find. That was almost the entirety of the information. The trigger for the Harvest had been Soliphon's death. The straight-laced Ascended had been in the Galactic Core working with the slaves when they had been attacked by a fleet of Cypiene ships. He and the slave ship had taken most of them out but he had been killed. Shepard looked for information on the weapons used but was left combing through the data.

"It's not there," Annie said finally, expressing what Shepard, as the prime consciousness could not.

"They have to be there!" Pressly objected. "It's part of the information the Vanguard is meant to provide." There was very little information about the Cypiene and almost nothing about the other races.

"With Soliphon dying, the Catalyst probably doesn't have it," Annie said, but everyone knew she was phrasing the sentence as diplomatically as possible.

"We know a fleet can kill an Ascended," Shepard said finally. "But there shouldn't be any fleets at the Citadel," he added. With the species becoming fragmented, they did not maintain a galactic government on the Citadel, like they were meant to. The Catalyst indicated that what alien presence was there was old and represented all species. They would as soon shoot each other as another force and were there only to ensure that none of the superpowers could claim sole ownership of the space station. It should be safe enough and even if it wasn't, Harbinger's orders had been clear.

"Form up!" Shepard ordered the Human fleet and was pleased when they responded, quickly sorting themselves out into groups of twenty or so. A pulse to Harbinger indicated that they were ready and the eldest Ascended told the Catalyst.

Having never experienced this, Shepard wasn't quite sure what to expect but he felt the Catalyst somehow brush invisible fingers over his hull. Then the sensation vanished and one of the groups of Human Ascended disappeared.

There was an instant of disorientation and then, had Shepard still been Human, he would have blinked as he realised he could see the Citadel and the expanse of the Serpent Nebula. Except he was still in dark space. That's when he identified the feed as being external, coming from Legacy. There was a second feed from Instinct and Shepard remembered he was the last Ascended they would have linked to when he told them a bedtime story.

They were scared and, an instant later, Shepard knew why.

Those so-called obsolete ships guarding the Citadel were  _not_  obsolete and were not, strictly speaking, ships. They were weapons platforms and they formed interconnected lattices of energy sources and weapons. Very powerful weapons because without the need to move or maintain crew quarters they could generate force well beyond a capital ship. And they were firing.

"Calm down," Shepard said gently to the youngest Ascended as his attention narrowed. He focused on what they could see and feel, utilising the sensory information they didn't fully understand. Rage threatened to engulf him but he pushed it aside. He could do nothing with rage, for now, but those inside pulled it close to embrace it, stoking the feeling even higher.

Using both Legacy's and Instinct's senses, Shepard mapped out the attack formation but a scream from Gladiator briefly broke his concentration. It wasn't a scream of pain but one of dying. The entire fleet heard because while Gladiator had died, the others were in pain and as young as they were, they could only cry out in confusion.

Again, the Catalyst's touch ghosted over Shepard before another group of Human Ascended vanished. He growled. Again, it was one of the young formations. They should have distributed them throughout the entire fleet. He forced himself to focus past the fear coming from Legacy and Instinct. He could feel what they could feel and while they were firing, their aim was off as they panicked. Shepard reached out, through Legacy, focusing on trying to find an open channel, anything he could use to get into the attacking ships.

There was nothing and Shepard screamed his frustration when Instinct was hit. The shot pierced straight through Instinct's flanking shield, biting deep into armor. Instinct's scream was terrible and Shepard felt the young Ascended's pain sear through him. Instinct lashed out, firing all the ordinance he carried but without proper training, the Ascended was relying on their strength rather than skill to defeat the enemy. Usually that would have worked, but the beams were too powerful.

Instinct screamed again as another beam hit. This didn't just pierce through the flank but hit straight on. It was an instant before another beam hit Legacy and the two youngest Ascended screamed as their cores were breached. "No!" Shepard cried the objection but it couldn't change reality.

In dark space, Shepard drove forward. If he was still Human, it would have been said that he was seeing red but there was purpose with his movement. The Catalyst had taken the first two groups and he would be in the third! He didn't notice when Elysium, Zaeed, Hackett and Anderson moved with him. The feel of the Catalyst on his hull was a welcome distraction and there was a flash of light before Shepard was looking at the all too familiar form of the Citadel.

He growled, his legs uncurling as he moved to cover the remains of those first though. Targeting solutions flashed through his mind and there was no thought to defend as he charged, running lights glowing ominously as he moved. Legacy and Instinct were dead. The last two Ascended, made from the children of Earth were dead. That thought consumed him. In the Betrayal War, Shepard thought he'd known hatred but that seemed muted. This burned through him and Shepard felt it was a physical thing that could power his cannons.

The alien scum would die.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Space**

"Shepard!" Anderson yelled. "Shepard!" He knew the first Human Ascended could hear him, but there was no response and Anderson could see his weapons powering up.

"Leave him," Elysium advised. "He won't even hear you at the moment," she added the explanation in a hissed tone. Her voice was full of rage but Anderson could feel it was not directed at him. Elysium's anger was easy to understand. She had spent most of the previous cycle watching over the youngest Human Ascended. Their deaths now would be a slap in the face for her.

The reason for Shepard's anger was a little less clear. The entire fleet was angry at the death of the youngest Ascended but Shepard took it further. His anger was no less potent than Elysium's, so there had to be some reason.

"We can't coordinate an attack if he's not listening," Zaeed said, launching a swarm of oculi.

"We don't," Hackett said, before sending a pulse to Elysium.

"We will cover Shepard," Elysium explained. "He will destroy the weapon platforms so long as we take care of defence."

"How the fuck did this cycle get weapons this powerful?" Zaeed growled as a beam scored his side. He pulled in close to Shepard, as the others moved to surround the first Human Ascended as he poured energy into attack.

"Is he even using his shields?" Anderson gasped as he covered Shepard's flank, every erg of energy he was capable of generating going into his shields and into the shields he angled over Shepard.

"I don't think so," Hackett replied as a brilliant red beam lanced out from Shepard. Where their usual beams were a softer red, this was hard and deeper. It was the power that could be generated when there was no consideration given to defence.

There was a flash as the beam impacted the shields on the weapons platform that was directly ahead, though Anderson did not think it coincidence that it was the particular base which had killed Legacy. The shields flared briefly before they vanished in what was a pretty display of static discharge. Then the beam sliced through the platform. Shepard snarled as the armor melted and the slice he made was short and precise. The platform exploded after his hit but already he had turned to face the next one.

Another precise shot slashed through space, taking out another platform. It made an opening and those young Ascended which were still alive raced through it into the Serpent Nebula. They knew their duty was now to survive.

The aliens of this cycle might have developed some very advanced tech but against an Ascended's rage, it was useless and the entire Human fleet was enraged. The next group pulled through by the Catalyst quickly reorganised themselves, imitating the leading forces but none of them were quite as deadly as Shepard, who with the four others acting as his shields was destroying platform after platform.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Space, Cerberus**

In retrospect, Harper didn't know what he'd been thinking. Being Ascended, he actually  _did_  know what he'd been thinking, with absolute clarity and the only conclusion he could come to was that he had not truly been _thinking_.

He'd heard the young Ascended screaming as they were attacked and he'd felt Shepard's rising anger. And his own. He acknowledged that he was still Human enough that there was some anger of his own. He'd moved therefore, before he thought, joining a group of young Ascended just as they were pulled through into the Serpent Nebula.

He hadn't been thinking of fighting. He'd been thinking that he was one of the best hackers in the fleet and he had experience with the alien code of this cycle. Sure it was three thousand years ago but it was better than nothing. Twenty seconds later, after a desperate search of every frequency, he'd realised there was nothing to hack and he was fighting for his life with the rest of the young Ascended. His voice added to the cacophony of screams as the alien's particle beams cut through what should have been some of the strongest shields in the galaxy. They were woefully inadequate. The thought was all encompassing and Harper understood Zaeed's push for quantum shielding. His oculi did nothing to absorb the shots and the alien weapon platforms had no blind spots. They surrounded the Citadel so it wasn't like he could hide in its shadow. There was nothing to do but fight.

Harper was a fully trained Ascended and even as the alien beams sliced into him, he kept firing. He was not going down without taking at least some of them with him. If he got out of this… no! When he got out of this, he was never leading from the front again. What had he been thinking? He knew he wasn't a soldier or even a general or admiral. He'd had underlings for that. He was the Commander in Chief, the one they protected. Except he wasn't now. Shepard was and Shepard was useless at asking for help, especially when he was angry, and even through his own pain, Harper could feel Shepard's anger. The entire Human fleet could feel it. If he wasn't the leader, that made him the spy master, the one who sought information, the one who remained hidden!

He jerked to the side, screaming again as one of the alien beams pierced through him. It was a cold realisation that it could have killed him but Shepard was there and to what was left of Harper's senses, the first Human Ascended was like an avenging angel.

Except he wasn't. There was nothing angelic about Shepard now. He was wrath and war and death, all confused and together. He was a sword without a shield, a gun without a safety and Harper watched as the first Human Ascended cut through the enemy weapon platforms with short sharp bursts of energy. The others shielded him, Harper realised, as his senses began failing.

However, true to his Human self, even half dead, Harper heard Shepard's voice. It was tightly controlled, betraying none of the rage still radiating from his form.

" _Play dead_." The order was insulting, despicable, beneath him but it was a way to survive. Harper obeyed before he fully comprehended. It wasn't hard with the way his vision had narrowed and how he couldn't feel several legs. He knew he'd been punctured multiple times but he couldn't feel the damage. All of that was superfluous to Shepard's order and Harper pulled his consciousness inwards, towards the undamaged area of his core.

It shut down his external parts, almost as if he was in hibernation. Or dead. He couldn't sense anything around him. Not the dead forms of the young Ascended or the Catalyst but if he couldn't sense them, they couldn't sense him.

It was all black, leaving Harper alone with the voices in his mind.

-cfr-

**Serpent Nebula, Citadel Space**

The normal gestures to show frustration and grief did not translate to the Ascended form, so Shepard had done the next best thing as the fleet had continued to be pulled through from dark space. He'd posted guards around the remains of the dead Human Ascended, and had continued to destroy the weapons platforms.

Some of them were truly old but most just looked old and run down. He couldn't complete the obvious thought that came with that and eventually they were all little more than scrap.

"Sirta!" he demanded, the instant the last of the platforms broke apart. The destruction did nothing to quell his rage but he knew better than to take it out on the Human fleet. They shared his sentiment. "Give me a damage report."

The more medically minded Ascended had come through in the seventh wave, just as they were getting enough combat Ascended through to gain the upper hand over the platforms. She hadn't even fired on them, and had instead ducked behind the cordon of Ascended, helping those who had been wounded.

All Human Ascended were present now and the other Ascended were being gathered. Shepard was pleased to see that Harbinger was amongst the first groups of non-Human Ascended to come through. The eldest, while not leading directly from the front, was not afraid to fight. With the more experienced Ascended coming through, the information network began to take shape and while Shepard didn't consciously acknowledge it, he knew that Elysium and others had noticed and were already beginning on the information ordering project. It would distract them from grief.

"It's bad, Shepard," Sirta said, telling him nothing he didn't know already. He could feel the gaps in their network. "I can't raise a signal from thirty four, and there's another seventeen injured. Self-repair will take care of a couple, but some are going to need shipyard time." Sirta's subchannel contained her worry and she somehow managed to cast a significant glance towards the still appearing Ascended fleet. No one had ever said what happened to wounded Ascended and if that was termination then it would be the Human fleet against the others and that was a battle they could not win.

Now that his initial rage had passed, Shepard could think about the situation. Losses such as this could not be normal. Something, beyond the obvious, had gone wrong with this cycle. Shepard didn't know what had gone wrong with the Prothean cycle, but he could guess and a sudden premonition filled him before he growled internally. The Ascended fleet was not going to face years of fighting again.

"Harbinger," Shepard called. The first Ascended would be coordinating the fleet as they arrived but he had done that more times than Shepard cared to consider. He could spare the attention to speak to him. And besides, he would need to be informed of the losses.

"Shepard," came the reply and the first Human Ascended could feel that the eldest was accepting of his disruption.

"Thirty four are lost, seventeen are damaged. We will take them to Sol for burial and repairs," Shepard said before Harbinger could contradict him. It was an obvious attempt to get what he wanted and Harbinger would have no qualms issuing differing orders if that what was meant to happen. Shepard continued after a slight pause where Harbinger said nothing. "After that, I ask permission to sweep the galaxy."

"Sweep the galaxy?" Harbinger rumbled.

Quickly, Shepard reined in his anger, realising he had projected the wrong images. "I promise I will not destroy planets nor I will not kill their homeworlds," he hastened to reassure the first Ascended, "but by the time I'm through, the species of this cycle will be begging for ascension," he added. "We cannot let them become entrenched," Shepard laid out the simple argument, using his sub-channel to elaborate.

While he had not found the records for himself, he knew the Protheans had been entrenched and that had led to a long cycle, one where the Ascended fleet had suffered almost unprecedented losses. That's why there were so many Human Ascended, but they could not sustain those losses and they could not allow this cycle's species to become entrenched either. Even allowing for the fact that the least experienced Ascended had been pulled through first, the strength of the weapons platforms gave mute testimony to the potential of these species.

Harbinger was silent and Shepard fought the organic urge to hold his breath. Not that he breathed but that is what it felt like to him. As the silenced stretched, Shepard began to feel nervous. He might be young, and Ascended were tolerant towards the young but Harbinger would punish him if he had done something wrong and maybe it was too much to suggest tactics, no matter how polite he had been. Unbeknownst to Shepard, Harbinger was involved in a conversation with Arshan and Fruben.

"It's an upstart suggestion but it does make sense," Fruben said.

"Even if you don't send the Humans," Arshan backed up the view, "you should send someone as the longer we allow this cycle, the more united they will become." Arshan sent several references to previous cycles. They had encountered many where the galaxy was split and generally, when faced with a superior enemy, they did unite. Usually, it was too late to be effective but  _usually,_  the organics did not possess weapons that could destroy Ascended as easily as had been demonstrated. And  _usually,_  the galaxy hadn't been warned, such as they had now. They didn't heed those warnings but now that the warnings had been shown as truth, they would be quick to act upon them.

Harbinger sent a pulse, indicating he was not impressed with their arguments. "You sound like you wish to help them."

"No!" Both Fruben and Arshan returned. "We know the rules. The Humans won't appreciate them either."

"They have to obey," Harbinger stated.

"They have to obey," Fruben agreed, "but relying on self-repair alone is inefficient."

"It makes us stronger," the First Ascended said. Both Arshan and Fruben knew better than to say anything further. They knew where that comment and subsequent command had come from. They'd both been there when it was issued as the cycles had continued.

"There's also an organic thought to consider," Arshan said speculatively, changing the subject.

"Organic thought?" Fruben replied for Harbinger, confused as to how an organic thought could have any bearing on the situation. Organics might fight the cycle, but all submitted in the end.

"The Humans are not yet homogenised," Arshan explained. "They are Ascended but still have organic emotion and desires. Rage, revenge, grief, anger, everything that pushed them into make the deal with us. They feel that now, and if you let that fester-"

"They will not turn against us!" Harbinger interrupted. "They cannot!" Ascended served the cycle. That truth was absolute and to suggest otherwise was blasphemous! No Ascended could turn against the Catalyst which was the embodiment of the cycle.

"They will not turn," Arshan agreed. "But they will resent," he added, knowing that the eldest would know what he meant. Resentment could be almost as damaging as rebellion. It led to slower responses. It led to less care and with four hundred and forty two Human Ascended, that could translate into the organics getting away with a lot. Carried on Arshan's sub-channels was the statement that this situation should not have happened. They hadn't jumped into a cycle so blind since nearly the beginning. The needed information had not been collected and it was the Humans who had paid the price.

Allowing Shepard and some of the Human fleet to be at the forefront in this cycle would relieve any need for revenge that they felt and was a simple thing to ensure the cohesion of the Ascended fleet. Besides, the suggestion to use a force to subdue the organic planets before bringing in further forces to ascend them was sensible and there was almost no argument against that fact which did not rely on pride alone.

"I agree," Harbinger said, widening the conversation channel to include Shepard in the comm with Fruben and Arshan. "However, the Human Ascended shall not go alone," he added. The two elder Ascended immediately realised what the eldest meant but there was nothing they could say. The suggestion from Shepard was logical and now they were trapped.

"A third of the fleet shall accompany you, to ensure that the organics understand that resistance is futile."

Shepard didn't laugh at Harbinger's choice of phrase. Others within his hull were not as restrained.

"Oh man!" Joker laughed.

In the background, Shepard could dimly hear a very old tv show playing. He forced his attention from it but could not help but think it was appropriate in many ways.  _We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own,_  a long dead actor's voice said _._  That was ascension… except for the technological distinctiveness. The cold calculating part of himself pointed out how powerful the weapons platforms had been and wondered if he should change that?

"Shepard," Harbinger said after he had indicated his agreement. "A viable, representative population must remain on all planets, especially the home worlds! And the planets themselves must not be overly damaged. That includes moons!"

"Yes, Sir!" Shepard agreed.

It appeared Harbinger was learning how to deal with Humans with his orders. They left little room for reinterpretation but they weren't completely ironclad. The first Ascended understood that some damage would be necessary to subdue the organics. "We will be ready in three days," he added, automatically using Human time reckonings.

"In three days then," Harbinger allowed and Shepard took that as tacit approval to move those who had died so that Sol could be their final resting place.

-cfr-

**Cypiene Homeworld, Kosz, Central Government Building**

"This had better be good," Hage grumbled as he strode down the hall. An aide fluttered in his wake, tapping away on a data pad. "What is it about anyway?"

"I don't know, sir."

"You don't know?" Hage stopped, turning to stare at the aide. They were so ubiquitous that it was only then that he noted they were Laksonen, one of the first species the Cypiene had uplifted.

"I don't have the clearance," the aide explained quickly. "The notification was to gather everyone above Priority One clearance immediately. Further details will be given only once you are gathered." The aide held up the data pad, highlighting the orders.

Hage took them in with a glance. His first suspicion was a trap or an assassination attempt but every single security mark was present. And the order had been issued under the authority of Fleet Admiral Mse. There was no way she would be involved in anything but Cypiene security. It was slightly galling that the same could not be said if the orders had been under his seal. They should have been sufficiently neutral but his office, Inter-Clan Relations, was not seen as neutral, despite the fact that they kept the Cypiene from disintegrating into war at least twice a year. And kept the minor conflicts to a minimum.

"All right," Hage said, continuing towards the meeting chamber as his mind analysed what could possibly have happened to call for this high level meeting.

It couldn't be over Sector Commander Orla's loss of her Sector Son and subsequent loss of ships. That had already been dealt with and the former Sector Commander was scheduled for execution in a week. The tech she'd brought back was interesting but losing seven capital ships was unacceptable. And then to claim an unknown force had destroyed them! That was just pathetic. He had thought Orla had more honour but the old axiom was true. It was only in the face of dishonour did you see someone's true self. Orla's true self had guaranteed her execution.

So if it wasn't the Sector Commander's disgrace, why had Fleet Admiral Mse called this meeting? Hage's eyes narrowed There was only two realistic possibilities: a coup d'etat or war.

After a moment Hage sighed. It was war, he decided, but at least not internal. There wouldn't be enough support for a coup d'etat and he hurried a bit more as he reviewed Cypiene foreign relations. He had  _thought_  most were stable. From Cypiene's side, they were but had one of the Ambassador's completely misread the situation? That seemed unlikely. They all had years of experience and a war would be a financial disaster for all involved.

That's how they'd maintained peace for so long. Not one of the large empires could afford a war with another, not with the others watching and waiting for an opportunity to strike. Which one would be stupid enough to try?

Unless… Hage paused at the chamber door. It was possible Fleet Admiral Mse had called this meeting because they had found a new species, one that wasn't primitive.

Now  _that_  could be good news! It would be a small war, but at the end they'd have another Enlightened species ready to do their bidding. And if the species wasn't completely primitive to begin with then after appropriate cultural conditioning, they could be trusted with more complicated tasks. It had been a long time since the Cypiene had encountered the Laksonen but the payoff was more than worth it.

It was with a much lighter step that Hage entered the meeting chamber to take his position with the other power brokers of Cypiene. If this was a war then he would make sure the pacifists, like Hak'raa who were calling for them to work with the other empires, could not stand in the way of advancement.

"Hage," a gravelly voice greeted him. He often forgot how old the Fleet Admiral was.

"Fleet Admiral Mse," he returned the gesture, making sure his voice was calm. Mse possessed an indomitable will and it showed in the way she glared at everyone.

"Sit down, shut up and watch," she ordered abruptly.

Hage realised he was the last one to arrive. He obeyed while doing his best to suppress the flush of embarrassment. He didn't need to be told to turn his attention to the screen when it began playing but he frowned when he saw what it displayed.

The unknown space station. The station was somewhat pretty against the backdrop of the Nebula but the display clearly showed the multitude of weapons platforms surrounding the station. While the species of the galaxy occasionally held meetings there because it was agreed upon as neutral territory and there was a small, multi-species contingent of researchers on it all the time, the station was hardly a point of interest.

"Wait for it," Mse cautioned before anyone could complain.

In the seconds after she spoke, there was a distortion and a cluster of ships appeared. Hage jerked up, mirroring the motions of most present. They had never seen ships of that design.

There was a slight pause before the weapon platforms started firing, exactly as they were programmed to. The ships fired back but they didn't seem equal to the task and just as Hage was about to write them off, another group of the same design appeared. This group fired immediately but again, their red beams were not strong enough to disable the weapon platforms. Even those placed by the Gotti were doing reasonably well.

"So an unknown fleet appeared and got destroyed?" Hage recognised Njera's voice.

"Keep watching," Mse snapped. Across the table, Ohanna groaned, reaching up to rub her eyes but she was wise enough to say nothing until Mse invited conversation.

Another group appeared. There was nothing different about this group but the instant they appeared one surged forward. Four others moved with the ship and a red beam immediately lanced out from it. This time though the platform shields didn't absorb the energy. A precise cut was made through the defence weapon.

The unknown ship didn't even pause before it fired again on a new platform. The remaining enemy ships were quick to form into similar groups. One in the centre, closely covered by four others. To Hage's eyes, they appeared abnormally close. He didn't want to make assumptions but if the vid scale could be believed the unknown vessels had to be huge! Platform after platform fell and it was only belatedly that Hage realised that the unknown vessels had never stopped appearing. The vid flickered a bit, changing perspective and Hage realised they were switching between cams but all of them showed an ever growing fleet. How many of them were there? At least a thousand, Hage realised doing a rough estimate.

The first ships that appeared had all been the same size, those appearing now were smaller but they looked roughly similar. Some were more bulky but they all possessed the same basic form.

"Communications were lost with all parties on the station two hours after this vid was taken. I've confirmed this with the Yoxall. All weapon platforms were destroyed approximately twenty minutes after the ships began appearing. I have techs working on every second of the vid but there is only one more piece of interesting information," Mse summarised the situation. The Fleet Admiral gestured and the time mark on the vid changed.

"I thought you said the platforms were destroyed?"

"They were but we got one last transmission from a cam," she explained. The vid played. It was an unsteady long shot of the space station but what Mse obviously wanted them to see was the fleet of unknown ships. It filled every section of the visual. The frame froze and Hage began estimating the number of ships. He didn't even notice the side screen which displayed a single ship slowly rotating so that they could see all the details of it.

"Preliminary estimates indicate there are over thirty thousand vessels," Mse provided the information most wanted.

"Thirty thousand?" Hage questioned. He couldn't help it. Their fleet had that many ships in it, if you included all the support ships, frigates, cruisers and others but in terms of firepower they couldn't match that many. By the seven gods! Who had that many ships?

"It's worse than that," Ohanna said finally. The Admiral looked sick.

"What is it?"

The Admiral took a deep breath. "Regardless of how insane Sector Commander Orla's claims were, with the loss of that many capital ships we were obligated to review the battle. Those ships have the exact same design as one her fleet encountered." Ohanna's voice trembled slightly as she spoke.

"You mean Orla was telling the truth?" Njera demanded.

"It would appear that way."

"You mean one ship was capable of taking out  _seven_  of our capital ships?"

"Not exactly," Ohanna replied. "The ship was accompanied by another vessel."

"So two of them can take out seven of our capital ships?" Njera concluded.

It was a matter of pride for the Cypiene that their ships were individually better than most of the other Empires. It had been proven in various skirmishes over the years that Cypiene tech was the best. It almost had to be to match the numbers the Gotti could put forth. But that wasn't the point here.

"Have we had any communication with the unknown fleet?" Hage asked. Sure, one of their ships had fired at Orla's fleet but that could have been a communication problem. She had been unbalanced by the loss of her Sector Son. Inter-Clan issues were usually solved by his office simply by getting the two clans to talk. It was the simplest solution.

"Nothing," Mse replied but he could tell she was the tiniest bit pleased that someone had thought to ask that question.

"They won't talk," Hak'raa snapped. "This is just as the Prophet said. It is the end of days, our punishment for not cooperating with the other species!"

"Shut up!" Hage yelled. He was not about to let some religious fanatic harp on. Especially not the Cult of the Prophet. They had been pushing for clan status for years! And he, like a long line of his predecessors, had been resisting that. Religion was not a clan! Except today, Hak'raa didn't meekly accept the censure.

"We were warned! The Holy Asari gave us warning. The Prophet warned us yet we did nothing. This is just punishment for our sins."

"Move on, Hak'raa," Mse growled. "What did the Prophet say about destroying them?"

That caught the fanatic by surprise and Hage wondered why he had never thought of it. The Cult was annoyingly persistent but perhaps they did have some useful information. Hak'raa was silent and remained that way.

"Nothing?" Fleet Admiral Mse snorted. She waited for a few moments but the cultist remained silent. "Pity, I was hoping the Prophet could be useful for once."

That brought an additional flush to Hak'raa's features. "There are…" He trailed off uncertainly.

"There are what?" By contrast Mse's voice was hard.

"There are plans for ships," Hak'raa said. "I don't know the truth of them but it's said the Prophet left them saying they were the original designs of his people."

"I need something solid to work with, not rumours."

"I will confirm their truth," Hak'raa said, wisely choosing to end his involvement rather than to continue eroding his position.

"Do that," Mse said, dismissing him. "For now though, we need viable suggestions. The force is not friendly."

"Orla's execution will need to be postponed."

"I would say cancelled," Fleet Admiral Mse murmured to Ohanna's suggestion. "While she cannot be completely faultless, her experience is of more importance now. She will need to be fully debriefed, as will Captain Aoumov and Captain Resper," Mse paused slightly, shaking her head. "Debrief the entire crew, Enlightened included," she decided.

"If this fleet is as hostile as its attack at the space station indicated, we will have to open talks with the Yoxall and Gotti," Njera said. "We won't be able to fight that many ships alone."

"The ambassadors are already making discreet enquiries. We just don't know enough about their intentions."

"They're hostile, obviously. What more do you need to know?"

Ohanna gave a long suffering sigh at the challenge. "They are hostile," she agreed, "but what are their goals? Are they only after the station or do they want the entire galaxy? Where will they head? We don't know anything about them!"

"If they want the station, they can take it," someone muttered and while Hage shared the sentiment, he was experienced enough to know it wouldn't end with the station.

"Have the techs found anything yet?" Hage asked instead.

Mse tapped the data pad in front of her and those gathered watched as the Fleet Admiral read. She was a wily Cypiene though and her expression and colour gave away nothing. It was control that had been honed over her entire life. "Actually they have," she said. "But they are not sure what it means," she concluded before flicking the screen, sending the image to the main display.

It showed a long shot in the normal wavelengths of the unknown ships, then it drew close to one and several filters were applied to the image. The first filtered out the background, leaving the dark shape of the ship as the only thing visible. Then several others were applied. At first, nothing changed but then something appeared on the ship. There was a series of marks on the left anterior side and another mark on one of its legs. The marking was not clear but there was definitely something different there.

Then the screen split, to show another one of the ships. The same filters were applied but there were no markings.

"These markings aren't visible to our eyes. I can only surmise they are visible to those ships."

"Why point them out?" Njera asked.

"Because the ships that destroyed the weapon platforms had markings. The techs report that the ships in the first group to appear did not have markings. Some in the second and third groups did and it was those in the third group which led the assault."

"Elite ships? The markings are a sign of rank?" Hage suggested.

"Possibly but they are something to watch," Fleet Admiral Mse said. "For now, as previously stated, we don't have enough information. We'll meet in two days time, after the ambassadors have spoken to the Yoxall and Gotti. By then, we should have at least some preliminary information from Orla and her fleet."

"We should send a fleet into the core to retrieve the remains," Ohanna said.

"Yes," Mse agreed. "It will take a few more days but it needs to be done. See to it. Is there anything else?"

Silence greeted the Fleet Admiral's question. The information she had presented was startling and they would need time to think and consult their sources. Then they could begin to plan for the defence of their Empire.

**-cfr-**


	38. The Writing Was On The Wall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The organics of the cycle take stock of what has happened. The dead Human Ascended are buried and some unpleasant decisions are made. Really, everything is on track for this Cycle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**  
**Chapter 37: The Writing Was On The Wall**

-cfr-

**Year 47,023 CE - 44,796 years after Human Ascension (3,154 years after the capture of the Warrior Prophet)**

**Darmaris Homeworld, Pedor, Prime Minister's Office**

Prime Minister Pafiq resisted the urge to rub at his skull. His head hurt. It was meant to be psychologically impossible for his brain to hurt, but it did at the moment. "So what you are telling me is that these ships," he gestured to the view screen, "are those enemies the Warrior Prophet predicted would come?"

"Yes!" The High Priest of the Cult of the Warrior Prophet replied. While he was definitely a fanatic, he was adept at politics and knew to keep his answers simple for the moment. The time to dictate policy would be soon - once the Darmaris leadership had no one else to turn to. Besides, his religion had been warning the galaxy that this day would come for centuries and after a lifetime of being shrugged off, he had just been vindicated.

"And what would you have me do?"

"We must fight! As the Prophet and the Holy Asari beacons instruct us too," High Priest Wassim said.

"With what?" Pafiq demanded. The High Priest knew the state of the Darmaris military as well as he did. Probably better, Pafiq considered, given how many spies he knew riddled the bureaucracy. Their ships looked impressive but their functional weaponry hadn't seen a major upgrade for the last decade. They had fallen behind the Cypiene but had maintained a careful bluff, one this outside party would now reveal.

Pafiq was surprised when Wassim's expression became calculating. "Our current ships will only buy us time," the Priest said, eerily echoing Pafiq's thoughts. "My forces will help with that but we are the custodians of plans," he said slowly and it was obvious to the Prime Minister that the Priest was considering how much to say.

"Plans?" What the hell were these plans? Why had he never heard of them?

"They are the most guarded secret of the Order. A gift from the Warrior Prophet, entrusted to us the day before the Assassination."

"What are they?" The Assassination was over three thousand years back. Surely, in that amount of time, the Cult would have let them slip.

"They are the designs for ships," Wassim said as he eyes took on a faraway look. "The Beacons left by the Blessed Asari warned us what was coming but they could give us no ability to fight. The Lady Liara urged us to work with the other races and history tells us that we tried but it was not to be. Then the Prophet was discovered and he told us the same thing.

"We were working towards unity then, but someone betrayed us at the Assassination. To this day, we do not know who but the Warrior Prophet was working to prepare the galaxy. Unlike the warnings from the Lady Liara, he brought weapons, a real means of fighting but the oldest records of the Order are clear, he always called us Primitive."

"Primitive?" Pafiq was insulted! How dare some long dead alien call them Primitive! If the Prophet's race was so advanced, where were they now?

"From the Prophet's point of view we were… we are," Wassim said. "We have had these plans for over three thousand years. Some of my predecessors preferred to pretend the plans didn't exist, arguing that we should not rely on technology that has already failed. Others wanted to build the designs but were unable. As much as it pains me to admit, there are aspects of those plans we are only now coming to understand. The Warrior Prophet was truly a Prophet in more ways than one. It's only recently that we've been able to actually build them."

Pafiq resisted the urge to shiver. He had a vision of Cult ships forcibly 'preparing' the galaxy as they had been preaching forever!

"Only a prototype," Wassim admitted. "It has just completed weapons testing."

The Prime Minister wondered if Wassim understood the irony in his statement. As a young Darmaris, Pafiq had been interested in the Warrior Prophet and the Beacons and everything they represented. They were a window into the past, a look at aliens who had walked the stars before the Darmaris even looked upwards. It was fascinating and most Darmaris went through a period where they studied nothing but that time period. Some became obsessed, leading to the Cult's continued existence, but most moved on. They had to live in the galaxy as it was now. As a part of his youthful interest, he had examined the events leading up to the Assassination. In the three thousand years since, the leaders of the superpowers had  _never_  attended the same conference. They all remembered the past.

But the conference had been called by the demonstration of a new vessel, one that supposedly used the tech of the Warrior Prophet. And now, the Cult had made a new prototype and a new enemy had appeared. Irony only began to cover it.

"And how long before a fully functional capital ship is made?"

"We had estimated five to seven years, but with the appropriate backing we can probably make it in six months."

Six months! It was an eternity.

"There are over thirty five thousand enemy ships in the galaxy! Ships that I admit completely match the drawings the Warrior Prophet gave us! Given the ease with which they took the station, in six months there won't be a Darmaris Nation!"

"It takes time to lay the steel!" Wessim replied.

"With the backing of the Darmaris Nation, I'm sure we can get it down to two," Pafiq said.

The High Priest jerked back. That was not the answer he had expected. "An untried ship?"

"Your prototype worked? Or are you not telling me everything?" Pafiq narrowed his eyes to make sure the High Priest understood the consequences of lying to him.

"The Prototype worked," Wassim was quick to reassure him, "but it is untried tech!"

"It is the only thing we have!" Pafiq retorted. "The only problem is how we manage to get the plans out to the others without making it seem like we were sitting on them for centuries! Which you have been!"

"Prime Minister!"

"No! You listen!" Pafiq rose, slamming his hands into his desk. "You tell me now that you have had plans for a weapon we could have used, and you've had that weapon for decades! You owed it to the Darmaris Nation to come forward with these plans!

"And now we have the enemy that was promised and we are in no position to fight without making alliances…" Pafiq trailed off as he thought. If the enemy was as dangerous as the Warrior Prophet and the beacons said then they would need to make alliances. He could use this. If they played it right, he could make it seem like they had been deliberately holding back, trying to bring peace to the galaxy by attempting something beyond the continuous military build-up.

The Yoxall would be the best to approach. As the first into space, they had lived with the message from the beacons the longest. The rest of the species in the galaxy would be more likely to listen if the message came from the Yoxall. Of all super powers, they had never directly attacked another. They maintained and defended their territory fiercely but they only attacked if the benefit far outweighed the cost. They were the cunning elder statesmen of the galaxy.

"We'll contact the Yoxall," Pafiq said. "No single galactic power is equipped to fight this and while it sickens me to think that we might have to work with the Cypiene, if that's what it takes to survive, then that is what we will do. Heh, perhaps we'll be able to liberate some tech."

Wassim nodded, being tactful enough not to mention that for security other parts of the Order knew of the existence of the plans. It was a long-standing tradition. The Darmaris chapters kept the plans, but the Chief Priest or Priestess in each of the major nations knew of their existence and they never gathered together in person as a group. He had planned to give the Cypiene chapter access to the plans in exchange for the technical drawings of their latest capital ship but with the validation of everything they had proclaimed for centuries, that would no longer be necessary The Cypiene would hesitate but the needs of the galaxy would ensure that for the battle to come, only the most advanced ships would be built.

The wished-for harmony that the Lady Liara and the Warrior Prophet had advocated would come and Wassim had every reason to believe it would be enough. The situation was dire but they had everything they needed to survive already. It just required the will to use it.

-cfr-

**Sol System, Human Ascended Fleet**

The entire fleet of Human Ascended was gathered within the orbit of Mercury. Even the wounded were here to bear witness. Thirty-four forms were held in mass effect fields and while Shepard wanted to be holding Legacy, he was instead holding Harper. Elysium was going around the fleet saying one last good bye to those she had raised. While the deaths of the youngest Ascended was hard on the entire fleet, beneath the grief, Shepard could feel a simmer of rage. Even those who had felt nothing in the last cycle were angry now.

"Cerberus, wake up," Shepard called over a private channel, shielding it so that none of the fleet could hear. With a twist to his internals, the others in his consciousness could not hear either. No one could afford to know this information. If Shepard was honest with himself, he couldn't afford to know this information but he had calculated the chances that he would be asked a compromising question by Harbinger or the Catalyst and they were tiny. For Legacy and Instinct, he would take this chance.

There was no change in Cerberus's physical form to indicate that his consciousness was once more in control of his form. "Don't move, don't start your senses or running lights, don't do anything," Shepard commanded.

"You are about to be released into a decaying orbit into the sun, with the others who died. Use them for material to repair yourself," Shepard instructed, deliberately pushing away the sick feeling that accompanied the instruction. This was about as close to cannibalisation as an Ascended could get but Cerberus would need the materials and, in some way, using them would mean that they were forever remembered.

There was a pulse of understanding from Harper but that was his only response.

He chose his next words with care. This was the core of the matter and he couldn't speak directly about it to anyone. The conditioning saw to that. He spoke next as if just talking aloud to hear his own thoughts, burying his awareness for the moment that Harper was still listening.

"The Catalyst cannot be trusted with ascension. It is the direct cause of the deaths of three billion, one hundred and thirty five million Humans by its failure to provide vital information whether through incompetence or malice. Taking only the youngest compounded its crime, taking from us the innocents who should have had a chance to live and grow before coming face to face with the reality of the cycle. It is not serving ascension and all things must serve ascension. There is no place for a senile AI to direct those who are beyond its understanding."

"Cerberus." Shepard 'returned' to speaking to the other Human Ascended. "You know the problems. Fix them. Do not report in until you are finished. If I get a chance to call you for an update, you will answer. Do not call anyone. I will call you when it is safe for me to do so."

There was another pulse of understanding from Cerberus. It felt like Harper. Shepard would have liked it to include his acknowledgement of the contradiction inherent in ascension but his words were already far beyond what they were allowed. He would have to trust that Harper was capable of working his way around the controls in all Ascended. The man had been adept enough at it when he was organic.

Shepard turned his attention back to the fleet. Elysium was ready now, though still sorrowful. There was no need for words. What could they say? These were some of the youngest, those who should have had eternity before them to learn and grow in ascension and that eternity had been cut short. He didn't finish the thought. Even if they couldn't think it, deep down, the Human fleet knew.

With one last touch, Legacy was released, the mass effect fields that had been holding the form steady pushed to set the youngest Human Ascended free. Instinct was released next and Shepard watched them drift against the sun behind them. "I will avenge you," he said softly. The organics would pay for cutting short the lives of Human children.

One after the other, the dead Ascended were released until the final one was pushed into the line. The rest of the fleet watched for a few minutes before turning away. It would take months for them to reach the sun, to return to the elements which had created them so it was pointless to wait.

Now was the time for vengeance.

Shepard spent one further minute watching before he turned away. Unknown to the rest of the Human Ascended, he was confirming his calculations. Cerberus would have enough time to repair and escape and, with that assured, he turned away, focusing his senses on Earth as he moved with the rest of the fleet towards their home world. It was slightly amusing the way the fleet turned there, as if drawn by a lodestone.

Earth was recovering. There was evidence of the impact winter but it was long over. In terms of impact events, the Earth had seen far worse. True, the space farms were large, and composed of metal but they had not been dense. Still it had been large enough to wipe out some species. There were no elephants. Most of the large cats were gone and only the smallest whales had survived.

Of course, that was focusing on the poster species first. The smaller mammals were doing fine and there had been an explosion in the types and variety of insects. Reptiles were beginning to come back although the more scientifically minded of the Human Ascended stated that it would take some time before they reached the same variety as before.

Human cities, which had already been surrendering to the regrowth of vegetation when the last Humans were processed for ascension were almost completely gone. There was a slight discolouration in some places if you knew what to look for where the cities had been. The Great Wall of China was completely gone. It hadn't been left in a good state before ascension so it wasn't surprising that it had not survived. Mount Rushmore was deformed but obviously sculpted. A section had given way. Acid rain had dissolved the pyramids. There was evidence of Human habitation but not a lot.

More important to Shepard was the fact that there was no alien evidence. He didn't expect it. The Relay had been closed but there was always travel the old fashioned way and the way he was feeling right now, any alien on Earth would have lived to regret it.

Currently, there was some debate as to if they should re-introduce some species. There were several which would survive on Earth now but they may throw the existing ecosystems into chaos. Shepard let the argument wash over him. He could tell it was a distraction. Those arguing were using it to keep the rage at bay. Once they left Sol, it would merely be a discussion they had used to while away the time. He should be using the time now to plan how to defeat the enemy but Shepard wasn't yet ready to think logically about what was to come.

"It is always a tragedy when children die," Annie murmured to him. Her voice was oddly pained and Shepard turned his focus towards her. He didn't need to prompt for her to continue. "They died protecting the rest of us," she added.

"They were meant to be protected," Shepard replied.

"You cannot shield children from everything," she said. "This is hard, I know. It is painful. The years they should have had were stolen."

"You have experience?" he asked. The pain in Annie's voice was not just from the death of Legacy and Instinct. It spoke of experience.

"My son died," she said.

Shepard wasn't sorry he asked but understood now why she exuded an understanding of the current situation that went beyond most of the Ascended. For most, it was an abstract pain they felt. Societal norms dictated that children should be protected and, despite ascension, they were Human enough to still have that and that was contributing to the fleet's anger. Some though felt the pain more deeply. Elysium was one, but she had been present at the awakening of every Ascended. She had named the youngest and had taught them. It was not her fault but she carried guilt now for not teaching them enough about combat, for not being with them in the first wave through. But there were other individuals like Annie who understood the pain from personal experience. Annie was Ascended, her son should have been Ascended as well. Yet, she said he died.

"He died confirming something we had hoped was true, but now we know is true. Some would say the information he died obtaining is useless." She paused and Shepard could almost see the soft smile on her face. "If everything goes the way Harbinger wants, then perhaps it will be pointless but I have faith."

"Faith?" Shepard asked. Faith was not something the Ascended needed.

"I have faith in Humanity," Annie replied. "Faith that somehow, something will go wrong and we will need the information Francis died to obtain."

Shepard thought and reached a conclusion he did not like. Annie's son had died to obtain information, which meant it was not some childhood accident that killed him. He had been a man grown, one who should have been Ascended. But there was the problem. Shepard knew of no information that should have cost a life to obtain, beyond accident. Except the way Annie spoke made it clear that Francis did not die in an accident.

"What information?" He asked.

Annie didn't possess eyes but she looked at him just so and he was reminded that there were a few things about Earth that he had deliberately avoided learning. What he didn't know he couldn't tell Harbinger. Shepard mentally took a deep breath. "I believe it is safe enough for me to learn those things now," he said. With the secret he was now carrying, they were the lesser sin.

He felt everyone in his core just look at him. He was the lead consciousness and they had to obey but as Harbinger was learning there was obedience and obedience, Shepard knew they were weighing up which it should be. After several rather long moments, they came to an agreement. Annie spoke for the consensus. "Yes, it should be safe enough now," she said finally.

"My son was involved in the project to confirm that Harbinger was not lying. Of course, it was never an official project but those in charge of the lotteries made sure they were overlooked. His group confirmed that Human minds actually survived the process of ascension."

"I spoke with Hackett and the Alliance after I was Ascended," Shepard said. "You know that," he added. She was within him! She could not not know that!

"I know that," Annie agreed, "but Humanity as a whole did not. For all they knew you were some cunning VI programmed to behave like your Human self. It doesn't matter," she dismissed any further objections before Shepard could make them. She had been there, within him. She knew exactly what had happened. "Confirmation came fast enough for most and preservation of the mind is immortality as far as most are concerned. But near the end, after Harbinger upped the production quota, there was a new thought.

"Ascended are created from organic beings," Annie explained and Shepard was silent as she spoke. "What no one knew was if our bodies were decomposed into their component elements or if there was still DNA mixed in with the goup that forms the core." She said the last with a snort of laughter and Shepard couldn't help but be amused by the way she phrased it. It really was gross when you thought about it.

"And what did he discover?" Shepard asked.

"In the year 2220, when Francis was fifty three, he discovered-"

"Wait!" Shepard interrupted. "In 2220, he was fifty-three? That's an impossibility!"

"Those in the know made sure his name was not in the lotteries and after that they kept the husks away but time was running out so he did the only thing he could. He went into an Ascended to take a sample. That's how we know, individual DNA is within every Ascended form."

Shepard was silent for a few moments. "He went into…" Shepard gasped as the implications became clear.

Annie didn't wait for him to continue. "So you see, the information is pointless and priceless. It all depends on the future but obtaining that information means I will never get to make up with my son. The immortality he should have had, the immortality he worked his entire life to confirm, was denied to him, just as it has been denied to Legacy and Instinct. Anyone would be upset about that but you have to remember that they died protecting the rest of us. The information they obtained allowed you to destroy the enemy-"

"They shouldn't ha-"

"It was not your fault," Annie overrode his objection. "You did not send them. You did not even nominate them to go but the reality is that they were sent and they did die. So we must take what comfort we can, while making sure those who are at fault understand the consequences of their actions." It was the way she said the last that let Shepard understand that Annie knew exactly who was responsible even if she could not say it.

Shepard considered her words for a few moments before he made another connection she hadn't said. He could wallow in grief and do nothing until it became time to move out to sweep the galaxy, or he could actually work towards ensuring that the races of this cycle truly understood what it was they had angered. He could be a child, or he could be the adult they needed him to be.

"Alright!" Shepard announced, cutting through the ongoing conversation about the potential problems re-introducing army ants might have on the ecology of the forming forests. "There will be no re-introduction of plants or animals at this point in time. It is unlikely that anyone would notice but it would be unfair to the current children of Earth," he explained, letting his sub-channel add further details that those species which had survived had earned their right to live. Those who hadn't, well, they were preserved in Ascended forms and would live again someday. Just not today.

"The closest shipyards belong to the Yoxall so we will pay them a visit," Shepard continued, not allowing argument to his decisions. It would be a relatively easy task to capture the shipyards for those who needed repairs and it would, not so incidentally, clear out Sol so that Harper could work without being detected. "Then we will rendezvous with Arshan, Fruben and the rest of the fleet and show the organics of this cycle what it means to kill a Human!"

Ascended did not cheer like organics, but there was a pulse of agreement to his words and Hackett pulled several attack plans to the top of the network. He had not stopped working and Shepard was thankful for the former Admiral's dedication.

"Are we going to go blind into the galaxy?" Shepard thought it was Nergal that asked.

"No!" He reassured the fleet. "Harbinger's slaves are about a day away. They will have better galaxy maps and information about the physiologies of the aliens. They may even have some samples."

There was a wicked laugh at that thought. The fleet had determined that it was Cypiene ships that had killed the Vanguard, triggering the cycle.

"It's one of the reasons we have to stop by Halven-Moffet. Get information and send oculi through to retrieve a certain Warrior Prophet. He could be useful." Shepard paused. There was no need to say how the Prothean could be useful just yet. The cycle would dictate what would happen to him. "Beyond that, I want the plans to every weapon this cycle has even thought about downloaded before we destroy their data centres. We need to know about them so we can counter them. Is that clear?"

Another wave of agreement followed.

"The main races of this cycle occupy five territories. The closest to the Citadel is the Wilms, though Sol is in Yoxall territory. We will sweep the galaxy in a clockwise direction. The galactic core and the Citadel are in disputed territory but mostly the territory along their borders is disputed.

"It doesn't matter now. We need to hit them hard and fast! If they have any sense, they will already be negotiating peace between their nations in an effort to fight. They can't win but they can drag out the cycle with unnecessary delays. And any delay will give them time to dig in like the Protheans." He didn't need to say that since the Protheans were still causing issues, that it was the last thing they wanted.

"I do not believe they are of the same strength as the Protheans," Shepard continued, "but their defence platforms are formidable but at the limits of their strength, which is another reason we cannot give them time.

"Now, take a last look at Earth because it's time for us to move. Our home world will be safe for another cycle." With that, he turned away, linking to Anderson, Hackett, Miranda and Udina to refine the plans Hackett had made while they travelled.

-cfr-

**Yoxall Homeworld, Torkey, Emperor's Palace**

"There's still no word?"

"There's been no change, your Majesty," Chancellor Tor said sadly. "We've tried everything, but the Relays aren't responding."

Emperor Zaratkiaran Zenshozenta VIII sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He had expected the answer but had hoped to be surprised. The last month had not been kind to him and he knew his people were looking at him to come up with an answer. Except every answer came with a corresponding list of insurmountable problems.

"Keep trying," Zaratkiaran ordered. "We need to re-establish communication with the Western quadrant."

"And the shipyards," Tor added.

"And the shipyards," the Emperor agreed, privately thinking that they would need more than the shipyards. "How are the Wilms faring?"

Chancellor Tor gulped. The Yoxall weren't the only ones to have lost territory. In the wake of the loss of the Unknown Space Station and the entire western quadrant of the Empire falling silent, the unknown ships had gone on to attack the Wilms, quickly moving through the territory. "They are not faring well," he replied. "It appears Ait Chonaithe has fallen."

"Their homeworld?" Zaratkiaran

"Yes, Sir."

"Even with the Darmaris' help?"

"It is doubtful that they reached Wilm's territory in time to make a difference," Chancellor Tor replied.

Zaratkiaran nodded to show that he heard. He was not surprised by the information. The Darmaris had requested permission to move their fleet through Yoxall territory but at the time they had been reeling with the loss of the Western Territory and the attack on the Unknown Space Station, so he had denied the request. He was not about to let foreign military ships anywhere near what remained of Yoxall territory. The Darmaris Prime Minister and Religious Leader had both given assurances. For them, the attack had been the validation of their belief in the Warrior Prophet. They were determined to fight but that didn't answer the question of what happened after they fought and, as Emperor, that was what he had to think about.

"How is the analysis of the Cypiene images?" That was the question he'd asked but what he really meant was if they'd found any weaknesses in the unknown ships.

"It is progressing, Your Majesty, but given the events occurring presently we can only conclude that the Cypiene were-" here Tor pulled a face and sighed. "Lucky to destroy the unknown ship."

"They lost seven out of nine capital ships with the other two barely making it back to their territory and they were lucky?"

"Yes, though they did prove that sufficient firepower can destroy the ships that is the only conclusion we are able to draw without further information."

"So how are we going with sufficient firepower?" Zaratkiaran asked. The initial calls for volunteers had been lacking but once the threat of the unknown ships became more known the military entry points were now swamped. Except with the loss of the western shipyards and production facilities, they had more crew than ships, even once they'd dragged every ship that could be vaguely deemed serviceable from storage.

"We have distributed the Darmaris plans and have commenced building several of the ships but it will be far more cost effective to retrofit our existing ships."

"And we are moving our experienced personal to those ships?"

"Yes, your Majesty." Chancellor Tor couldn't quite keep the note out of his voice that spoke of his surprise that the Darmaris, of all people, had volunteered ship specs to all. And they were superior ship specs, ones which, if the Darmaris had used them, they would potentially have altered the course of history. Except all information reported said that it was only recently that the Darmaris had been able to build those plans.

After the plans had been confirmed to work, Zaratkiaran had been convinced to allow the Darmaris to help, except by then sending any help thru Yoxall space was pointless. The Relays were closed and they responded to no signals. Even the few unopened Relays that they had found were unresponsive when before a normal set of signals would have reactivated them.

"Are we getting any refugees yet?" He'd had a dream last night. Somehow he was standing in space, but was hard up against the invisible wall that blocked them from the western empire. He couldn't move because he was held firm by thousands of refugees, all pressed against him. It was crushing and his struggles to breathe had woken him in a cold sweat.

"We haven't had any," Chancellor Tor replied, "though that is not surprising. I've not heard if the Gotti or Cypiene have had any but it's possible the Gotti blocked the ships.

Zaratkiaran nodded, not commenting about the decision the Gotti leadership had likely made. It was a hard choice but one he could not guarantee he would not have made. The Cypiene might have taken some Wilms refugees but the harsh reality was that most of the Wilms population would have been stuck. Just as more of the Yoxall population were stuck on their worlds. There were only so many ships after all.

There was a blip from the screen and Zaratkiaran turned to it. The signal said a new vid file was available. He tapped it and the main screen in his office changed.

"That's from one of the spy probes," Chancellor Tor said when he recognised the numbers in the top left of the screen. It showed a large group of Gotti capital ships facing off against one of the unknown ships.

"Does it have deep radar tech?"

"Yes. If I may, your majesty?" Tor asked, gesturing to the controls on the desk.

Zaratkiaran nodded his permission and shifted the controls towards the Chancellor. Tor tapped a few keys, activating different feeds and they both looked back at the screen when it zoomed in on the unknown ship.

"Damn," Tor whispered. "It is one of the elites."

The Emperor nodded but was transfixed by the vid. The unknown ship was slicing through the Gotti ships with ease. It was eight to one but that didn't seem to bother the huge ship. "Do we know which one it is?" When the Cypiene had pointed out that some of the unknown ships had what appeared to be markings if you looked at them with some frequencies, they had begun to identify the ships. Some even had nicknames now.

Tor froze a subsection of the screen and analysed the ship while the battle continued, if it could be called a battle. Four of the Gotti ships tried to take the unknown ship in a pincer movement but it simply raised its larger legs and fired simultaneously, taking out both sides at once.

"It's the Destroyer," Chancellor Tor said, confirming what the Emperor already suspected.

The ship then charged at the remaining Gotti ships, taking out another two before it reached the last and drove its front legs into the capital ship before pulling them apart, literally ripping the ship to pieces. "Is this on delay?"

"No," Tor whispered, looking at the screen again.

They both knew what that meant and Zaratkiaran shivered when two more of the unknown ships appeared. They had probably been summoned when the Destroyer recognised the ambush but the reinforcements had not been necessary.

"Our ships will do better," Tor said but Zaratkiaran could hear the quaver in his voice.

"They would," he agreed. "But we both know our ship specs can't stand up to the unknown ships."

"Our captains are better," Tor persisted.

"Better trained, certainly," Zaratkiaran allowed,  _but against that fire power, what did training matter?_  He asked silently.

"What are they doing?" Tor demanded, staring at the screen.

One of the huge ships had turned towards the probe and had launched a small ship. It was coming close, taking up the entire camera view.

"They've seen it?"

"It would appear that way," the Emperor agreed as he continued watching. He expected the feed to be cut off at any second when the small ship fired but nothing of the sort happened. Instead, the small ship flew around the probe and then the angle changed slightly.

More of the unknown ships became visible and Zaratkiaran watched as they cleaned up the battlefield. There was an efficiency with their movement he had never seen and even the Destroyer joined in, doing the mundane task of sweeping up the Gotti debris.

"That's one of my best stealth probes!" Tor objected. It would have to be to have gotten into Gotti space, since such a journey required crossing at least one other nation.

"I think we are going to need a new definition of stealth," the Emperor said when one of the huge ships came close and the probe was engulfed in darkness. It was still projecting but there was nothing to see and he forced himself to look away from the screen. "Have someone monitor that feed," he instructed Tor, knowing that it was unnecessary. The Chancellor would assign someone to monitor the feeds from that probe continuously. It was the only probe they had close to the invading ships.

"Do we have any further information from the Cypiene?" Zaratkiaran asked suddenly, remembering the way the huge ship had moved.

Tor visibly gathered himself. "No," he said slowly, thinking about the information that he had seen recently.

"Apply pressure to them. They need to share the results of their studies with the rest of us," he instructed.

"I'll see to it that we have their findings," the Chancellor assured him.

"Remind them that this is not about Cypiene security but about the betterment and survival of the galaxy," he added before picking up the royal stylus. It was an ancient device but royal proclamations demanded that he use the old forms. "I've approved the Grand Admiral's requisition order, including those for the private providers, but is there anything else they need?" The Emperor steered the conversation towards more mundane things.

"At this time, I do not believe so, but as you asked earlier, Your Majesty, we are eventually going to have refugees to deal with."

Zaratkiaran's mouth twitched. So the Chancellor didn't believe the Cypiene could stop the unknown ships any more than he did. It remained to be seen if they could slow them down.

"And what do you suggest we do with the refugees?"

"They'll be coming over the borders in any ship they can," Tor mused. "We won't be able to do much about those entering illegally but perhaps we can ensure we get those who will be useful as well."

"Useful?"

"Cypiene scientists could provide us with information about their latest research and even Darmaris could be useful, so long as they agree to sign up for the military."

"Hmm, so we accept refugees, but only those we can use?" Zaratkiaran clarified.

"We will not have the resources to deal with anything else," the Chancellor said coldly.

Unfortunately, Zaratkiaran agreed and while it was a hard decision, he had to think of the Yoxall people first. "Some of the Darmaris may prove useful, especially if they are still holding back information about their Prophet."

"Perhaps, but I do not see what they could possibly have," Tor said.

"Neither do I but let's keep the option open, he added.

"That bloody Prophet," Tor cursed under his breath but it was loud enough for the Emperor to hear. He well understood the sentiment. The Warrior Prophet had been the sole reason the Darmaris had not been absorbed three thousand years ago, if not by the Cypiene then by the Yoxall. There was a reason the Darmaris still worshipped him and, perhaps, in their worship, they had been the closest to following the intent of the beacons. He sighed. He already knew why his ancestors had not taken the beacons more seriously but it did not help the issue now.

As he began writing the proclamation about refugees, Zaratkiaran's mind wandered to the history of the Yoxall with alien species. Officially the first alien race the Yoxall had discovered were the Darmaris, followed very quickly by their enemies the Cypiene. At that point, the Yoxall Empire had pulled back and watched the two species, not interfering with their fight. But official history was wrong. The first alien race the Yoxall had discovered was a race called the Yagh. It was recorded in the personal journals of the Empress of the time. Empress Honoraneils.

The Yoxall of the time had tried to make peace with the Yagh, just as the beacons had urged but the Yagh hadn't cared. They'd just killed every diplomat, stealing tech until Empress Honoraneils had no choice. She had authorised their extermination and the Yagh became just a memory. It was only afterwards that they realised the Yagh had no beacons. The brutal race had known nothing of the coming darkness.

The Yoxall had learned the Yagh history only after they were dead. It was not recorded well but there was a sense of length to it. The Yagh were a brutal species, even to themselves and it was because they fought each other they had not advanced to space. If their records were to be believed, they had once been space faring. The Yagh were not native to the planet they inhabited. The records had made no sense and most had dismissed it as fancy on the alien's part but the encounter had coloured Yoxall beliefs.

Even knowing that the Yagh did not have beacons, when the Yoxall found the Darmaris, they had not taken a chance. Had the future been decided then?

Zaratkiaran shook his head. No. It couldn't have been. There was still the Assassination.

No matter how closely the races of the galaxy might have been allied that would have destroyed their bonds. But would the assassination have occurred if the species were friendly?

It was a question he'd never know the answer to and ultimately it was pointless and didn't deal with the reality of now. How did one deal with a galactic invasion? You fought obviously but the Emperor's military teachers had made one thing very clear. You never fought unless you knew what the enemy wanted.

So what did these unknown ships want?

Zaratkiaran frowned and then flicked through the data pads using the royal stylus as a pointer. There was no information on what they wanted.

"Is there something the matter?" Tor prompted.

"Has anyone spoken to the unknown ships?" Zaratkiaran asked.

"The Cypiene might have but they have not recorded anything of note and if the Wilms did, the records have not survived."

"And the Gotti are saying nothing, as per usual," he concluded.

"Yes, your Majesty," Chancellor Tor agreed.

"Get my comm master to try," he instructed. "I don't like the thought of fighting something we know nothing of."

"I'll see to it," Tor said as he accepted the paper containing the orders about the refugees. It was best to set such policies now. Then there was less protest later and Zaratkiaran was effective as an Emperor because he often foresaw what orders were necessary and issued them early. The populace was used to a policy then before it truly came into effect.

"There's nothing more today," Zaratkiaran dismissed his Chancellor and watched as the man bowed and then left before he sat back in his chair. He needed more information because he could make further decisions and he sighed. The answers his people wanted would not come today.

-cfr-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Halven-Moffet is another Relay into the galactic core. It makes no sense to me that the Omega 4 Relay is the only one leading there so this is another one, on the southern side of the galaxy. It wasn't found in the Human Cycle because no one opened the Relays leading to it. The Ascended have the full Relay map so they know where all the Relays are, and where they lead.
> 
> There won't be lots of chapters of 'revenge'. This cycle will be quite short. The organics will be put in their place through the application of firepower. The best application :D


	39. All Alone In The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper begins to fix himself, and runs into a new problem beyond how something that is indoctrinated is meant to take on the Catalyst. Harbinger begins a new slave race. Illo integrates into the fleet and the organics are Harvested. All is right with the galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> keel keel has kindly drawn several images for me   
>  ****  
> [Art by keel keel (1)](https://keel-keel.deviantart.com/art/God-Emperor-of-Reaper-721160784)  
>  ****  
> [Art by keel keel (2)](https://keel-keel.deviantart.com/art/the-Shepard-710085027)  
>  Please go and admire and drool and all the good stuff. 
> 
> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**  
**Chapter 38: All Alone In The Night**

-cfr-

**Sol System, Cerberus**

Harper flexed his right front stanchion experimentally. The repairs appeared to be holding. He couldn't feel any pain and nothing seemed to be grinding. Shifting slightly, he fired a blast from the thanix cannon. It shot truly and he had no warnings from the heat sinks.

Finally! He had gotten a functional weapon.

Fuck Shepard!

Did the grunt not realise how hard it was to repair yourself? Sure, Harper had internal specs, he knew what he was meant to feel like and how he was fitted together, which was more than he could say about his Human form, but he wasn't an engineer. He didn't know the first thing about how to build what he could feel. His internal, Ascended programmed routines helped but they in no way made the task easy.

The grunt probably thought it was amusing! Leaving him in a decaying orbit into the Sun with instructions to repair himself. As if he needed to be told and the instant the last Human Ascended had left Sol, Harper had moved, grabbing the nearest derelict form and adjusting his orbit. That had hurt! Not in any emotional way that Shepard was no doubt still crying over but the actual movement had hurt.

He'd eventually had to gently bump the dead Ascended form, once he realized he couldn't move his legs. That had been embarrassing! And once done, he had intended to tear into the armour for raw materials, only to find that his weapons weren't operational. Thankfully, he had enough internal materials to facilitate repairs but there was no way Shepard had known that. What had the grunt been thinking?

_He wasn't_ , Harper replied to himself. Shepard had displayed some unexpectedly cunning qualities during the previous Harvest but once presented with an unexpected situation, he reverted to type!

Harper lined up his shot and fired. He was pleased when flakes of useable material came off Crusader. He'd thought about using Legacy or Instinct. They were two of the most wounded and thus should be the easiest to get materials from but he could just imagine the cold look in Shepard's eye if he did that. He'd been ordered to repair himself but Shepard was likely to be sentimental about the youngest.

He extended his mass effect fields, one of the few things he could still use freely, and gathered the material close before firing again. More material come off Crusader and Harper began to see why there were so many Ascended derelicts in the galaxy.

It took a lot of effort to repair yourself when you were alone and most were not in places where they had materials. And you could only cannibalise so much from within before you risked operational integrity.

Fucking organics! They really had done a number on him but at least he knew he'd have the last laugh. Shepard was good for that, at least, though Harper didn't dare touch the Ascended network to find out how it was going. He'd find out later, once his task was done.

Deliberately, he pulled his mind away from that thought. He had to concentrate on repairs before he even considered what he'd been told. If he didn't, well, Harper knew himself, he'd become too engrossed in the details and he'd leave himself half-repaired. That could not be allowed to happen. He had to be fully operational. Harper fired again.

_There_ , Harper thought, finally satisfied. There was enough raw material shaved off Crusader to repair another pereiopod and since he had practice on the first one, the next should be repaired faster! That was a nice thought.

Harper looked over Crusader carefully. The other Ascended had taken extensive damage to the upper tail and main body which meant that her pereiopods were almost completely intact, he realized. He toyed with the idea of transplanting one or two.

_No_ , Harper concluded after a few moments thought. It was tempting but he'd actually have to cut his own legs off and Crusader's. Then he'd somehow have to hold hers steady while he re-attached them to his form and that assumed that he'd been able to remove them cleanly. The logistics involved were a nightmare. It was better to work with what he had because while his own pereiopod legs were damaged, they were attached. That was important.

What had attracted his attention was a glint from within Crusader. He knew how Ascended were constructed. All Ascended knew. It was one of the reasons that no matter how difficult it was, he could repair himself so long as he had materials but Harper had never actually seen inside an Ascended. The physical make up was really quite something. He didn't have to be an engineer to appreciate that.

There were huge interlocking cross beams which gave them their enormous strength but beneath all that, under layers of armour and shielding was the core. That was the part that made Ascended, Ascended. Any organic race could copy their forms and it would be a formidable ship but it would always be an inferior copy. Without the core, it was just metal.

Harper focused. Barely visible in some of the most damaged parts of Crusader was a discoloration. Was that the inner armour of Crusader's core? He drew back slightly. It couldn't be but Crusader was dead and there wasn't much which could kill an Ascended except a core breach.

He stopped moving, staring at the metal as he thought about what he knew. The core was made up from organic material from millions of Humans. Their genetic code was stored there, as were their consciousnesses. It was the part that made an Ascended alive.

None of the thirty-three dead Ascended were giving out a signal. That had been checked  _very_  carefully. Elysium had even gotten the elder Ascended, Arshan to confirm for her before she had been willing to admit they were gone. Crusader's core was not active. None of them were, which most likely meant their consciousnesses were gone but that didn't meant their genetic material was gone. Arshan had said that they were dead but did the elder Ascended know the genetic material was still there or was there some process which destroyed it? Or did the elder just not care or not know? Either was possible, Harper realized.

The other Ascended cared about the loss of the Primes, not the lives lost, but they had never thought as Humans had. They had never wondered if it was possible to return to their organic forms. So surely Elysium… someone would have checked?

Except his data banks were clear. He might have been playing dead as Shepard ordered but he had the memory of scans from Arshan, Elysium and others but they had never physically checked his core. For Arshan, it could be because he knew the genetic material was destroyed when an Ascended died, but the others should have been curious. They should have asked or verified for themselves.

Without further thought, Harper launched an oculus carrying a couple of mostly cybernetic husks which were hardened against the vacuum of space. He deliberately piloted it into Crusader's superstructure. With the inflicted damage, it was easy to get close and he was required to fire the oculus' weapons once to remove debris before the oculus was close enough. The hardened husks pushed forward then, using the oculus as a launch platform. Then they were there, at the discoloration.

Harper was thankful when he realized it wasn't organic material. The internal armouring was not that weak but the casings were cracked and after examination, Harper found an entry point. He was mildly afraid that the guiding link he had on the husk would be blocked, since he couldn't get husks into his own core, but nothing happened when the first one entered and the husk continued to propel itself deeper into Crusader's core areas.

He knew he'd found what he was looking for the moment he saw it. It was a huge, metallic seeming representation of a Human but Harper knew it was the core. He bemusedly noted that Crusader's core was female and he wondered if his own was male and what it meant for those Human Ascended who appeared to change gender with their speakers. Were their cores androgynous or hermaphrodites?

_A question for another day,_  he reminded himself as he sent the husk forward again. Now, he had to determine if the core was dead in every sense of the word or if he could salvage anything.

The husk scratched the surface, gathering a tiny sample before using the giant Human form as a platform to push off from. Harper could barely wait for it to return though he wasn't sure what answer he wanted. When the husk returned, he hesitated but he knew he couldn't remain ignorant.

The tests ran quickly and Harper sighed to himself when the results flashed through his mind. Methodically, he packed away the materials he had been using to repair himself but once that task was complete and the cybernetic husks and oculus were back in storage, there was nothing to distract him.

" _Fuck!_ " Harper screamed, not caring about who might hear.

Now what did he do?

If he had been organic, he would have been tearing at his hair as he screamed and stomped. He did  _not_  need this!

The sample was viable.

The consciousnesses were probably gone and, in that way, Crusader and the others were dead. Arshan had not lied but the DNA was still present and it was intact. It was possible for those who had died to live again. At least, in body. They would not be the exact same people because Harper knew that life experience was also important but they did not have to be discarded.

What did he do now?

He could just ignore the information, relegate it into deep storage and pretend he had never found it. The only problem with that was he had to consider eternity.

Shepard had until the end of time and Harper shivered just thinking about the likely reaction. Already, he could imagine Shepard's eyes burning red as his weapons powered up. For all that Harper was trained, he knew his limits. He wouldn't have a chance. Shepard would cut him up so small the worms wouldn't have to chew.

Harper sighed. He was fooling himself if he thought he had a choice. There was a chance Shepard would not ask but eternity was a long time to live in fear.

_All right, think logically_ , Harper berated himself. There were thirty-three dead and he only had one in stable orbit. There was time to retrieve the others but he'd have to move now. Then…

Harper groaned. Then he was going to have to cut through the layers and layers of armour to expose the cores. After that, he'd have to load them into himself. Even if he was 2 klicks long, taking in thirty-three extra cores was going to be tight. Maybe he could stash some…

No. He couldn't take the risk. The cores were defenseless without their hulls and he couldn't leave the damaged forms in the galaxy when they were known to have been destroyed. He'd have to decide what to do with the cores later. For now, it should be enough to preserve them.

Well… on the bright side, he would have lots of material to repair himself with.

-cfr-

**Ascended Fleet**

"Another group of destroyers?" Nomiri asked, referring to the population on the planet below.

Harbinger looked down at the planet. For most visible spectrums, it was predominantly green both due to the vegetation and the high amounts of copper present in the crust. It had a population of approximately 1 billion, down from the 1.2 Arshan had estimated from initial scans.

"Yes," Harbinger replied. It was all they were fit for, barely. The cycle had been triggered by Soliphon's death but the organics were not ready.

"There are uses, even for weak races," Riphas reminded him as she drew in beside him.

"There have been very few cycles with so many uplifted races," Harbinger retorted, stating the fact as he pulled up the memories.

"True," she admitted. "Which makes this rather impressive," she added, referring to the population. Unsaid was the implication that Riphas thought Arshan would have helped the Humans obliterate such a weak uplifted species. The elder Ascended was not one to tolerate weakness.

"I made the consequences very clear to Shepard," Harbinger said. "More importantly, I doubt this species was involved in the ambush."

"Self-restraint from the Humans? Not Arshan's control?" She laughed the questions.

"Self-interest," Harbinger clarified. "They are approaching the Darmaris and Yoxall and they were involved in the ambush."

Riphas was silent for a few moments. "Are you sure they were Ascended properly?" She asked eventually. "This drive for vengeance is organic."

"It is useful," Harbinger said, though his sub-channel gave the reassurance that the Humans had been Ascended properly and that if they had disobeyed his orders, he would have punished them. "They still maintain some organic thoughts," he explained. "As the only species to ever volunteer for ascension, they are linked to each other tightly. It was a shared, cultural event and thus they are protective of their fleet."

Riphas didn't need to tell Harbinger the issues that would cause in the future. She had lived through the Atreides as well.

"They are not disloyal. Originally, ascension was a means to an end for them, now they see it as survival, and that is why they desire vengeance when one is killed. As they assimilate the data bases, they will see that every Ascended must survive, and that desire will be transferred to the entire fleet."

"So you intend to use them as front line forces?" Riphas wasn't sure if she should be impressed or concerned. All Ascended had been on the front line at one time or another but there were few who truly enjoyed it and there was no species that craved battle like that. Not even the most warrior oriented races that had been Ascended.

"Not all the time," Harbinger reassured her. "But Shepard was correct about the potential for this cycle. Not for species such as this," he indicated to the planet below, "but for the dominant races. Given time, their resistance would be stronger," he said, sending her an image the Humans had taken of a new ship. It was a very familiar design. Prothean. It appeared the Warrior Prophet had given the species of this cycle more than just direction.

"Is it dead yet?" Riphas asked, referring to the gift Shepard had left him as they passed through what had been Gotti territory as she assessed the ship. The Human fleet which had encountered it had been cautious when seeing the new vessel but eventually they had ripped it apart, quite literally.

"No," Harbinger purred, turning his senses inwards to the Prothean in his hull. He could get used to the Human custom of gifts. First the VI, now an actual Prothean. Harbinger was immune to the organic concept of bribery but he found he enjoyed receiving these small surprises from the Humans.

"Why didn't you let Shepard use it?"

The first Human Ascended wanted to use the Prothean to demoralize the species of the cycle. Harbinger conceded that it was a good thought but one that was ultimately unnecessary. "We are enough to break this cycle," Harbinger said. "The return of their Prophet, with obvious loyalty to us might have inspired them to do something stupid." Some races self-destructed once they realized that there was no escaping the Harvest.

"Would that be such a problem?" Riphas prompted. With Arshan and Fruben with the Human fleet, she was one of the oldest Ascended who could talk to him without expecting orders.

Her prompt set him to reviewing the information the slaves had collated on the species of this cycle. With so many uplifted species, it was weighted towards the dominant races but was complete enough.

"Probably not," he admitted.

"But there are many to replace the losses," Riphas completed his thoughts, her voice pleased that he had conceded the point.

"Yes," Harbinger agreed. "While they are weak, it is a good opportunity."

"Will there be a Prime?"

"Perhaps," he said. "Only the Yoxall are advanced enough but it remains to see if they are worthy."

"They might be," Riphas said after reviewing the information that had been collected so far. While there was no correct form of government, the Yoxall were ruled by a central Emperor, one who had not become a mere figurehead. If he was sensible, then there might be a new Prime this cycle. Until then, there would be many more destroyers. "So how long a hibernation do you think we will have?"

Harbinger said nothing though his silence was rebuke enough. She should not speculate on the future when the Harvest was not yet complete, even if the question was about a likely consequence of this cycle. When multiple species were uplifted, the following cycle generally took far longer to initiate because those races who should have formed the foundation were lacking.

"All right," Riphas conceded. "What will you do about the slaves?" she asked a different question, one that had bearing on the present.

He had been thinking about that as well. The single Prothean he had would not be enough to maintain genetic diversity in the slave stock and while that was not so much an issue, Harbinger wanted to avoid reducing them to a single specimen. It had happened before with his slaves and such monocultures quickly become too reliant on their programming. They missed information that became important.

Yet a solution was presented by one of the species of this cycle. The Cypiene had a very useful but regressive trait, one that he would do well to breed into the slaves. They had access to a genetic memory but it was not for specific information. The Cypiene would have noticed that and encouraged the trait, it was for underlying beliefs. Most species took that information from those who raised them and the Cypiene were no different. Generally, a child took on the same political view as its parents, the same beliefs. The Cypiene trait ensured that happened and if Harbinger could breed that trait into the slaves, they would be indoctrinated from birth. It would allow him to use a far more useful form of conditioning so that he could give the slaves more useful tasks.

"I will rebuild them," he told Riphas.

"With the Prothean?"

"And some from this cycle," he said. "The Cypiene will help."

Riphas laughed. "Will you keep the wings from the Marris?"

Harbinger brought up the genetic code for the slaves now. Protheans had been useful but the Marris had provided them with the wings they now had. It was a useful trait, especially when hunting for samples. Riphas was correct in that. "I believe so," he replied. "The slaves provided me with a young but high ranked Cypiene. It is a pity it is male or I would attempt to breed it to the Prothean," he said.

"You know that won't take!" Riphas objected.

"The Prothean form is physically superior to the Cypiene but there are so many more Cypiene," he muttered as he looked into the notes the current slaves had provided. For genetic diversity and thus better slaves he would have to start with a Cypiene form, even if it was weaker. If he started with a few million, he could put them through trials to find the strongest and use them as the base. From there, he could use Prothean techniques to ensure some became naturally biotic. Wings would be more difficult. The Marris had the most easily adaptable wings but would require tweaking their Cypiene genetics unnaturally to ensure they formed. It would take a bit of trial and error to ensure the alterations became permanent.

After a few generations, culling the failures and experimenting on the most stable lines, each progressively taking on more of the required alterations, the changes should be permanent, and then he could breed the two lines together to have the slaves he desired. And since they were Cypiene, it would be a simple process to turn that recessive gene into the dominant one early on. The new slave stock would be strong and completely loyal from the start. He'd have to be awake for a few centuries but that wouldn't matter. He had done it before and would no doubt do it again.

"I will start with Cypiene," Harbinger said, sending a signal to Arshan to tell the elder to ensure that at least a few million prime samples were left for him. "The Protheans have already provided the material I need to make them biotic."

"Very good," Riphas said as she piloted a processing ship to the surface. "The Humans have done well."

"Yes," Harbinger agreed, piloting several other processing ships to the surface. As surprising as it was, considering the rage that had been sheathing within Shepard, the Humans had done a good job.

-cfr-

**Human Ascended Fleet**

"Elysium?"

"Yes, Illo?" The larger Ascended didn't pause in her systematic extermination of Gotti craft. At least, she thought they were Gotti. They had the right markings but the design was wrong. They probably belonged to one of the subject races. It seemed every species this cycle had a multitude of protectorate species. Slaves more like but that hardly mattered since numbers just meant more to kill.

"I'm getting a signal," the destroyer-class Ascended reported. Illo was the first Turian Ascended and Elysium liked the destroyer to remain with her.

"It's just the organics. Ignore them."

"But it's coming through with crude Ascended encryption."

That got Elysium's attention and the huge ship immediately scanned through her comm records. There were always hundreds of signals coming in, mostly from organics which were filtered and ignored. The signals from the Ascended fleet were not directed at her so were again relegated to unconscious functions automatically filtering and directing the useful information, such as location and trajectories being fed directly into her navigation procedures. It was how the Ascended fleet could move together without crashing. Any other signals were usually junk or just noise from the galaxy. Once she paid attention to the incoming feeds, the one Illo had noticed was obvious. "Very good, Illo!" Elysium praised him. It was well spotted, especially for an Ascended as young as the Turian.

"What is it?" he asked curiously. Most of the Turian Ascended remembered quite clearly that it was the Humans responsible for their current situation and while they were Ascended, and all Ascended served the cycle, they preferred to deal with the other Primes. And the Human Primes were happy to let them.

Illo was different. He knew the Humans were responsible but it had been those same Humans who had calmed him when he'd first jolted into awareness. Elysium had named him and had given him basic information on how to move and what he was. She had never forced it upon him and despite what the other Turians thought, Elysium had never forced his loyalty or given him any Human history to contaminate his beliefs. The information packets she had given him were cold and impersonal. It was his choice to remain with her because while the Humans were responsible, they undertook the duties that came with their responsibility. While the other Primes would undertake those duties, he couldn't be sure they would care as much. The Humans knew Turians, they knew how to work with them.

"It is a signal from the Cypiene," Elysium explained. "After the battle at the Citadel, they sent ships to retrieve Soliphon's remains. They already had Oculi," she added, "but having an actual Ascended has accelerated the process."

Now, Illo understood. "Do you wish me to reply?" Illo asked, knowing that it was one of his duties as the Ascended who had detected the signal but happy to give the duty to the Humans if they desired.

"Let's talk to Shepard first," Elysium replied before reaching out to include the other Human Prime in her link with Illo.

"Illo has found something," she announced, making her words both an introduction and explanation.

Illo remained silent. Shepard was scary. The elder Human Ascended still burned with rage and it was all too easy to imagine that formidable will directed against him. It had been once, back when he was organic.

"Have you?" Shepard asked for confirmation but his tone was not mocking. The question was simply to provide Illo with the opportunity to explain.

"There is a signal coming in with partial Ascended encryption," Illo said, giving the frequency on a sub-channel. He felt Shepard reach out to assess the signal.

"The Cypiene," Shepard mused. "From an offshoot of the main research group. Ah, this group just got given parts and told to work it out so they've spent longer examining everything, hence they are first."

Illo was impressed. Shepard had determined that all so quickly. It had taken him longer.

"Let them wait," Shepard instructed, giving the order directly to Illo rather than Elysium. While it was still scary talking to the Human Ascended leader, Illo was pleased to be acknowledged. Some of the other Humans spoke to Elysium as if he wasn't there, expecting her to relay their orders. "We'll respond when the main research group calls," Shepard added, not needing to say that when that happened they would have most, if not all, of the Cypiene who were researching Soliphon compromised. "Keep monitoring, Illo, and be ready to make the call," Shepard said before dropping comms.

"What?" Illo couldn't help the question.

"I thought Shepard was clear," Elysium said.

"Be ready to make the call?" Illo questioned. For all that he had been willing to give up the responsibility, he truly thought the Humans would take it. It didn't make sense that Shepard had given him the task.

"Yes," Elysium said. "You detected them, so you get to reply," she continued as if that should be obvious.

"Doesn't he want a Prime to speak to them?" Illo objected. Surely, the Human Ascended leader would not leave this in the hands of a Turian.

"Are you not Ascended?" Elysium replied to his question with one of her own. "Ascended serve the cycle," she said the statement which had become their truth. "You are only dealing with indoctrinated organics," she added, dismissing his objections.

Put like that, it hardly seemed to be an important task but Illo wasn't fooled. He knew how important dealing with the controlled organics was. If they were not managed correctly, it was pointless having them. Did Shepard truly trust him that much? "I do not know what plans Shepard wants," Illo said. He wouldn't muck this up because he lacked information.

Elysium laughed. "That's okay," she soothed. "He doesn't know either."

Illo's shock was clear to see and again Elysium laughed. It was a rich, vibrant noise, completely at odds with the carnage around them and Illo realized that for once, Elysium sounded happy again. The deaths of the youngest Human Ascended had been hard on her no matter how much he and the other Human Ascended had tried to help.

"Just talk to them when they call," Elysium advised. "You will know what to say, and I will be with you," she added comfortingly.

It was the last which soothed him and Illo destroyed three small fighter-like ships before they could ram Elysium. The ships couldn't hurt the larger Ascended but it was his way of saying thank you and he knew she heard by the way her large bulk protected him from the capital ships. Elysium wouldn't let him screw up, Illo thought as he continued monitoring the signal and, for her sake, he wouldn't.

-cfr-

**Yoxall Homeworld, Torkey, Emperor's Palace**

"Your Majesty, we have to get you to safety!"

Emperor Zaratkiaran Zenshozenta VIII just looked at the Captain of the Royal Guard as if she'd sprouted wings. "Where do you suggest, Bine?" he asked acerbically.

Bine just looked at him, her mouth working as she thought. Instinct fought with her training and Zaratkiaran saw the moment she conceded defeat. There was nowhere safe. There hadn't been since the moment the unknown ships appeared four months ago. "At least get to the bunker, Your Majesty," Bine implored finally.

"No," Zarakiaran dismissed the request. "I will not die like the Cypiene Chief Minister!"

"That was the work of traitors," Chancellor Tor objected and Zaratkiaran almost smiled. So they were going to try to tag team him, were they? Well, he knew where he would remain and no argument was about to change that.

Gone were the courtiers and other social butterflies of the court. Those remaining were hard and dedicated to their jobs. They were some of the best the Yoxall had to offer, all dedicated to the defense and glory of the Empire.

"And how do you know we don't have the same?" The question was a direct challenge to Bine and her security and she bristled at the implications.

"There are no traitors in my ranks!" she declared.

"But what if they aren't in yours?" Zaratkiaran added, poking at the Chancellor this time. Grand Admiral Palle didn't quite hide his smile in time but the Emperor gave no indication that he'd seen it.

The footage from the Cypiene bunker indicated a massacre, one led by the corpulent Minister of Science. Zaratkiaran had spoken to the Cypiene Minister the day before the massacre, urging the man, and not so incidentally his scientific findings, to retreat into Yoxall territory. He could have had protection, a position, everything he had within Cypiene but the man had turned him down, claiming that he had some way of dealing with the unknown ships. Some way…

He did, alright! He was their agent!

After the massacre, Zaratkiarian had had the footage from the call analyzed. Every scan done, all the beta data examined had shown no hint that the Cypiene Minister of Science had loyalty to the unknown ships. There was no sweat, no twitch, not even the slightest hint of colour on his skin. No heartbeat change and no unconscious gestures and it would have been impossible for the unknown ships to have turned him in a day. The analysis confirmed that he, Emperor Zaratkiaran had been more nervous throughout the discussion and that scared him.

He shuddered remembering that the damage to Cypiene had been bad enough. The unknown ships had played the brutal assassination of those loyal to the Chief Minister as they attacked, making it very clear that they had already won. Then, when everyone expected them to welcome the traitorous Science Minister they had bombed the bunker into oblivion, killing their pawn and all survivors. They had no loyalty to their spies.

The damage to Cypiene was one thing but how much damage could the Cypiene Science Minister have wrought if he had taken Zaratkiaran's offer? It was one thing they could never know and the Emperor was thankful for that.

No, Zaratkiaran was not going to any bunker.

The Captain of his Guard and the Chancellor had continued bickering, much to the amusement of Grand Admiral Palle, while he remembered. Both were now declaring that there were no traitors in their respective forces but Zaratkiaran knew them both well enough to see that neither were completely sure. When it became clear that the unknown ships were the ones the beacon warned them of, the old records had been examined. The horrific reality of indoctrination was clear to see from the Cypiene example and no one knew how to counter that.

"I will remain here," Zaratkiaran announced, startling them both. "Then we will not need to test the information from the beacons."

"The beacons," Chancellor Tor murmured with a soft exhale.

Over the past few months, the beacons had been disassembled in an effort to find any clue, any information that might help. Every recording and writing of the Warrior Prophet had also been analysed. All for nothing and many had succumbed to despair but others continued fighting. They could not go down without at least trying!

"What good were the beacons?" Chancellor Tor demanded. "A cryptic message from a long dead race! We would have been better off with the Warrior Prophet!"

"The Darmaris would never have given him up," Bine's said.

"Then we should have taken him!"

It was an old argument, one that had no bearing on now. "What are our preparations like?" Zaratkiaran interrupted before they could truly start to fight.

The Grand Admiral stepped forward, all trace of amusement gone from his movement. In his wake, a Cypiene shuffled and Zaratkiraran recognized the Chief Sector Commander Hage. The man was broken and if rumour was to be believed, he had tried to smuggle out Fleet Admiral Mse with him only for that formidable woman to break his jaw and a few other bones, stomp on his stomach causing regurgitation before kicking him and storming off. She was presumed dead with the fall of the Cypiene home world but Hage had provided good information about the unknown ships and was always accompanied by two Royal Guards, short swords drawn. They were more than willing to stab him in the back if he so much as twitched out of line.

"Information suggests that it is an advance fleet attacking," Grand Admiral Palle said. "The bulk of the unknown forces follow later and we do not know what they do. Still, an advance fleet means at least one thousand ships with support fleets. And those ships will be led by elites."

"Our forces?" Zaratkiaran prompted, though he was almost certain he knew what forces they had remaining.

"The Home Guard fleet is of course ready and able. In addition, whatever forces have retreated are here and have been integrated into our fleets. That gives us a total of five hundred capital ships and some six thousand support ships."

"How many are new?" The ships hastily constructed or upgraded to the Darmaris designs had proven effective. There was footage of the battle when the unknown ships first encountered them and the ships had caused them to pause. Then two elite ships had appeared and ripped through the new designs, in one case, quite literally.

"We've managed to refit the entire Royal Guard fleet but only twenty or so are actually constructed," Grand Admiral Pelle replied. "There's been no time, Your Majesty."

Zaratkiaran nodded. He understood that. "You've done your best," he consoled the military man.

"We shouldn't have had to!" the Grand Admiral snapped before realising who he was speaking to. Grand Admiral Palle was relatively new to the position, his predecessor had been one of those unable to handle the truth, and he had not yet realised that Zaratkiaran valued competency over fawning.

The Cypiene was not as restrained. "The Darmaris believed the beacons more than any of us," he hissed, his broken jaw still not aligned properly. "They should have made the plans public but that seven times darned Cult of theirs was too enamoured of the Warrior Prophet to see the truth!"

Zaratkiaran said nothing. He'd heard all this before and with the enemy fleet closing in, it was not the time for recriminations. If they survived, history would record what needed to be said.

"The Relay is mined?" He asked suddenly.

The unknown ships used the Relays to travel and the most effective places to attempt to hold them was the contraction caused by the huge objects.

"Yes, Your Majesty. There are one hundred thousand space mines to a radius of fifty thousand klicks. The enemy fleet has been noted to always arrive in close proximity to the Relay."

Zaratkiaran nodded. Yet another aspect of what appeared to be the absolute perfection of the unknown ships. Carefully hidden cameras, which couldn't be that well-hidden because they were routinely destroyed, displayed tight enemy formations approaching the Relay and tight formations exiting the Relay, all at speeds no one else dared approach.

That sort of thing lent credence to the rumours that the ships were the Relay's creators and that Liara and all the races she spoke of had sinned. The Yoxall, the Darmaris, the Cypiene, Gotti and Wilms all shared that sin because they fell into temptation and listened to Liara's words. Zaratkiaran felt his jaw tighten. Except they hadn't. Liara urged them to unite, to form a huge coalition to fight. Well, they had fought all right. Each other! Zaratkiaran doubted much would be different if they had heeded the beacons and it was far too late to consider what might have been.

"What are we doing with the Darmaris forces?" Zaratkiaran asked, ignoring the way Hage coloured at his question. Even with Cypiene territory gone, even with Darmaris territory destroyed, Hage hung on to his old hatreds. They were probably a comfort to him with everything else that had changed.

"They are deployed as a mid-range screen."

"And their effectiveness?"

"Most ships have some damage," Grand Admiral Pelle replied. "But they are still willing and able to fight. Some have been packed with as much explosive as we can find. They will attempt to ram the enemy ships."

"What warheads are they carrying?"

"Eezo enhanced nuclear, though two have pure eezo tips."

Zaratkiaran was impressed. At first, it had been the loss of the western shipyards holding back ship production. As the months went on, it was the complete lack of eezo. That the remaining Darmaris forces had two eezo warheads was impressive. They should be able to destroy some of the enemy ships but Zaratkiaran had no illusions about the reality facing them and he cast a significant glance at his Comm Master.

Rikki shook her head and the Emperor grimaced. Still no communication with the enemy. They were a blank, unyielding wall. Alien in every sense.

Chancellor Tor saw the exchange. "Your Majesty, you can't!" he objected, outraged.

Zaratkiaran didn't bother to reply. The Chancellor was still full of Yoxall pride. He did not have to think of the eight billion people on Torkey as he did. Zaratkiaran had already failed them by being unable to deal with the invaders but he would save as many as he could, even in the face of personal shame. He was already covered in shame. One hundred and ten billion lives had already been lost and their blood was on him. What did it matter if he bent his head? Especially if it saved his people. He shot the comm master another significant glance.

All of the species had tried to fight, Yoxall included, but what if the unknown ships took that as the sign to kill them all or as a sign of stupidity to fight their overwhelming numbers. The ships or the species behind them, might be looking for rationality in the races of the galaxy and if one forsook pride, there was only one rational response. Zaratkiaran scowled. He was most likely grasping at straws. They knew nothing of the species behind the unknown ships and had learned nothing from the limited footage of the ground battles.

He didn't want to think about what he had seen. "What of our ground forces?"

"All military forces are armed and mobilised. Barricades are around each major city and defensive fortification have been erected around key locations. The civilian population is ready to move to the shelters but a fair proportion are willing to fight. We've been looking the other way on weapon purchases for the last few months." The end of the sentence was not necessary. They had been preparing for months, once it became clear that nothing was going to stop the unknown ships.

"Let us pray they don't bomb Torkey," Grand Admiral Pelle murmured.

"There is no evidence that they do," General Edvin retorted. "But if they do, we have AA entrenchments in each area with a population more than one hundred thousand and all surface to air or orbit missiles are ready."

Zaratkiaran nodded. "Have I missed anything?" he asked of the group before him. They were silent for a few moments before one of the General's aides visibly gathered themselves to speak.

"With respect, Your Majesty, it would do the people good if you could speak to them. Reassure them that…" the aide paused, looking uncomfortable and the Emperor could see the way they sought the right words. "If you could reassure them that everything possible is being done," the aide concluded and Zaratkiaran was slightly impressed. The aide hadn't included any triteness about how the darkness would be driven away, though perhaps that wasn't too surprising. Only those who could accept reality had made it this far. The idealists, those who genuinely believed the Yoxall could win, had generally been turned into their component atoms by the beam weapons of the unknown ships.

"Organise it," Zaratkiaran allowed. The aide was correct. Even if he expected to lose, he had to do his part for morale. "Nothing more?" the Emperor prompted but before anyone could speak, a distant alarm sounded. The group went completely still, recognising the tone.

They were here. The first unknown ships had just appeared thru the Relay and the time to test all their preparations had come. Zaratkiaran didn't even bother to look at the screen which appeared, showing the minefield around the Relay. Somehow, the unknown fleet would avoid or otherwise neutralise the mines.

"Get to your positions," Zaratkiaran ordered before he bit his lip. He forced that to be his only reaction. He had never felt so weak. "And may the Gods of Light go with you all," he added the old benediction in a voice that was firm. He didn't believe in them any more than he believed in the Darmaris' Warrior Prophet but right at the moment he would take all the help he could get.

-cfr-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The cycle is continuing quickly. While the organics do have some strong weaponry – in the platforms they had around the Citadel, that weaponry is stationary. A ship is less powerful because it has to have space for a crew, and all the things that entails and needs to have a propulsion system and all other things, so they just aren't as powerful.


	40. Surrendering To The Inevitable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The organics bow to the inevitable. Harbinger speaks to Shepard about a few key issues and Shepard has troubles developing a particle cannon. Where are the particle cannon specs 'for dummies'?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 3 The Trigger**  
**Chapter 39: Surrendering To The Inevitable**

-cfr-

**Year 47,024 CE - 44,797 years after Human Ascension (3,155 years after the capture of the Warrior Prophet)**

**Yoxall Homeworld, Torkey**

Shepard looked down at the small group corralled before him. They were surrounded on three sides by destroyers with Shepard taking the fourth position. They were older destroyers, from races he had never heard of until he had heard their names. He wondered what they thought of him. Did the older destroyers think of the Humans as upstarts or were they used to new Primes lording it over them? Even if they thought that, he resolved to treat them fairly. They were Ascended.

Arshan hadn't been surprised to get the call from the organics. The elder Ascended indicated that this was normal near the end of the Harvest. "Organics either recognise the truth or self-destruct," he had remarked when they received the offer of unconditional surrender.

Still, the Ascended were wary of ambush. It could be a ruse to lure one of them close enough to try a tactical warhead but Shepard didn't think so. He had not replied immediately. Instead, he had forwarded the message to Harbinger and watched the being who claimed to be the Yoxall Emperor's reaction. There had been anguish at the continued destruction but no change to the offer and after what probably seemed an eternity to the organic, Harbinger had indicated his acceptance, reliant on there being more than six billion still alive.

The Yoxall were lucky. Six point five billion remained and it was only because the eldest wished to compensate for their primitive nature in the new Prime form had he even considered accepting surrender. Most species that surrendered were treated just as harshly as those who didn't. In different ways, Shepard corrected his thoughts. It was slightly better to surrender, though the outcomes remained the same. If the species knew the truth, most wouldn't surrender but the Yoxall had and he had been tasked with speaking with the organic Emperor.

"My name is Human Shepard," he said to the group, hoping that they could get on with this.

He saw the way the Emperor flinched back and knew he recognised the Human part from Liara's beacon. The Emperor was so easy to read and mentally Shepard bit his tongue. With what he knew now, he could show no annoyance lest he betray himself. A true Ascended would not take offence and he had to behave properly but not too properly or that too would incite suspicion. "Liara called us traitor because she did not understand, Emperor. You are already more advanced by acknowledging the truth."

The Emperor was silent so Shepard waited. It was perhaps a bit cruel to expect the one who had surrendered to speak but that was the easiest way to determine their true intentions. Not that he thought the Emperor had any ulterior motive. Examination of Yoxall documents revealed that treachery would most likely come from one of the entourage.

"You are singular?" the Yoxall asked, referring to his name. "Or is that the name of the ship?

Internally, there was laughter at the Yoxall understanding but Shepard acknowledged the confusion. If he had not known the truth about Harbinger, he would have been equally confused. If he had not known the truth, there would have been no deal. "I am Human Shepard," he repeated. There was no need to explain further.

"Is that the name of your species?"

"We are beyond names. We impose order on the chaos of organic evolution." Internally, Shepard winced. He never thought he'd be quoting Sovereign's lines but explaining things to the Emperor would take far too long.

The Yoxall seemed to understand that he would not get answers that way so chose to introduce himself next. "I am Emperor Zaratkiaran Zenshozenta VIII of the Yoxall Empire."

"And?" Shepard prompted. Surrender had already been accepted but it was important to have the words spoken. That reinforced the reality.

It appeared the Emperor understood what Shepard wanted even if some in the group accompanying him did not. "I confirm the unconditional surrender of all Yoxall forces. Effective immediately." Several members of the Emperor's entourage stiffened at the words and Shepard unconsciously prepared to shield the Emperor if required. It would not do to have this organic die now.

"I accept your surrender," Shepard replied formally.

"On behalf of?" Zaratkiaran asked.

"We are beyond such need for names but in terms you may understand, we are Ascended and we are above the mundane chaos of your organic lives."

He watched the Emperor try to take that in but knew without the background of much more information, it would only be once the individuals were Ascended would the Yoxall begin to understand. At the moment, the Emperor was still shocked to be speaking with the 'Destroyer' as they had named him. It was flattering but Shepard had kept his public reaction to a snort of amusement before dismissing it. It was in keeping with his character.

The Emperor didn't understand but Shepard sensed he would ask the question all organics did next and he almost laughed aloud when the question came. From an organic point of view, it was important to know why, even if they could not comprehend the reasons. In this way, Shepard's cycle had been more advanced. The Humans hadn't really cared why, they just saw it as an opportunity. "Why are you doing this?"

"Does it really matter to you, Emperor, when it is obvious that we have?" Shepard returned his own question. Any explanation he offered would not be understood. Before the Emperor could reply, Shepard began giving instructions. "As the central governing body of the Yoxall, you will organise your people into seven locations. There are approximately six and a half billion left alive."

"Of eight billion?" The Emperor gasped and Shepard could hear the pain in his voice.

He dismissed it. The Yoxall had killed billions of Humans and while he was no longer meant to feel a drive for revenge, he could not deny the ascension of the other races had helped soothe him. "Once in those locations, they will be processed and when that is complete, we will leave Torkey."

The Emperor was still in pain but he heard the last part. "You will leave?"

"We will," Shepard said. "In your time periods, it should take about three to four years but then we will leave," he repeated the reassurance. Of course, the Yoxall would be leaving with them but that was information the Emperor didn't need to know.

"What is processing?" One of the entourage asked.

"Processing is the path to ascension. You will be preserved by the glory of ascension."

"Wow, way to spin shit!" Joker called.

Shepard ignored him, even as he privately admitted that his pilot was right but Arshan had warned him against speaking the complete truth about ascension. It would push those who had surrendered into self-destruction and Harbinger wanted the Yoxall to be Ascended.

"What does that actually mean?"

"Your species has been chosen to know the glory of ascension," Shepard said even as he thought the truth.  _It means I won't be able to kill your race._  "You will reorganise your people to those locations we nominate, or we will do it for you," he added, leaving no doubt as to how they would do it. "This meeting was a formality to inform you of the changes." He moved one leg and almost laughed at the way the group shuddered. It was impressive to see a form as large as his move, Shepard knew, as he activated his mass effect fields and folded his legs upwards so that he hovered in the air before them. It was a bit tricky to make sure he didn't accidentally splatter the weak organics but it was worth it to see their absolute shock.

Behind him, the first wave of processing ships descended. There were only a few, most were servicing the other races and with so many uplifted, the entire processing fleet had been called into service and they were still short of facilities. Harbinger wasn't concerned. The resistance of this cycle was broken even if the Harvest wasn't complete and the longer it took to process the organics, the longer he would have to work on developing the new slaves.

"It is over, former Emperor Zaratkiaran Zenshozenta VIII of the conquered Yoxall Empire," Shepard said. "Do not presume upon our good will, for we have none. Obedience is all we expect and obedience is what we will receive." With that, he lifted further into the sky, not bothering to look back at the Yoxall. There was nothing left to do now but attend to the final mechanics of the cycle.

-cfr-

**Ascended Fleet**

Harbinger reviewed his internal galaxy map. He was quietly pleased with the results of the cycle. The Harvest was well underway in all parts of the galaxy and those where it wasn't were subdued and awaiting sufficient processing ships. There was a token Harvest progressing there, enough ships that the organics knew what was to come, but not sufficient to truly progress the Harvest with any degree of speed. That would come as the rest of the galaxy was harvested and they could move the ships into position.

Shepard had done well. The young Ascended had controlled his rage and had not inflicted undue damage on the planets. He had also left sufficient population on each planet for ascension. The smaller colonies were obliterated but that was a normal part of the Harvest. In many cases, there were too many left alive and the husks which were processing the organics had culled many. The entire fleet would be well stocked for the next cycle.

On the Cypiene homeworld, where he had ordered a sample population of several million preserved for the creation of a new slave race, there was ample for him to choose from. He had taken a population of 100 million and was testing them now. The strongest would form the base for the new slaves.

But all of that had left him concerned. Shepard had made no move to disobey or stretch his orders. That was unlike the Human. It could be due to many reasons but Harbinger was inclined to think the worst. The previous cycle, even with the chaperoning presence of Arshan and Fruben, the Humans had been unpredictable. With the rage they felt this time, that trend should have continued.

"Or they could be adapting to ascension," Arshan offered the explanation. "They are progressing through the archive at a surprising rate."

"True," Harbinger agreed. The Human Ascended were sorting through the combined knowledge of the fleet very quickly but that was not surprising with all of them working on it. Yet that sort of distraction didn't explain why they had been so predictable.

"Maybe they believe the deaths were their fault?" Fruben offered another explanation. "While their mission three thousand years ago was a success, it did drive the species to further develop their weaponry."

Harbinger considered it. Guilt would explain why the Humans had fulfilled their obligations without attempting to break his orders but Shepard's rage had not been tainted by guilt. Fruben's explanation was plausible but could not be the entire reason.

"You could ask him," Arshan speculated. If Harbinger asked, Shepard would be obligated to speak the truth. They all were and while the first Ascended had that power, he prefered to control things well enough that he already knew the motives of the Ascended.

"Very well," Harbinger replied and Arshan felt him reach out to initiate comms with Shepard.

"Harbinger," the first Human Ascended said, a subtle note of surprise in his voice indicating his question as to why the first Ascended was calling.

"The cycle is almost complete," Harbinger said. The explanations offered by Arshan and Fruben were plausible but he couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else. But as he had learned, long before the Humans had come along, if he did not ask the correct questions then the answers would not reveal anything. It was the same as him having to give precise orders to some to ensure they obeyed properly. The Humans were not the first species to be this way and all had accepted his dominance.

"It is," Shepard agreed. "The Yoxall are still controlled," he continued, his sub-channel providing an overview of the situation on the Yoxall homeworld. There were more processing ships landing every day and while there was some unrest from the subjugated population, it was controlled.

"How do you feel?" Harbinger asked directly, indicating that he expected Shepard to answer. There was no doubt as to what he was asking about.

He felt the Human Ascended think about his answer but there was no sense that Shepard was trying to deceive him.

"I am still saddened by their loss," Shepard replied finally. "But they died in the service of ascension and they will be remembered," he added, referring to the way that all Ascended remembered the others, even those who had not gone through a complete cycle.

Harbinger listened to Shepard's reply but knew there was something more that contributed to the lack of surprises with this cycle. "You feel no further desire for revenge?" Harbinger probed.

The obvious conclusion was that Shepard had obeyed because the young Ascended had determined some other way of inflicting pain on those who had killed the youngest Human Ascended. If that was the case… Ascended served the cycle. They were not required to like each other but no Ascended could deliberately attack another and the Humans could not be allowed to try. They might be young, they might still feel organic emotion strongly but they could not be allowed to become resentful towards the cycle. It was the way of the galaxy and no species, Ascended or not, would stop it.

-cfr-

**Orbit of Yoxall Homeworld, Torkey**

Unbeknownst to Harbinger, Shepard was frozen by the first Ascended's question.

' _You feel no further desire for revenge?'_ It was a statement but the first Ascended made it clear that he wanted an answer.

Shepard could answer 'yes' and then try to brazen his way out but it was all too easy to see where that would lead. Even if he tried to say that the best revenge was ascending the races, so that they understood the pain he felt, he doubted that would be enough to convince the first Ascended. Or he could answer 'no' but how did he justify that? Was it even the truth?"

Shepard forced himself to relax as he considered his feelings. He had to tell Harbinger the truth, which meant he had to know himself. Did he have a further desire for revenge? He asked it of himself and calmed further when he realised the answer was no. There was some remnant desire to rend and tear and rage but on the whole he was satisfied.

Was it because he knew revenge was coming?

No. Cerberus was not revenge. Cerberus was justice.

Shepard calmed further, forcing himself to take the Ascended equivalent of a deep breath.

"No," he replied to Harbinger, allowing the Ascended leader to feel part of his thoughts. "A part of me does," Shepard admitted. "But a part of me will always want it. Most of me knows that they are dead," he said, referring to the youngest Human Ascended. "And I know, no matter what is done, they will not return. All I can do is seek justice," Shepard said, carefully editing his thoughts to display the feelings he had known as a soldier. He had lost comrades before, some to ambushes and there was nothing that could be done once they were gone but to ensure that the mission continued.

"The species of the cycle have given you justice?" Harbinger continued probing.

At that, Shepard allowed himself to laugh. "Not quite yet," he told the first Ascended. "They do not yet understand what they have done. Just as I did not truly understand what the death of Nazara meant until I was Ascended, they will not know until they awaken in their new form." He didn't try to justify further, allowing Harbinger to draw his own conclusions.

It was one of the peculiarities of the Ascended fleet. No matter how many Ascended the organics killed, their Ascended forms were not held accountable but Shepard had not lied. Now, he truly understood what Nazara's death meant. The entire species was gone with only the memory remaining locked in the Ascended fleet. He felt no guilt but he understood the consequences more.

"That will be justice?" Harbinger asked for clarification.

"Yes, Sir," Shepard replied briefly.

The eldest was experienced enough to read quite a lot from anything he said.

Shepard felt Harbinger deliberate over what he had said. The first Ascended had been looking for something and Shepard could only hope that he had provided satisfactory replies.

-cfr-

"He's growing up," Arshan noted. "Though as precocious as they are, it will require a few more cycles before they are completely Ascended."

Harbinger thought, dismissing Arshan's notes. The other Ascended knew the Humans well but he might know them too well and would not see what Shepard did not want him to see. The first Human Ascended had provided more information than he believed with his replies but there had been no lies contained within his words, not that there could be. It was impossible for Ascended to lie to him but that didn't stop some of them trying. Further, there had been no sense that the young Ascended had omitted information. The eldest had not missed Shepard's initial panicked thoughts but he had felt the Human work thru his feelings before providing an answer.

The answer surprised Shepard almost as much as it had Harbinger. The first Ascended had thought that the Human would desire further revenge. They had upon the races of their cycle which had led to the deal but Shepard had answered honestly and while some Humans may feel differently, they would follow their leader. So long as Shepard was not resentful, having a few would be acceptable and may be unavoidable. But the first Human Ascended had touched upon something interesting. The sins of the organics did not transfer to ascension but were the Humans that willing to forgive those of their cycle?

"Shepard," Harbinger captured the first Human Ascended's attention again. "What are you feelings towards the Asari?"

Over the Yoxall homeworld, Shepard twitched but it was a relieved motion. Harbinger had moved on from the cycle that they were still Harvesting. This question was one he could answer far more easily, especially as he had considered it himself.

"I still do not like them and I doubt they like me," he told the eldest. "But they are Ascended now, and Ascended serve the cycle so I wish them no further misfortune." He had come to that conclusion near the end of the previous cycle. It was pointless to hate those you had dominated completely.

"Few of the non Human Ascended from your cycle like you," Harbinger observed. Almost every lesser Ascended form from the Human cycle had asked to join other fleets. The basic break up of the Ascended fleet was in cycles because the races of each cycle at least knew each other. It was not impossible for Ascended to join other basic fleet groupings but it  _was_  unusual. The Humans hadn't seemed to care but as time went on the difference would become more pronounced. Harbinger wondered if it was because the Humans had Ascended their own cycle. That had never happened before.

"It is their loss," Shepard said indicating that the lesser forms would have a much better chance of long term survival in the battles against organics with his fleet because there were over four hundred prime forms to fight with them.

Harbinger agreed with Shepard's thought. "Some will be assigned back to you," he announced.

"Just not the Batarian," Shepard said. "While we will not kill it," he added, tactfully avoiding mentioning that as Ascended they could not consciously kill another Ascended, "I cannot guarantee we would protect it as well as we should."

"You still hate them?" Harbinger was surprised. All his information said the Batarians had not killed as many Humans as the Turians had and Shepard had always been fixated on the Asari as the driving force behind the Council races. There was no reason visible to him for Shepard to still hate the Batarian.

"Yes," Shepard replied simply. "Their species touched a very raw nerve in Humanity," he explained to the first Ascended. "We found them to be a cowardly species, yet quick to take offence if their perceived rights were violated. They were opportunistic, attacking only once they knew the target was lightly defended. That is, by itself, not a bad tactic," Shepard conceded, "but it was the atrocities they wrought after their attack on the innocent noncombatants, the women and children, that ingrained such a deep hatred. The Turians were soldiers, they killed others on the battlefield. The Asari were open in their dislike and the Salarians acted for their own self-interest. They were easy to understand. The Batarians caused pain, attempting to establish a superiority they would never have."

"Not the Batarian," Harbinger agreed. "I will start with the Krogan and Quarians," he added. If the Humans were going to participate on the front lines of ascension, as it appeared they would, then they would need to be properly supported by the rest of the fleet. That was the way of ascension.

Harbinger closed comms with Shepard, thinking about what he had learned. The Humans were Ascended and Ascended served the cycle but while they were maturing quickly, as evidenced by their assimilation of the Ascended network, they were still young and he would still need to guide them, so that they could come to know the true glory of ascension in a way few ever understood.

-cfr-

Shepard breathed a sigh of relief when Harbinger closed the comms. The first Ascended hadccepted his explanation and with that happening, it was doubtful that his anger and rage at th ae beginning of this cycle would ever be brought up again. Given the time scales involved, he calculated it at about two percent and even then while reference might be made, it would be comparative not comprehensive.

Harper was in the clear and, unless Cerberus' leader became overconfident, all should eventually be well. Shepard turned his mind from Harper. The less he thought about the other Ascended the safer they all were and he had plenty of things to provide distraction.

An oculus hovered in space before him. It looked like every other oculus but this one was different. Instead of a laser, he had given it a tiny particle cannon. It was based on the designs they had taken from this cycle. It was time to field test it. With his mass effect fields, he pushed a scrap of metal in front of it and commanded the oculus to fire.

Nothing happened and even though he lacked a Human body, he growled. The peanut gallery laughed and Shepard was thankful that he hadn't asked some other Ascended to watch. Carefully, he reached out with his mass effect fields and pulled the oculus into a bay. The stream of smoke that traced up from it the moment it hit atmosphere was not reassuring.

"Oh god," Shepard recognised Joker's voice as the man gasped. "This is like one of those cartoons!"

Shepard sent a husk towards the oculus while he reviewed the plans. It should have worked. He was sure he'd built it correctly.

"Obviously not," Adams commented.

"So you work it out," Shepard said, very tempted to just dump the entire project in the Engineer's hands.

"Oh no," Adams said, quickly backing away. "This is your project. Besides, just think how much satisfaction you will get when you work it out." The engineer added.

"That just means you have no idea what went wrong!" Shepard retorted but his chief engineer had already taken refuge in one of the lower layers of consciousness though Shepard could still feel him watching. Actually, he could feel a whole group watching with more than just the usual interest.

"All those with some interest in engineering are watching," Annie told him.

"They could help," Shepard said.

"They could," she agreed. "But they think this way is more fun."

Shepard sighed. He could order them to help but this project was not critical. It was for his own interest. The particle cannons that the organics utilised this cycle were only a threat when installed on weapon platforms. Those on the capital ships were powerful but they could not take on groups of Ascended. Still, he wanted to see if he could get one working on an oculus because they were useful. Although the Thanix cannons were great, they relied on super heated metal and thus there was a chance of running out of supplies. He never wanted to be defenceless so needed to test alternatives.

Even looking into the Ascended database, particle cannons seemed one of the best possibilities. If only he could get the thing working. The husk had taken the outer layer off and Shepard was looking at the internals but he couldn't see anything wrong. He pulled up the holographic view of the alien plans he had created to compare it to the actual oculus but still couldn't see anything incorrect.

"All right," he announced, directing the husk to push the oculus to the side. "Back to the drawing board." If he couldn't find what was wrong, he could always try a different set of plans. Each of the races of this cycle had their own designs, so maybe he shouldn't have started with the Cypiene. They were generally the most complicated. "The Darmaris," he said, pulling up their plans and beginning the task of drawing a holographic schematic again.

"Are you having fun, Shepard?"

"Lots of it, Zaeed," he told the other Ascended, sarcasm lacing his tone.

"Good to hear," Zaeed laughed.

"Was there something you wanted?"

"While you were attempting to determine the practical limitations of alien technology, some of the rest of us were working," Zaeed said.

"You are on mining duty as I recall." Shepard hadn't been in charge of assigning duties so there was nothing he could do to change what Zaeed had been doing and the other Ascended knew it. Yet even while they were doing their assigned chores, the fleet had been working on the wikipedia project. Shepard had just decided to take it further and see if they had been clear enough on their descriptions of the alien tech. So far, the plans weren't good enough yet but he could not discount the possibility that he had made an error in either construction or in reading the original plans. He was not an engineer for all that he had access to their memories.

"Yes, I was just delivering a batch for the Yoxall Prime. One of the others should be along soon with eezo."

"So what did you want?" Shepard asked.

"We've found something on the Relays," Zaeed announced.

"Already?" Shepard was surprised. All estimates had indicated that information on the Relays was at the beginning of the Ascended archive and they had to work their way back.

"We aren't the only species who are interested in them. So we keep coming across references to them and to tidbits of information."

"But you've found something substantial?"

"You could say that," Zaeed spat and Shepard knew from the reaction that the news was not good.

"What is it?"

"They are a bitch," Zaeed replied. "We haven't found any plans or anything but one species did a credible breakdown of the energy requirements for a Relay. Fully half of its energy at any time is devoted to the quantum shields."

"Half?!"

"Half," Zaeed confirmed.

"That's-" Shepard groped for a diplomatic way of expressing his surprise.

"Far too much to be practical."

"I did tell you that quantum shields were unlikely to be a solution," Shepard said.

"I know, I know but I still want them. There was one other bit of useful information about the Quantum shields."

"Hmm?"

"They are required to keep the Relays operational."

"How do they do that?"

"As you said, Quantum Shields lock everything down to the quantum level. Thus if nothing can change in the Relay, they keep working and they do not require constant maintenance. It's one of the ways of keeping the organics from learning too much about the Relays. If they never break, there's less reason for the organics to attempt to break them to find out how they work because, if they do break it, they won't be travelling anywhere," Zaeed added the last with a laugh.

"True," Shepard agreed. "Will you keep looking?" he asked. While Zaeed had been working on the wikipedia project, he had been focusing on finding information about the Quantum Shields. He couldn't fault the other Ascended because he was sure if he looked he'd find that most of the Human Ascended were focused on areas that interested them. It all had to be mapped and translated so there was no point in pushing into other areas just yet. They were making enough progress.

"Of course!" Zaeed replied. "I am going to get quantum shields," he said with certainty.

"It just won't be easy," Shepard couldn't help but put in the jab.

"Just like a particle cannon," Zaeed retorted.

"Get out of here," Shepard growled, but he couldn't help the laugh in his voice.

Zaeed laughed at him but turned away. They both had duties they needed to return to.

"Alright," Shepard said, mentally turning back to the particle cannon plans after he had run a quick scan on the planet. The Yoxall were still behaving. Just as Zaeed would get quantum shields, he was going to make a working particle cannon.

With or without the help of his engineers.

He felt them watching him still. For the moment, it was definitely without.

-cfr-

Shepard snarled as he sliced thru the Yoxall support ship. His mood was not improved by the fact the vessel had been armed with a set of particle cannons. They were light class, so even if they hadn't gotten thru his shields they fired faster than his thanix cannons. Theoretically particle cannons would penetrate shields far more easily and thus they would be the perfect tool for destroying point defences, shield generators and other things. They would be a nice complement to his thanix cannons but for now, Shepard would accept making a working oculus. The fact that he had not yet been able to make a working particle cannon oculus just added salt to the wound.

Version II had exploded the instant it had been ordered to fire. He could still remember the howls of laughter from the engineers, yet they had refused to volunteer any information.

The fucking organics could build them, why couldn't he? He had been examining the plans for the weapon for the… well he hadn't kept count and those in his form who had, knew better than to tell him the number when his alarms had sounded, alerting him to the launch of an unauthorised ship. He'd ordered it to return to the surface but it hadn't and when it had fired, he'd destroyed it.

Now he had to deal with the Emperor and punish the Yoxall. All of which would take time away from the Version III oculus he was working on.

He didn't bother with any subtlety when he ripped open the comm channel to the Emperor. The Yoxall was frantically working with several others and it looked like they had visuals of the craft he had just destroyed.

"I trust you have an explanation for this?" he demanded. He had warned Zaratkiaran not to presume upon their good nature but it appeared his warning had fallen on deaf ears.

The entire room of Yoxall stiffened and then looked up at his voice.

"I'm waiting," Shepard prompted.

"It was not an official launch," the Emperor replied, obviously trying to buy time.

"All launches were banned," Shepard returned. The organics could not provide any reason to justify disobeying.

The Emperor seemed to hear that in his voice because to Shepard's senses the Yoxall went paler and his heartbeat spiked. "What do we do?" he asked tiredly. There was no escaping his responsibility.

For an instant, Shepard was tempted to demand that some of the surviving Yoxall engineers be shipped to him but that was akin to admitting defeat, to say nothing of how it would be disobeying his orders. "You have three hours to find whoever was responsible and present them to me. I will call again then," Shepard concluded with a growl before cutting the comm.

Let them wonder what the punishment would be if they didn't comply.

With a sigh, he turned back to Version III. He was again attempting a Darmaris design. While Version II had exploded, something must have worked for it to explode. He'd combed thru the remains and thought that perhaps the internal shielding hadn't been strong enough, even though he'd made it exactly to spec.

The new design called for stronger shielding so that is what he would try. It would be ready in a day or so and already he could feel his internal engineers watching. They seemed hopeful but Shepard wouldn't be convinced until it fired.

"It's a good thing you didn't order the Yoxall to provide engineers," Annie noted.

"It went against my orders," Shepard replied.

"You could have tacked it on without Harbinger noticing," she said.

Shepard had to admit that it was true, except Annie didn't know what he did. He could not afford attention from the first Ascended, even if that type of disobedience was likely to be overlooked. "I'm not that stupid," Shepard said. "They'd  _never_  let me hear the end of it," he added. He didn't need to elaborate on who 'they' were.

"True," Annie laughed. "How is this one going?"

"I am hopeful," Shepard replied, watching as the husk worked on the oculus. He had fully automated plans to create oculi but special ones had to be hand-built, at least at first. If this… no  _when_  this worked he would modify one of his plants to produce oculi with particle cannons.

Eventually, he'd like to modify one or two of his pereiopod cannons but he would have to wait to discover what the thought was on modifying your form. If it was against any rules, Harbinger would not overlook that disobedience.

"It will work," Annie said.

"The engineers told you?" He asked.

"No. I just know that eventually it will work," she replied.

"Eventually," Shepard agreed ignoring the laughter from within.

It was when it continued that he could no longer ignore it. He'd obviously done something wrong for them to be laughing but even after examining the half-formed oculi he couldn't see anything. "Well?" he demanded but the engineers said nothing. If anything their sense of amusement deepened. "Fine," Shepard snapped. He was sick of this. "If you are going to be like that, you can just shut up!"

The laughter immediately ceased and Shepard revelled in the quiet.

"You shouldn't have done that," Anne said and he could hear the grimace in her voice.

"Done what?"

"Ordered them to shut up," she replied. "Now, they'll never help, and they'll just say it was because you told them to shut up."

Shepard groaned. Annie was correct but there was nothing he could do about it right now because his internal sense of time told him that the Yoxall's three hours were up. He sent his consciousness through the comm system into the Emperor's office.

The Yoxall sat with his head in his hands. "What do we do? The three hours are almost up," Zaratkiaran groaned.

"There's nothing we can do, Your Majesty," one of the other Yoxall present said and Shepard identified them as Grand Admiral Palle from the records they'd lifted. "No one in the launch area is saying anything and those responsible have probably run, if they weren't on the ship."

"Where? They can't have gone far on foot," the Emperor said, referring to the fact that there had been no shuttles in or out of the area and the invaders had severely restricted just about all forms of transport.

"There might be tunnels," Grand Admiral Palle replied. There were parts of Torkey littered with tunnels from ages past.

"That doesn't help us now. What the hell do I tell Shepard?" Zaratkiaran asked.

"You tell me the truth," Shepard said. "Lying would not be healthy," he added before waiting for a response.

The Emperor slumped before visibly gathering himself. He knew it had to be him who spoke. "We…" he sighed. "We cannot find anyone," he concluded and waited for the axe to fall.

Shepard considered ordering the Emperor's execution but that would mean he had to break in a new spokesperson and it could lead to riots. He could put them down but it would cause an unnecessary loss of life. It was better to take the direct approach. "Then you will suffer the consequences," he said, before shifting his orbit.

"What are you doing?" Zaratkiaran asked but Shepard ignored him. They could track his movements on their screens. The Ascended had not destroyed that much of their sensor net, though maybe he should.

He brought himself into orbit over the location where the ship had launched from and arched himself, lining up his spinal mounted cannon. Shepard allowed the lights along the length of the weapon to light up. It should make his intentions obvious. This main cannon should destroy a sufficiently large area. As a bonus, it would collapse any tunnels dissidents were hiding in. Alarms began blaring in the Emperor's office when they sensed the energy spike.

"You can't!" Zaratkiaran objected.

Shepard didn't bother to answer. It was fairly obvious that he was.

"They are innocent," the Emperor said, almost begging.

"Then they should have told you who was responsible," Shepard said. He was aware that his action was very much overkill for fighting terrorists, because that's what he was facing, but it would illustrate to the Yoxall that he was not to be trifled with. If the attacks continued, he would release indoctrinated agents and start public executions.

"If you cannot control your people, I will," he added the statement, firing his main cannon. The round almost immediately began burning through the atmosphere. Shepard flicked up a display from one of his cameras and the pre-hacked Yoxall network to get a cam from the area.

The Emperor had to understand the consequences. The cam showed a fairly normal scene. They were harvesting but had not yet truly decimated the population. There were Yoxall walking about as they conducted their business and a few younglings were running through the street when his round hit.

The cam on the ground showed a flash of light before it displayed static. His camera showed a lot more. The shock wave travelled outwards, demolishing buildings that had not been within the impact crater. A cloud of dust rose, obscuring much but then fire followed the shock wave, leaving the area completely decimated.

"This is the price of disobedience," Shepard said, "and you will tell your people that this was due to their disobedience. Next time, I will not be so understanding," Shepard added before cutting the comm.

At least, that's what it looked like to those in the Emperor's office. In reality, he remained listening as his cam showed the full extent of the destruction.

Emperor Zaratkiaran shivered, a surprisingly Human reaction. "What have I done?" he whispered.

Grand Admiral Palle looked equally sick but he was quick to reassure the Emperor. "What you had to," he said. "We had no way of winning. You did the only thing you could, to save as many as you could."

"As if that helped. We still know nothing about them."

The Grand Admiral looked like he didn't want to speak but had to. "They do not kill without reason."

"Tell that to those who died!" Zaratkiaran yelled, pointing at the screen. "I didn't save them!"

"But you tried to and you will continue to try!" Grand Admiral Palle reassured the Emperor.

"Against monsters, what does it matter?"

"It matters, Your Majesty. It matters because it proves you are not like them."

Shepard felt oddly insulted by that. Compared to what some of the Ascended would have done, his response was light.

The Emperor waved the Grand Admiral away and Shepard knew their conversation was over. He kept the link open but returned the bulk of his attention to Version III. Even with the engineers' silence, he would make it work!

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because Shepard is Ascended, this does not give him engineering ability, which means he has to learn, like any poor mortal. There won't be any miraculous discoveries of super weapons in the Ascended archives. They are already out in the open in the form of the Ascended and the Black Stars.
> 
> As for Harbinger, well, he's not dumb and he's a suspicious cookie but with the two rules of Ascension he doesn't have to worry too much. Ascended cannot lie to Ascended and Ascended cannot fire on Ascended. Even if they hate you, you don't need much more to keep control. And Shepard is going to be a good little Ascended from now on. Plus all Ascended are indoctrinated. If ingame, being near 'reaper' tech is enough to indoctrinate you, I think actually being a reaper would be more than enough to ensure you are indoctrinated. But beyond that, all Ascended are indoctrinated by the Catalyst. The Humans were no exception.


	41. Kai Has Unexpectrd Depths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper triggers a few of the failsafes of Ascension. But eventually he works out how he can fulfill supposedly impossible orders. Kai has some interests which no one knew about. They will have consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**  
**Chapter 40: Kai Has Unexpected Depths**

**-cfr-**

Please note: For ease of understanding by the target audience, Humanity, alien gestures, speech, time and distance measurements, where necessary, have been translated into the superior Human standard equivalents. Any aliens reading this document will acknowledge the superiority and stability brought by Human dominance. Failure to do so is your own fault but is not surprising as you are non-human. The required adjustments to your thought patterns will be made immediately.

**-cfr-**

**44797 Years after Human Ascension (During the Cycle)**

**Sol System, Human Ascended Cerberus**

Harper spent a few moments just hovering in space. Then he sent a query for a status report.

It brought a satisfactory glow when it came back completely clean. There were no warnings, nothing to be looked at. He was, once again, fully operational. Even his metal stockpiles were within acceptable ranges. How long had it been since he had been whole?

Just because he could, he sent the query again, revelling when again it came up clean.

He did a barrel roll, laughing before executing another. They were both slow. Ascended didn't move that way well but it felt so good to be able to move freely again and he shot across space, pushing himself to his highest acceleration. He was not a speed freak but darn did it feel good to move freely.

Eventually, Harper calmed. He shouldn't be that happy about something that should be normal. Or at least, he shouldn't revel in the return of normalcy for too long. He had other things he needed to be doing.

Clean up was first. In the course of his repairs, he'd managed to extract most of the cores. He'd placed them in a stable orbit around Earth before concentrating on fixing himself. But now, he had to dispose of those parts he hadn't needed. That was relatively simple. He'd return them to the degrading orbit into the sun.

Then he had to load the cores. It was best to get that done sooner rather than later, in case something unexpected happened. It had been one of the truths he'd learned as Cerberus' Commander. Expect to be interrupted so make sure the essential tasks were taken care of first. Fixing himself had been the highest priority and despite Shepard's orders, he knew the First Human Ascended would want the cores preserved next. Then he could think about how to kill the Catalyst.

Harper gasped as he awoke, and immediately he checked his messages. It was a holdover from the days when he was still organic and even though he no longer had eyes, he felt them widen when he saw the messages.

It was not the incoming messages that surprised him. There were always random signals in the galaxy that the Ascended picked up and generally ignored, some from thousands of years before. It was the outgoing message.

There was a single high priority signal in his cache. It had not been sent but had continued to try since…

Harper felt the frown. A month ago? Thirty five days, seven hours and ten minutes, to be exact. But he hadn't sent any signals. Shepard had ordered him not to and Harper hadn't disobeyed but there was a message. One from him to the Catalyst and Harbinger.

_No,_  Harper breathed as he looked at the contents. It was a record of his thoughts with a date stamp about a month ago.

He checked his chrono, checking the timestamp and the present time. It really was about a month ago!

What had he been doing a month ago? He'd finished repairing himself when he'd thought about what Shepard had said and then his chrono had skipped a month and there was the highest priority signal in his cache, telling the Catalyst exactly what he'd been thinking.

Oh…  _Oh…_  Harper realized. It was part of the failsafes of ascension. The Catalyst couldn't create a force of super ships unless it could control them. He should have anticipated that but how did Shepard think about it? The First Human Ascended had been very clear with his instructions, so how did Shepard think about it? How did he even speak about it? Because Harper's recording of Shepard's instructions was clear. Shepard had ordered him to come up with a way to kill the Catalyst.

"Darn it!" Harper snarled when he awoke. He checked his chrono. Thirty five days, seven hours and ten minutes and another high priority message. He sobered quickly though. He'd never thought he'd be thankful to Shepard but the grunt's orders had been explicit. He was not to contact anyone. That's what kept the message cached. Because if the message was sent, he wouldn't be waking up.

Harper quickly turned his mind away from the rest of Shepard's orders before they could affect him again but he couldn't help thinking that something wasn't right. Shepard's orders kept the signal from going out but what kept waking him up? Surely, the Catalyst would also want to keep a hostile Ascended in a state of hibernation? He looked deeper into the Ascended installed protocols. It was his will that ran his form and made the decisions but it was the Ascended protocols and other consciousnesses which made those decisions a reality. They were his operating system. It took a little while to find it but near the core of the protocols, there was code that had been added. It made Harper vaguely thankful to see that the Ascended were not quite perfect.

For him, the code had all come in all at once but for the early Ascended it had been added later. For all that it was a simple addition, it didn't quite integrate with the core code completely smoothly. It was a hard coded reboot with wiring to match.

Harper frowned, examining it further. It was simple. If he shut down for too long, for any reason apart from hibernation, the code initiated a restart. It automatically connected him back to the Relay system of timekeeping, allowing him to know exactly how much time had passed since he shut down, and that was it.

So that's why he kept waking up. Harper breathed a sigh of relief. Even if he knocked himself out thinking about Shepard's orders, he'd wake up. Though it made him wonder just how had Shepard done it without triggering the failsafe? Maybe it would be easier to find and disable the shutdown code?

Harper growled as he woke up again.  _Apparently not_.

And the trigger for tampering with the shutdown code was even more sensitive than thinking about that other thing.

That was interesting, Harper realized, purging the messages from his cache. He could think about Shepard's orders in abstract but was that enough? For the moment, it was going to have to be, Harper thought as he reoriented himself in time. It was mostly an unconscious function. He had already adjusted his on board chrono to the Relays' but the organic part of his mind had to adjust.

So he couldn't think about  _that_  and he couldn't disable… well he couldn't disable  _it_  and the only reason he kept waking up was that Harbinger had added some code to them all and the grunt had said he couldn't contact anyone.

Wait a second… Since when had Shepard's orders overridden his other coding? The messages were deleted but the triggers remained and Harper looked at the unconscious rules that were in effect. Now that he knew about them, he could dimly sense them in the Ascended code.

There was the trigger to send the high priority message to the Catalyst and Harbinger and there was Shepard's order not to communicate. Harper felt his non-existent eyes widen. Shepard's order was the same priority as the Catalyst's.

Absolute.

He  _had_  to obey it. He  _had_  to obey them both even though they clashed so his system generated the message because the Catalyst ordered it and then it was cached because Shepard said he couldn't talk to anyone. The glitch which meant he wasn't torn apart by competing code that was in the Catalyst's orders. It assumed that once the message was generated, it would be sent and, for any other Ascended, it would be. They had no restriction on their communications but he did. But how did Shepard manage to make his order absolute?

"Shepard didn't," Kai Leng said and Harper was forced to listen.

"What do you mean, Shepard didn't? The order is right there!" He jabbed a mental finger at the code.

"Yes, it is," Leng agreed, "but it was not Shepard who made his order absolute, it was the Catalyst."

"The Catalyst?" Harper questioned. That made no sense. Why would the Catalyst give an Ascended that much power?

"You've already noticed it," Leng said. "Don't you remember?"

Harper searched his data banks. It had to be during their cycle and suddenly a note he'd made became clear. Except the note was not where he'd left it.

"With the reboot, everything's been reset," Kai observed. "But do you understand now?"

The former assassin's tone made it clear that he had chosen Shepard as his leader and Harper wondered what it might feel like if Leng drove his dagger into his throat. Would he die? Or would he be incapacitated? What would it do? Would he taste blood? Harper forced his mind from that. Leng might have chosen Shepard but while Shepard still referred to him as Harper then the former assassin would not make a move. He shook that thought from his mind and focused.

He remembered Shepard confronting Alexander. The First Human Ascended had told Alexander to shut up and the arrogant son of a bitch had. Harper had thought it was because Alexander was cowed into it and while that would explain the silence, it didn't explain the change of heart and leadership the other Ascended had then undergone. Had Shepard ordered Alexander's command group to release their hold? He must have! Harper realized as a cold feeling ran through him.

Shepard could change the internal makeup of a Human Ascended. Shepard could change him! Had Shepard already done so? Harper immediately ran through every word he'd ever heard from the First Human Ascended before he sighed. There had been orders. 'Play dead,' was one. The question about his ability to stop the self-replicating nanites on Magna another and of course his instructions to kill the…

_No!_  He was not going to think that. There was any number of times he had to obey Shepard's instructions but none of those orders were to change himself.

"For now," Kai said. "But you would be wise to remember that he can."

"Yes," Harper agreed. "But he won't, so long as there is no reason," Harper added. He wouldn't give Shepard a reason to order that but… did the man even realise he was giving absolute orders?

The other times, maybe not, though the First Human Ascended had to have realized exactly what he was doing to Alexander. He had just made it look like the other Ascended chose to change. That was then and that was Philip. He was here now. When issuing his current set of orders, Shepard had to have realized what he was doing and he had to have known about the failsafes the Catalyst had installed. Somehow he'd gotten around them but his orders allowed for Harper to be caught in them.

A stir of anger whispered through him. He was a spy master! A multi-billion dollar businessman, he knew how to deal with secrets and classified information. How dare Shepard think that he wouldn't be able to think about how to kill the Catalyst!

"Fuck it!" Harper roared, coming back to himself.

"Calm down," Leng said and there was a sense that he was not alone.

Harper examined his internals. Everything was reset and there was a high priority message in the cache but, more importantly, he felt different.

"Or course, you do," Kai said before Harper could determine what had changed but, as the former assassin spoke, Harper realized what was different.

He was not like how he surmised Alexander had been. He had never forced individuals within his hull to sleep but he had certainly encouraged a few to remain in the deeper levels. As an organic, he had tried to ensure that those Ascended at the time were at least sympathetic to Cerberus and therefore his cause but, with one hundred million being processed into each form, some diversity had been included. They were awake now. They weren't trying to take over but they were watching him with hard eyes that suggested he would not like the consequences if he tried to make them sleep again.

More comfortingly, there was a group who supported him and no one had attempted to remove him from the Prime position. In his mind, he had the representation of his Human self and right at the moment that was comforting to all in his form. Physically, they might be a two kilometre long dreadnought but each mind was still very much Human.

"Of course not," one of them scoffed at the idea of removing him as Prime. "Shepard gave you the task and we are bound to support that."

"So you can't overthrow me?"

"I didn't say that."

Harper said nothing as he thought. For all that Shepard had used his name, the instruction had been to his Ascended form, not to him as an individual.

"We are all bound by the orders," another said.

"And do you agree with them?" Harper asked. Some of those awake now, he recognized as being pacifists, or those who believed that the Humans were somehow destined to fall to the Council and it had been a supreme irony that they had been included in him.

"Oh yes," Henry Lawson said, answering for himself and Harper was surprised at the vicious grin he could sense. "Shepard was correct. An AI has no place interfering with ascension."

Harper blinked and then reached out to confirm his chrono. There was no time jump. "You… you said it!" he gasped.

"Well of course I did," Lawson replied. "One, that is not enough to trigger the failsafe and two, we do not act on my thoughts."

" _No!_ " Harper announced. "That's not happening," he added, when the implications became clear a moment later. He was not giving up the Prime position to think about Shepard's orders.

"I never suggested you had to," Henry Lawson said. "But let's put it down as a possibility of how to think about Shepard's orders."

Harper's relationship with Lawson was odd. They had been friends while organics, but the relationship had been strained when Cerberus had taken in Miranda. Except what had Lawson thought he'd do? Turn away such a valuable asset? They'd been forced to work together when it became obvious the Council was going to drive Humanity back to Sol but without that outside influence, things could have been very different. Lawson was one of the few people Harper believed could take the Prime position but the man appeared content to work in the shadows. But Harper had to admit it was nice to have someone who understood him to talk to at times.

"There is no way that's how Shepard did it. If he can give absolute orders then Harbinger or the Catalyst had to have set him permanently as the Prime thought."

"That makes sense," Lawson agreed.

"You don't want me to step down?" Harper demanded confirmation.

"Sometimes I do," Henry replied, unconcerned at Harper's insinuation that he wanted leadership. "Sometimes we all do. We are still Human but you are not thinking. Why did Shepard give us the order?"

"Because I was the easiest to separate from the fleet," Harper responded but privately he added, ' _because I was an idiot and nearly got myself killed.'_

"Certainly that would have helped," Lawson agreed, "But you discount the importance of the actions that put you in that position."

"I was stupid," Harper snarled. He remembered the actions! "I should have known better than to leap into combat, no matter how good my defenses are meant to be."

"Yet I would say it was the fact that we tried to protect the younglings which formed a large part of Shepard's decision."

The observation made Harper realise that his private thoughts weren't.

Lawson mentally shrugged. "None of us have private thoughts anymore."

Harper chose to ignore that. He'd think about it later, once he got everything re-configured properly. "Only because it made me easy to separate," he said again.

"Then why did Shepard choose us?" Lawson challenged.

"Because I was available and he knew I'd get the job done," Harper said.

"Shepard could have ordered anyone and they'd  _have_  to get the job done," Lawson retorted. "Our history was a part of his decision but he picked us because he knew we'd know  _why_  the job had to be done."

"Of course." It was Harper's turn to scoff. "Nothing can be allowed to get away with killing Humans. Not the Council, not Harbinger, not the…" He pulled himself up before he triggered the failsafe, ignoring the snorts of laughter.

"How the hell did Shepard think about it?" Harper demanded.

Lawson just gave him a look but it was not one that said it should be obvious, it was one that said ' _Like I have any idea.'_

"By all rights, he shouldn't have been able to," Leng said, sounding vaguely impressed that Shepard had done the impossible.

"Alright," Harper said. "I have orders I can't even think about but have to obey," he growled the last. There was a sense inside him that not obeying would be even worse than triggering the failsafe but more than that, he wanted to obey. Shepard had been correct. It had no place… Again, he stopped and then acknowledged that even without orders he'd probably have wanted to do this.

"And that's another reason Shepard chose us," Lawson said.

"It doesn't matter why," Harper replied. "He has and I am pleased that he has." The feeling was similar to what he'd felt when they confronted Alexander. Shepard understood him. Shepard trusted him.

"He wouldn't trust us with a knife at his back," came the observation.

"No, he would," Harper retorted. "And right now, he could trust me like that," Harper added realizing it was true.

Shepard didn't share Cerberus' vision of complete Human supremacy but the former Systems Alliance soldier was speciesist enough to respond when someone or something threatened them.

"So how do we fulfill his orders?" Kai asked before anyone could comment. Of course, Shepard could trust him. Shepard was the leader.

"We have to find some way of thinking about them first," Harper said. "Maybe if I think about it hypothetically?" he mused.

"That might work," Lawson replied, though he didn't sound convinced.

"I'm open to other ideas," Harper said but there was nothing forthcoming but Lawson just gave him another look. This time it said he was missing the obvious.

"What is it?" Harper snapped.

"You could just let us think about it," Henry suggested.

Harper thought about it for a few minutes. "I could," he admitted, "but I would like to be involved." Unspoken was the obvious, that Shepard had to have thought about it, so there was some way they were missing and he was not going to let the grunt outdo him.

"You are more hands on than I gave you credit for," Lawson said, slightly impressed.

"It's not about being hands on," Leng said with a smirk and Harper was reminded that the assassin had known him well. "It's about control. There were only a few aspects of Cerberus that he didn't control and none from lack of desire."

"Ah, that makes it much clearer," Henry thanked Kai.

Harper attempted to dismiss Leng but knew he couldn't and the explanation was close to the truth. "It's more than that," Harper said. "I don't believe having you think about it will work. You can think about it, and come up with plans but at some point, I'm going to have to make those plans reality and then it's lights out and that's assuming the lights don't go out the moment I know I'm going to act upon your thoughts and plans."

Lawson mentally grimaced, conceding the point. "Alright, let's try hypothetically," he said but still didn't sound certain.

Harper nodded and braced himself. This would work but it never hurt to be prepared for contingency. "So, if I was an alien organic race, how would I go about destroying the Catalyst?"

_"Fuck!"_  Harper all but screamed as he came online again.

"Not that way," Lawson agreed. The chrono indicated they'd lost another thirty five days, seven hours and ten minutes.

"Fuck it!  _Fuck it! FUCK IT!_ " Harper growled. "If Shepard could do it, then I fucking can!" he screamed. "How did that stupid grunt do this the first time? With no errors?"

The demand hung in his consciousness but there were no answers forthcoming.

"Did anyone ever meet Shepard while he was alive, apart from me?" Harper demanded. He'd met the grunt but he doubted Shepard remembered the occasion. It was during the time the Systems Alliance had been contemplating the impossible plan of making a deal with the Reapers.

"Yeah, I did," came a response.

It was a woman's voice and after a quick review Harper recognized it.

"Williams," he snapped.

"It's Alenko!" she growled back.

"Tell it to someone who cares. I knew you as Williams, so you are Williams," Harper told her before continuing. Her marital status was of no importance now. "You didn't just meet him," he said. "You were on his crew!"

She should have some idea of how Shepard had done it but then Harper frowned as he recalled several other thoughts he'd had about her at various times. Nothing erotic. He had no desire for the Systems Alliance soldier but he had wondered, more than once, how she had failed to attract Shepard. She was reasonably good looking, about Shepard's age and shared the same interests so what was it about her that had driven Shepard to want to fuck an alien? At least, it wasn't an Asari but still! Most of the other woman on the  _Normandy_  Harper had been able to dismiss as being too old or already having partners. Williams should have been perfect. She was the type of woman he would have recruited to be an operative to seduce Shepard if the first Spectre hadn't been so public.

It was only after he heard the crack of knuckles that Harper remembered that with the resets he had no private thoughts. He decided to ignore that.

"So how does he do it?" he asked, attempting to drag the conversation away from his thought because he was going to continue thinking what he'd like.

"How many women did you fuck for the cause?" She demanded.

Harper snarled. It was well known he had no wife or steady girlfriend. He was not overly attracted to the opposite sex but neither was he attracted to his own. He was interested in power and the ascendancy of the Human species to their rightful place. But he did have children, he was just not interested in his progeny, unlike Lawson. His children would rise or fall on their own merits from their own efforts.

"I was generous with my biological material towards the IVF programs. All my operatives were," he replied to the grunt and was pleased to see her surprise. She'd obviously thought he'd just pulled the strings but he had, in his own way, contributed. It was only one of the reasons his companies had supported the IVF programs.

Except that Williams could not admit to a mistake so she snorted, dismissing his reply before she answered. "Compartmentalization," she said. "Shepard would have been a poor bloody soldier if he could not ignore the bullet wound to his arm to complete the mission," she added the explanation with the obvious belief that he would not be capable of doing similar.

"It could be possible," Lawson suggested. "Except I don't see how he could possibly have compartmentalized a Catalyst-encoded core failsafe."

Williams' expression indicated that she agreed but had no other explanation.

Harper looked at her in askance but Williams just shrugged.

"I think I want something a little more certain," Harper said as he continued thinking. There had to be a way. The evidence was right there in the orders he had recorded.

"You don't suppose…" Williams began before trailing off.

"I don't suppose?" Harper questioned.

"You don't suppose he just overrode it?" She suggested the possibility as a question.

Harper concentrated on his nonexistent breathing as he thought. Shepard had been known to be very persuasive when he wanted. Just look at the motley crew that had followed him! Yet Harper knew, through Cerberus that the mixed group of aliens and Humans were some of the best the galaxy had to offer and they'd never been loyal to the Systems Alliance or the Council. They were loyal to their commander.

There was one other incident to consider, as well. Saren Arterius. By all reports, the Turian Spectre had been completely indoctrinated yet Shepard had somehow gotten through to the organic, convincing him to commit suicide. Shepard's argument had somehow overridden indoctrination. Was it possible Shepard could have somehow convinced the failsafe not to send? Did it matter if he had? Harper couldn't see how  _he_  could do it.

"Even if Shepard did, I don't see how it is relevant. We don't know how he could have done it." Kai echoed Harper's thoughts.

"Aren't we already doing it?" A young voice asked.

It was disconcerting to hear the child's voice but Harper indicated that the speaker should come forward. Out of the layers of his consciousness, a young mind emerged.

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Williams asked, when it became obvious that Harper didn't know how to deal with the child. It hurt to see the child in an Ascended form. They must have been sick but not sick enough to have the husk reject them for processing or it was possible a parent had taken them to processing. There had been rules against that but it had happened. Now, the child was well protected here and it was doubtful that the consciousness had remained young. Not with everything that had happened.

"We've already been thinking about Shepard's orders and that hasn't triggered the failsafe, even though we know what's in those orders."

Harper stared for a few moments as he thought. That was completely true. All this time, he had been thinking about how Shepard had issued those orders knowing full well what they were and he was still active. The young one might be onto something.

"It can't be that simple," Henry objected.

"Why not?" Kai asked. "Without Shepard's orders, we would have sent the priority signal the first time and from the Catalyst's point of view, it would have been over. There's no reason for the system to be more complex."

"True, but I am still going to have to think of the specifics," Harper said.

Both Williams and Lawson looked at him.

"When you were running Cerberus, you spoke in code, didn't you?" Lawson challenged.

"Yes," Harper agreed as he made the connection. Often enough, he had been able to order executions and other less than moral activities openly but there was plenty of times when he'd had to send coded messages. Project Buttercup and Operation Lazarus were just some examples but Harper scowled. He'd never had to  _think_  in code.

He'd have to start now. "Alright, what shall we call the Catalyst?"

"Chumei?"

"That's just a language change," Lawson said. "That won't be enough because the failsafe doesn't even recognize language."

"How about Tartarus?" Williams suggested. "Ancient Greek," she explained, "but all N7's went through the Tartarus training regime as well."

"It will do," Lawson said.

"Now, Harper?"

Harper nodded, feeling quietly confident. "So let's discuss how to destroy Tartarus."

Henry growled. "That was  _your_  fault, Jack."

He didn't need to check the time to know what the accusation was. "How the hell was it my fault?" Harper demanded.

"It was going fine until you connected the dots," Lawson explained, prompting Harper to check his logs. He already knew he'd lost another thirty five days, seven hours and ten minutes.

He'd gotten the words out and then… "Darn it." Lawson was correct. Once he'd thought about Tartarus, he'd made the connection to the Catalyst and the failsafe had triggered.

But damned if it wasn't hard to edit his thoughts. Still at least it seemed as if they were on to something. If it was a matter of self-control then he would be able to do it.

Harper braced himself. "I'm going to have to practice," he admitted.

"How about after we load the cores?" Williams suggested. "It will give you time to get used to the idea."

Crap. He'd completely forgotten about the cores. "We should," Harper allowed by way of agreement, turning his form towards the cores. At least he wasn't stiff after all that time offline! He'd lost two hundred and twelve days just trying to do something that should be easier so he had to do his chores. He could come back to this once the cores were within him and thus protected again from the rigors of space.

-cfr-

**44798 Years after Human Ascension, Sol System, Human Ascended Cerberus**

"Alright," Harper said, resisting the Human urge to stretch. He felt stuffed and he mentally felt that the movement would better settle his hull.

It wouldn't. It was just a feeling and it would pass if he ignored it long enough. It probably wasn't helped by the fact that he had had to actually lift parts of his armour plating to fit in the cores. He was two kilometres long but he was not designed to take in that much extra mass. He could feel his eezo core straining and he'd taken in as much extra eezo as he could from the bodies but there was a limit to how far he could stretch his containment fields so he hadn't been able to take on enough to fully compensate. It was not critical but it would impact upon his combat efficiency. It was a good thing he didn't plan on fighting anyone.

"Let's try this again."

"Just don't connect the dots again," Lawson said.

Harper huffed. He'd used the time he was loading the cores to put everything back the way he had originally set it up. He did not want a reset any more than others did and it wasn't like he wanted to the last time. At least now, he was in a stable orbit so that if the failsafe triggered, he would remain safe.

"Shall we discuss how to destroy Tartarus?"

Mentally, Harper blinked and then he checked his chrono. There was no time lost. It worked! He could do this! He could think about how to kill the… No! He was not going to think that.

"Finally," Lawson commented. "Though I think that was the easy part," he added.

"Perhaps," Williams agreed. "But what I don't understand is why the failsafe is so weak?"

Harper was curious about that as well and nothing he could see in the Ascended code could explain it though he was also curious to know why Lawson considered this this easy part. This was likely the only time he regretted being the Prime consciousness but he would not exchange positions voluntarily.

"It doesn't have to be better," Kai said again.

"But surely just using a code can't be enough to get around it?" Williams scoffed. "That's almost childish."

"It does not have to be better." Leng sounded like he was getting annoyed.

"It doesn't," Harper agreed before Williams could say anything else but then he realized he'd just missed an opportunity. He should have let the woman annoy the assassin because soldier or not, she wouldn't have survived when Kai moved to kill her and then he'd know if it was possible to die in this form. Oh well, there was always next time, he consoled himself.

"It is still infantile but that is what we are dealing with. An AI that has never had to grow up."

"Yes, but that AI controls the Cycle and wrote our core programming," Lawson pointed out.

"So how was that the easy part?" Harper asked because there was nothing else he could say about Henry's comment. It was the reality he had to deal with.

Lawson just looked disgusted for a moment before he sighed. "We don't have the firepower to deal with Tartarus," he said. "And I sincerely doubt we can get anything on to Tartarus to reprogram it."

"I could," Harper noted. "And from there, it should be easy." Obviously, the rest of the Ascended fleet couldn't be around but it could be done. The best time to do it would be when they were half way through the flight to Dark Space. It was the most dangerous time for Tartarus, the fleet it controlled was years away from the galaxy and there was only the Vanguard.

"Oh?" Lawson challenged. "You know where Tartarus is? The Asari were on the station for over two thousand years and they had no idea it was even there!"

"Don't compare me to the blue bitches!" Harper growled.

Henry laughed. "While I don't doubt we could land a shuttle, I doubt our ability to find it, and then I'm not sure it could be reprogrammed. For all the simplicity of our failsafes, I doubt its defences are as basic."

Harper had to concede that point but he had also thought of another problem. Anything he landed on Tartarus would be controlled by him. If he landed anything now, it would be husks which would be the same as him doing it. And if he went and found a primitive race after the rest of the Ascended fleet had left after the cycle, it would be indoctrinated and would therefore be incapable of harming Tartarus. There was also the more mundane consideration that Tartarus would just order him to stop.

"I can't do it," Harper almost cried in frustration. "I can't kill the Catalyst."

"Fuck!" Harper said. Another thirty five days, seven hours and ten minutes gone.

"We can't do it," Lawson said as if time hadn't passed.

Harper agreed with the sentiment. While it was undeniable that time had gone, he decided to treat the passage like hibernation. He had no sense of the passage of time then but it did not cause issues.

"I never thought I'd be thankful to a super machine," Henry mused, referring to the code that kept waking them up.

"It is fortuitous," Harper agreed. "But if we've determined that  _I_  can't kill Tartarus, how can this be done?"

"Shepard doesn't expect it done immediately, does he?" Lawson asked for the confirmation.

"No," Kai Leng replied. "He was explicit. He said not to report back until it was done but there was no indication of how long it should take."

"That means he doesn't expect me to have an answer before the end of the current cycle," Harper said. He'd been out for two hundred and forty seven days. No matter how angry Shepard was, it would take time to sweep through the galaxy and then it would be another two years, minimum, before the Harvest and building was complete. He'd taken a year, well, eleven months, eighteen days to repair himself and even with his lapses in judgement the Cycle wouldn't be over.

That knowledge didn't help him though. How could he fulfil Shepard's orders?

"If I can't do it," Harper said slowly as he felt his way through the idea. "The obvious thought is that something else has to do it."

"Yes but what?" Lawson asked. He had come to the same conclusions about a husk or something indoctrinated. They could not be sent because that was too close to him doing it.

"Something I control but something that isn't indoctrinated," Harper defined what they needed. "I should have saved a Geth for study but I wonder if I could make an AI?"

"No AIs" Williams said fiercely. "An AI got us into this, it is not the solution to get us out. Besides, an AI would be against ascension."

"True," Lawson agreed. "It needs to be something with free will."

"Free will," Harper said the words with Henry as the idea coalesced. The two of them laughed. It was so easy! And he'd just spent all that time preserving the other cores, exactly for this possibility.

"It's perfect," Lawson announced.

"They'll obey without indoctrination."

"Especially once we explain history."

"Or we could use the dead cores. They may want the chance for revenge."

"Yes, yes!" Lawson agreed and Harper laughed.

This was going to be easier than he thought!

"What's perfect?" Williams demanded.

"The plan!" Henry replied.

"What plan?" She yelled and there was the sense she was stamping her foot at their antics. Harper looked over. Kai Leng had been silent but this time he shared Williams' impatience.

"I cannot do it," Harper began explaining. "I don't have the firepower and I can't send a husk or indoctrinate anything but I don't have to! I can just order some Humans to do it."

"Where exactly are you going to get Humans?" Williams demanded in an annoyed tone. "In case you hadn't noticed, Humans have been extinct for fifty thousand years!"

"Except we have Humans right here!" Harper celebrated. "Our genetic code is within our Cores. All we have to do is clone ourselves. They'll obey orders without being indoctrinated."

Williams was silent for a few moments and Harper could see she was thinking. "If you just download your mind into a clone, you'll be including the failsafes," she said finally. "And the first time you think about it, out go the lights. You want to trust Harbinger's code in an organic body?"

"Darn," Lawson cursed. That was a real possibility.

"Perhaps," Harper agreed reluctantly. "But a second generation wouldn't have that problem," he said smugly.

"Raised in here, they will be indoctrinated," Leng said.

"But not if we raise them on a planet," Henry offered the solution, highlighting the fact that Earth was below them.

"We won't be able to raise them with husks then," Williams said.

"I think we can get around those issues," Harper announced. "It will take a bit of time but all those issues are solvable, even if it takes a few generations."

"There's one issue that won't be solved by generations," Leng said objected. "If we repopulate Earth, the Ascended will notice and we will be found. Maybe not until the next cycle, but it will happen." Even once Tartarus was gone they still had to deal with the rest of the fleet and they couldn't assume they would be friendly.

Silence reigned for a few moments before Harper laughed again. Shepard had given him  _everything_  he'd ever wanted. "We could re-populate another planet elsewhere in the galaxy and make it look like a lost Human colony but that is risky." It was only after Project Buttercup was stopped that Harper really thought about the risks involved. "It is far better if we leave."

"Leave?"

"Leave the galaxy!" Harper said.

"For where? There are not enough resources in Dark Space." That should have been obvious.

"Another galaxy," Harper replied. He got several questioning looks but he continued thinking. "Not Andromeda," Harper mused. "It's twice as large as the Milky Way and about as old. There's likely to be established aliens there."

One thing ascension really made clear was that the galaxy was teeming with life. Intelligent life. If the Milky Way had thousands of species that had made it into space, then it stood to reason that every other galaxy did as well. Harper could not afford to run into hostile aliens, not when they would be completely unknown and not while he was carrying the other cores and had orders to obey. He couldn't even run into friendly, but curious aliens. That would be almost as bad.

"The Large Magellanic Cloud would be better," he said. It was smaller and had many younger stars, so it was far less likely that any large empires had arisen. Plus, there really was no better target any closer. The two closer dwarf galaxies were being torn apart and lacked good candidate stars, respectively.

"The LMC?" Williams asked. "That's a hundred and fifty thousand light-years away! Do you have any idea how long it will take to get there?" The idiot was implied.

"A while," Harper allowed, "but we can't do it here," he said reiterating the earlier discussion. The more he thought about it, the more logical leaving was.

While Shepard hadn't put limitations on the means he could use to kill Tartarus, the First Human Ascended hadn't needed to say that he couldn't be caught. If he stayed in the Milky Way, there were far too many chances to be caught. The plan had to be foolproof and that meant it had to be perfect but not perfect in the way Cerberus' plans were perfect. His plans then had allowed for failure. This had to be perfect in every way. Failure was not an option.

"Yes," Henry said slowly. "Leaving is the best option. Because once we land a Human clone or descendant, Tartarus will know that something is up."

"Aren't you forgetting something? Williams snarled, obviously annoyed. "Exactly how are we going to kill the Catalyst from  _another_  galaxy?"

Williams started. "Oh, God. Damn. It!" She screamed as they came back to consciousness.

"That's interesting," Kai observed.

"Yes," Henry said seriously.

"Why did the failsafes trigger?" Williams demanded. "It wasn't like Harper thought about it and I'm in no danger of being the Prime."

"But I am acting upon that suggestion," Harper said softly. Those not the Prime might have  _had_  the ability to think about Shepard's orders openly but he agreed with them now and would be acting upon their suggestions. They no longer had that freedom. Things changed in an Ascended form with the speed of thought.

Williams sighed. "My question remains."

"There's only one way something as small as I am can destroy something as large as Tartarus, especially if I can't land on it," Harper said. He may not have been a soldier, or a pilot or anything like that, but he knew the basics of the galaxy and how weapons worked. Kinetic energy was the only thing he could get enough of. "I'll have to throw something." Or rather, he'd have to arrange for something to be thrown.

"An asteroid?" Williams considered it. "If it's big enough, it should work," she admitted.

"We'll consider that later. Just getting something that can carry out the orders will be hard enough. Once that is done, I, or rather they can look at a lot more options without taking a nap every half hour."

"True."

"So if we are going, we should start. It's a long way."

"Not from here," Harper said, highlighting the Charon Relay. It was currently inactive but he could activate it easily enough. "I have no idea what sensors they have but I don't want it seeing us make the jump to lightspeed."

"It only reports back when someone uses it."

"That we know of," Harper retorted before he continued less sharply. "I only have one chance at this. Humanity only has one chance because if I'm found or if I can't do this then the future goes one of two ways. Humanity truly becomes extinct at the weapons of those we are meant to preserve or those of us who survive Tartarus' incompetence are bound for the rest of eternity in the same cycle, never changing, never growing, and never advancing. That is not preservation, that is stagnation! Petrification!"

"But Shepard… Humanity made a deal," Williams said slowly.

"A deal which has already been broken," Harper replied. "I could argue that Harbinger broke it when he increased the Harvest rate beyond the agreed increments but it was the Catalyst that truly broke it when it willfully sent us to die. As such, while Humanity has honoured the deal, we can no longer be bound by it."

Williams said nothing and her silence was agreement. She was a mother and while she did not know if she had descendants on any of the dead ships, she knew they had been children Ascended whose eternity had been lost and that could not be forgiven, not when sending more experienced ships would have prevented casualties.

"We'll move behind Jupiter to calculate trajectories before we go to FTL. That should cover us from the Relay," Harper said and almost before he finished his form moved, breaking orbit and heading towards the large gas giant.

-cfr-

Harper ran through the last few checks. Travelling to the LMC actually required quite a lot of effort on his part. It was not just point in the right direction and go. He had to be mentally prepared.

"Are we sure about this?"

Harper resisted the urge to grind non-existent teeth together. It was a long flight to the LMC. He'd need people to talk to, even idiots, he reminded himself. "I'm very sure," he replied. "Have you finished your checklist?" He returned a question.

Before he left, he had made absolutely sure that all his repairs were correct and were holding but he had also taken on as much useful metal as he could. It was not as much as he'd hoped he could take, not with the extra cores taking up so much space, but if he needed the material hopefully it would be enough.

"Yes, everything is ready."

"Good. Final reports!" Harper demanded and was pleased when the list came back all positive.

He'd sent one last query to his internal coding for a status report which confirmed that he was fully operational but almost overloaded.

"Take one last look at Sol," he advised those within his hull, "because we won't be back for a long time."  _But I will be back!_  Harper promised himself. This was not the last time he'd see Earth.

"It's 163 thousand light years to the LMC, we have a full tank of eezo, half stock of metal, it's dark and the radiation shield is on."

There were unexpected depths to the assassin Kai Leng, Harper realized, but there was only one reply he could make to that.

"Hit it!"

There was a flash of light as Harper surged forward and then the Sol System was truly empty and everything continued as if nothing had changed. Harper's last thought before entering FTL was that he  _still_  didn't know how Shepard had done it.

-cfr-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Harper is off to see new places... and conquer them. Now, while he still triggered the failsafes of Ascended, this isn't against indoctrination. Have a really close look at what Shepard ordered Harper to do if you are wondering about it. :P


	42. Work Never Ends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Before the Ascended fleet settles into hibernation, Elysium points out several oddities in the network that raise difficult questions.
> 
> Harper begins his journey to the LMC and realises that he was not prepared. Once he gets there though, there is always work to be done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**  
**Chapter 41: Work Never Ends**

-cfr-

**44810 Years after Human Ascension**

**Dark Space, Human Ascended Fleet**

"He's still working, isn't he?" Elysium asked as she moved into her hibernation position next to Shepard.

The First Human Ascended turned away from the long distance image of the galaxy. It was not as beautiful as it had been. "Yes," he replied, glancing over to the oldest Ascended.

They had made the journey to dark space and the eldest had put the newest Ascended into hibernation. The Human fleet had been ready as well but then Harbinger had turned aside, focusing his attention back into the galaxy. He was still creating the new slave race but had moved the survivors of the Cypiene experiments back to the galactic core with the remains of the Protheans and a few extra protocols. Now, anyone accessing the core without an Ascended IFF would be dropped directly into the galactic black hole. It's what should have already been happening but some of the first slaves had preferred to entice samples into the core to capture them. It was a practice that would be ceased.

It should have already been ceased but the Ascended had relied on the cyclic formula of the Cycle and their overwhelming strength for so long they did not often update their practices.

"It's been good for us," Elysium said, indicating that they had used that time to continue working on sorting the Ascended network into something Humans could easily use. Harbinger had delayed leaving the galaxy for a few months while he worked but they had eventually left and after years of flying and sorting information, most of the fleet was ready to leave the task again until the next cycle.

"Any further breakthroughs?" Shepard asked. He had been sorting information as well but hadn't truly been paying attention to the overall project.

"Heh, you are more tactful than the others," Elysium snorted.

"Well, you can answer either question," Shepard replied. He had wanted to know how she was. Most of the Human Ascended had put their anger and grief aside on the final sweep through the galaxy. They had done what they could to avenge the fallen and it was time to move on but most Human Ascended had not truly known those who had died. Not like Elysium had.

"There is one," she said softly and Shepard was aware of how carefully she was treating this information in the way her voice shook and the security protocols she initiated with their comms. Wordlessly he complied, though he dreaded what she needed it for. If it was important enough for her to demand a private channel then it was bound to be disturbing.

"I haven't put this on the general 'net yet," Elysium explained but the implication was that some might already know. If they did, they had said nothing and for those who didn't know, they were better off not knowing for now. "While I was sorting the Ascended network, I was also running a study."

"We all worked on our personal areas of interest first," Shepard said, not thinking about the oculi prototypes within him.

"Well, my interest was the Cycle," Elysium admitted. "Specifically, new Ascended and the cycle."

Shepard wanted to tell her to stop. He had a premonition what she was going to say next but this was something he couldn't hide from.

"The newest are never sent first into the galaxy," she said. "Never. Because they don't have the experience to deal with what the organics might have at the Citadel and thus they can turn the overwhelming victory and disruption to the galactic government into something else. I've gone back nineteen thousand cycles. Not once have they gone through first!" There was anger in Elysium's tone. There was confusion and pain but there was no hint of accusation.

"She's a scholar," Pressly reminded him, suggesting that her academic interest was blinding her to the obvious.

"She's a mother," Shepard replied. Pressly didn't know what he had done but surely Elysium felt the same way? Or did she know the thought was forbidden?

"I do not know why it happened, Elysium," Shepard said to her, accepting the information packet she had provided of her findings. "In nineteen thousand cycles, there has never been more than one Prime of the same species either," he said as he absorbed the information. Elysium had organized it beautifully for quick comprehension.

"There hasn't," she agreed, "but I think it has happened before," she added in a speculative tone. "I haven't found anything to confirm it but when I was looking into the cycles, every now and then the information doesn't quite match."

"What do you mean?" Shepard asked, deliberately encouraging her focus away from the information she had just given to him. He couldn't tell her any more than he could tell the others in his hull because he knew it was something they were not allowed to know. But had Elysium found something else?

"It's small," she said slowly as she thought about the best way to explain. "You really have to be checking the specific facts but it's like… Oh I don't know," Elysium said before she sighed. "It's like the record has been edited," she concluded.

Shepard was silent for a few moments as he thought. "It is possible that different Ascended, different species just recall things differently?" he suggested. They might be dealing with Ascended but they couldn't forget that the base was always alien.

Elysium considered it. "That… that could be it," she said but Shepard could feel that while she would accept his suggestion as the explanation for now, she wasn't convinced it was the truth.

"Show me next time you find one of these discrepancies," Shepard advised.

"I will," Elysium said before falling silent for a few moments. "I will sleep now," she announced and Shepard knew that Elysium still grieved for the young ones.

"Of course," he agreed, knowing that there was nothing he could say to help. "Sleep," he commanded and watched as Elysium's consciousness shifted into hibernation.

Touchingly, the first Turian destroyer moved into position just above her central plate and put himself into hibernation. Elysium was not alone and he would make sure she knew that every cycle.

"Shepard," the call was firm but deferential and he shifted his attention from Elysium to Jedlicka. The old destroyer class Ascended was heading up a fleet of smaller Ascended. Shepard recognised them as those Harbinger had assigned to the Human fleet. The eldest Ascended had assigned Krogan and Quarian forces as well but there had been a group of older Ascended who volunteered to be reassigned. They had belonged to the fleet of one of the Primes lost in the Prothean Cycle and Shepard had learned that they had volunteered because he had thanked them for their assistance over Torkey in keeping the Yoxall in line.

As the Ascended activities had become more prominent, so had the acts of rebellion. Shepard had escalated punishment but he was mindful that Harbinger wanted as many Yoxall Ascended as possible which had limited his options. In the end, he'd just repeated what he had done to the Asari, rounding up all the Yoxall into concentration camps with the only ways out being death or ascension.

"Should we not sleep as well?" Jedlicka asked.

"Are you ready for hibernation?" Shepard asked. The Human fleet was settling but with Harbinger distracted, most were not quite ready,.

Jedlicka didn't immediately reply but Shepard got the impression that the destroyer had always gone into hibernation when the Prime ordered it, regardless if he was ready or not. The fact that he'd asked had again elevated him above the rest of the fleet.

"Not quite yet," Jedlicka said finally. "But I will be soon," he added, as if afraid Shepard would be offended.

"Let me know when you are ready," the First Human Ascended dismissed the concern. "Though perhaps you can clarify a few things?"

"I don't understand," Jedlicka said carefully but he wasn't quite able to hide his confusion about what a Prime would want with him.

"Nothing complicated," Shepard reassured him. "It's just about Harbinger," he attempted to explain but stopped when Jedlicka seized up.

"I cannot discuss the First One," the destroyer said and Shepard noted the reaction but pushed on.

"You can't tell me how long he usually spends making a slave race?" Shepard asked. Surely, there was nothing controversial with that information? It appeared he had read the situation correctly because Jedlicka relaxed.

"It usually takes a couple of generations, so the time varies on the slaves' lifespans."

Mentally, Shepard added up Cypiene life expectancies for ten generations, though with Harbinger involved those expectancies would be greatly reduced. "That makes sense, thank you," Shepard said, making his words a dismissal to avoid antagonising the smaller Ascended. There was definitely a hierarchy but Shepard didn't care much about that. Jedlicka was older than him and had seen more cycles so was a source of information that he would use if necessary. He'd already told the Human Ascended to take care of the destroyers they had been assigned. They might be alien but they still knew the glory of ascension so had to be preserved.

"Shepard, quit moping and come over here!" Dragon invited.

"Soon," Shepard replied. He still needed a report from Zaeed on his research and then if he wanted to avoid Harbinger ordering them into hibernation, he needed to start sending the Human fleet to sleep. He didn't have time to play.

"Shepard is still having performance issues," Zaeed said over the network.

_Perhaps I don't need that report,_  Shepard thought sourly.

"Oh yeah, the aliens didn't agree. You know, it would be easier to get it up with a local gal," Dragon suggested.

Shepard sighed. He really didn't need this and he could feel Adams laughing. He hadn't removed the gag order from his internal engineers but they had made their presence felt in other ways. It was now a silent, pun intended, battle of wills. He  _would_  make a particle cannon oculus without their help! Version III had worked, firing at the scrap of metal he'd made the target. Except the stream was so weak as to be useless. It couldn't even be used to weld and so it was back to the drawing board for Version IV. It was almost ready for testing but Shepard would wait until the next cycle. He wanted it perfected before he demonstrated it in any way to the fleet.

"And how are your issues coming, Zaeed?" Shepard asked, sending the others a message on a sub-channel that they should prepare for hibernation now. There was some grumbling but the Human Ascended moved into their formations.

"Still nothing to report," Zaeed spat and his words were confirmed by a pulse from Miranda. "While other races are interested in Relays, no one has duplicated the plans so we are still digging. Though we did find a general outline of how the Relays work as timekeepers and how they avoid introducing a paradox with FTL."

Ascended travelled faster than organic FTL both because they were more efficient but also because they didn't have to worry about protecting a crew from static. The solution was stupidly easy and was built into all of them but even if they turned it off, or allowed the static to build, there was no danger. The limit to Ascended speed was shielding.

"That's interesting. Are there any improvements we can make?"

"Nothing obvious," Zaeed replied. To an engineer, Ascended forms were a marvel of efficiency. Improving them was difficult. "Even if we go faster, they'll still provide a galactic wide Ascended time. We can't break physics," he added.

"But we can try," Shepard laughed. Faster, higher, stronger was a Human motto after all.

"We can try," Zaeed agreed. "It should be as easy as improving an oculus," he concluded with the jab.

"You know," Shepard mused, making sure his voice showed none of the annoyance he felt. "I can't wait for you to find the actual plans for a Relay and thus your Quantum Shields. I'm going to enjoy watching you read the plans. I may even be nice and ban you from trying them on yourself first but it will be sweet."

"Yeah, but my engineers will help me," Zaeed retorted.

"Will they?" Shepard asked archly. Zaeed's silence was horrified and for a moment, Shepard revelled in it before he laughed. "I insist that your first prototype is not on you but that's all. For now, get ready for bed."

"But Harbinger's still playing!"

"And we aren't," Shepard replied.

"I'm not a child," Zaeed objected, reminding Shepard that while he was the eldest Human Ascended, there were plenty of Humans who had lived longer than him.

"Yes, we are," Shepard said, reminding Zaeed that to most of the Ascended fleet they weren't even toddlers.

"Alright," Zaeed conceded and moved towards the group he hibernated with. "Sleep tight, Shepard," he said as he shut down his systems.

"Oh, I will," Shepard said, sending the hibernation order to Zaeed on a sub-channel before turning his attention towards the rest of the Human Ascended. Most had heeded his advice and were in formation and the few that weren't were attending to destroyer class Ascended.

After they were finished, Shepard sent them to sleep and gave the older Ascended assigned to their fleet permission to hibernate when they wanted and after touching Harbinger to let the first Ascended know all the Humans were asleep, Shepard sent himself into hibernation. For now, while Harbinger continued to concentrate on the the new slave race, and the rest of Ascended were beginning to enter hibernation, there was no need to remain awake and if he wanted to wake on his own schedule then he could not afford to have Harbinger setting the sleeping pattern.

Shepard looked at the galaxy one last time as he shut down. It was up to Harper now.

-cfr-

**44811 Years after Human Ascension (12 Years Into The Journey)**

**Dark Space Between Galaxies, Human Ascended Cerberus**

"Are we there yet?"

Harper reminded himself that he couldn't actually kill those in his hull. All he could do was relegate them to the lower layers, and if he wanted to dispose of the current idiot he'd have to do it himself. Kai Leng was off on some training trip. It was very inconvenient but if it kept the assassin sane then Harper supposed it was worth it.

He had desperately underestimated the sheer tedium of the journey. At first, it hadn't been too bad. Everyone had been excited and all his systems were monitored closely but as the first month had turned into two, then three, interest had waned. His repairs were holding and thus could no longer be deemed repairs and all systems were normal.

Even watching the fluctuating redline on his eezo core output got boring after a while, no matter how close it came to overheating. He knew because he'd done that for a while. He'd done almost everything for a while. Once it became clear that he wasn't going to spontaneously explode or break down, attention had turned to the recordings he had from Earth.

Downloading Xiao-Universal's entire catalogue of material hadn't seemed important on Earth but he'd taken it in as a cultural record. It was now worth every byte and bit and god damn it, why hadn't he grabbed Pixar's catalogue as well?

The movies and TV shows going back two centuries had kept him and the others entertained but it wasn't enough for some and they had pursued other interests.

Gambling and other games, debating, drugged memories, sex… It was all going on within him. Those who had the slightest creative ability were in high demand. Storytellers, actors, actresses. There was an entire sub-culture occupying the layers of his consciousness. The only problem, which impeded Harper's enjoyment was that a lot of it was based on… Ugh! He couldn't think it.

One particular movie had gained absolute cult status and for a while, much to Harper's disgust, it had been the only thing playing over his internal servers. Then had come the costumes, the re-enactments, the debates and the quotes. Dear Lord, the quotes! If he heard  _'We're on a mission from God!'_  one more time… he didn't know what he'd do but it would not be pretty. Shepard was not God!

If he'd have known that Kai Leng's quip back in Sol System could lead to that, he would have deleted the bloody movie then and there! Sure, it had kept him entertained for two and a half hours but he only ever wanted to see it once, maybe twice on the journey. Okay, five or six times was acceptable. That was once every couple of years. It had been playing on a loop and Harper was sure his IQ had been affected. His sanity had because he distinctly remembered ordering Kai Leng to kill the next person who quoted that abhorrent movie at him. He should have remembered that Kai Leng was the one who started it!

At least while he'd been recovering, they hadn't slowed down but after that incident, Harper had devoted quite a bit of time to making sure he controlled all copies of that infernal recording and then he'd deleted all the extras. That had led to a battle of wills but will was something he had never lacked and eventually, since he'd refused to negotiate, the weaker willed in his hull had agreed to his terms which had eroded the position of those prepared to hold out for something better.

It was after that incident that Harper realised he'd felt secure as the Prime and to celebrate he'd gone to the screening that week. It had done much to soothe relationships within his hull. He still hated the movie but had learned to deal with it.

Still, as time went on with the journey, just about every diversion and time-wasting activity was going on within his hull though they all took turns at monitoring the essential feeds.

About the only thing that wasn't happening, beyond actual reproduction with all the sex, was discussion about Shepard's orders. At first it had been decided that while he was within the Milky Way he could not risk falling unconscious while traveling at FTL speeds. While he should drop from that speed, he would have no guarantee that he would be safe. It was better to avoid such problems and once they had entered Dark Space, it was deemed better to keep moving. He could assume Dark Space was reasonably safe, since the entire Ascended fleet hibernated there but if he was to lose time, he wanted it to be in a place where others could keep working on the outline of the plan.

"We are nearly at the observation point," Harper replied to the childish question.

Everyone in his hull had access to the chrono and knew the approximate schedule. He still had years before he reached the LMC but it had been decided that he should perform additional scans, three to four thousand light years outside the putative edge. That would happen soon. Then he'd have to brace for the next year of travel but they should be different. He'd have a destination then, a purpose, so that should relieve the stress and Harper was looking forward to having a conversation with someone that would have a purpose beyond time wasting.

Even charting the LMC was going to be good and Harper was anticipating it with relish. He expected a fringe benefit to mapping the LMC. It was work and he foresaw quite a few of those currently carousing would go back into the hibernation-like state they had been in before the resets. It would be quiet without their noise but he was certain he'd be able to cope.

He might even regain that missing IQ.

-cfr-

**44812 Years after Human Ascension**

**Dark Space Outskirts of the LMC, Human Ascended Cerberus**

"Are there no Earth-like planets?" Harper asked.

He'd just spent the last few years in real space mapping out the LMC. His senses alone had not been good enough so he'd had to build several telescopes to aid his observations. The focusing lenses of the oculi had become the magnification lenses he'd needed.

He was no astronomer but there had been a few professionals Ascended with him and unlike the collection of movies, he had taken a more complete copy of Humanity's scientific knowledge in all fields. A couple of amateur astronomers had studied up while guided by those with more experience.

"There was a reason the Council forbade harming garden worlds," Darren, the chief of the documentation team said. "Even Harbinger doesn't like it."

"I know," Harper sighed, "but you've found nothing?"

"There's a long list of potential planets," Darren said, "but we think most are like Mars or Venus."

"We can still use them," Henry reminded Harper.

"They aren't as good," Harper said as he reviewed the list again.

"They might be all we've got and while we aren't on a time limit here. I don't think we want to wait for an Earth planet to evolve." They could wait that long but Harper didn't want to think what that would mean for the Ascended in the Milky Way. Shepard was good but not that good.

"I suppose we could seed some of them," Harper said. There was a cluster of likely planets near the edge of the LMC. He could pick the best planet for colonisation and seed the others for later use.

"We still have a few areas to check," Darren reminded them. The LMC was difficult to map because, like its name suggested, it contained clouds of hydrogen and star-forming regions. They'd had to shift several times to get the best images and locks on some areas.

"Are there any aliens?" Lawson asked.

"We have a few signals," Darren said, "but they all seem localised."

"What do you mean?" Harper demanded.

Darren projected the growing map of the LMC and on it several areas were highlighted. The areas were all discrete though some were closer to others. "These are the areas where we are getting signals from. There's only two groups who might have met each other by now and the others, pft!" Darren dismissed them.

"What are the signals like?" Lawson requested clarification but Harper recognised the coded question.  _What are their tech levels like?_

"Nothing surprising yet. Their travel seems a bit slow."

"No relays," Harper surmised. He was slightly concerned about what that would mean for him but had reminded himself that for the moment he wanted  _one_  planet. He'd cross the galactic travel bridge when he got to it.

"Probably," Darren agreed.

There had been a pointless debate earlier in the journey as to how the Milky Way might have developed if the Ascended weren't there. Some suggested that the Mass Relays would have been built, in one form or another by the species but what no one had been willing to speculate on is where Humanity would have fitted in. A galaxy without the Ascended would either be a galaxy of giants and the Human minnow would have needed to swim carefully or it could be a fractured galaxy with each species only knowing their immediate surroundings.

It seemed the LMC was an example of the latter.

"Concentrate on the areas away from the signals," Harper instructed, "but keep monitoring them. We will need to know our neighbours."

"Yes, Sir!" Darren replied.

"And let me know if… when you find an Earth like planet," Harper added. Even allowing for the fact that the signals they were receiving now were from the aliens' past, he could see nothing threatening in their tech levels and for the prospect of an Earth like planet, he'd consider evicting the current tenants.

"No, you won't," Lawson said.

"I'd consider it," Harper replied.

"Unless they were before or barely into their space age, you wouldn't do it. You wouldn't take the risk. Not with this."

Harper sighed. Lawson was right. With this, he could not take the chance but he would want to at least look in on the world. It never hurt to scout his future territory because while there were alien signals coming from areas within the LMC, Harper was prepared to raise the Human flag in that galaxy and by the time he was through, their flag would fly the highest.

-cfr-

**44816 Years after Human Ascension**

**Large Magellanic Cloud, Unspecified Planet, Human Ascended Cerberus**

Harper looked down at the planet. The instant Darren had reported this system, he knew it would be perfect. It was relatively isolated but close enough to one of the alien signal groups that he would be able to make contact in due course. Just as importantly, the local star system had not just one but two asteroid belts and a few gas giants available for harvesting and a Venus-type as well for future habitation.

But there was a reason the aliens hadn't taken it for themselves despite the resources available. It was shielded from most of the others by a dense cloud of dust. That was one of the reasons Darren's group hadn't found it earlier. He'd been in the wrong position.

"It does look good," Henry observed.

"So far, the scans are promising," Harper replied. He was not so stupid as to start landing without checking the surface and the oceans.

"It's a little warm at the equator and there's that area of volcanism," Henry said.

"I'm more worried about some of the micro-organisms I can sense," Harper said. A few of them seemed odd to his scans.

Lawson sighed. The man had mellowed both with ascension and the twenty years of travel. "We'll just have to cope with them."

Harper grinned mentally. It appeared Lawson wanted this planet almost as much as he did. Even after Darren's team had reported it, another gruelling year and a half of travel awaited him and then he hadn't come straight here, to what he had tentatively named New Earth. He had instead visited a few of the Mars- and Venus-like planets. Some had been useless but others he had seeded. In a few hundred years, they would be ready for his use.

While the journey had been filled with mind destroying boredom and aggravation so deep Harper trembled just thinking about it, the reality of the situation became clear.

What he was attempting would have long term consequences and it was not just a matter of finding a planet, raising a few generations of Humans and telling them to deal with the issue. That was the initial reason for him being here but he had to think of what came after. There would be living, breathing Humans in the LMC. The Milky Way would be free of Tartarus but the Ascended fleet would still exist. They were an unknown and one Harper still wasn't sure how to deal with.

Shepard hadn't mentioned them but they were part of the job and Harper would fulfil the task correctly.

"He hasn't called," Williams said.

"He hasn't," Harper agreed.

"The Harvest should be finished." Her voice was laced with worry.

"Despite events in the Serpent Nebula, yes, it should be over," Lawson said.

It was another thing he'd had time to think about on the journey because he'd had nothing  _but_  time to think. The cycle's weapon platforms had been immensely powerful but as several engineers had pointed out, once Harper had managed to sober them up from the hallucination induced drunkenness, weapons platforms didn't have to move and generally didn't have much crew. As such you could pump up the juice on a weapon and the only thing you had to worry about was it frying itself. Harper had concluded therefore that while the weapon platforms were powerful, the ships of the cycle were not as problematic. This was confirmed by the information about the Vanguard Soliphon. It had taken eight alien ships to bring him down. If the ships packed as much punch as the weapons platforms, it would have only required one or two. There was also the fact that while his senses had been failing due to damage, Harper distinctly remembered Shepard destroying the weapon platforms. The grunt was good for something and the First Human Ascended would have not let the cycle's organics become entrenched.

"He wouldn't have been caught, would he?" Williams asked with a tremble in her voice.

"No," Kai Leng replied firmly. "Shepard would not have allowed that." Carried in the assassin's tone was his conviction that Shepard would have self-destructed before being caught by the Catalyst in his thoughts. Harper agreed with the assassin's assessment.

"It's far more likely Harbinger ordered the fleet into hibernation before Shepard had a chance to contact us." Or it was possible that the distance was simply too great though with the quantum entanglement fields that shouldn't have been an issue. It was far more likely that if Shepard had comm'd he couldn't have reached Harper because he'd been travelling FTL. There were quite a few legitimate reasons why Shepard hadn't made contact without entertaining more disastrous notions. Besides, it wouldn't matter if Shepard never called or if the First Human Ascended had erased the entire incident from his data banks, Harper had his orders and he had to obey.

"We should think about cloning," he announced.

"Always jumping ahead," Lawson replied.

"Oh?" Harper used the syllable as a question.

"The scans are complete but there're still those micro-organisms you don't like that we should test and then once we make the clones, there's still the problem of food."

"No, there isn't," Harper replied.

"Yes, there is," Lawson retorted.

"There isn't," Harper insisted, "because I think you are forgetting I can make food." Ascended were capable of carrying crew, usually their indoctrinated slaves but those slaves still needed to eat, so every Ascended carried basic processors for making some sort of organic nutrient paste. It probably tasted like shit but with no other options available, he'd have to eat what he could get.

"I'd forgotten that," Lawson admitted. "How many clones do you want to make?" he continued with the question.

"Initially, just the one as proof of concept," Harper said, remembering that Lawson had experience with genetic engineering. "After that, a viable population would be best so at least a couple of thousand."

"We can feed them all but that would be annoying. It might be best to build facilities first. Then create the population."

Harper considered it. Lawson's suggestion was sensible. Having facilities for the clones to use would be faster in the long run rather than having them build from scratch because there was no way they'd be able to farm and build. He was not going to be stuck roughing it, not when there were other options available.

"Farms then infrastructure," Harper agreed, looking down at the planet again as he reminded himself that he really needed to plan this properly.

It was an opportunity to improve on the past but it could quickly go wrong if he didn't pay attention.

"I think we should make changes to the genome as we go on," Lawson said.

"Heh! Why am I not surprised?" Harper asked, ignoring the way Henry grinned. "Let's get clones working first before we start making changes," Harper warned, thinking about the problems that were to come. They were a myriad but he felt a stir of excitement. When had he backed away from a challenge, especially one that promised to provide everything he'd ever wanted?

-cfr-

**44980 Years after Human Ascension**

**Large Magellanic Cloud, Unnamed Planet, Human Ascended Cerberus**

"Work, God damn you!" Harper screamed.

He was a marvel of technological prowess. He had been built to function forever but he could not build one mag-lev train! It shouldn't be this hard. He had the plans in his data banks. He or rather, the cybernetic remains of the husks had built it to those plans but it just wasn't working. The engineers were currently running scans using several oculi to peer into the internals but if they couldn't determine what the issue was then Harper was just about ready to abandon the train, finish the other few things required to declare his city complete and begin working on cloning.

The city was well and good but if he did not populate it, then it and this infernal train were useless.

Lawson was heading up a project team working out the likely problems with cloning and they had a tentative procedure but were holding off testing until the city was ready.

"We think we've found it," Esha announced and Harper ceased his fuming to pay attention to the engineer. Esha had been chosen as their spokesperson because she didn't complicate the issues with needless technical babble. Harper was as intelligent as anyone but he believed in the K.I.S.S. principle.

"There's a couple of crossed wires and we have to jack up the power to the magnets."

"That won't be efficient," Harper warned. His entire city had been designed and built for efficiency.

"For the test run, it won't be," Esha nodded her agreement. "But once it's in operation, even with the extra weight of passengers we will be able to reduce the power consumption."

"You're sure about that?" Harper asked for confirmation. If it was not going to be efficient, he'd scrap it now and move on.

"Positive," Esha said firmly. "It's not going to be like the farms," she explained, referring to the first things they had constructed. "It's always going to consume rather than produce but it is the most efficient method."

Harper nodded but he couldn't help thinking about the farms. They had been relatively easy to construct. He'd had experience after all, tending to the huge space farms around Earth when in training and they were currently growing several staple crops. The idealised sci-fi images of a gleaming futuristic metropolis surrounded by wheat fields was a reality for him.

For the moment, a clone's diet would be strictly vegan owing to the fact that he had not yet created cows and other farm animals. Crops were easy. Husks could attend to them. Animals required much more specialised care but Harper did have some genuine farmers in his population and already he was looking forward to a steak. Medium rare with just a sprinkle of salt.

Mentally, he shook himself. He couldn't think about that yet and thankfully, the Ascended protocols that told him he no longer had organic needs had not broken down once he knew that eating was a real possibility.

"How long will this take?"

"A couple of hours," Esha reported after checking her report.

"Do it," Harper instructed, "then move on to finalising waste disposal. I want to start populating this city."

"On it," she replied before disappearing back into the depths of his consciousness but Harper could see that she was working when the husks swarmed over the train, removing panels and poking at the wiring to fix the current issue.

Of course, it had taken about one hundred and sixty years to get to this point and his earlier building efforts, mostly just buildings and other static objects, had been a bit ambitious. He now had a large contingent of husks just doing building maintenance. When the clones were created, there would be a fully operational city for them to move into. At that point, once he had gotten the Human repopulation started he'd begin work on the space-based infrastructure.

Palaven would look like it was undefended if he managed to get all the works he had planned built but before he did that he had to attend to Shepard's orders. He'd gotten a lot better about thinking in code but without independent Humans he could not begin to properly fulfil the order and he put that thought aside for the twenty-six thousand, three hundred and forty-seventh time.

Harper watched as Esha's team continued to work.

Soon, he would be able to begin to act on his plans, both those for Shepard, and those for himself.

Only, what were they going to call this city? Even though it was almost complete, the debates within his form were still raging and no clear winner was in sight. "Tell me the current name suggestions," Harper instructed those who were leading the debates.

"Ur! After the first city on Earth!"

"Denied!" Harper didn't even have to think about that. He was not naming his city Ur. While it was true his city was near the coast, it was not some sandstone construction. That wasn't even getting into how the name sounded like some uncertain child.

"Landing City. New New York. New London. New…"

Harper sighed. This was a completely new city. It was not a copy of anything and as such he would not let it be named as a copy. It was superior. "New anything, denied!"

"Capital City."

"Not just no but hell no!" Bloody hell! Had the creativity in those within his hull completely died? Next they'd be saying City 1, City 2, and City 3.

"Home."

Harper blinked. "Good for the planet but not for the city, I think," he said slowly. It was actually a decent name since this would be his new home. Well at least it would be home in the LMC. Earth would always be home in the Milky Way.

"Metropolis?"

"Fine for another but not for the original." Most alien languages would probably translate the city name to something similar. For most purposes, it was sufficient but… Harper remembered something and knew it was better to lay down the rules now than to wait. "We're  _never_ going to be calling  _any_  city of ours Gotham." Harper gave that order to near-unanimous agreement.

"Safehold." That same child's voice came through.

Harper paused. It had merit. This city, this planet would become their safehold for the reborn Human race. From this place, they would complete Operation Tartarus and secure Human dominance. He checked with the others. Even the groups that normally opposed him didn't find anything particularly offensive in the name and having the suggestion come from an innocent, as much as any mind in an Ascended could be innocent, gave it added support.

Harper initiated a vote on the name just for or against.

The vote came in just five minutes later.

He could certainly live with this for the city's name. Then again, almost anything was better than Harperopolis!

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Harper is encountering all sorts of problems. Building a city, setting it up to be self sufficient on a completely uninhabited planet would take time, even with Ascended abilities. Let's look at getting some metal shall we? First he's got to mine the ore... but wait, he has no tools to mine it with, so he has to make them, which means he has to make the facilities to make them. Generally though, to make them you need metal... Opps. So he has used some of the resources he has in his Ascended form but that doesn't mean it was quick. Hence it's taken a while for the city to get made. This is a modern city not a wattle and daub village. Harper has standards!
> 
> There are explanations coming as to where the aliens are.


	43. Death is Always a Possibility

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**  
**Chapter 42: Death Is _Always_  A Possibility**

-cfr-

**45000 Years after Human Ascension**

**Large Magellanic Cloud, Planet Home, Human Ascended Cerberus**

While he waited for the next batch of clones to be ready, Lawson read through his early notes. It had been a fucking nightmare. Sure, he had some knowledge of the procedure, as did some of the others on board, and they had plenty of experts in IVF but the real experts had been older, and thus had been Ascended first. There were a couple of precocious youngsters but they hadn't really had much experience.

It wasn't the lack of experience that was causing an issue now, rather it was the difficulty of the task. Sure, Francis Crick had detected DNA within the core but what his tests hadn't told them was that it was all muddled up. It had taken them forever to isolate an individual.

They had the other cores, of course but Harper wanted himself to be one of the first. Yet just finding him in the mess was a problem. Getting samples out of their core was downright dangerous as well. They weren't meant to mess around with that area in their Ascended body. Most of the time the protocols remained locked and no one would want to inflict that much damage to unlock them. Damage to that area carried the risk of dying.

It was a strange coincidence that allowed them to access that area of their body. Having to do repairs had unlocked the protocols required to access it but having to do repairs while they were so young, in Ascended terms, meant that when those protocols locked themselves again, only the Prime's copy had been locked away again. The other copies, those with the other individuals who had worked on repairing the core, remained.

Which had led them to another aspect of ascension.

"There's no doubt," Lawson announced. While being the Prime thought gave Harper the responsibility to oversee all their projects, it meant he couldn't truly concentrate on the specifics. It was probably for the best, Henry thought, Jack had always been best at the big picture stuff.

"Crap, how long do we have?" Harper was overseeing Safehold's maintenance, the farm and the burgeoning space-based projects. It kept him busy, which was a good thing because it stopped him from lamenting. He had thought creating a Human clone would be simpler. Creating the both crops and animals had been easy. But they had come from samples he had taken on from Earth. Samples taken on with the view of rebirthing them. Harvesting DNA from any of the cores was not the same. Still, he always had attention for Lawson. The Human cloning project was the single most important aspect they were working on.

"It's going to vary."

"Physically and mentally?"

"Yes," Henry said, before highlighting some files for Harper to actually assimilate. They'd discovered that the Prime consciousness could  _know_  everything but that knowledge wasn't always consciously available. Highlighting the files meant that they went to the forefront of Harper's thought processes. It made sense, the Human mind could not take in the amount of information an Ascended processed constantly. Lawson doubted there were any alien minds that could do it either. That's why there were so many within each form. Harbinger and the Catalyst could say that it was for complete preservation of the species, but it was also for functionality.

"You think it's started?" Harper asked.

"Positive. On the lower levels at least."

Harper was silent at the news but Lawson could feel him thinking. "What will that mean physically?"

That was one of the reasons Henry had supported Cerberus and still supported Jack now. Harper knew the important questions to ask. Even though there was nothing in the Ascended protocols about this, Lawson had several theories. "I don't know for sure," he had to admit that first, "but I do not believe anything will happen physically. Or at least, if something is meant to happen, I don't think it will happen until the mental side is complete."

"And how long for the mental side to complete?"

"I don't know," Henry had to say again. "We don't have anything to measure it by."

"Except you said it's already happening."

"I think it is!" Lawson retorted. "Ascended aren't meant to be individuals, we are meant to be a gestalt entity representing our species. As such, we should be of one mind!"

"And that's what you say we are becoming!" Harper growled.

Henry deliberately put aside his frustration as he tried to find a way to explain. "It's hard to describe exactly but look at the lower levels, they don't feel as…" He struggled to find a word. It was subtle but there didn't feel to be quite as many as there had been, but telling the difference between eighty million and seventy nine million was tricky. "As multitudinous."

Lawson felt Harper concentrate for a few moments, obviously following his suggestion. "You… you could be right," he said slowly and Henry could tell that Jack was thinking about the consequences. "Ascended are meant to be one homogenous being. I imagine that's one reason why Harbinger and the others were so surprised when we Humans were so functional."

"Yes," Henry agreed before taking the theory further. "This process is probably what they consider Ascended childhood. We aren't a true, full Ascended until we are of one mind."

"There would be certain advantages in that," Harper said. "Response times would be faster and I'm sure there are other things."

"True. No matter how good we think Shepard and the rest of the grunts are, I imagine in a straight out fight with a fully homogenised Ascended, they would lose but that doesn't help right now. I don't think it happened while we were in hibernation so it has to be happening because we are still awake."

"That's not going to change," Harper said sourly. "All we can do is monitor the situation and hope it's not too fast."

"Given the time scales Ascended work to, it's not going to be immediate," Lawson said. "And I think the stronger the individual mind, the longer it will take. Strong minds have their sense of individuality after all."

"There is that," Harper agreed. "Though, the faster we get out of here, the better," he added, referring to the cloning project.

"Oh, I know," Henry said. If they didn't couldn't succeed in cloning, then they could still fulfil Shepard's orders by taking over one of the local alien species but it would be a blow to the re-establishment of the Human species. It should be possible. The DNA was there, they just had to make the flesh from those instructions.

Actually making the flesh was fairly simple, as proven by the first clones. Lawson looked back at his notes. He had been hopeful then. While they had encountered problems, the DNA had been isolated and they had grown the flesh. Except those bodies had been mindless, empty things. They'd recycled them after scanning them. There was nothing more they could learn then.

The second set of clones had been created using what he had learned from the first. They had had minds, but it was the mind of a baby in the body of an adult. They had neither the time or resources to care for them, so they had been euthanised and recycled.

"Have you determined any method to identify specific DNA?" Harper asked, breaking into Lawson's thoughts.

"I know you want to be first, but not yet," Henry replied. "I might be able to do it if you knew some of your sequence."

"You were the one interested in forging a genetic dynasty," Harper retorted.

"While I recognise some parts of my sequence, I don't recognise enough to identify myself. You are going to have to wait," Lawson concluded. He deserved that crack and Miranda was the proof that he had been successful in creating a dynasty. He knew she held the fact that she was a Prime as a victory over him but to him it merely proved his theories. Harper had said not to modify genetics for the first clones and Lawson agreed. They had to establish the procedure first, without adding further complications but, after that. Lawson would be trying to make stupidity a crime.

Harper sighed as his desire warred with reality but Lawson already knew reality would win. Jack might be able to bend reality to his desire at times, but this was not one of them. "Besides, do you really want me experimenting on your DNA?" he added the question.

"No," Harper replied, his voice disgusted. The death of a few clones was merely the price they had to pay but if they bore his features, he wasn't sure what he'd feel about that. Except he didn't want to go through one hundred million or so clones just to find his body. And once they did he wasn't sure he wanted another, independent Harper running around. In that manner, the mindless clones were not a failure, except for the fact they had no way of possessing them. "This lot has implants?"

"Yes. The implants are Ascended tech so they will be indoctrinated."

"For the first generation, that's not going to be an issue," Harper dismissed the concern. Actually implanting flesh with pure Ascended tech was a guarantee of indoctrination but since the implants were to allow remote piloting of the clone, the controlling thought was already Ascended, and therefore indoctrinated, so it wasn't an issue. So long as they produced a second generation. Those would not be indoctrinated but would be raised to be sympathetic to the needs of the first.

Henry felt Harper looking over at the clone. It was male but was not Harper. It belonged to an Indian male named Duleep Avninder but the individual was one who had opted to return to sleep within the depths. Theoretically, anyone could pilot the body but there was some thought that it would be easier for the original owner to do it. They wouldn't be testing that this time but it would still be good enough for proof of concept.

"How long until it's ready?"

Lawson looked at the readouts. "It should be just about ready," he said after he tweaked a few settings.

"Who's piloting?" Harper asked.

"You want to give it a go?" Henry replied. It didn't matter who piloted the first one, so long as they accurately reported back on the feelings so that he could adapt and adjust the process. Harper said nothing but Lawson could almost see him rolling up his sleeves. "Here's the basic manual," he said, flicking the simple instruction files they had made towards the Prime. If Jack was going to do this, he'd better do it right.

-cfr-

**Large Magellanic Cloud, Planet Home, Human Ascended Cerberus**

Harper looked at the body. While Duleep had probably been Ascended in his mid forties, Lawson had made the body look to be early twenties. Young enough to be useful if physical labour was needed but old enough to breed and far enough away from puberty that those chemical imbalances would not affect the body.

He took a deep breath, bracing himself. This should be just like piloting a husk. The instructions were simple, he just had to focus his consciousness into the implants and think what he wanted to move.

"Are you ready?" Henry asked.

"I believe so," Harper replied.

"Then go ahead. We have all the recorders running."

Harper gave a mental nod then forced himself into the body. It was odd but the distance he felt from his layers of consciousness told him it was working.

"Open your eyes," Lawson instructed.

Duleep's body was lying on a slab, having been moved there from the nutrient bath it had been grown. The first thing to do was to open the eyes and interface properly with the body.  _Open my eyes,_  Harper thought and immediately he felt several visual senses activate.

"Quit screwing around!" Lawson snapped. "Cut ties to here and concentrate on the flesh.  _Then_  open your eyes."

Harper didn't bother to reply. Growling at Lawson now would be counter-productive so he focused on distancing himself from his Ascended form. He was no longer two klicks long, he was now flesh and flesh had eyelids that needed to open before it could see.

"Argh!" Harper yelled. "Too much light!" he added the explanation and the light dimmed.

_Flesh hurt!_  Harper remembered.

"Try again," Lawson said. "And cut your connections! You replied here, not using the clone and it's no good if you report sensations here, when you are meant to be in the body."

Again, Harper opened the eyelids and this time he blinked a few times before looking around. There was no ceiling, rather there looked to be a conglomeration of pipes and tubes twisting around on themselves.

"Is the vision correct? Can you see colour?" Henry demanded. This was the test run so information was required.

"Vision is fine," Harper replied using his Ascended body, ignoring Lawson's demands, before shifting his eyes to the side. A colour chart was projected onto a screen. "Colours are good," he confirmed before Lawson could ask again.

"The link up isn't," the former businessman said.

"How do you know?" The link felt fine to him.

"You are reporting via our Ascended form, not via the body. Push your consciousness properly into those implants," Lawson urged and Harper almost felt him pushing.

He narrowed his consciousness again, feeding more into the implants and he felt his connection to his Ascended form weaken further. "A…" he moved Duleep's jaw, gasping out the noise before trying again. "Aa…"

"Better," Lawson said, sounding vaguely satisfied. "Vocal control could take a while," he explained. "Try moving your arm."

Harper complied, thinking about lifting his arm. Nothing happened. "Ngh!" Was all he managed to report.

"You have to be specific," Henry said. "Think about which arm you want to move."

There was a lot they had skipped over in that instruction book, Harper thought to himself before focusing on his right arm, willing it to move. It rose and he felt a surge of triumph. This was only the first test but he was moving!

"Left arm," Lawson instructed.

Harper complied and lifted his left arm.

"Okay, now legs," Lawson said.

That was a bit more difficult since Harper doubted he'd be able to lift them the way he had the arms but he should be able to lift each leg a little.

"Good, good!" Lawson encouraged him when he had done so. "That should be enough for now. Pull back and help me with the report."

Harper didn't reply. Lawson might be satisfied with such a short test but he wasn't. He could move the body. It took more concentration than he'd like but that was probably a matter of practice.

_Focus,_  Harper thought as he slid both legs to the left, hooking Duleep's knees over the side of the table before he rolled, leveraging his left elbow under his torso to push himself upright. He swayed slightly but his right hand automatically moved to stabilise the body.

_Yes!_  Harper thought. That's how it should be. Automatic!

With a heave, he pushed off, watching through the body's eyes as the feet touched the ground and Harper began straightening his legs.

And then everything became a jumble. The room flashed to his new organic eyes and the angles were all wrong. The ceiling was too far away and he couldn't see out of the left eye.

"You idiot!" Lawson screamed and Harper could feel the former businessman's full attention. "You can't walk in that one!" He continued and Harper felt the echo of annoyance from his Ascended form. "Think, Jack! We just created it. It has no muscle tone!"

Harper had learned that he didn't have enough control for fine signals using the body. Bulk movement is what he'd been testing and the functionality of the implants but really, if they were going to do that, why hadn't Lawson given the body muscle tone? How were they going to test anything if they couldn't move?

He thrashed a bit, trying to force himself upright but the floor worked against him. Eventually, Harper got some purchase and pushed, raising his rear as he tried to slide his elbows under him.

"Weren't you listening?" Henry demanded.

Harper had been listening but he was going to do this. His pride demanded that he salvage something. Eventually, he got the body up, resting on its elbows and knees with the forehead on the ground.

"You know I don't bend that way," Lawson said.

"Angh!" Harper tried to hiss much to Henry's amusement.

"If you are going to do this, get on with it."

Harper didn't bother reply to that. Not that he could. He wasn't sure he could form the gesture and if he moved the arm, he'd probably collapse again. Instead, he tried to bring his right arm up to rest on his palm. His shoulder almost touched the ground and then he pushed, fingers splayed and knuckles strained white with the effort. When he was high enough, he braced himself and pushed harder, almost jerking upwards to bring his left arm into position.

Then he was up.

Sure, it was on his hands and knees with his back curved at an unhealthy angle but he was up. Tentatively, Harper shifted one knee, sliding it over the floor before he moved his hand. He slammed it back down quickly when it felt like he would fall.

"Bwahahaha!" Lawson burst out. "The great Harper! Crawling!" he crowed and Harper resolved to destroy all records of his experiment.

He tried moving his hand again. He could do this. It felt better this time and he pushed his arm forward before sliding his other leg closer. Then he lifted his other hand and before he could do anything more, the floor raced up to meet him. His legs were splayed and his left arm was under his body.

"I  _told_  you I don't swing that way," Lawson said between chuckles.

Harper frowned mentally but began drawing his consciousness back. He would have liked to have stood but the body did not have the strength and he was not going to crawl if he could not take more than three movements, all pitifully slow and all taking far too much attention.

Duleep's body didn't even slump further once his consciousness withdrew. A testament to how little control he'd actually had.

"So how was it?" Lawson asked when Harper was fully back.

Jack considered for a few moments, running the experience through his mind. He might destroy the records but they needed the information to progress. "It takes far too much concentration to control," he said, giving the most immediate summary. "But that could be because I'm not used to it," Harper continued before Lawson could point out the obvious.

"Anything else?"

"Yes," Harper said slowly as the realisation came to him. "There is no feedback," he explained. "I did not know there was no muscle tone. I did not feel the strain of movement or the pain of falling. There was no knowledge of what the body was doing unless I looked."

Lawson looked thoughtful at that before he nodded. "There was meant to be some minimal feedback loops. We didn't want the pilot overwhelmed by sensory information but we will work on them. They will need to be stronger. I think I can draw my own conclusions from your attempt to walk about coordination," Lawson said, again chuckling.

Harper huffed but said nothing. If he'd have known it was going to be quite that bad, he wouldn't have volunteered. "So you have enough information?" He asked.

"For the next attempt, yes. We'll recycle this body and move on."

Harper nodded. Already, Lawson's voice was distant as he thought of improvements to be made and Harper was confident that the next body would be more functional.

"I'll leave you to it," he said.

Lawson waved and Harper mentally shook his head, as he moved to examine the growing clones. Unfortunately, none of them were his but they continued to try. Lawson was already engrossed in the issues. Sometimes, there really was such thing as too much dedication to duty.

-cfr-

**Large Magellanic Cloud, Orbit of Planet Home, Human Ascended Cerberus**

"What the fuck was that?" Harper demanded. From the chaos in his mind, he knew without checking the chrono that he'd lost another thirty five days, seven hours and ten minutes but he sure as hell hadn't been thinking about the Catalyst.

There hadn't been any stupid challenges to his position as the Prime consciousness, either, so their thoughts couldn't have triggered the failsafes and cost him yet more time. A check of his cache, something that had become automatic after such events, showed no high priority signal attempting to send itself. So what the hell had happened?

"Lawson!" Harper yelled when he realised the businessman turned scientist wasn't present.

"Henry, get up here now and explain!" Harper ordered with growing surety that Lawson was somehow the cause of the failsafe trigger.

When it happened, everything in his mind screwed up and about the only thing that remained unchanged was him in the Prime position. It was because he started there, he was restored there. It made sense if you thought that Ascended adulthood was once all the individual minds were merged. Then there was only one mind to be the prime and the rest was unconscious functions obeying the Prime was restored to the Prime position.

"Lawson!" Harper yelled again.

"I'm here, I'm here!" the man said.

"What the hell happened?" Harper demanded.

"Something unexpected."

"Obviously," he drawled. "What?" Harper forced the question out from between mentally gritted teeth.

"The latest test subject committed suicide." Lawson said.

"They  _what?"_  Harper growled.

"Arjan Meijer committed suicide," Lawson said again.

"And it caused  _me_  to black out?" Harper snarled, gesturing to the mess that was now his mindscape.

"I didn't expect it, either," Henry said defensively.

Jack felt mental eyes narrow. What didn't Lawson expect? "You didn't order them to commit suicide?" he asked suspiciously.

"Of course not!" Lawson spat. "Arjan was meant to get in his body, drive it around for a few minutes before testing fine motor control. He drove a spike through his eyes into his brain."

"Well, I'd say he has the control," Harper remarked, remembering the times he piloted one of the clone bodies. Lawson had improved feedback but fine motor control such as speed and properly using their fingers was hard. Arjan was more likely to have missed than actually succeed.

"True," Lawson admitted. "But we can't have such a high level of feedback on death."

"What was his indoctrination level?" Harper asked as a new thought occurred. He wanted to kill Tartarus but that didn't mean the other ninety five million minds within him wanted to as well. There had to be at least some loyal to Tartarus.

"I'll check," Lawson said, nodding slightly to indicate he agreed with the suggestion.

"Even assuming Arjan was… actually, did the consciousness survive?" Harper asked. Loyal to the Catalyst or not, if Arjan didn't survive that was a larger issue. He could check himself but this should be part of Lawson's post test procedures.

Henry appeared to think for a few minutes. "I can't sense him," he said finally. "Can you put out a call?"

The Prime could summon individual consciousnesses and they thought that was akin to how organics could control some unconscious functions if they thought about it.

"Yes," Harper agreed before sending the summoning signal. They waited. Arjan had just died so would not be lucid. It should be the same as the other consciousnesses who had been killed. Except as the time dragged out they both began drawing the conclusion that Arjan was really dead.

Harper sent the summoning signal again but it should not have been necessary. Disoriented or not, the others should have pushed Arjan towards Harper.

"Try one of his friends," Lawson suggested.

Harper looked disgusted. A friend was likely to be loyal to the Catalyst or equally depressed about ascension. Either way, Harper didn't want to talk to them but he had no choice. He sent a modified signal and a few moments later one of Arjan's friends appeared.

The woman seemed afraid and Harper wondered what she feared.

"Has Arjan returned?" he asked.

She shook her head, eyes widening as she tried to back away, only to find that she was held in place by Harper's desire for her to be here.

"Did you know he was going to do this?" Lawson asked and Harper gestured that she should answer.

Again, she shook her head and Harper wondered why she was silent. "You can speak," he encouraged.

"Can't," she said. "Too angry."

Harper blinked, trying to discern her meaning but Lawson just nodded. "You need to calm down, Jack," he said. "We can all feel your anger."

"Well, of course, I'm angry!" Harper exclaimed. "We lost a month because some idiot wanted to die! He could have killed us all."

"He could have," Lawson agreed, "but he didn't and the evidence is pointing to him alone dying."

The woman cried out at this but was ignored.

"Death should no longer be a possibility," Harper hissed.

"Death is  _always_  a possibility," Lawson replied.

"In combat, perhaps," Harper was forced to agree somewhat. He had come very close to dying before and he could not forget the time taken to repair himself. "But not because one individual wants to die. There shouldn't be that much death feedb-" Harper paused.

An Ascended form shouldn't feel that much death feedback but they did. That was how Shepard had won against Nazara. He defeated the avatar, incapacitating the ship.

"What is it?" Lawson demanded.

"There  _is_  that much death feedback," Harper said. "There has  _always_  been that much death feedback," he added, pushing the memories of Nazara towards Lawson.

This was a huge problem. He needed hundreds, thousands of clones but if he shut down every time one died… That could not be allowed. Once the clones went into the city, no matter how safe he had tried to make it, there were too many opportunities to die, even without deliberate intent.

"Shit!" Lawson summed up the issue.

"There's got to be a way around it," Harper said. "There's no feedback when a husk dies," he added. He hadn't actually been killed in a husk but Shepard had, multiple times on Thessia and he'd simply jumped into a new husk each time.

"I'll look into it," Lawson said.

"You'll do more than look into it," Harper retorted. "I don't want further tests until we know what the outcome will be."

"We're going to have to run  _some_  tests!" Lawson objected.

"Not until we know the consequences," Harper said.

"Look, I can rule out the idiots and anyone loyal to Tartarus," Henry made the counter argument. "And I'll look at the differences between husks and clones running all the simulations we can think of but eventually we are going to have to try!"

"You better be sure," Harper said.

"It's my life on the line as well, you know," Lawson reminded him. "This was a surprise," he soothed. "An unpleasant one but we have come back from it stronger. We know more now. Knowledge is power."

Harper could not deny that but he didn't like the fact that once again he'd been saved by Harbinger's code. How had the Ascended survived until now?

"Question everyone," he instructed. "I want to know their loyalty to the Catalyst, to Harbinger, Shepard, Humanity, me and this project! I don't need to specify which order that should come in. Bag and tag those who fail. Further I want to know if they are suicidal. Eliminate them as well," Harper ordered, his voice hard.

Lawson was experienced enough to understand the orders that were not given. This was hardly his most subtle instructions but Harper didn't particularly care. He wanted them to understand the consequences of their actions because there were consequences and they would be paying them.

"Got it," Lawson said.

"Except that doesn't deal with the overriding issue," Harper said.

"What one?"

"Death feedback," Harper explained. Now that he'd calmed down a bit, he could think about what was required. "The husk link up doesn't provide enough sensation. It's not meant to and the current implants do, but it's too much. It's not what we want them for so you are going to have to make something new."

Lawson nodded and he began thinking about the issue. Harper was right. They were going to need something new. "There's two ways to do this, I think," he said, speculating as Harper listened. Jack had defined the problem, and now it was up to him to solve it. That was probably for the best. Harper would pursue too many tangents but he was good for helping solidify ideas. Harper may not understand the exact chemistry or physics involved but he understood the concepts and he caught on quick.

"What are they?" Jack asked.

"One is complete remote control. The mind stays here. Then it wouldn't matter what happened to the body because death or other issues would just be a bad connection."

"That won't work," Harper said. "The body would be reduced to being little more than a husk. Plus the bandwidth alone would fry the body and we need the tactile feedback to understand what is happening."

"That's the problem," Lawson said. "The feedback from the implants is too strong. I guess it would almost have to be," he mused, "to touch the mind of an adult Ascended, it would have to be intense."

Harper didn't reply to that. They already knew they had to get out of here to avoid homogenisation. "And the other way?" he prompted.

Lawson's mental expression showed he was still thinking but he answered. "The other way is to have an implant that actually holds the mind or we use the organic brain and just download ourselves."

"I don't like that," Harper said. "If we have no link back then when the body dies, we die and there won't always be a chance to ascend the physical form."

"True," Lawson agreed. "That just means we will need an implant," Lawson continued. "It will have to contain the mind, recording new experiences, so that at death the individual can be saved."

"It will need to be robust," Harper said.

"Yes and if we can't work out a way of snapping the mind back then at least upload will be gentler."

"But more importantly, the mind should be independent of this form," Harper instructed.

"Yes," Lawson nodded. "I think I can work something out. At least, conceptually."

"Show me the plans," Harper ordered before he considered something else. He kept looking at the growing clones but none of them were him. "So how many have we gone through?" Jack asked.

"Eh," Lawson sighed, a little reluctant to answer. Cloning just kept facing hurdle after hurdle and while he was clearing them, it was not fast enough for Harper.

"How many?"

"About 2500," Lawson replied, knowing he had to give an answer.

Harper considered the figure. It was more attempts than he'd like but Lawson believed in a methodical approach, testing things individually before bringing them together. Besides, it was not like they lacked the resources to grow the clones and for every one they grew, they were one sample closer to finding his DNA. Even the failures would be re-grown once the process was perfected. He raised one mental eyebrow.

"Yes," Lawson replied.

Harper nodded. The clones were skewed towards caucasian males but they still hadn't found either of them. Not surprising considering the numbers but they both wanted to be able to grow their bodies. "Keep at it," Harper said.

"I will. You'd better go clean up," Lawson said, casting a significant look around.

With the reset, everything was in shambles.

"Oh shit! The farms!" Harper exclaimed and Lawson felt Jack's attention shift. "The pigs have escaped, the sheep are everywhere and we're never going to catch all the chickens!"

"I'll leave you to it," Lawson said, "though be thankful we didn't breed rabbits."

"With so many Aussies on board, I wouldn't have dared!" Harper said but Lawson could tell he wasn't really listening.

The husks couldn't take care of animals, not without supervision and that had been lacking.

"Bloody hell!" Harper said. "How the fuck did a goat get to the 20th floor?"

-cfr-

**45034 Years after Human Ascension**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Harbinger monitored the slaves.

The original Cypiene stock had been culled so that only the physically strongest with the appropriate traits had been allowed to continue. Selective breeding over the generations that followed meant the formerly regressive trait was now dominant and it always bred true.

The instant the slaves were born they were loyal to him and their conditioning only reinforced that. The generations now knew that their main purpose was to breed better specimens for him to work with but the current batch was…

Impractical was about the most diplomatic way he could explain it but Harbinger was honest enough to admit to himself that abject failure was more accurate. He had been attempting to instill the Prothean biotic ability into the slaves but to do so in such a way that they did not require organic implants and other limitations. He wanted the slaves to be born biotics. It meant less effort to maintain them and to do so, he'd been encouraging the Cypiene skin cells to produce a thin layer of mucus to protect their epidural tissue from biotic discharge.

A biotic was only useful if they did not burn themselves to a crisp every time they used their power. It didn't matter to Harbinger if they did, he could always force them to use their power again. The slave's pain was of no importance but it meant that he would have to constantly replace slaves when they were on missions. That was wasteful and time consuming.

He was also breeding in the Marris-type wings and the samples before his gaze had wings and they were large enough to fly on but their bodies lacked the musculature to actually move the appendages. Harbinger could see that they were also useless even for gliding. The bones would snap as soon as the wing was stretched out, assuming it could be stretched out without mechanical assistance.

Plus they were covered in the protective biotic mucus.

Ugh. It was dripping everywhere, pooling around the individuals that had presented themselves to him for inspection. They were so disgustingly organic!

A bit of mucus he could accept. This was impractical. There was no way these slaves could maintain their fluid intake to effectively operate and dripping everywhere like they were… Ugh… They would slip over their own secretions.

"Terminate them," Harbinger ordered the Prothean-based slaves and he watched as they calmly executed the slimy Cypiene.

For a few moments, he toyed with the idea of maintaining the Prothean stock. They had performed reasonably well over the last two cycles. Shepard's find of a pureblood had given them a genetic boost and they were biotic. They were what he wanted. Except…

They were coming to the end of their usefulness. Repeated cloning was degrading their genetics even with the fresh infusion. They could be used in the cycle to come but they would not be efficient. He had to complete the new slaves.

The solution was rather simple. He just had to slow down. Too many changes to organic genetic code at once led to the results that were being mopped up. If he went back to the last stable batch, he'd be able to divide them to be able to concentrate on putting the Marris wings on some and making the others natural born biotics with the Prothean-derived techniques.

Then, while it would take longer, he could breed the two to produce a single, viable and useful slave bloodline. One loyal to him and the cycle and ready and able to sample the species that were to come to ensure they were useful for ascension.

"Dispose of this batch," Harbinger ordered. "And reproduce batches 1578 and 1596. Ten thousand samples for each," he instructed the Prothean based slaves.

They said nothing but he didn't expect them to speak. All they had to do was obey and Harbinger watched as they moved through the nutrient tanks, terminating those failures still growing. They'd spend the next four days cleaning out the organic residue before they started growing new batches of #1578 and #1596.

With those two batches, he'd probably allow the samples to breed organically again before introducing his specially programmed retroviruses to the foetuses. The genetics were the most malleable then and giving them sufficient musculature to support the Marris wings or tough enough skin to resist biotic damage should be easier.

Harbinger reminded himself that he just had to make these changes one step at a time because such was the limitations of working with organics. Even if it took another thousand years, the slaves would be ready for the next cycle.

He had time. From dark space, he had all the time he needed.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harper's lot have almost got the bodies right, so they will be busy shortly. Very busy.
> 
> And right now it's not a great time to be Cypiene. Harbinger does know what he's doing but organic genetics don't always comply to his desires. It's hard being perfect.


	44. The Gordian Knot and the Harper Solution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things on the new homeworld progress slowly but eventually there is success and the first child is born. 
> 
> Then the Plan can be put into action. What suggestions will the new generation come up with?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 43: The Gordian Knot and the Harper Solution**

-cfr-

**Large Magellanic Cloud, Planet Home, City Safehold**

**45054 Years after Human Ascension**

Ashley looked over at the man lying beside her. He was a good man named Qiang Ma but he was not Kaiden and she had married Kaiden.

"Until death do us part," she whispered the words. Did ascension count as death? That was the question. It hadn't been answered on Earth and reality in the LMC was forcing it to be yes.

She bit her lip, feeling the flesh against her teeth as she lay one hand over her abdomen. She felt like a brood mare and she was more than that. They were all more than that but back on Earth and now here, she was just expected to bear children.

Ashley sighed and got up, padding over the floor to the window to look out at the stars. They were not the Milky Way but they were pretty and Harper's laws on environmental protection meant they would always be visible on Home. That was the name generally being accepted for the planet…

Except it wasn't Home! Home was one hundred and sixty three thousand light years away. Her eyes locked on to the smudge that was the Milky Way. It didn't look impressive from here but at least it was visible. Sort of.

Savagely, Ashley shook her head. She had too many thoughts tonight to sleep. She chuckled. The thoughts were her own and they were keeping her awake. That was different from ascension when it was everyone else's thoughts. Still, there were things she needed to work out for herself, not just tonight but going forward.

The first to settle was simple. The idiot male who had suggested that the first generation of avatars be predominantly female so that select males could have multiple partners to breed with had been held down and eviscerated before being castrated. It might have happened in their Ascended body but he got the message. All the males had and that suggestion was very quickly removed from the list being considered. It wasn't the most Christian thing to do but darn, had it felt good!

But his suggestion led in part to why she felt like a broodmare. She was expected to bear children. All the women were but that was not the entirety of their existence.

It was not all the males that thought it. Harper certainly didn't. He wouldn't still be the Prime if he did because Ashley didn't care how strong Jack thought his will was, against what she and the other women felt about this issue… They'd have someone in the Prime position before he even knew he was being challenged.

But that wasn't necessary, and she wasn't Ascended at the moment. Now she was flesh and blood and standing naked as she looked up at the stars.

The thought had been triggered by the growing whispers that despite all the fertility drugs and all the days counting their cycles so that sex could be timed to have the best chance of conception, no one was pregnant yet. There was a growing belief amongst some men, mostly those idiots who thought women were only good for child rearing, that it was somehow the women's fault, and they were failing in their duty.

There had already been some cases of violence. Harper had been angry and, male or female, he had executed those responsible. It might have seemed extreme but he had needed to make things very clear. They weren't dead anyway, but they were trapped until he chose to upload them and they certainly wouldn't be contributing to the gene pool any time soon.

Lawson and Harper hadn't exactly been subtle and while there was a complete mix of nationalities, they had, where possible selected for intelligence. It was a concern though and while the sex was nice enough, she fully expected to be told by one of the scientists either in Safehold or in their Ascended form that their bodies were not fertile. The lack of pregnancy was becoming more than a statistical aberration, it was becoming an impossibility.

Well, when that happened, they'd just have to reengineer their bodies. They were the same as they had been when they went into the Ascended. There were plans for altering the children, especially the females. There would a slight tweak. None would be sylph slim with no hips. Childbearing was essential. It was equally essential that it was as easy as possible.

They were doing it this way, the natural way, rather than just artificially inseminating, or using artificial wombs to ensure that their bodies were fully functional. There was also an emphasis on the family unit. Children, Humans were more balanced that way. It was deemed best that the next generation be as close to normal as they could be. They were to be the foundation, and the foundation had to be strong. Therefore, they were all paired with a partner. They would have children. And they would raise them together. The concept of family would be strong.

There were a few who weren't partnered. Only those whose genetics hadn't yet been found in Cerberus' core. Though, there were some women who had accepted other bodies to bear children. Ashley considered it one of the jokes of the galaxy that Harper was still running around in a borrowed body. His genetics were remaining stubborn, so he did not yet have to go through this farce.

She sighed. She didn't even know what generation their bodies were up to. She didn't want to know but knew there had been a lot of failures and experimentation, even without modifications. They'd never have gotten away with it on Earth but this was not Earth and while there had been some objections, Harper had ignored them in his drive to re-establish Humanity.

Which led back to her original concern.

She turned from the window, looking back to the bed. Qiang was still sleeping. The sheets were covering him and he had rolled towards the spot she had been lying in.

"Warmth hog," she whispered before sobering.

Qiang was not her husband. He was a good man. Gentle, kind and considerate of her feelings. He understood her conflict since she was not his wife but he didn't have her faith. "Yin will understand," he had said. "Just as she understood the necessity for children on Earth, she'll understand now and she's on a different Ascended."

Williams sighed. She didn't really feel right thinking of herself as Alenko, her married name, at the moment. Kaiden was on Bandua. They had both wanted to be with Shepard but Hackett and Anderson had stopped them, making it clear that they had other duties. They'd fulfilled them but now where did that leave them?

It left her uncertain and alone in another galaxy. She snorted. It was ridiculous. Like Yin, she knew Kaiden would understand. It was one of the reasons she'd been attracted to him. But it was not Kaiden she was truly worried about. It was God.

And God was not the Catalyst, Harbinger, Shepard or Harper. God was God and for all her faith she knew that this was against his teachings.

She was in a cloned body, willingly sleeping with a man not her husband, though the argument could be made that she and Kaiden had fulfilled their vows, it would not negate the fact she and Qiang had never said them and had no intention to be married. And yes, their purpose in sleeping together was to beget children but was that enough?

Some of the others in their Ascended form thought so.

"God will forgive!" they proclaimed but she wasn't sure if they believed that or were simply seeking comfort in the words.

"God will forgive," she whispered but the words sounded hollow. What did it matter if he forgave while she still doubted?

She sighed again. In some ways, she had already made her choice. She was here. She had slept with Qiang and she would have sex with him again. In the morning, probably. Then the next menstruation cycle and the next for as many times as it took. Then after she recovered from giving birth, they'd do it again because they needed a minimum of two children. One to replace each of them. And then… Then she wasn't sure what.

Harper needed to grow the population and while there were other planets they'd seeded to settle on, uncontrolled population growth could not be allowed to continue forever. Then…

That's a distraction, she told herself, looking back at Qiang. She just didn't know. That was the issue. Her faith said one thing, her head another and she just didn't know if her faith could ever truly understand.

Williams reached one hand up to scratch the back of her neck as she half-closed her eyes. She understood and perhaps that was all she could hope for but it didn't feel like enough and no amount of sleepless nights would change that.

Right now, lost sleep was all she could do for her troubles and she didn't need the memory of Gunnery Chief Ellison to tell her that it was a waste of time but what else could she do?

-cfr-

**45063 Years after Human Ascension**

It was one of the oddest events Harper had ever attended. He wasn't yet in his own body but felt obligated to attend the culmination of eighty three years of work. In the soundproofed, rather sanitary room beside the one he was in, Melati was struggling and screaming as she went through labour.

Her husband, because she was married rather than mating for convenience, was beside her, his expression pained as she gripped his hand. There was a whole team of medical experts hanging around, doing nothing but watch and Lawson was on hand to run tests as soon as the baby was born.

And of course, anyone who thought themselves to be of importance was here to bear witness to the birth of the first Human in forty five thousand years! It had been eighty three years since he first piloted Duleep's body and it had been an uphill battle the entire way.

The farm animals had been easy because he'd actually taken on ovum and sperm from genetic banks across Earth. His animals were the best though despite their efforts there was a population of feral species lurking in the vicinity of Safehold, eating the crops. At least they weren't numerous enough to be considered true pests.

There had been a small riot when some Europeans wanted to have rabbits. The argument had been won by the colonists who pointed out the sheer amount of damage rabbits would cause to crops and the idea had been dropped. The few feral pigs provided some occasional sport and while it had been time consuming they had accounted for all the sheep and goats. The local predators had taken care of some but the losses were within projections.

Humans, he had stupidly thought, should have been just as easy! Ascended or not, eighty-three years was enough time for him to fully realise his error. Just making a viable, robust system to handle their consciousnesses had taken the majority of the time but the final hurdle of fertility had been an unexpected and unpleasant surprise. It had almost put them back to the start but they had engineered a solution, though it had required modification to both male and female forms.

Success was only a glance away, through the one way glass that displayed the birthing room. Harper would have been perfectly content with a view screen but others insisted on being here in person. Lawson, he could understand. The medical staff had a reason to be here as well. The others just wanted to appear important and Harper would be teaching them several lessons in humility in the near future.

It wasn't like Melati was the only pregnant woman. She was just the first to go into labour and the birthing room scene was due to be repeated many times in the next months. Without the hangers on.

"You wonder why they are doing this, don't you?" Williams asked as she moved to stand beside him but the snort in her voice told Harper she shared his sentiments about the kerfuffle being made. "You'd think they'd never seen a baby before," she added. In the days before ascension, child care was an essential skill for all.

"It is an important event," Harper said. Whatever he said would be heard by all and since he still needed some of those here, he wouldn't insult them. Yet.

"But it doesn't need all this," she countered, gesturing to the mingling crowd. Some even had champagne, or what passed for it. Ashley was carrying a glass of water, which was completely understandable given she was six months pregnant.

"I'm sure Melati appreciates the thought."

That brought an actual snort from Williams and the woman glanced over to Melati as she laboured. "Believe me, right at the moment, she doesn't care," Williams said bluntly, wincing slightly as Melati screamed again. "She just wants it to be over!"

"And then?" Harper prompted.

"Oh, and then it's all worth it," Ashley said with a nostalgic smile. "But right now, all this means nothing."

"You might be right," Harper said, "but this is still an important day."

"Very historic," Williams agreed without sarcasm.

"One we will remember for a long time but one that is just the first step," Harper nodded his agreement. This was just the first step and the children born now had a job to do, just as he did. The seal on the birthing room broke as the proud father made his way out to show off the first addition to the population in ages.

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaah."

That was the signal for Harper to want to leave. Too bad he had to stick around.

-cfr-

**45102 Years after Human Ascension, 39 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

"Put your tie on straight!" Nkiru complained to Richard.

He reached up, fiddling with the fabric but it came away even more crooked.

"I'll fix it," Kimberly said, her voice sounding long suffering as she shoved Richard's hands away from his neck.

"How can you be so calm?" He asked, lifting his chin to allow Kimberly to properly re-tie his tie.

"We've been working on this for years," Ubdhav said. He'd opted for traditional Indian dress, so he didn't have a tie. His kurta looked ridiculously comfortable and Richard was beginning to wish he'd forgone the suit.

"But this is  _Harper,_ " he objected. Harper was the leading consciousness of the super-ship which had made the journey from the Milky Way. He was the one who controlled almost everything! They had to present to him now.

"Didn't your parents tell you anything?" Nkiru asked.

Richard glared at her. She knew he'd been raised in the system.

"Oops," Nkiru said, rolling her eyes. "Harper might be the prime thought, but he's just another Human. At least, that's what my parents say."

Kimberly and Ubdhav nodded. "Yes, he's important," Kimberly admitted as she stepped back, after fixing the tie. "But he's just another Human."

Richard didn't look convinced.

"Look, we've been working on this for years. We just have to talk to him," Nkiru said. "So you have to relax."

"I know, I know," he replied taking a deep breath. "It's just that…"

"It's just nothing," Ubdhav said. "He's a man. He's been Ascended but he's just a man and he needs the information we have to give him."

They would have spoken longer but one of the aides indicated that the meeting was about to begin.

"You're going to be okay?" Kimberly asked.

Richard trembled for a moment but calmed as he took another breath. "I will be," he said, almost breathless but he was steady as he followed Nkiru into the room.

They filled into the room to find four grim faced people sitting at a long table. Harper was easy to spot, even if none of them had ever met him before. His eyes glowed slightly, a light blue that he flicked over them all, assessing what he could see and suddenly they were all thankful that Kimberly had straightened Richard's tie. It was a superficial thing but they all got the feeling that Harper demanded perfection.

And got it.

There were no chairs but there was a display board they could project onto and they took their positions on either side. They were about to begin when Harper looked sharply to the left, staring at the aide.

"Get Ms Smith a chair," he instructed.

"Thank you," Kimberly said. Even she was affected by the presence he exuded but she sat with another nod of thanks, placing one hand on her stomach. While the originals who were still coming off the super-ship were expected to produce children, there was a definite push for a second generation.

"You represent the various think tanks we set up." Richard recognised Henry Lawson when the man spoke. "You are here to report on your findings."

"Yes, Sir," Ubdhav said. "We've removed those suggestions which are impossible with our current technology levels, and those deemed impossible with the foreseeable developments of technology. However, as requested, we have kept them but have relegated them to an appendix."

Harper nodded but said nothing, though they could see him flicking through the text on the data pad before him.

"Go on," Lawson prompted without looking at Harper.

"We've broken the attacks into several different categories," Nkiru took up the thread of explanation. "Physical attacks, area attacks and miscellaneous. We have five viable suggestions under physical and area attacks and four miscellaneous suggestions."

"Start with the physical attacks," Harper instructed. "Just the highlights."

"Sir," Kimberly said. "You told us that the space station is 43 kilometres long, and is located in a nebula in the neighbouring galaxy. There will be a time delay involved with any attack."

"However, the obvious way to destroy the station would be to launch an attack fleet at it."

"No, I don't like it," Harper said almost before Kimberly had finished speaking.

"Sir, may I ask why?" Richard asked with surprising courage.

Harper appeared to think for a few moments, before exchanging several long glances with the others present. "I am not the only super-ship. There are thousands more so any attack would have to take them on. Even with overwhelming force, I can't be sure that the target would not escape before our fleet could destroy it."

"Alright, so any attack would need a greater element of surprise," Ubdhav said, nodding slightly. "The second physical attack might be better then. You've said that the space station doesn't mind organics coming onto it. That gives us an opportunity. Instead of sending an attack fleet, we could send an exploratory ship to find the station. At that point, they could seed it with explosives."

They all felt a chill when Harper leaned forward, resting one elbow on the table as he pushed his chin into the heel of his hand. He rubbed his forehead and wrapped the fingers of his other hand on the surface of the data pad. His nails were not long enough to tap but the noise was not happy. "I thought I made it clear that the station is self-aware. It will recognise Humans and it knows we should not exist and it will also notice any attempt to destroy it. Try again."

"Well, taking the station apart won't work," Nkiru muttered. "The last two physical attacks should work, but they have multiple issues."

"Tell me anyway," Harper said, briefly waving his hand before he went back to tapping his fingers.

"The first is to launch a missile, a very large missile," she continued. "It's the same as blowing it up but with a different delivery method."

"Anything we have now would be too slow, or seen coming and wouldn't do enough damage. Even nukes wouldn't necessarily do enough damage," the woman sitting with Harper said, turning to face him.

Harper nodded without moving his chin from his hand. "And the last physical idea?"

"Shoot a giant laser at it," Richard said quickly and when he wasn't shot down immediately he looked up. "The only problem with this is that we are not even at the drawing board stage for something powerful enough that won't nuke itself."

"So we might as well just piss at it," Harper growled, sharing a glance with Lawson. Shouldn't the first generation be more intelligent than this?

Richard gulped but nodded before nodding slightly at Kimberly.

"The first area attack is still a physical attack but is simply to throw a planet at it. We deemed it to be an area attack simply because it will affect such a large area."

"I thought you said you removed impossible suggestions?"

"Sir, with respect, it is possible to move a planet," Kimberly said. "I don't have the exact calculations here but with eezo, over time the orbit of a planet can be shifted, and it will keep its momentum so covering interstellar distances, while not going faster than light, are able to be traversed in a somewhat reasonable time."

Harper frowned and flicked at the data pad. They could see him quickly reading the information in the report they had submitted earlier. One eye widened slightly. "The amount of eezo is prohibitive and targeting would be too difficult," he dismissed the idea as he looked up. "Next."

"We could release a nanoswarm to consume the station," Ubdhav summarised the next suggestion.

Harper actually laughed. "The station is made of the same material I am," he said. "But obviously more and it has better shields. So it would likely turn aside such an attack and the delivery vessel would be torn apart by its own weapon. That's rejected as well."

The woman sitting with them glared. "Nanites are too likely to become self aware," she added.

Nkiru sighed. The brief they'd been given had been to come up with ideas to destroy a space station but no one had said that Harper would add on so many additional provisos now. It made it seem like they had failed. "The next area attack would be along the lines of the first but smaller. It would require far fewer resources to re-direct several comets or asteroids to impact the station."

"The Catalyst would see…" Harper stopped speaking, gritting his teeth as he jerked upright. The others looked at him horrified but after a few moments they calmed down. Harper took several visibly shaky breaths, shifting slightly to stretch his fingers over the data pad so that they didn't shake. "I'm okay."

"Careful, Jack," Lawson said.

"Heh," Harper snorted. "The station would see such an attack coming," he added again, turning back towards the group in front of him. "Even if the station didn't, the other super-ships would."

"And the attack speeds are not likely to destroy it," the woman with the military bearing said as she highlighted some numbers.

"How strong is this station?" Kimberly complained, before slapping her hand to her mouth, her eyes wide, when she realised she'd spoken.

"It is very strong," the military woman said but not unkindly. "Something I don't think was made clear enough," she added sending a sharp stare at Harper.

He just shrugged, before ignoring her. "What are the last two area attacks?"

Nkiru took over from Kimberly. "The station is in a nebula but there are stars there. It would be tricky but we believe it's possible to detonate some of them. The explosion should take out the station, or it might even ignite the nebula. Or we could attempt to force the stars collapse into black holes."

"It would kill it," Lawson said, nodding.

"It would," Harper agreed.

"That's a lot of collateral damage," the woman said.

"Who gives a fuck about collateral damage, so long as the job's done."

"Alright, then what about the permanent damage," the woman said. "Black holes do not go away."

"True, the explosion would be better. Eventually the nebula will go out," Harper said.

The woman nodded before she frowned. "Are we sure the explosion would be strong enough? Its armor is ridiculously tough."

"I suppose we can't be sure," Harper sighed after a few moments thought. "What's the next one?" He asked, cutting through the growing sense of relief that had been building.

"Artificial black holes," Ubdhav replied. "We could close them after the station is destroyed."

"And they are on the list of things we can foreseeably create?" Harper said, skepticism wracking his voice.

"Yes, Sir, they are."

"I don't like it," the woman said.

"Fucking hell, Williams! What do you like?" Lawson growled.

"Something that doesn't cause that much collateral damage!" she yelled in reply. "An unstoppable weapon could be just as easily built by our enemies and used against us!"

"We have our orders! And I guarantee you, he will not care about collateral damage if the station is gone."

"Not immediately but we have to live in that galaxy! You want to sponsor the creation of artificial black holes. Where do they end? What do we do when someone parks one beside Earth?"

"That won't happen!"

"How do you know it won't?" Williams snapped the question, and waited for a response.

Lawson didn't answer.

"The problem with weapons of such destruction is that they are too likely to lead to MAD. The fucking Council knew that. Why do you think they banned so many weapons? It might do the job, but it opens the door to a lot of consequences we don't want to consider."

"We'll put it on the maybe pile," Harper said diplomatically, cutting through further argument. "Which brings us to the miscellaneous suggestions." He looked expectantly at the group in front of him.

"Yes, Sir," Nkiru said. "The miscellaneous suggestions are those ideas we believe will work, but couldn't really classify. The first would be to build another AI to combat the existing one."

At that, Harper, who had resumed sitting upright, leaned forward again, this time resting both elbows on the table as he dropped his head into his hands, massaging his temples with his thumbs. "Oh god," he whispered, his voice tragic. His fingers formed a lattice over his eyes. "I want to know who suggested that," he instructed. "And then I want them shot. Leng, get on it. I do not want anyone that stupid contaminating the gene pool. You do not kill an AI with another AI. That would just compound the issue." He sighed heavily before flicking the little finger on his right hand to indicate that they should continue talking.

Nkiru had gone pale at the orders but she knew better than to complain. While there were laws, Harper's decisions overrode those laws.

Richard spoke for her. "According to history, you were Ascended as part of a cycle," he said. "While we are not in the correct galaxy, there's no reason we couldn't support one of the new races against this cycle. They could fight the space station."

Harper nodded, shifting his head in his hands at the idea. "I don't like the idea of trusting xenos but we could."

"Without the type of control  _we_  can exert, we'd have no guarantee that they wouldn't kill the rest of the fleet," Lawson said and the younger generation knew there was some information they were not privy to with the way he stressed the words.

"That wouldn't be so bad. We're going to have to deal with them anyway," Harper said.

" _All_  the fleet?" Williams asked, obviously implying that Harper was missing something.

"Shit," Harper said, once again jerking upright. "Did you have to trigger that, woman?"

"I think I did," she replied sweetly.

"Not a bad idea," Harper said to Richard after he glowered at Williams. "But there are some in the station's fleet that we have to spare."

"Sir?" Ubdhav asked.

"I told you already, I am just one super-ship," Harper said. "There are others which would support us."

"Then why aren't they here?" The question was immediate.

Harper smiled but it was not one of glee but rather a thin smile of determination. "It required me to die to be able to fool the tracking devices. The others are not able to take that chance."

Ubdhav stood as if he'd been slapped and he was wise enough to realise that Harper was being deliberately vague, but if the leader was not about to tell him, he was in no position to force the issue. Interestingly, it looked like those with Harper knew the exact answer because they just nodded their agreement with the Leader's words.

"Alright," Kimberly said. "If we cannot have another race do it, then there was another suggestion to do something to the nebula itself."

"Do something?" Lawson questioned.

"Yes, Sir. We could make it acidic or some other small change. If the environment changes, then at the very least, the station should be damaged."

"Yes but what are you suggesting we do?"

"I don't know Sir," Kimberly replied. "It was one of those ideas we knew should work but couldn't determine how to carry it out."

"Forget it then," Harper dismissed it. "What was the last idea?"

"The last one we aren't sure about," Nkiru recovered enough to speak. "We don't know exactly how what you call the Relays work but from what what has been explained they pick up mass, and instantly transfer it to the partner Relay."

"That's accurate," Lawson said. "Simplified but accurate."

Nkiru nodded. "In that case, the idea would be to hijack several Relays and transport them into the nebula near the station."

"There's already several near the station," Harper said, "but go on."

"Yes Sir. The idea would be to use the Relays to transport parts of the station through them."

Harper blinked, and replayed her words. He wasn't sure he understood.

"You want to use the Relays to break the station apart?" Williams asked for clarification.

"Yes."

"I'm not sure they work that way," Williams said slowly, turning towards Harper.

"They might," he said, "though I'm sure they are programmed against that. The station is the heart of the network."

"So where does that leave us?" Lawson asked.

There was no immediate answer.

"There were a few things we hadn't considered," Williams said finally.

"Such as?"

"The rest of the fleet for one. Harbinger is unlikely to accept… Well," she breathed, with a smirk. "You know."

"No single idea was workable," the fourth person said, speaking for the first time and all eyes turned to him. "But there are several which have aspects which will work."

Harper nodded slowly, his eyes half closed as he thought. "None of them are quick," he murmured.

"Heh, they've all got at least a fifteen year lag," Lawson agreed.

"Are you going to ban it again?" the fourth man asked, and there was a note of challenge in his voice.

"No," Harper replied quickly, too quickly and the watching youngsters knew there was more to the question than had been spoken. Those in contact with their parents resolved to ask. "But I could send you, with just it on repeat," he made the counter challenge.

The fourth man smiled but it was cold, yet Harper didn't back down.

Lawson coughed, interrupting their glaring match. "There are aspects that work. Could we combine them?"

"Some but we still have no sure kill for… it," Williams waved one hand.

"We do," the fourth man said. "The planet idea would work."

"It would see it coming!" Harper said.

"So we speed it up," he replied as if it was obvious. "You can't see what's coming too fast."

"You want us to get a planet travelling at light speed?" Lawson asked incredulously.

"A planet is too much of an overkill, but a rock would do it."

Lawson frowned. "A rock is too small."

"A normal one is too small, but Ceres would have been fine, and it's much smaller."

"Leng, are you suggesting we build one?"

"I wasn't, but that would work," the man said, shrugging as if the issue had already been dealt with.

"That would work," Ubdhav said, boldly interrupting their conversation. "But if it was going too fast, then some of the issues we've outlined for other solutions would come into play."

Harper stared at him before nodding. "Go on."

"Assuming that the station could not see it, impacting on a planet would be a sure way to destroy it. You can't see what is coming at light speed, but the problem then becomes the nebula. It's dense dust and for anything moving at that speed it is the equivalent of a solid object. The object would either break up the instant it hits the nebula, or..." He shook his head slightly, thinking.

"It could ignite the nebula," Nkiru said, reminding them that she had already suggested it.

"We can't have that. It's too likely it would survive," Harper said.

"Then the rock has to slow down," Williams said.

"Rocks don't slow down!" Lawson shook his head.

"Ships do though," Harper said with a smile.

"A single ship, even going at light speed couldn't be sure of hitting," Williams said.

"You're thinking of ships you know," Leng replied. "Think larger."

"Even if we hit it at light speed, it wouldn't do enough damage. At light speed, the eezo core is activated, so we wouldn't have the mass. That's the whole core of light speed theory."

"But without eezo, mass effectively increases with speed. That's how my main weapon works," Harper said.

"Jack?" Lawson asked, his voice suddenly suspicious.

"Yes Henry?"

"Is Esha talking to you?"

"Of course."

Lawson sighed. "Then why don't you invite her in, instead of attempting to appear intelligent?"

"Oh, alright!" Harper replied, ignoring the stares he was getting from the youngsters. A moment later Esha appeared. The Indian woman's long black hair was confined in a braid down her back and she was heavily pregnant. The aide, who had so far just been there to hold the door and fetch drinks, brought another chair without being ordered.

"She should have been here from the start," Williams muttered.

"You've read the proposals?" Leng asked.

Esha nodded.

"Does anything stand out for you?"

She half closed her eyes as she thought. "There's a few interesting suggestions."

"You don't have to be diplomatic," Harper said.

"There were a few interesting suggestions," Esha repeated after giving a quick exhale of laughter. "There's one or two which would work but they have some physical restrictions that would make them completely infeasible."

"What about if we took the best parts of some and combined them?"

"So that's why you were asking all those questions," Esha said, understanding covering her features. "To do that, it would depend on which parts you are thinking about combining," she said. "The attack fleet is a good idea," she continued. "We are going to have to deal with the rest of the Ascended fleet. While it might be nice to think that some will be on our side, I think we have to assume that they will all be against us."

Harper nodded. "What about the planet?"

"A planet is too huge," she said. "As suggested, a rock would be better but as has already been said, it's too slow."

"What about a ship, ma'am?" Kimberly asked.

"Too small," Esha dismissed it.

"No, a big ship."

"A dreadnought?"

"No, something bigger," Kimberly said. "We all agree a rock will work, but the main problem is that the station will see it coming. So the solution is to speed the rock up. A rock coming in at 0.9c is still visible, but the available time to react in is much smaller. This station is 43 kilometres long and you've said it doesn't have engines. How fast can it really move?"

The question hung there and the originals thought about it.

"I can't imagine very fast," Lawson said finally. "At least not without warning," he corrected himself.

Harper nodded. "With the entire fleet, I believe it can be shifted very quickly, but the entire fleet would not be there."

While they had been talking, Ubdhav, Nkiru and Richard had been having a quick, whispered discussion. Kimberly had wanted to contribute but it would have been too obvious if she twisted in the chair and they were trying to be discreet. "Sirs, Ma'ams, I think we understand now," Richard said, bowing slightly to try to excuse himself for interrupting. "An artificially constructed mass, about four to five hundred kilometres large, with some serious engines to accelerate it would hit the station with enough force to completely destroy it."

"Go on," Harper instructed.

"It would be best if at least the leading layer of the rock was something dense… Iridium perhaps?" Richard said, looking towards Ubdhav and Nkiru for back up.

"Any of the platinum group metals will do," Nkiru said, "but iridium is the best."

"Osmium is denser," Ubdhav objected.

"It's too brittle. We can mix it in," Nkiru replied. "An alloy would be fine."

"Where the hell are you getting that much iridium?" Harper demanded. A 400 kilometre wide ship coated in iridium would be impossible.

"Sir?" Richard asked.

"Where would you get that much iridium?" Harper repeated.

"We'd mine it, Sir."

"From where? There is not that much out there," he gestured upwards towards the ceiling but indicated towards space.

"Actually, Sir, there is," Richard said respectfully. "There's not much in each object," he agreed, "but according to the information we've studied, there is megatonnes in each Sol like system. There was about 238 Megatonnes on Earth alone."

Harper blinked.

"Of course, if you only go for the easy sources, then, I'd have to check calculations but for something this big, it will require at least a few systems that can be strip mined."

Jack waved one hand to dismiss that. If all it took was a few systems, then he'd have them strip mined with no regrets.

"So there's enough iridium, then what?" Lawson said before they could get bogged down in the specifics. They just needed a viable idea now. The rest could be planned.

Richard gave a sharp nod.

"The engines would be used to accelerate the construct, but they would also be used to decelerate and guide it. You've said that the station might survive the explosion of the nebula, so if the construct was slowed down, the dust will do damage but won't destroy it," Ubdhav explained. "And the faster it goes, the less time it will be visible."

"I'll crunch the numbers to work out how long it will be visible for later," Nkiru said

"So long as it's not too long, I don't think it will be looking," Leng said.

"We have an outline," Harper said. "I will expect it fleshed out in a week," he said to the youngsters. "I want a workable plan proposal then, with rough outlines of mining time, construction and travel time."

"Sir, we don't have engines that large."

"Estimate then!" Harper said.

"Jack," Lawson said soothingly.

"These absolutes are weighing upon me," Harper replied.

"Ah," Lawson nodded understandingly. "You can spread it around, you know."

"It's not that bad," Harper said, shaking his head.

"Have a decent outline in a week," Lawson instructed the youngsters by way of dismissal. The four of them nodded and Kimberly rose before they filed out.

The instant the door closed and they entered the antechamber, Richard gasped and staggered to the nearest couch. The aide just snorted but said nothing as the others followed him, sitting on the available seating.

"They vetoed every fucking idea!" Kimberly growled, throwing one of the data pads they had been carrying to the ground.

"We were operating from incomplete information," Nkiru said as she picked up the data pad. The carpeting was thick, so it hadn't been damaged and the door was sound proofed, so the originals would not have heard.

"Yeah," Ubdhav agreed. "There were just a few bits of information they neglected to tell us."

"Was it just us, or do you think they told others?" Richard asked, as he calmed his breathing.

"I think Harper's just used to keeping things close to his chest," Nkiru murmured.

"Yeah, now we get to look stupid!" Kimberly complained.

"The others understood," Nkiru soothed. "But did anyone else notice it?"

"Notice what?"

"When they were talking about collateral damage," Nkiru explained. "They referred to 'him'? Does anyone know who he is? Or who Harbinger is?"

They looked at each other for a few moments. Now that Nkiru mentioned it, they had referred to someone else, but they'd never said a name.

"Just add it to the pile of information Harper forgot to mention," Ubdhav said eventually.

"Can we get this done in a week?"

"We're going to have to," Ubdhav said. "Can you get the calculations done?"

"I'm going to have to," She replied in the same tone of voice. "Though what am I going to tell Martin?"

"Martin?" Kimberly asked.

"He suggested the AI," Nkiru explained.

"Oh god!"

"I've already messaged him, but I doubt it will do any good."

"You messaged him!" Richard demanded. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"It was an idea, and we were told to present ideas," Nkiru defended herself. "I can't just let him take the fall for coming up with an idea because Harper didn't like it, when he did nothing wrong."

"When you put it like that," Kimberly said gently, looking over to Richard.

"Very brave, Miss Ihejirika."

The voice made them jump.

"Leng!" Ubdhav gasped, rising as he turned to face the man. They hadn't heard him come out of the room and the door was just there. It was still closed.

The Asian male smiled but it was a cold, calculating expression and he said nothing as he continued on out of the antechamber, straightening his shirt.

"Come to my funeral?" Nkiru whispered, unsure what the hell had just happened.

"It will be okay." It was Kimberly's turn to sooth her. "For now, we'd better get back to work. That week will go awfully fast."

"Yeah," Nkiru breathed. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner Leng can kill me."

"Nkiru," Richard said, making sure she was looking at him. "It will be okay. Martin will be fine."

"How can you say that! You heard Harper! Leng is going to shoot him!"

"Leng is going to talk to him, perhaps, but not shoot him. They need the genetic diversity too much to just kill someone."

"I really hope you are right," Nkiru whispered, though her voice was uncertain. She remembered Harper's explanation about cleaning the gene pool but maybe he would reconsider since none of them had known when they made the suggestion.

"It will be," Richard said. "Now, let's get to work," he continued, rising before offering Kimberly his hand to help her up.

"Yeah, we've only got a week."

"A week is fine. And just think, after that, we're free."

-cfr-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harper finally has min... children. And since everyone already knows about him, via their parents he doesn't have to hide in the shadows. So now Cerberus is going to find out the differences between leading and merely commenting from the shadows in exquisite detail. I almost feel sorry for TIM. Almost.
> 
> No AIs though. No matter what the old Cerberus was doing, this one is now Ascended and that automatically means no AIs.


	45. The First Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper 'bickers' with his Treasurer. He wins, though the application of force reveals other issues which must be dealt with in the fledgling reborn Humanity. Even when immortal, when surrounded by mortals, how does one keep control? And Williams has finally built a Dreadnought, so it's time for it to launch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 44: The First Death**

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Leader's Office**

**45119 Years after Human Ascension, 56 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

Harper sat back, lighting up a cigarette, as the group filed out. They were the youngsters who had made the initial proposal to destroy the space station and since they were in their mid-forties, he supposed he could no longer think of them as youngsters.

The proposal had been easy. The reality was anything but. Yet it was the only proposal that was agreed to have the best chance of success.

"Argh!" Harper cried out, shifting to nursing his head when a spike of pain lanced through him. A chance of success was not good enough. It had to be foolproof. This plan was the only one they could engineer to be foolproof. The pain subsided as he thought that and Harper once again leaned back, slowing his heavy breathing as he relaxed again. He took another deep drag, savouring the taste of smoke.

Other plans and proposals would work, they just held the chance for failure. This, by itself, was not perfect but they were still planning additions for every contingency and not just the obvious complications. If someone foresaw something, even if it was a one in a billion chance, there was a contingency plan for it, ideally to eliminate the issue or if that was not possible, then to completely nullify the effects.

That's why, some seventeen years later, they were  _still_  planning. He could not get away with anything less than perfection.

The comm pinged. "The treasurer is here to see you," his aide said.

Harper couldn't remember his name. He had yet to find an aide who was indispensable and so the staff remained interchangeable to him. He did know that the boy was part of the first generation, just like the treasurer and Harper knew he'd have to make a decision about ascension soon.

"Send him in," he ordered before sitting up. He outranked everyone and they knew it but he still had an image to maintain.

The treasurer entered, smiling at Harper's aide before turning to face Safehold's leader.

"Take a seat," Harper said, using the butt of his cigarette to indicate the chairs on the other side of his desk.

Uros nodded and made himself comfortable as he interfaced his data pad with Harper's screen.

"How's little Charmaine?" Harper asked, stubbing out the cigarette and dropping the butt into a sealed container. Fathers probably didn't care to go back to their children smelling of smoke.

Uros grinned. All new fathers grinned at the mention of their children. "She's fine. I can't believe how fast she's growing," Uros said, happiness sufficing his tone.

"They do, at that age," Harper replied. He may not have had a hand in raising children but he had sired a few and on a settlement where one of the main drives was for new population, he knew a thing or two about children. More than he wanted to, anyway.

"You sure it's not the engineering?" Uros asked.

Harper snorted. Uros Wiedemann knew as well as he did that they hadn't started genome modification yet and growth speed was not a modification Harper would allow. At least, not while they had time. The future was unknown, after all. Well, they hadn't started anything serious yet. Long-sightedness, short-sightedness, the petty things they'd already modified on Earth was happening but Harper agreed with Lawson, they could do a lot more. And they would. They had discussed making the mods from the first generation but, while it would have been easier, the majority in his form would not have supported it and it would have blown out the cloning time. It was not as efficient but it had been deemed better to start the population before modification.

"I'm sure," Harper said, allowing his expression to change to something less jovial. "How can I help you, Uros?" he asked. He didn't think he was meant to see Uros until tomorrow.

Wiedemann's expression changed as well, becoming serious and quite dark, Harper realised.

Uros leaned forward and tapped the data pad, bringing up a list of numbers on Harper's screen. "You can explain this?" Uros growled.

Harper looked at the numbers, absently noting that he had obviously been far too lenient if Uros thought he could get away with such a tone. As he looked through the numbers, Harper couldn't see anything wrong. With Wiedemann's lead in, he had been looking for abnormalities. He did know how to bury expenses in paperwork after all, just he wasn't doing that now. The figures were just the projected budget for next year.

"What's the issue?" Harper asked.

"The issue?" Uros questioned, incredulously. "You seriously approved fifty percent of the budget on this crackpot plan?"

"Yes," Harper said without bothering to explain. Uros was obviously in a mood and would not accept a rational explanation. And the businessman in Harper admitted that the explanation was not that strong unless you were Ascended.

"Half the available budget?" Uros said again.

"Yes," Harper agreed. "I intend to spend about half of the available resources on it."

"What about the population?"

"Safehold is designed for ten million people," Harper said. "But the satellite cities have been taking on the extra growth for years, and building remains ahead of requirement. I did build stockpiles while I was building the first city. We are only at seventy five million."

"All the more reason to spend our available manpower on increasing those stockpiles or increasing the orbital industry. We have the population but only limited job avenues," Uros explained.

"There are enough jobs and the stockpiles are being replenished," Harper said. "And the work on the orbital platforms is on schedule but what you don't seem to understand is that all of this was put in place to support the project. Until the day it is completed, it will remain the single most important undertaking we have."

Uros was silent for a few moments. "You're going to spend more on it?" he demanded, his voice outraged.

"For the foreseeable future, and I assure you, I plan for longer than you can foresee, that will be the approximate break down in priorities. Food, shelter and defence will of course be important, and defence will be important to protect our investment, both of time and resources, but that project will always be the first priority after the basic necessities."

"For how long?" Uros demanded.

"Until it's done," Harper shrugged. He'd thought he'd made that pretty clear.

Wiedemann tapped his data pad. "The next thousand years," he breathed and Harper realised the treasurer had brought up the preliminary timeline estimates.

"Yes, if all goes well, it should be about that long." He fully expected it to take longer because nothing could be expected to go perfectly to plan. Harper flicked up the plan and reviewed it on his screen.

"No!" Uros said, his voice suddenly soft.

The change caught Harper's attention and he looked over at the treasurer. Uros had a small pistol levelled at him. "You're insane," Wiedemann continued, "and your successor will see your insanity."

Before Harper could say anything, Uros fired. Surprisingly, for someone who spent all his time counting resources rather than training with Ashley's grunts, Uros was a good shot. His aim was true but death was hardly instantaneous.

Blood blossomed over his chest and pain flashed through Harper. It was both worse and better than the previous pain. He tasted blood and looked up to see Uros holstering his pistol before he rose and turned away. Harper tried to speak but it was only a gurgle and his vision faded before he could try anything else.

Harper's last thought was rather silly. "So this is what it feels like to die."

-cfr-

The instant Harper awoke, he knew he was in his Ascended form. It was noisy and he had just begun to become accustomed to the relative silence of his organic mind. Harper had taken a while to reach that point and he shuddered as he involuntarily remembered some of the events that had occurred when he had first taken on his avatar for the first time.

There had been too many involuntary actions. Harper shook the thought aside. He did not need to remember how he'd driven his body to exhaustion so that it had physically passed out and he'd later awoken covered in filth. Harper felt the same now. Not the filth but he felt the exhaustion. Except he was Ascended! He shouldn't feel the echo of his body and for some reason his non-existent chest hurt.

"What happened?" Harper asked, attempting to access his memory files.

"You got assassinated," came the instant response but it was not from beside him, it seemed to come from without. It was a comm link.

"Lawson?" Harper asked.

"Yes, Jack?"

Harper frowned. He was missing memories and his queries to his memory banks came up blank. "Who did it?"

"Never mind that," Lawson said. "How do you feel?"

"My chest hurts," Harper replied, "and my memories are jumbled." That's what it felt like, Jack realised. It wasn't that the memories were missing, he was coming up with blanks because the memories weren't in the right order.

"That's interesting," Lawson said and Harper honed in on the comm link.

Lawson was dressed in a lab coat and had obviously been working for a while if the coffee cups Harper could see strewn about were any indication. Behind Lawson, there was a trolley draped with a white cloth. There were several cables disappearing under the sheet.

"Is that me?" Harper asked.

"Yes," Lawson replied, turning slightly to look at Harper's body. "It was deemed best that I do the upload."

Harper nodded, projecting an image of his Human body so Lawson could see. "So, it worked?"

"Well,  _obviously_ , it worked." Lawson's tone was full of patience. "Otherwise, we wouldn't be having this conversation. I'm interested in the side effects. We tested the process but never with so much new information."

Harper frowned as he concentrated. His memories were beginning to sort themselves out but he still felt discombobulated. "They are coming together," he explained for Lawson's benefit.

"That's not surprising," he said, his expression clearly stating that, now that Henry thought about it, the mish-mash of memory made sense to the man. "The implants do not record in any particular order and the upload is designed for speed."

"We'll have to work on it," Harper said. "There may be times when I have to get up here quickly and I won't have the luxury of time. How long did it take anyway?"

"About a day," Lawson replied, "but that's partially my fault. I needed to run a few tests."

"So how long did the upload take?"

"Six hours or so."

"That's too slow!" Harper said.

"We can drop that to about sixty seconds if we open the bandwidth but that will lead to some feedback shock," Lawson said.

"Will that affect operations?" Harper asked sharply. They all knew what death feedback was like which is why the implant could store their consciousnesses if necessary.

"It shouldn't," Lawson replied and Harper could hear that the businessman-turned-scientist believed his words but wasn't completely sure.

"Find out," Harper instructed. "We've been lucky so far but some of us will be dying soon. What's happened to Wiedemann?"

"He's detained," Williams answered, stepping into Lawson's vid feed.

Mentally, Harper pursed his lips. He wasn't sure what to do with Uros. Obviously, he would die but Harper didn't know if it should be public. "How many people know what happened?" He asked. He could decide once he had all the information.

Williams didn't look happy. "It's public," she confirmed his fears. "Your aide called security who then blabbed and just let Wiedemann walk out." Her expression spoke volumes and Harper had a sudden foreboding but he couldn't fault her for at least some of her frustration. He apparently needed a new aide, as well as a treasurer.

"You are about to say we are going to need protocols," Harper said. "I agree," he added before she could object.

"Good," Williams said, nodding after a moment of surprise at his good sense. "What do you want us to do with him?"

Harper sighed. "If it's public, it requires a public response," he said.

"You could just jump to the execution," Lawson suggested.

Williams didn't look happy with the suggestion but the reality was, for all the laws he had allowed, he maintained executive control. He could override any rule. "You think it best to hold some sort of trial?" Harper prompted.

"I do," Williams replied, flicking her hair over one shoulder. "But not a civilian one. I think a military trial would be more effective."

Harper thought about it. He had not been expecting that suggestion and it showed a surprising amount of maturity. He rather liked it. It embraced the laws but acknowledged he was the Commander in Chief and that Wiedemann had attempted… had actually killed him. No soldier who did that would ever go unpunished.

"Can you set it up?" He asked.

"I'll see to it," Williams replied. "I'll try to keep him alive until then."

Harper nodded his reply. "How fast can you regrow my body?" he asked.

"About a week," Lawson replied. "I've already started," he added.

"You can't make it faster?"

"Not unless you want to find out what it's like to melt," Lawson replied with an arch look.

"Not particularly," Harper shuddered. Being shot was bad enough.

"Then you'll wait a week. I've already put a rush on it."

Harper sighed again. That was true. Generally, they grew the avatar bodies over a year but if necessary that could be easily compressed to a month. A week was stretching the limits.

"Has there been any retaliation?" Harper asked.

"I posted guards," Williams said. "And his wife had disowned him. That helped."

"You're sure they knew nothing?" Harper asked sharply.

"Positive," Williams said curtly. "We've gone over their entire lives and there's nothing. Wiedemann also insists he acted alone."

"As if I'd trust him," Harper muttered.

"We don't, either, but his family wasn't involved," Williams said. "Though, why did he do it? I understand the sentiment but the reason would be nice."

"He hasn't told you?" Harper was surprised, ignoring her crack. Now that he thought about it, he'd have expected Uros to boast.

"Hasn't said a peep," Lawson confirmed. "Of course, we haven't told him you're alive, either."

"Try not to," Harper said. "Let's leave it as a surprise for him." What was the point of being functionally immortal if you couldn't gloat? And he intended to enjoy gloating in person.

"Sure, we won't tell him but why did he do it?" Williams pressed.

"He didn't like the budget," Harper explained.

Williams frowned. She wasn't involved in that aspect. Lawson tapped his data pad, bringing up the projections. His eyes flickered over the numbers as he read. "It seems to be in order," Lawson concluded. "Or did you catch him embezzling?"

The budget wasn't so much a document about currency as it was about their projected labour and resource availability. True, labour was supplemented with robots, husks and other automated functions but there was still a Human element. Theoretically, every citizen could sit around doing nothing and still be fed but Harper didn't want an indolent society, so jobs were assigned and had to be done.

"No," Harper assured Lawson. "He just didn't like the budget," he repeated.

"That doesn't make any sense. It's not like it changes that much," Lawson said, frowning at the screen. The numbers changed but the proportional breakdown didn't.

"Uros believes the project to be an insanity I dreamed up." Harper gave them the missing piece of information.

"Ah," Lawson murmured and Williams nodded, indicating their understanding.

"He said something about my successor seeing my insanity," Harper said with a note of insincere innocence.

"Even assuming you had died, the project would go on," Lawson said. "Shepard spoke to us all."

"I know that. You know that. But Wiedemann doesn't know that," Harper said. "He also didn't like that the breakdown was going to remain the same until the project is done," Harper added before changing the subject. Uros' delusions would be shattered in due course. "Can you have the court martial ready in a week?"

"I can have it ready tomorrow," Williams replied.

"A week is fine," Harper said. "I'll make sure it's the first thing I do," He added. "Then I can get back to work."

"Yes," Williams agreed. "We are going to have to make some alterations though."

"Alterations?" Harper asked suspiciously. What needed to be altered? Lawson's device worked, though there was a few kinks to work out but that was Henry's job. It had nothing to do with Williams, so what was she talking about.

"Security," Williams said.

"There's a security force for Home," Harper said. They'd let Uros walk out, although that could also be attributed to his supposed aide. "Wait, my aide is being held as well, right?"

"Everyone I deemed potentially at fault is being held," Williams confirmed. "Leng is watching them," she added.

Harper felt mental eyebrows raise at that but decided not to clarify if 'watching' was all Cerberus' assassin was doing.

"I'm talking about actual security," Williams said.

"I don't get it," Harper said, shaking his head.

Williams heaved a long suffering sigh. "Security for you," she snapped.

"Oh," Harper said. It had been a long time since he had needed bodyguards. "How many?" he asked, thinking about how he could best control them. Williams might select them but any guards he used would be loyal to him first. He wouldn't be able to tolerate them any other way. And no matter how much it rankled, she was right. He did need them because despite careful education and selection, it was obvious some idiots had made it into the population.

"Since there appears to be a reasonable amount of outrage over Wiedemann's actions, I don't think you will need that many. But we will have to start vetting visitors and monitoring your movements."

"I know how it's done, Williams," Harper snapped. He probably knew better than her anyway. Williams was a soldier. A versatile one to be sure but he had run Cerberus. He knew what it was like to require bodyguards and wouldn't do anything stupid. It was them he was concerned about.

Apparently, she remembered as well because she nodded. "I'll write up some training protocols and situational procedures," she said, letting the matter drop.

"Do that," Harper instructed. "Do we need to assign them to anyone else?"

"I doubt it," Lawson replied, just a little too quickly.

Williams caught it as well, looking over at the scientist with narrowed eyes.

"There's been one or two threats," Lawson admitted before they grilled him.

"Threats?" Williams asked.

"The usual," Lawson said. "How cloning is an abomination, a sin against god and all that."

"Rather hypocritical isn't it?" Harper mused.

"No one said idiots were rational," Williams replied, earning a hard look from both men. She was the one with religious convictions and she had spent quite a bit of time agonising over the choices she had made and those Harper had made for Humanity. She wasn't the only one and most had either put their moral objections aside in the face of reality or come to some sort of internal equilibrium between doubt and their actions.

A few, though, hadn't been able to come to a conclusion and they were generally stark raving mad.

"True rational thought is beyond them," Lawson agreed. "You'd think they'd realise they are the product of my work."

"It doesn't matter," Harper said. "Assign some security to Lawson as well."

The scientist glared but knew better than to complain. Like Jack, he knew how to work with the reality of bodyguards and his could be assigned to protect the facilities as well. That was something they should have anticipated.

"Is that everything?" Williams asked after she made some notes. Harper was alive. They'd confirmed the upload was a success and dealt with the consequences.

"For now," Harper said.

Lawson looked thoughtful. "One last question, Jack," he said. "Does your chest still hurt?"

Harper's image frowned. "No," he replied.

Lawson nodded. "Good. It means the remembered pain is temporary. It will be interesting to see how well you again adapt to an organic form," Henry added.

Henry scowled but acknowledged the point. As Ascended, there were protocols that told him he no longer had organic requirements. Food, sleep, waste expulsion had all taken a while to become accustomed to again. After several incidents, Harper had taken to setting strict timers to ensure that his organic form was properly taken care of. Over the years, the routines had become ingrained but this was one area where the implants were lacking. It had been a trade-off, one Harper had accepted to allow the rebirth of Humanity and now that Harper was Ascended again, it would be something to note how fast and how strongly the Ascended protocols affected his new organic form but also how his organic routine now affected his Ascended functionality. He could put his bodyguards in charge of his basic schedule of his body's needs.

This was new territory for them all. "I feel like a guinea pig," Harper complained without heat.

He was a guinea pig for a second permanent organic form. Those involved in testing their cloned avatars had never spent that much time as organics.

"It's the safe end of the experiment," Lawson grinned before nodding as he cut the transmission.

With the comm gone, Harper just looked around before sighing. His Ascended mindscape was a mess again and he set to work to clean it up. He only had a week.

-cfr-

"Why the hell wasn't the verdict unanimous?" Harper yelled, the instant the door to his office closed. He strode over to his desk, rooting through a draw for his cigarettes.

Williams glared at him. "Fixing results is more your speciality," she snapped back. The military trial of Uros Wiedemann had gone to plan and even the verdict was the expected guilty. It was just not the whitewash Harper had been expecting and at five to four, Williams could understand his nerves. It should not have been that close.

"We miscalculated," Leng said as they sat down.

Harper gave the assassin a look of incredulousness. Of course, they had miscalculated. Uros had nearly gotten off! And that would have been a fucking disaster.

"What happened?" Harper asked, forcing himself to be calm, as he went through the ritual of lighting the cigarette, and drawing the first lungful. It was carthic and he reminded himself that the result had been in his favour.

"Isn't it obvious?" Williams asked with a self-deprecating tone that Harper took to say she expected him to blame her but the question triggered a deeper response and Harper reviewed his memories. Not for anything specific but for the feel of the courtroom. It had been packed. Originals and the new generations had been there. They had been outraged at his assassination but there had been an undercurrent of feeling.

Resentment. Harper identified it after a moment's reflection. It hadn't been spoken of or said aloud but it had showed in some expressions and gestures and in the carefully spoken words. It was not everyone but it was a fair proportion. He had expected some. Harper was not stupid. There would always be a few who supported Wiedemann's actions but it was surprising that there was so many.

"Yes, it is," Harper replied. "And it is something we have to deal with now," he added, blowing smoke from his lungs.

Williams blinked before she frowned, obviously wondering what he was talking about but Harper didn't enlighten her as he tapped his data pad. Most information was freely available to all on Home. Harper wanted his populace to be informed and study was encouraged but there was some information that only the originals could access and, even then, there was additional information that only those who had occupied the top layers of consciousness had access to. He could have given everyone access but ninety five million mouths guaranteed it would not remain secure.

"How old are the first?" Harper asked.

"Una's fifty second birthday is coming up," Lawson said.

"Where does the time go?" Harper muttered. "How many have died?"

"About three to four percent," Lawson replied. "There were a couple of birth defects and stillbirths. A few died in childhood for a variety of reasons and a couple of idiots committed suicide. Most who got through the immortal phase of their teen years have survived."

"Is there any cultural skew?" Harper asked, raising the cigarette to his mouth for a quick drag. Even on Earth, after decades of campaigns, there had been some nationalities more prone to various actions. He had a large enough sample of Earth's ethnic groups that it might be visible on Home and he did not need such archaic stupidity spreading. Nor would he perpetuate it.

"I'll check," Lawson said, making a note.

"Good," Harper said before turning his attention back to the screen. He sighed and ash fell into the tray. He was going to have to divert from building new settlements and maybe even the orbital works.

"What is going on?" Williams asked.

Harper rested his chin on his hand as he flicked through the information. Mentally, he tallied numbers. It was going to be crowded for a while but better that than allowing the resentment to continue to grow. If he did that he'd lose everything he'd built up until now. "The trial result was a surprise," Harper said, "but it was a surprise we should have anticipated and if we had thought about it, we would have revealed my resurrection after the verdict. If we had done that, I'm sure the result would have been much more pleasing." But it had been nice, very nice to revel in Wiedemann's absolute shock when he'd walked in as the prime witness.

Uros knew he was doomed then and much of his righteous bravado had drained out of him. But Harper should have forgone his personal entertainment in the face of the larger issue. There would have been other opportunities to mock Uros, some which might have offered other pleasures as well. That was a thought for another time. For now, he had to deal with the issue the trial had highlighted.

"Possibly," Williams said. "But we probably would have had to have heard Uros out," she added.

Harper nodded, putting out the cigarette butt and reaching for another. That was something he hadn't considered. When it became obvious to Uros that he was alive and thus the outcome was determined, he hadn't bothered to offer a defence. Which was actually a pretty intelligent move and probably contributed to the five to four result. It would have looked like they were picking on him to some. Harper pushed the thought away. He could examine every aspect later. "True, but the result highlights a growing resentment amongst the new generation." Harper explained.

"Resentment?" Williams frowned. "What do they have to be resentful about? They have food, shelter, job security and planetary protection," she said, ticking off some of the traditional major concerns. Planetary protection was more than their Ascended form. Williams was heading up a budding military presence.

"Immortality," Lawson said and after a moment, Williams' eyes widened as she understood.

"Do we have the plans for processing facilities?" Kai asked, looking at Harper.

"We do," Harper replied. "I even have some ability to process some on board."

"So what's the issue?" Lawson asked.

"I'm fairly sure if we build them, we will indoctrinate the workers," Harper said, flicking ash into the tray from his cigarette. The motions were so ingrained into his mind that he didn't even think about it.

"So we use husks," Williams replied. While they had chosen an isolated area in the LMC, she had contingency plans for alien invasion and the surviving husks were her front line troops.

"They are beginning to wear out," Harper mused and Williams grimaced. She knew that but lacking alternatives and a source of organics to replenish them from, they had to use what they could.

"We could turn Wiedemann into one," Kai reflected.

Harper looked at the assassin sharply. Uros Wiedemann was scheduled for execution but he hadn't considered that use. Other executions had been of originals so they hadn't been suitable but had their bodies been able to be reused?

"One won't make much of a difference," Lawson responded.

"No but there is a criminal underworld we have not dealt with," Kai said.

"And we have the ability to create mindless bodies," Harper added. "Husk production should not be an issue."

"Are mindless bodies good enough?" Lawson asked. "Or does there have to be something there for programming to work with? The process requires adrenaline and you don't get that without understanding what is happening."

Harper frowned. Williams just looked sick. She had been struggling with her beliefs for some time but reality had always won out over what Harper considered fantasy so he had said nothing. If they impacted her work, he would have to find an alternative. Besides, the growing security forces needed the husks or they'd risk killing genetic samples. And most genetic samples were better off serving as commanders than shock troops. "We can shoot them up with adrenaline," Harper said taking another puff of the cigarette. It was worth the cost of a body to try. "How large is this criminal community?" Harper asked Kai.

The state, such as it was, sponsored several vices but he was not so naïve as to think he catered for them all and Harper was well aware of some of the darker aspects of Human nature. Providing they were discreet and didn't interrupt the project, he had been prepared to look the other way but maybe there was an alternative use for them.

"It depends on the city size," Leng shrugged, "but at least a couple of thousand."

"I'll consider it," Harper decided. If it was only that many, their use was marginal compared to the damage they could potentially inflict. "Monitor them and Williams, get some agents in there." The last order was likely unnecessary. She would be trying anyway, now that Leng had pointed out their existence.

"I believe initially we are going to have to indoctrinate the workers," Lawson said. He'd been looking at the specs while they'd talked. "Though I think we can convert some of the cloning facilities but we are going to need millions of facilities if we want to capture the entire population."

Harper nodded, looking at Williams. "I'm going to need your shipyards," he announced.

"Heh," she replied unconcerned. "You can either upgrade mine, which aren't large enough or custom build a set."

His lips twitched. "I'll do both," he said. "But I'll bump up the schedule on replacing yours." She didn't look happy but she understood reality.

Harper exhaled heavily, and little puffs of smoke swirled through the air. "Getting back to the construction issue, indoctrination, or at least partial indoctrination, is an inevitable part of the process," he said.

"Is it?" Lawson asked.

He nodded. "Harbinger was a little bit free with the truth but at least the new Ascended won't be loyal to Tartarus."

"What about to Shepard, or us?" Williams asked, showing a surprisingly astute grasp of potential long term consequences.

"I think we are designed to be loyal to Shepard and the cycle," Harper said after a moment of thought. There were rules hard coded into all Ascended. It was part of the process. Ascended served the cycle. Ascended could not fire on Ascended. That was all within them already. But loyalty to Tartarus… that he wasn't sure about. He could think of no other reason for an Ascended to have to know the embrace of Tartarus. It explained why it had been so angsty about the Human Ascended. At least, until they had all visited it. "We'll announce immortalisation for the population once we have the minimum designs determined," Harper said firmly, stabbing the cigarette stub into the tray heavily. "And I'll announce the construction project as being dangerous but with the reward being priority immortalisation. Then it won't matter when they are indoctrinated."

"Why are we calling it immortalisation?" Leng asked. "It's ascension."

Harper flashed a quick grin. "Immortalisation sells better to the population," he explained. It had on Earth.

Lawson nodded his agreement. "There was a lot of tension on Earth about ascension until it became very clear that it was true immortality for the mind," he mused.

"And we have made it true immortality," Harper said proudly.

Lawson grinned. "The marketing behind ascension is not critical for the first generation. Their parents have already spoken to them but as we go on the distance will increase and there will be a lack of knowledge. It's better to establish this now," he concluded. "That way, when we set minimum life accomplishments, no one will object."

"People will always object," Williams snarked.

Harper rolled his eyes at Williams, of all people, pointing that out.

"Fewer people will object," Lawson corrected himself.

Harper smiled. "Get work on clone testing for husks. If they are suitable, I won't appropriate avatar facilities but Williams might for the military. If they aren't suitable, well, we will move on from there." Harper couldn't quite suppress his hope that they would be suitable. It meant they'd have a ready supply of disposable troops for any unexpected events. Troops he controlled. He didn't want to rule by fear but he would if he had to.

"Kai, get better estimates of this criminal underbelly. I want to know how many, who they are, and what they are dealing. Every sordid detail." He needed to know, especially if there were originals involved. He might not do anything about them but it never hurt to be prepared and if there were originals involved, he would have to remind them who was the boss because over- or underworld, there would only be one boss.

Him.

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Reception Room**

**45121 Years after Human Ascension, 58 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

Harper needed another aide. When he'd said yes to a celebration for the launch of the first LMC dreadnought, he'd thought it would be a cocktail party, or something far more dreary. The upper echelons of Williams' new military perhaps, all standing around the launch control on Home watching as the newest, and largest Human ship slipped free of the dock. Those he could handle and could handle well. Those he had done before.

A fifteen course state banquet, with what seemed to be half the population, those he struggled with. Never publicly, of course, that would hurt his reputation but as he made polite conversation between courses with those closest, who had no doubt paid his aide some exorbitant price to be placed in proximity to him, he found himself noting the names and attitudes of the guests. Apparently, the beat down he'd given to the pretenders after Una's birth had been forgotten.

At least Lawson was in the same situation as him but his associate was so far down the table that they couldn't engage in a decent conversation. Still, they had exchanged significant glances and they would compare lists later. Some of the guests were being sensible. They had looked at the setting and displayed, well concealed, disgust as they ate. Not with the food. It was beautifully prepared but with the other guests. It showed in the small pockets of isolation around them. Those guests would be spared his wrath because they understood how ridiculous this was. The others, he was already looking forward to it.

He wasn't even allowed to smoke! It was considered some social faux pas. Some rot about it showing a lower class dependance on an addictive substance. Didn't they realise he was the Leader? He defined the norms. His aide had better have gotten well paid for this farce because she was going to need it.

Williams, of course, had escaped and now he understood the hidden laughter in her eyes over the last few days. She was on the bridge of the  _Defender_  overseeing the last details before they took the maiden flight. She would regret not giving him fair warning but before Harper could think of further repercussions the nearest guest turned to him, obviously wanting to engage in conversation and mentally he braced himself, even as he smiled banally. He just had to endure for now.

"Isn't this just lovely?" the woman said, waving her goblet around, gesturing to the floor to ceiling screen that formed one wall. It showed the docks where the  _Defender_  was currently at rest. Her wine, a rich, deep red, sloshed dangerously close to the edge of the glass.

"It is a milestone," Harper agreed diplomatically as he eyed her. Her breasts barely fit into her dress and if Lawson had engineered her for someone, there was going to be hell to pay! He did not need bimbos in the population but then some women had always thought that displaying more was better.

"That's exactly what I said, Jack!" came an exclamation to his right and Harper was forced to turn. The man had been introduced as Nikolaus Su and was the mining manager of the few ground based mines he'd allowed on Home.

"It is an achievement for our growing nation that we can build such a magnificent ship!" the man continued, taking Harper's attention as permission to speak. "I mined the steel for her myself! I couldn't let anyone else do it!"

"Your dedication is admirable," Harper forced out.

"Well, Sir, seeing that ship," Nikolaus gestured with his fork, "makes me wish I'd signed up for the military."

_You'd have failed the psych exam,_  Harper thought but he just nodded, taking a bite of whatever was on his plate. "She is beautiful," he said when it became obvious that Nikolaus was still waiting for some sort of small talk.

"The new flagship! Though I am curious about the change in design," Nikolaus said. "Was the other just a prototype?"

"The other had a different purpose," Harper said.

"Oh well! Out with the old, in with the new, I always say."

Harper stiffened. "The  _Defender_  is strong, I grant you but it would not survive a straight out battle against the original," he said and for the first time he realised he did feel pride in his Ascended form.

"That thing is how many years old? It wouldn't stand a chance!" Nikolaus dismissed his statement and Harper suppressed a tremble as the dishes from the course were collected.

"The entire fleet might have a chance," Harper allowed, once the servers had gone. He was unable to let the issue go.

Williams had had a few years to work on it and there was a formidable number of cruisers and frigates. It was about time they had begun adding dreadnoughts to the mix.

"Oh look, they are about to launch!" Nikolaus said excitedly.

Harper took the opportunity to turn towards the ostentatious screen. The lights on the dock had all been dimmed, except for the flood lights highlighting the  _Defender._  Several parts of the dock had been pulled back and the running lights of the dreadnought were on. Someone put the feed from the bridge in the corner and Harper saw Williams standing in the command position. She had her dress uniform on but Harper was pleased to see that it was more functional than fancy. She was saying something but there was no audio and they watched as the last securing points for the  _Defender_  were withdrawn.

The docks' mass effect fields activated, giving the huge ship just a slight push. It was designed like the old Cerberus dreadnoughts, though they had been based on the best designs from the Systems Alliance and the Turians. On the screen, a new inset appeared and Harper frowned. It showed a checklist and Williams seemed to be running through it. Either she didn't know that it would be displayed, or she had lost all sense of operational security.

But those around him were eating it up and Harper recognised the power of a good show as they leaned forward, anticipating what came next as he leaned back. Bulkheads were good, heat sinks were good, shields were good, engines were only at ten percent but were operating correctly and importantly, the weapon systems were good.

The was a cheer as  _Defender_  cleared the dock and the engines went to full power briefly. He watched with critical eyes as it began to move. This was the first dreadnought Humanity had built using a tantalus drive core. He sighed softly when it appeared, to him, to be slightly jerky, much like the flight of a new Ascended but a glance at Williams' image displayed no movement discontinuity so perhaps he was imagining it.

The guests began to clap as  _Defender_  moved into position within a small fleet and then as the running lights began to change, some powering on while others powered off, they rose, still clapping. Harper caught Henry rolling his eyes but the two of them shared another glance and reluctantly rose. This was just a bloody ship! And the real testing would come after the vid feed was gone. At least, it had better. While a brief report would be issued about the launch of  _Defender,_  he did not need the entire seventy million and growing population of Home knowing every little detail about the weapon's tests and shielding. Those were military secrets and had to remain that way.

When they could afford to, he would set up docks and construction facilities in another system. Close by but away from the eyes of civilians.

"Magnificent!" Nikolaus was cheering. "Truly magnificent!"

Harper had to concede it was a beautiful sight but, just as Una's birth had been a good step forward, it was just the first. Williams' military had been launching ships for quite a few years now, just not as large, but if things went to plan, then the military would be launching further dreadnoughts in the near future.

"The first of many," Harper replied.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" the woman said. "I just love a good party!"

At that point, Harper, who had been hoping to perhaps get some decent conversation out of Nikolaus on the potential of expanding the mining protocols, gave up. He'd given the woman the benefit of the doubt earlier but after a crack like that, it was obvious she was here for leering opportunities rather than any ability… well rather than any ability she had outside the bedroom. What he didn't know was why she had been placed so close to him? Or was his aide inferring something?

His next aide would have to be educated that if they wished to do this, then the appropriate way was to give the woman access to the outer parts of his quarters where he could decide if he wished to take up the offer or not. He had some sense of decorum! Still, perhaps there was a way to get rid of her. Harper looked the woman up and down. The dress was barely appropriate, revealing that she wasn't a child and so he leaned over. "My quarters, two hours," he whispered before sitting upright to begin the next course. If he couldn't have a cigarette, well, there were other pleasures.

"So Nikolaus, I've limited mining on the planet, but perhaps it is time to expand, within certain parameters, of course. What do you think?" Harper said, ignoring the way the woman looked at him. She would be there, she was part of the new generations and while some of them were not necessarily fond of him for the restrictions and work orders, they all recognised his power. She would be there. And perhaps, she would provide a pleasurable enough closure to the stress of the evening.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Methinks Harper might be wondering if minions are really all they are cracked up to be. He's probably having some regrets but he still holds the reins so everything is okay.


	46. Firstborn: Miroslav

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unexpected problems arise in Harper's new society even as he's sending out scouts to look at the nearby systems he earlier prepared for colonisation. And the first LMC Ascended awakens thus reaffirming Harper's control over society. But will things always be that smooth?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**  
**Chapter 45: Firstborn: Miroslav**

-cfr-

**45126 Years after Human Ascension, 71 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Leader's Office**

Harper rested his head on his hands as he stared at the screen.

He missed his sun from his time as head of Cerberus. Watching it had helped him to think and the image on the screen was not good enough. Even when he projected it against the wall, it just didn't soothe him the way the old one had. He knew it wasn't real.

And he had tried taking a small ship to Home's sun but it was too brilliant to stare at and think. Even with light filters, it just wasn't the same. Maybe Darren could find a way but that was no help right then.

He lifted his head before he reached out to pick up his coffee, breathing deeply of the rich aroma. Picking up coffee beans to go with the cow ovum had earnt him quite a few kudos from those in his Ascended form. Coffee and steak brought off quite a few people.

The Hindus knew better than to complain. He'd given them a few special cows to be their sacred animals.

He sipped the brew, closing his eyes as he savoured the flavour. It was good. They had finally refined their ability to roast the beans. That was a distraction. A tasty distraction but one nevertheless. He just didn't want to think about the project but he really had no choice.

Now that Safehold was full and the satellite cities were flourishing, he had no reason not to think about the project but every time he did, his mind shied away from it. It wasn't fear that he'd think the wrong thing. Over the years, he'd become very adept at thinking in code, it was more the enormity of it. The project would take generations to fulfil. It would be a drain on this society for centuries to come, which was why he needed a good population base before they started actually building. He could see that. It was a logical progression but what he could not see and what he had no real feel for was the timescale.

The seconds ticked past and he could feel them but the infinite number that stretched before him?  _Those_  he could not feel. He knew what he would be doing tomorrow, next week, next month, even next year but next century?

No matter what he'd told Uros, his mind just didn't think that far ahead, let alone the centuries that would come after. Centuries he would live thanks to ascension and Lawson's modding of the implants. As Cerberus' Commander, he'd played the long game but never one this long and if he was honest, he was slightly afraid for the future.

He had plans but no plan was perfect and the future would change them.

Those changes worried him. They had contingencies but there was always the chance that something else would go wrong. The twentieth century saying about Murphy had remained true.  _'What can go wrong, will go wrong, usually at the worst possible time.'_ Well, when that happened, there would be a plan. For everything.

He still had to deal with the aliens in this galaxy as well. Darren was monitoring them. They were distant and Humanity was hidden within the nebula. Although, there been some hints that one group was spreading faster than others. That was the furthest group. While the closest had no other colonies yet, they would by the time Humanity encountered that them. Assuming they were still alive.

A few of the new generation had asked about aliens. Harper had told the originals to ignore the questions, though to confirm that some did exist. What was more concerning was that there didn't seem to be older alien species. He  _thought_  he knew what had happened to them and had Esha and the others looking for evidence. It was slow going though.

With only one planet, Esha had told him point blank that she wasn't looking that hard. Once he started to allow colonisation, Harper knew she'd begin then. He expected his theories to be confirmed. There were those with more exotic theories, and he didn't want to think of what some of the new organic generations thought but most originals agreed with his theory. It was the one that made sense after all.

They were certainly eager to confirm it because they, like him, felt the strain of Ascension when thinking about it. Confirmation would provide comfort that things were within expectation, were as they should be. It would be ironic if the Catalyst was correct this once. He couldn't deny that it was a logical theory. But that was a thought for later.

Harper took another sip of coffee, half opening his eyes to look around his office. It was plushly appointed but still somewhat spartan. There was no personal touch which declared the space his and even though he spent most of his time here, he felt no need to leave any knick-knacks lying around. Ascension had worked that much at least but it hadn't changed his sense of time in the way it appeared to have altered Shepard's.

Around Earth, and even on their first journey to dark space, the first Human Ascended never seemed to care if a year had gone by or a day. He just kept doing what pleased him. "The grunt was perfect to Ascend," Harper murmured to himself but he couldn't help but believe it was something more.

If it was, he was in no position to find out what and so he'd just have to deal with things as they happened. It had worked so far but the plotter in him wanted to plan for the future.

Another sip and Harper finally noticed the blinking light on his comm. He'd set it to mute earlier so he could enjoy his coffee. For a moment, he was tempted not to answer but experience told him whoever it was wouldn't go away and if they did, they'd just let the problem snowball until it was a bloody nightmare to deal with.

"What is it?" Harper growled as he activated the link.

"Eezo."

Harper recognised Esha's voice. Over the years, like most of those who worked closely with him, she had become pretty adept at reading his moods. She knew how to deal with him.

"What about eezo?" Harper asked.

"We don't have enough to make Ascended," she replied.

Harper blinked. They had stockpiles. Except Williams had been using them for military ships, he remembered. Even so, there should be… Maybe not. "How much are we short?"

"I can make it, but there won't be a reserve," Esha replied.

"No, I want the reserve," Harper said. He had stockpile reserves of everything. For what, he didn't know. He just knew he'd rather have them than not in the event that he needed them. It was just good planning and he could see at least that far ahead.

"Then I'm going to have to mine it or make it," Esha countered.

Harper thought for a few moments. They were the only two alternatives and both took ships out of the Home system. "Where are you?" Harper asked. The comm was voice only but that didn't mean anything.

"What do you mean?" Esha sounded confused.

"Are you Ascended?" Some of his people had gone back the moment they could. Others had lived until the age they had on Earth before returning, re-enacting some sort of cycle with their own lifespan. Others just opted to live as long as they could. He didn't know what path Esha had chosen.

"I'm still organic," she replied, a note of understanding entering her tone.

Harper sighed. It would have been easier if she was currently Ascended. He wasn't sure he trusted anyone to take his place as Prime but he knew, while he was on Home, someone did. Still, when he'd awoken after Uros' assassination, he had been in the Prime position so they knew better than to challenge him. His absence was a concern, one he had no solution for, especially with what he and Lawson surmised was happening in his Ascended subconscious.

Every now and then, Lawson made a clone avatar that no one claimed or only claimed after a while. The ones no one claimed were rejected and that DNA noted. The ones only reluctantly claimed, and it wasn't through embarrassment, it was genuinely because they did not recognise themselves, had the consciousness put into their flesh body and were immediately put into therapy on Home. They were the individuals for whom homogenisation had already begun. While it was not impossible to reverse it, it was an uphill battle, one Harper didn't know how he'd approach with the cores within his Ascended form or the rest of the Human Ascended fleet. It was something he'd deal with in time and, for himself, it was affecting about six percent though he'd only completely lost three percent. Still, it meant that his Ascended form always had some homogeneous will to control the husks with or to run his point defences and it was almost ironic that those minds which had become irrevocably linked now controlled their huskified bodies.

"Err, Harper," Esha broke into his musing.

"What is it?"

"I don't think you need to make a decision," she said, her voice sounding amused but not joyful. There was a serious underpinning, one he'd understand better if the hook up was visual, but when Harper reached out to initialise a vid link, he saw a new priority message and a chill of premonition went through him.

They wouldn't have!

They couldn't have!

The thoughts were hardly the most profound but they chased through his mind as Harper tapped on his data pad cutting through the security to take a look at the orbital radar. He had the authority to look at every system, everywhere but, while in an organic body, he did have to enter passwords, so to speak.

The radar eventually appeared on screen showing him a map of Home. His Ascended form was rapidly tracking outwards.

"Where the fuck are they going?" Harper roared while his mind tried to think of who was on board. It wasn't Lawson, he was still tending to the clone avatars, and it wasn't Williams. Her priority message had just joined the queue. He didn't think it was Leng, though the assassin certainly had enough balls to do this. So who was left?

He thought he had most of the wilful in his Ascended form in avatars at the moment. It made it safer. Either someone had uploaded themselves or one of the others had grown a set. He would make them wish they hadn't.

Harper tapped the first priority message, the one supposedly from his Ascended from. It was text. Standard language, which meant English with loanwords from other languages added where necessary, though Harper was strict on ensuring that no alien words entered the lexicon.

"Mining eezo for new Ascended. Be back in 113 days."

Harper felt his hands turn into fists as he shook. This was not part of the Plan.  _Any_  plan! Sure, Home was well protected by Williams' fleet and sure, there wasn't meant to be another sentient species within 1000 light years but the flagship should not just leave!

He had a mining fleet for this! And what would happen if they ran into something they couldn't handle? They were not meant to do this!

Someone or several someones were going to be very, very sorry.

"Gina!" Harper roared and was not satisfied by the crash as his aide rushed in. "Get me whiskey, now!" he ordered before Gina had even cleared the door. He didn't keep alcohol in his office because this space was for working but he needed it now.

"Harper!" Esha shouted through the comm link and he got the impression she was glowering at him. "What do you want me to do about eezo?" she asked.

"It appears all you'll have to do is wait, so use the reserve for now," he instructed before closing the comm. He looked at Williams' message and the other few signals that had come through.

They could wait because there was nothing he or they could do and he wasn't going to answer them before he had a very strong glass of alcohol to soothe his anger.

Someone was going to pay.

-cfr-

**45163 Years after Human Ascension, 108 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy** **, Reborn Humanity Scout Ship _Kite_**

"He's fucking insane!" Daryl complained, resting his feet on the console.

"So you say," Nina replied, continuing to work, entering the readouts into the log. "We're still getting paid, even if he is insane."

"Yeah, we're getting paid to haul ourselves across three god-damned systems to some planet he says is there. How the fuck does he know?"

"He's an original. He knows things. Didn't they teach you anything in school?"

"You think I paid attention?"

"Not anymore, I don't," Nina sighed. "I don't know why are you are complaining. We are either stuck on Home doing some boring job, or stuck here. And here pays better."

"You are always about the money," Daryl said. "You don't actually believe the rumour, do you?"

"Which one?" Nina asked. There were so many rumours.

"You can't buy your way to immortalisation."

"Maybe not," Nina replied. "But I will be comfortable while I'm waiting."

The computer bleeped.

"We're here!" Daryl crowed, swinging his feet down to start working. There was too much information coming in now for just one of them to handle. "Which planet was it again?" he asked.

"Fifth planet," Nina told him, pulling up the scans. "It's meant to be a Venus-type, whatever that is. Dense atmosphere, high temp, high humidity but it should be cooling," she read from the information packet they'd been given.

"Get rid of that trash," Daryl said. "Some me the current scans," he instructed, leaning forward as he tapped at the console.

The old scans were replaced by patchy information as their sensors began gathering information. "Well, there are eight planets, like we were told. No asteroid belt," Daryl summarised.

"You do remember the brief!" Nina was surprised.

"I'm not completely useless," Daryl snapped back without heat. "Two are gas giants with whoa… That is an impressive amount of orbiters!"

"What else is there?" Nina asked.

"I don't believe it. I don't fucking believe it!" Daryl murmured before he sat back after tapping the controls to bring up a visual.

"There it is," Nina said.

On the screen was the image of a soft orange planet. There was scrolling text on the screen. The visual showed the planet was covered in cloud and in a small inset was another image, one they now knew must have come from Harper's immortalised form. The colour of the present image was different. It wasn't as orange. Instead it had the softest tone of purple as if the planet was being tinted blue.

"Dense cloud and holy shit! This says the temp is dropping!" Daryl said. "How did he know?" he demanded.

"He sent us on this mission so of course he knew! Thing is, according to this it should be cooler."

"300C is cooler though," Daryl said.

"Not cool enough. Projections say it should be 250C"

"Well, we were sent here to check the planet, not to fix it. After the scans finish, we report back," Daryl shrugged.

Nina snorted. "I'm looking forward to that anyway. It will be nice to see something other than your ugly mug."

"Heh, you wish!" Daryl retorted. "The scans will be complete in a couple of hours, so all we gotta do now is sit back and wait."

"That's what I have to do," Nina said primly. "You'd better start composing an apology."

"What? To whom?" Daryl frowned.

"To Harper," Nina replied.

"Why the hell would I do that?"

"You will if you want to live. Don't think that your crack about him being insane won't get back to him," Nina explained.

For a moment, Daryl looked like he was trapped under a microscope. "Aww, man!" he whinged before sighing heavily and bringing up a text screen. "One apology coming up."

"Just remember, Glisic, the originals always know more than they let on, and Harper, he fucking knows  _everything_."

"Yeah, yeah. There's a reason he's the boss," Daryl said by way of agreement.

"And don't you forget it."

"Pfft! I won't  _now_."

"He's heard  _that_  before."

-cfr-

**45168 Years after Human Ascension, 113 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Leader's Office**

"Jack, we have to start," Lawson said as soon as he was settled.

"I agree," Harper replied. He'd been thinking about the genetic modifications Henry wanted for a while and the perfect opportunity to introduce them had arisen.

"Really?" Lawson was skeptical.

"I do," Harper said. "We need to get them started or we will never cover the entire population and that will lead to a class system."

Lawson just lowered his eyes as he gave Jack a look.

"More of a class system," Harper corrected, with a sigh. He didn't mind classes, so long as he was at the top but he knew that excessive stratification would lead to disquiet.

"So what's the opportunity?" Lawson asked

"The scouts just got back from the adjoining system," Harper explained. Well, it was three stars away, so it was practically adjoining since the other two stars lacked even remotely suitable planets for habitation. They could be mined though, and Harper already had plans for them.

"Oh, you mean that Venus planet we seeded?" Lawson asked slowly, trying to remember all the details. It had been over three hundred and forty years ago and he had been Ascended then.

"Yes," Harper nodded. "The temperature is dropping but not fast enough."

"We didn't seed it enough?" Lawson thought aloud.

"Or too much," Harper said. By that stage, they had seeded several planets but it wasn't like any of them had experience at it. Trial and error remained the name of the game. He dug into his desk drawer, pulling out a packet of cigarettes.

"So, colonists?" Lawson queried doubtfully.

Harper shook his head as his hands went through the process of lighting up. "Terraformers," he said.

"Ah," Henry replied, understanding. The terraformers would be a relatively small group and while they may be meant to return to Home at least some of them would form the starting population on the second planet. It wasn't a bad opportunity.

"So what do we want altered?" He asked. Jack and he had discussed improving the Human genome and they agreed it should be done, they had just never spoken about the true specifics.

"Genetic diseases," Harper replied quickly, taking the first drag.

Lawson nodded. They were obvious. No one wanted a population that was bound to get ill. "There's still a few we aren't sure about," he told Harper.

"Why?" came the response.

"The really rare ones are just that," Lawson explained. "Even with the growing population, we just don't have enough samples to truly isolate the problem sections."

Harper looked disappointed before he nodded his understanding. Some genetic disorders only occurred to one in billions and with a population of approximately two hundred and ten million, that was simply not enough for those rare disorders to crop up. And he was hoping that some diseases had disappeared, both due to the size of his sample population and the fact that this was not Earth. While clean water was provided he was reasonably sure that Cholera had not been able to come from Earth and he knew Small Pox was gone. They hadn't seen a case in over sixty years back on Earth.

"Do what you can," Harper instructed. At least, the more common genetic diseases would be eradicated. "I want diabetes, heart disease and the major cancers gone," he said, blowing smoke.

"Those are obvious," Lawson replied, his eyes tracking the cigarette in Harper's hand. "What about..?" he raised one eyebrow to finish the question. While Harper's office was meant to be sound proofed and bug free, it was sometimes better to be discreet.

Even though Lawson knew Harper agreed with him, he was aware that some of the population, both on Home and in their Ascended body, didn't agree. Some originals thought repopulation was enough. They didn't see the unique opportunity they had. Even with that, the modifications for disease eradication would be an easy sell. Everyone could see the advantages there. There was peace of mind in knowing that your children and their children for however many generations you wanted to think about would not suffer from those common ailments. For sending terraformers to a new planet, one without facilities, eradicating disease made sense. Sure they could ship back anyone who got ill but that was an unnecessary expense.

"Do it," Harper ordered, after taking a few puffs as he thought. "But slowly," he added the proviso. "We don't want to be too obvious and we will have to work out how to apply it to ourselves."

Lawson blinked. That was something he hadn't considered and it was stupid of him not to. Harper, at least, wanted to continue to inhabit his organic shell and that would mean he had to keep up with the generations, or they would just ignore him as being obsolete. "I can make our avatars more physically robust," he said, thinking. "But I'm not sure how I can make that change."

Harper's smile was cold and said without words that he had to figure it out.

"I'll work on it," Lawson said, somewhat resigned.

Increasing intelligence in foetal genetics was doable or even before you created a foetus it was possible to scan for the correct traits but for someone who had already lived? He wasn't sure it would work, even if he modded their bodies to have a greater capacity for intelligence. Their mind, because it was provided by the implants, already had thought pathways established and with them, the limitations they brought. It would be very hard to establish new lines of thought, if it was even possible.

On the intelligence front, he'd just have to rely on taking the best possible capacity from the parents. It would be slower, but over time the population would display an increase in intelligence.

"Good," Harper replied. "Get rid of hayfever, as well. Infact, all allergies."

It had taken some time to realise what was happening when several patients had presented to the hospital in Safehold with runny noses, sneezing and irritated eyes. They did not have colds, because the cold virus hadn't made it off Earth but wheat, barley, corn and other crops had and the fields represented a lot of grasses. The victims had been suffering from hayfever and after being dosed up with the right antihistamine, they'd been sent on their way with a box of tissues. There was nothing else that could be done for them, until now.

"I'll see to it," Lawson nodded, making a note. "Basically, you want to start with all the things that are easy to justify."

"Yes," Harper agreed. "Diseases and allergies. There will be far less outcry if we start there. The population will probably wonder why we haven't already. Modifying the rest implies that they aren't good enough already," he said and Lawson nodded his agreement.

"Do you want me to make the changes Ashley wants?" She had been very insistent that a few, gender-specific alterations be slipped in. Her threats were very creative.

Harper huffed. "What's the current death or infertility rate?"

"Not high," Lawson shrugged. He didn't know the exact numbers. They had made some earlier modifications to help with childbearing. Those were simple things. He had mostly made sure that women had hips to make childbearing easier. They couldn't afford to have anything else then.

"Are they easy to work in?"

"Relatively." Lawson huffed. Williams approved of the earlier alterations. She wanted something further now to reduce the already low death rates. These changes were more exotic. Better shaped pelvis' was one and enhanced pain dampening during labour. He supposed it would be easier if the brain would release endorphins naturally.

"So you don't want to find out what it's like to be a woman?" Harper teased. They all knew. They all had the memories from Cerberus. There was very little distinction in gender there. It was odd remembering what it was like to carry a child, what it was like to give birth. There was a reason he had separated those memories for download into an organic shell.

"No, I don't." Henry didn't see the joke. Williams had threatened to make him a woman. Not castration. She meant actually make him a woman. Making him download into a female shell. And then ensure he bore at least one child. He did not want to think of the mechanics of that. The actual act of birth would be the final indignity at the end of a long list. The act of conception, that thought almost made him physically ill.

"Then you had better make them," Jack agreed. Williams' suggestions made sense. She wasn't the only woman from Cerberus suggesting them, just one of the more vocal.

"So what about other mods? Strength, agility, that sort of thing?"

Harper considered it. Those modifications were pretty easy to sell as well. Who didn't want to be stronger and more flexible? They could all be at their physical prime. "Let's do them later," Harper decided. "We don't want to do too much, too quickly and those things can be improved by cybernetics."

"And the population has no problem with those," Lawson agreed. During the breeding programs after the Ascended had come, genetic engineering had been pared back, but before that, cybernetics and  _in vitro_  alterations, especially those for eyesight, had been common. "I'll put it down for later generations. There's one more thing," he said, gesturing to his body. Why just change the mind when you could make the vessel perfect?

Harper looked uncertain. "What type of changes?"

Lawson stared. Harper knew what types of alterations were possible. Receding hairline, gone. Blue eyes, yes. Red hair, if you wanted it, sure. He could modify appearance for everyone.

"What type of changes?" Harper pressed.

"Jack! You already know! If you want blue-eyed blonds then I'll make the population have that. It could be tricky with the Africans and Asians but I'll work something out."

"No," Harper said firmly, shuddering just thinking about the politics of attempting that.

"What?"

"No," Harper repeated. "Beyond the improvements we've discussed and the few physical alterations that will bring, I don't want you designing babies. Not even on the side," he added for good measure. Lawson was perfectly capable of setting up a business to do that for those who asked. For a price, of course.

"But, Jack!"

"No!" Harper insisted. "Where does it end?" he asked. "Does it stop when all men have twelve inch dicks and the women are double d's with sixty centimetre waists? Or do we go further and make everyone blue-eyed, black hair with milk white skin? Those distinctions are artificial," Harper continued. "They serve no purpose beyond establishing the norms of beauty for the day."

"They do more than that!" Lawson objected. Physical beauty was associated with physical perfection which meant a sound body and good bloodline.

"No," Harper repeated, stubbing out his cigarette forcefully. "We have to keep some diversity or the new population will become homogenised and then what's the point?"

Lawson jerked back. He hadn't considered that. They were pushing for all originals to spend at least a year or so in body - if not in their own, then at least in one Lawson made for this purpose - every fifty years to avoid homogenisation, since the suggestion of hibernation had been outright rejected. The new Ascended had not yet been formed, but they would have to suggest it for it as well. If they were doing that for themselves, they really shouldn't be allowing the population to homogenise and while some of the ethnic groups preferred to breed within their own subtype, over time, in the meritocracy Harper promoted, the population would begin to merge.

"I understand now why Harbinger always wanted a representative population," Harper said.

Lawson nodded. "And why some species were barely suitable for destroyers," he added.

"We can't become like that," Harper said. "Or it won't matter what advantages the physical form of ascension has. We will be weak."

Lawson considered the rest of the modifications he was about to initiate and nodded slowly. They were corrective but would not overly affect diversity. If anything, they should make the population more suitable for ascension because even now, coming from a base stock that was Ascended there were some individuals who should not be Ascended. They should become husks. Lawson had never bothered to check what Harper decided for them. It wasn't that he would object to either decision, it was simply that the fewer who knew, the less chance there was for leakage. Still, if they encouraged the best to have children, and made sure that only the best traits of the parents were passed on, then that would improve the population over time and he had time. It was just a matter of remembering that.

"Alright," Lawson said. "I'll stick to the agreed enhancements. Though I'm going to need some reason for IVF," he added. Most of the population was conceived and born naturally. He didn't even see the parents, except for a few older originals who were opting to have more children.

Harper nodded. "I'll make it known that the terraformers have to be enhanced and over the next few generations, we can alter those who want to colonise as well. That will get things started."

Lawson nodded. Even if he enhanced one hundred thousand for colonisation as the generations went on there'd be some who opted to stay on Home.

"For the rest, we'll say that genetic screening and enhancement is an option," Harper continued. "The uptake should be sufficiently large and if it isn't, we'll just make it larger."

Lawson snorted. Advertising still worked. You could still sell sand in a desert if you knew what you were doing and Harper did know what he was doing. Mostly.

"By the way, where is Kai?" Lawson asked, knowing that the conversation for genetic engineering was over. They had their answers and he hadn't seen the Asian man for a while, which was somewhat unusual because Leng had taken to watching Harper to ensure the man was fulfilling Shepard's orders. As if Harper had any choice.

"He's around," Harper replied and Lawson looked at him sharply. Most, even originals, would have heard just the casual comment. Lawson heard far more. Harper was up to something.

"If you are too hard on him, he'll make sure it's longer than three months," Lawson warned.

Harper waved one hand, dismissing the concern and Henry couldn't help but be intrigued. Had Jack found some way to actually control the assassin?

Sure, the man had been loyal to Cerberus but most of their Ascended form knew his allegiance had switched to Shepard. Harper kept the Prime position because Shepard had directed his orders to Jack personally but Kai would remove him if Harper was not working on the plan. And Harper didn't have much recourse as was proven several years ago when their Ascended form left for a mining mission. Kai hadn't taken the Prime position but everyone knew he had encouraged the individual who had. Except nothing could be proved. Wayne Czerniak remained, even now, stubbornly silent and all Harper could do was fume.

"What have you done?" Henry asked.

Harper smiled viciously. "I'm finding I quite like the silence of my mind when I desire plans to be secure," Jack said with a smirk.

"Just don't drive him away," Lawson warned. "While it is meant to be impossible for us to truly die, if you give him enough motivation, he will find a way."

"No worries about that," Harper said with a note of surety in his voice, which just make Lawson all the more curious. "It isn't anything controversial," he added, attempting to put Henry's mind at ease.

The scientist took a deep breath. "It's your head if it is," he replied before letting the matter drop. If Harper wasn't speaking then there was no way to pry it out of him. Lawson would have to make his own inquiries.

"See you next time?" he asked as he rose. They had a standing meeting time. Harper checked his calendar.

"That's still good," he said a moment later and Lawson nodded before showing himself out.

He had a lot of work to do.

-cfr-

**45182 Years after Human Ascension, 127 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Orbit of Planet: Home, Construction Docks for Ascended**

Harper hung in space watching the dock. He had considered greeting the first LMC made Ascended with his organic body as the ruler of Home but had opted for his Ascended form. As a new Ascended, he hadn't respected organics and he couldn't see any reason this one should be different. He only had one opportunity to establish his dominance so it had to be done right. There could be no perception of weakness.

There were a few not in his form and it felt oddly empty without them. Williams had taken the defence fleet to the far side of the system so they wouldn't antagonise the new ship. Lawson was still in an organic body on Home, as was Kai and several million who were there for the first time. Everyone in his form had been given the opportunity to contribute to the gene pool, just not all at once. There had to be enough minds here to be operational at all times. That meant at least thirty million minds, though there were some performance issues when there were that few and Lawson had a theory that homogenisation would go faster then. They didn't really want to test it.

"It should be soon," Esha reported. The engineer was on Home monitoring the situation.

"But you are not sure," Harper read the inflections in her voice.

"Yeah, well, it's not like I paid attention in Sol," Esha replied. "We had Elysium for that," she added.

"True," Harper conceded before focusing his own senses. They told him nothing new and he continued to watch. "Come on, little one," he crooned, most uncharacteristically. He had time but Harper had never been too good at waiting.

Just then, one of the running lights flicked on and Harper felt a surge of combined satisfaction and relief. The relief was a surprise. He hadn't realised he'd felt it until he did. It said he'd been concerned and there was nothing he should have been worried about. The new Ascended had been built perfectly. He couldn't have built them improperly because the knowledge of ascension was coded into him.

Another light flickered on and Harper directed the docking clamps to release. From what he remembered, things went quickly from this point. More lights came on and Harper braced for the scream he knew would come. It always came and the reaction to it was the one thing that seemed the same between organics and Ascended. They all heard and those on Home had been warned what to expect, although Harper knew some would have to experience it before they took the warnings seriously. It was the nature of Humans.

All the lights came on and the new Ascended screamed and ripped free from the dock. Harper ignored the damage. The dock was repurposed before they built a custom facility, one that was modular to allow expansion. Damage was irrelevant to an Ascended.

He held steady when the new Ascended turned towards him. It was a surprise when the newest Ascended's weapons locked on to him. To counter, he just locked his senses onto the first LMC Ascended but made it clear that his weapons were not active. Ascended could not fire on Ascended. Not even newborn Ascended. No matter how confused they were at the moment of their birth. That pain passed. He just had to wait.

Several long moments passed and Harper remained still. The weapons lock didn't fade. He could feel the targeting lock of all of Miroslav's weapons. It was confused but the pain of awakening would be dwindling. "Quiet, little one. Quiet," he crooned as best as he could.

"That's right," Harper said in the language of Ascended when the weapon lock was released. He offered the language files for Home along with some base information.

The responding sub-channel links told him the newest Ascended's name. Miroslav.

Still, he couldn't afford to have Miroslav initiate what was normal protocol for an Ascended when dealing with organics. That would lead to a battle, one Harper was sure he'd win but it was unnecessary. "It's okay, Williams," he sent to the fleet as well before they could ruin everything.

Harper could vaguely sense Miroslav going through the files. Language was easily assimilated but he had included information about the Project and Shepard's orders.

"Organics?" Miroslav asked.

"They are loyal," Harper replied. It wasn't quite the same as saying they were indoctrinated but he hoped it was close enough.

Miroslav seemed to consider it and Harper remained ready until Miroslav sent confirmation that she understood. "Because of the Project?" she asked.

"Yes," Harper said.

"And this was ordered by Shepard?"

"Yes." Technically speaking Shepard had ordered him to do that. It was his solution to Shepard's orders.

"Who is Shepard?"

Harper didn't have an organic body but he could still feel the reaction. "Shepard?" He asked for confirmation.

"Who is Shepard?" Miroslav repeated.

How could the new Ascended not know who Shepard was? "Shepard is the first Human Ascended," Harper began explaining. "He is the one who gave the orders for the Project." Harper said, highlighting the parts of the information pack pertaining to Shepard's orders. He had been a bit vague about the orders because he wasn't completely sure what would trigger the failsafe. He wasn't completely sure what failsafes had gone over.

It appeared the newborn could have accepted more information.

"The originator?" Miroslav asked.

Harper breathed a sigh of relief. It appeared Miroslav understood. It was just a matter of terminology. "Yes, the originator," Harper replied.

"I want to talk to him," Miroslav said.

"You can't," Harper answered quickly. Did Miroslav want to check on him or was it a desire for the authority figure? Harper didn't know but knew enough to know that it would be very bad if Miroslav attempted to make contact. "He ordered no communication. When the project is complete, you will be able to speak to him."

"What is the timeline?" Miroslav asked.

Harper gave the appropriate files and waited. He did not relax completely because despite the understanding Miroslav had shown, there was the chance that it could all go astray.

"Should it not be faster?"

Harper mentally grinned. With that question, Miroslav had revealed her loyalties and was now another Ascended working on the Project.

Hopefully all awakenings would be as successful.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the first born Ascended of the LMC is here. Harbinger doesn't even know the fleet got bigger. And Harper is slowly getting the hang of being the boss. Though he will have to watch Lawson. And Kai. But I think Harper realises, there's always someone watching. Still the humans will only get immortalised if they obey his rule so while this is a dictatorship, it's not all bad... kinda.


	47. Williams Gets A Promotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper loses a bet. Security on the colonies is improved. Kai has found all the members of the Underworld, which gives Harper a new perspective on Human society and Williams gets a promotion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 46: Williams Gets A Promotion**

-cfr-

**45186 Years after Human Ascension, 131 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Emergency Ward, Main Hospital**

"Priority one patient coming through! Clear the way!"

The shout preceded the trolley before it rushed through the corridor. A squad of security followed it. They were armed to the teeth.

"Pulse rate normal, blood screen clean!" the nurse cried before the entire group disappeared into one of the operating rooms and two of the guards took up position at the door.

Inside, the doctors continued working frantically.

"Nothing's working!" one of them cried in frustration, with more than a little fear colouring his tone.

But then it was not every day they had the leader of Home as a patient.

"Alright! Let's calm down!" The head of surgery said. Vanda Hesketh was a formidable woman who should have been immortalised but she insisted she'd be immortalised when she wanted, not when the system said. She was practically old enough to have been an original. "What do we know?" she asked calmly.

"He was in a meeting," one of the security guards said.

"Okay, and?" Vanda prompted.

"He just keeled over without warning."

"And no one else did?" she asked skeptically.

"No, but they've been taken into custody."

"I need their tox screening reports, now!" she ordered.

"That information is classified," the guard objected.

" _Now!_ " Vanda repeated the order, succeeding in cowing the man enough that he began speaking into his comm. "I need confirmation there was no airborne contaminant and just in case it was something he ingested, start a stomach pump."

The other doctors rushed to comply while Vanda looked at her patient. He was still breathing independently and the monitor beeped rhythmically with his heartbeat. There were a couple of monitoring pads attached to his head and the readouts were normal for a man at rest but they said nothing about why he'd just collapsed and why they couldn't wake him up.

"Has anyone called upstairs?" she asked and just shook her head at the guilty starts from around the room. "Well, get on it!" she added the order to the growing list of instructions.

_What the hell caused this?_  Vanda thought before turning to watch the security guard who was making the call upstairs.

The man trembled slightly. Not that she could blame him. Usually no one had a reason to speak to the originals. It was a part of Harper's job and the few who remained on the planet had generally integrated so well that most people forgot they were original.

She was about to move closer to the monitors when the doors slammed open.

"Right, everyone who isn't doing something, get out!" a woman ordered firmly. "And the one in charge, step forward and report," the woman snapped.

The doors hadn't closed behind her and Vanda could see armed soldiers lining the hall. There were more waiting to process the doctors and nurses who were already filing out. Actual soldiers, not just security which meant that the woman had to be Admiral Williams.

Vanda stepped forward before she was dragged. "Ma'am," she said, resisting the urge to salute. It was probably shocking to her colleagues who saw her as the one always in control but Williams had a certain aura that demanded respect and Vanda knew the woman, who didn't look much over thirty was an original, just like Harper. If anyone knew what was going on, it would be another original.

"What have you determined so far?" Williams demanded.

"He was in a meeting and collapsed," Vanda began.

"Not that," Williams said. "I already know that. Medical details," the military's commanding officer clarified her demand.

"Heartbeat is normal. Brain scans normal. No abnormal spikes that we can detect and his stomach contents were in the process of being pumped for analysis." It appeared the original might not know what was wrong.

Williams' eyes flashed towards Harper where one doctor remained. "Continue," she instructed and the doctor look relieved.

"Williams!" a voice snapped for the comm and Vanda recognised it as coming from the security guard she'd assigned to call upstairs.

"Lawson?" the Admiral questioned.

"Yeah, I'm here."

Williams held out her hand and the guard passed the comm over with visible relief. "Do you know what the fuck's going on Lawson?" she asked.

"I'm not sure yet," the voice Williams had identified as Lawson said. "But I think I have an idea."

Vanda noted that he didn't seem too concerned and she felt a slight sense of relief at that. His attitude was in stark contrast to everyone else and it made an interesting counterpoint. But Williams was an original, shouldn't she know what Lawson did?

"So what's happened?" the Admiral asked.

"I'll tell you in a moment. What are his vital signs like?"

"They appear normal," Williams replied, glancing at Vanda for confirmation.

"That's good," Lawson replied. "And I take it you can't wake him up?"

"We haven't tried any exotic means," Vanda answered. "But he has been unresponsive to stimulants."

"Wait," Williams said slowly, as if she'd just realised something. "Lawson, you're not suggesting that Harper has..?" She paused, allowing her inference to ask the question, though Vanda had no idea what that question was.

"I think it's the most likely explanation," Lawson said.

Williams frowned but then she snorted, though it sounded like a cross between a cough and a laugh. Her lips twitched and she appeared to bite her lip but as Vanda watched the Admiral's amusement spread until she was laughing aloud.

Except this was no laughing matter. The Leader of Home had collapsed with no apparent cause. It could be an attack. It could be a disease. It could be anything and one of the people who would be in charge of things was standing there, looking over Harper's body as she laughed. It was not right! It was not appropriate.

"Oh, he's gonna be pissed," Williams chuckled, gasping out the words. "We can't access anything to check, can we?" The Admiral asked.

"I already tried," Lawson replied and while his voice was still amused there was a note of disgust as well. "The link is dead."

Williams stared at the comm.

"Eh, poor choice of words," Lawson said after a moment.

"So we just have to wait?" Williams asked.

"I think that's best," Lawson said. "If Harbinger's code doesn't kick in, then we will have to look at alternatives."

"Alternatives?" Williams' voice was suspicious.

"I'm actually surprised this was possible," Lawson said, "but if worst comes to worst killing him should initiate the upload."

"You want us to kill him?" Williams was incredulous. So was Vanda. They might be originals but they should not speak of death so casually.

"Don't think you can do it, Williams?" Lawson challenged.

"Not at all," Williams waved one hand to dismiss the concern. "I was more thinking we should hold a lottery. I'm sure there would be many volunteers."

Lawson chuckled. "True," he replied. "It's not something we have to consider yet," he continued. "For now, just make sure he's comfortable and mount a guard. Make sure he doesn't lose muscle tone."

"Will you come down?" Williams asked.

"It will take a week or so but I'll be there," Lawson said.

"Alright. I'll declare martial law. That should keep any fall out contained. And then we'll wait."

"It should only be about a month. We can keep things together that long. And if… no, let's not borrow trouble," Lawson said.

"Yes, we'll talk about other options once you are here. I'll see if I can find Kai," Williams added.

"I'll see you then," Lawson said but then there was a silence on the comm that said he was thinking about something. "You're not going to hold him to it are you Williams?"

"Hold him to what?" the Admiral asked.

"Your bet."

For a few moments, Vanda watched as Williams looked confused, then an almost beatific expression graced the Admiral's features. "You better believe I'm holding him to it!" She said, her voice breathless with suppressed laughter. "This is too good."

"I suppose," Lawson replied doubtfully. "I'll be there as soon as I can," he repeated as the comm cut, leaving Vanda alone with the Admiral. While the originals had been speaking the rest of the staff had taken the opportunity to retreat.

"You're just going to let him lie there?" Vanda demanded.

"That's all we need to do for now, though you will need to hook up whatever is needed to maintain basic life functions and to deal with waste elimination."

"So what the hell has happened to him? Is it contagious? Will it happen again? This is more than just about Harper, we have to consider the population," Vanda said. This was a serious matter.

The Admiral considered the question and Vanda could tell the other woman was weighing up security concerns with the need to provide enough information to keep the population calm. "We aren't entirely sure, but we believe he thought about something he shouldn't have. So no, it isn't contagious."

Vanda blinked. She could not have heard that properly. "He  _thought_  about something he shouldn't have?" she gasped the question, needing the confirmation.

"Yes," Williams said shortly. "That's the current theory. We'll know if we are right in about a month but given that his meeting was with the Project Department Heads, it does seem to be a reasonable explanation."

Vanda shivered at the words. She'd heard of the Project. Every Human had but very few people knew exactly what it was. The originals all did but they never spoke about it and the few others who knew, also knew it was worth their lives if they spoke about it. Not that they could since they were usually surrounded by security. If the project was so dangerous you could knock yourself out just thinking about it, Vanda wasn't sure they should be pursuing it but she was old enough and wise enough to know that saying anything would not be productive so she settled for sighing.

"You better be right," she muttered before continuing. "We'll move him to a high security isolation ward but I'd appreciate if you could assign extra security," Vanda said.

"I would have done that anyway," Admiral Williams replied. "Just keep him comfortable and as Lawson said, try to make sure he doesn't lose too much muscle mass. He's going to be impossible to deal with after this without having to go through therapy."

Vanda bit her lip before she nodded. She still wanted to complain but knew it would be pointless. She's probably been pushing her luck with the muttered outburst but since the Admiral had said something she decided to ignore it. The originals had made up their minds and that was the end of that.

Still, it appeared Williams caught her concern before the Admiral spoke again. "There are still questions that need to be answered," she said. "And we will find those answers. But for now, all you need to do is make sure he remains comfortable and see to his physical needs. I'd better get going to take care of the rest," Williams said before nodding her leave as she moved to the door with her boot heels tapping on the floor.

She didn't even look back at Harper, Vanda noticed as she looked at the leader of Home. For now, she would do as ordered but she wanted a better explanation and one had better be forthcoming once Harper awoke. She might not have the clearance but she would find out the truth, one way or another.

A month was long enough for that, especially if they ended up killing Harper. Vandar shook her head at that though. The Originals were… How could they consider it so casually? What did they know? What  _could_  Harper have thought of? Could they think the same thing? Would she one day see Williams, or Lawson lying there?

There were too many questions, and too few answers. At least for now. Vanda watched as the security forces settled in. Maybe it was time to consider immortalisation. Everyone always said the immortals had the answers, and it seemed the originals had them for this.

-cfr-

**45348 Years after Human Ascension, 293 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Leader's Office**

"We need to start thinking about security," Williams said as she entered Harper's office.

"Security?" He questioned.

Home and Safehold was full of security. There were bodyguards outside his door and they'd dearly love to be inside his office but there was a limit. Williams had a full squad of fully armed special forces operatives tucked away somewhere in the building and everyone, including Williams, went through a security screening before they saw him. There were standing orders for security to put Williams through screening twice but she didn't appear annoyed this time so perhaps he had to remind security who paid the bills. Until she let him have his ciggies, she would have to put up with it. The entire planet was ringed with military ships, headed up by the  _Defender_ , which said nothing about the Ascended forms in orbit.

And then of course, there was automated defences scattered throughout the system, which provided them with a complete sphere of sensors and weapons though the space involved meant they were rather scattered. Still, more automated defences were being added every day. In time, the scattered would be dense enough to be truly dangerous to any attacking force.

"Not for Home, for this new colony," Williams explained. They'd kept the population strictly under control. There was no uncontrolled breeding as there had been in the System's Alliance, yet it was a requirement of society to have children. Not too many. They could not afford to have uncontrolled expansion.

"Ah," Harper replied, nodding to show his understanding.

"You sent terraformers and the building fleet but there is no military presence and I know the aliens aren't meant to be that close but we still need to be careful."

"I understand," Harper said. "We really shouldn't have sent anything without a military escort."

"Darn straight!" Williams agreed.

"Well, we will know better for the next colony," Harper said.

"Look, I know you gave Secundus to the military but we could colonise it. Then they'd be included in Home's security."

"No!" Harper shook his head. "I realise it's a venus type and we seeded it so it will be ready soon but we need that planet for the military and for the Ascended." He had thought about this carefully and more than one civilian had raised the objection, pointing out that they could colonise it much more easily than the new world which he had tentatively named Tellus.

"You want to build Ascended there?" Williams asked.

"Yes."

She shook her head. "You can't."

"Why not?" Harper asked.

Building Ascended on the planet made perfect sense to him and was far cheaper than continuing to upgrade and build new docks. As the population grew, so to would their need for dock space just so they could keep creating Ascended, let alone other military or civilian designs. For the cost of one space dock, he could build five on or under the planet's surface.

"It can't be done," Williams repeated. "Don't you remember when we first awoke?" she asked, as if the single question should make everything clear.

Except it didn't. It made nothing clearer. He'd awoken in his Ascended form in the dock in Sol and had immediately slipped free to hang in space before his engines and mass effect fields triggered. None of that explained what Williams wanted him to realise.

"Think back to the very instant we awoke," she instructed.

Harper frowned as he thought. He wanted a cigarette. He always wanted a cigarette when Williams was around but he pushed that thought aside. She wouldn't give him one, and he wouldn't beg.

The very instant he'd awoken had been one eternal feeling of searing pain. He'd screamed. They'd screamed. Every single voice in his form had screamed and Harper gasped just remembering the noise. It had felt like something was crushing him and he remembered, instinctively reaching out for anything to make it stop. Then his senses had kicked in and he'd felt the vacuum of space and knew nothing was crushing him. But in that instant, he'd gone for his weapons and had known they were there before he knew about his other systems.

"Ah," Harper said and the cadence of his tone told Williams that he understood.

"Miroslav was worse," Williams said, "but that's because we weren't quite ready for her awakening."

Harper grimaced. The awakening of the first LMC Ascended should have been cause for celebration. It had been a bit of a disaster. He had been present in his Ascended form to greet the newest Ascended but when Miroslav awoke, it seemed as if her scream was louder. It shouldn't have been. While he now made Ascended denser with more minds, the first had been like him, with approximately 100 million making up his form. Harbinger had wanted to replace losses so had used the minimum even though that had given Humanity an advantage in fulfilling their deal.

If the Harbinger had required one billion minds for every Human Ascended then it wouldn't have mattered how fast they bred, they could not have kept ahead of the production requirements.

Miroslav had gone for her weapons and had target lock on him before she had felt the vacuum of space. If the organic fleet was closer, Harper had no doubt Miroslav would have fired on them. Cerberus confirmed his thoughts. .

They had been more vigilant for the Ascended since and the initial damage had been quickly repaired. Miroslav had even helped with that. But Williams' point was made. On the ground, with the press of gravity, that feeling of being crushed would not go away. It would lead to weapons, no matter how fast they could calm the new Ascended, which said nothing about the problem of building. They wouldn't fire on the Ascended, but there was still structures that would be expensive to rebuild and if any organics were near… Well, he could use it as punishment but best not to get into that practice.

Ascended entered atmospheric gravity wells with their eezo cores fully active and their mass effect fields extended around themselves. A new Ascended did not have that.

He really hadn't thought this problem through.

"We still need Secundus for the military," he said. "And perhaps for some of the more volatile experiments I'm sure will crop up from time to time."

"Alright," Williams conceded. "It does make sense for us to keep the planet, though once we begin on some of the truly dangerous endeavours we will move to another system," she added.

Over the years, they had both become more adept at thinking for the long term. Not a mere twenty to fifty years but centuries worth of time. They might not yet be as good as an Asari at taking the long view but they were getting there. The Project helped enormously on that. In time, they both knew Ascended would be built in another system, as would military experiments. Civilians did not need to know the destructive power of new weapon systems and did not need to be placed at risk if experiments went awry.

"I'm proposing to post at least a quarter of our military forces."

"Dreadnoughts as well?" Harper asked.

"Yes," Williams said. "We know it should be reasonably safe for now. The nearest aliens were over 1000 light years away and it's only been about five hundred and fifty years. It's extremely doubtful that they will have come this far, especially through the stellar dust. They won't be seeing our signals for another couple of centuries minimum but as we expand, so will the chance for privateers."

"And when they arise," Harper said, "you are fully authorised to put them down."

They had not discussed this but he knew Williams would have already made that decision.

"It's almost ironic that you say that," Williams replied, her lips twitching into a slight grin for a moment.

For an instant, Harper didn't understand, then he remembered that technically Cerberus had been considered a company of privateers and at the beginning of the war the Systems Alliance hadn't listened to them. That had changed once they all realised what the Council meant to do.

"There will be no need for privateers here," Harper responded.

If these aliens had been stupid enough to form some sort of Council like organisation, he'd just have to take it apart for them because allied, or singularly, they would not be allowed to stand against Humanity.

Williams nodded. She had become much better at reading his intentions over the years, even if he didn't state them. Then again, she agreed with him this time.

"The real question is about the Ascended," she said, continuing to discuss Tellus' security.

"They should go," Harper said slowly as he thought.

"But they should not be used?" Williams asked, though her tone made it clear it was more a suggestion.

"Yes," Harper agreed, thinking about the long term consequences.

Even with him putting one billion minds into each, the number of Ascended would continue to grow. For now, he thought it was safe to assume that the only interference to his plans would come from local sources. He'd made it to the LMC and there had been no intergalactic visitors in the first few years, therefore he could assume that Shepard had not been caught. So he had 50,000 years in which to work. But that said nothing about the next cycle, or the next, for however long it took for him to see the Project through to completion. Which meant that every cycle they would have to be on guard because if Harbinger or Tartarus ever discovered Shepard's orders then…

The first thing they would do is execute the entire Human fleet and possibly the others of their cycle but only after they'd been interrogated for every nuance of information. Despite that, it was another safe assumption that only Shepard knew about his orders. However he'd done it, the first Human Ascended had managed not to trigger the failsafes and if any of the others knew, they would have, at least once. Given how many times he'd triggered the failsafes, he could not see how anyone else could remain unaffected and if they did trigger them, that wasn't something Shepard could hide. So for the moment, they faced opposition only from within their new galaxy but they would have to revise that in about 50,000 years when the next cycle began. But to counter that concern, no civilisation had ever come back from ascension and no civilisation had ever had every individual who had ever lived contributing to its defence fleet. In 50,000 years time, just as the population would grow exponentially, so too would the number of Ascended.

They were his defence against Harbinger's Ascended, both for the Project and as a secondary but far more risky attempt to take out Tartarus.

Before that though, they would be around every inhabited planet in the LMC. How did they explain them to aliens?

Eh, he was getting ahead of himself. Darren's group of astronomers was still monitoring them and they were still 100's of years distant. Not for him, he or any of the Ascended, could cover the distance relatively quickly but for the speeds they estimated a species could colonise at without a Relay system, it was very distant.

"Let's keep it even, send one quarter of the Ascended as well," he instructed. That was three or four, depending on how Williams rounded the numbers out.

Williams nodded.

"How are the enhancements working?" Harper asked, changing the subject. Now that the proportions had been decided, he knew Williams would see to deployment which was exactly how it was meant to be. He oversaw the whole operation, making the overriding guiding decisions, others made those decisions reality.

"They are working well," she replied. "There's been a one second reduction in the best time on the endurance course."

"Only one second?" Harper interrupted, disappointed.

"It's only one second but the pack close to reaching that time has increased," Williams shrugged. "I imagine if you did a statistical analysis on the norms they would be beginning to show some skew to the right but it has only been a few generations, so maybe not."

Harper stared for a moment. This was an aspect of the woman he had never imagined existed. Had the grunt actually just spoken math to him?

Williams sighed. "Don't look so surprised," she chided. "I know you don't see it this way but the military is all about practical application of numerical principles," she explained.

"More ships good, less bad?" Harper mocked.

Williams didn't rise to the bait but she did give him a flat stare. "In the broadest terms, yes, but more ships don't do jack for you unless they are decent and the crew has the smarts to use it. There were some very dumb privateers in the Milky Way."

Ah, there it was, her jab back though Harper had to admit she had gone for surprising subtlety.

"We'll keep monitoring and I'll let you know when the statistics are truly skewed."

Harper nodded. "You won't have trouble keeping up?" he asked and while the question could be viewed as an insult he made certain to project his tone so that she knew it wasn't. He could be somewhat relaxed with Williams but he could not afford to have her offside. The military represented too much power both for now and for every length of future he projected.

"Physically no," Williams replied instantly. "I can just get cybernetics and Lawson can upgrade my body at rebirth. Besides, I'm the Admiral, while it is expected that I maintain a certain level of fitness, I don't have to keep up with the peak Special Forces."

_But you do,_  Harper thought. When Williams was younger, her current avatar was looking to be about seventy, she did do the Special Forces training and while she may not be the best, she certainly whipped enough ass to be respected among the personnel. Except that didn't answer his real question.

"Mentally, well, that's the question," Williams continued. "Though at least part of intelligence is remaining agile so we will have to see how that goes. In the meantime, I'll just have to rely on experience."

Harper nodded. It was a problem they would all have to grapple with but Williams' answer was one of the best he had heard so far. Still, the presumed increase in intelligence coming from selective breeding of the best traits from each couple remained a concern. Not enough to cancel the plan, of course.

Williams rose. "I'll start shipping the fleets now," she said. "It will give them a feel for the system and they can learn all the bolt holes, hopefully before anyone decides to take up privateering."

"Well, you know what to do if they do," Harper replied.

She grinned viciously as she left. "I almost hope they do."

-cfr-

**45350 Years after Human Ascension, 295 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Colony Ship Ceremonial Launch, Leader's Platform**

"I've got them all."

Harper was surprised by the tone of voice coming from the man at his side. "You've got what?" he asked carefully as he continued to watch the colony ships be loaded before they took off.

"I've identified them all," the man said and Harper looked at him from the corner of his eye. The man had been introduced as Viktor Nordstrom, a respectable businessman coming from Swedish stock. As such, his hair was white blond and his eyes were a startling shade of blue. But what had caught Harper's attention was that Viktor sounded exactly like Kai Leng.

And the assassin was most definitely not of European stock. Still Viktor Nordstrom had given all the appropriate clearance codes to be able to stand with him and clap while they watched the first of the colonists set off for Tellus.

Harper decided to trust his initial instinct. "So how many are there?" He had ordered Kai, years ago now, to infiltrate the underworld and report back on their activities. The state sponsored several vices but he knew they didn't cater for everything and while this underbelly might be filling a gap, he could not let them become too powerful.

"More than I believed but they have grown over the years," the man Harper thought was Kai replied.

"How many?" he pushed for the information. Originally he had wanted their bodies for husk troops and while that need was no longer as pressing, it would be interesting to compare performance between a husk that had truly lived against the bodies they grew and pumped with adrenaline.

"A couple of thousand."

Harper frowned. That was barely worth mentioning.

"In each city," Kai added.

That was more significant, especially if they were organised and in communication with each other.

"Are they a threat?"

"Not yet," Viktor answered immediately but Harper remembered something else Cerberus' assassin had said.

"Are there still originals?" He didn't monitor comings and goings from his Ascended form but if they were involved, he might have to.

"No, they were pushed out."

"Really?" Harper was intrigued.

"They were not radical enough for some," Viktor replied and this time Harper saw Kai's mocking smile all too clearly.

"An internal coup?"

"More like a planned execution."

"That professional?" There was a note of something in Leng's voice that Harper didn't quite recognise.

"It was very well done," came the reply and Harper now recognised the tone in the assassin's voice. Admiration. He actually admired them and for an instant Harper was concerned that Kai would switch sides but then he remembered Shepard's orders. It was unlikely that those on the fringes of society would continue the Project. That was the entire reason he'd sent Kai on this mission. The assassin would not betray the Project and anyone who stood in the way would die. It was just a happy coincidence that they stood in Harper's way as well.

Harper thought about it for a few more minutes, waving and smiling at the colonists.

"For now, keep monitoring them, and if you see any area we can expand into, I am more than happy to take market share."

Viktor snorted in a way Harper wouldn't have associated with Kai. The assassin was truly skilled, in ways Harper had never really appreciated.

"I'll let you know if anything serious comes up," he said, confirming the orders. "And here's something for you," Kai said, offering a smallish packet to him.

"What is it?" Harper asked, confused.

"You'll like it. Just don't let Williams see them."

"Cigarettes!" Harper cried happily. He still couldn't believe Williams was holding him to that and the bitch had the gall to use her position as Admiral to enforce it.

"I didn't give them to you," Kai said before stepping away.

Harper nodded. As if he'd endanger a supply like that. "My compliments to Lawson," he replied, using the phrase to cover his understanding.

Kai's body smiled as if he was appreciating some joke Harper had made. He was a brilliant actor. "It wasn't Lawson," came the reply as if it was a parting comment but it was one that left Harper stunned.

_Lawson_  was the one who dealt with the bodies for the originals. Others might know the process but only Lawson had the expertise. Who else was doing it? Harper wanted to ask but by the time he turned, Leng's new body had left. Harper frowned. He'd have to talk to Lawson about who else might know and failing that, the next time he saw Kai, assuming he recognised the assassin, Harper would ask.

For now, he had to maintain his image, so he turned back to the colonists, making sure that he appeared happy as he continued to wave.

-cfr-

**45398 Years after Human Ascension, 343 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Leader's Office**

"How many?" Harper asked, almost breathless.

"We have 12 Ascended now but the population on Home alone is 5.1 billion and it's not getting any smaller."

Harper nodded at that. The growth rate had been about what he anticipated and so that now, about 350 years after Una's birth, the population was strong. There were terraformers on their second colony planet and the population of Tellus, about fifty years on was not anything to be ashamed of either.

"The point is, even with the mining fleet, the requirement is going up faster than we can mine. On top of the requirement for the Ascended we have the military requirements. We are recycling as we decommission ships but it is still not enough."

"Can we make any efficiency advances?"

"We have been," Esha reassured Harper. "But there is a limit to how efficient we can be," she sighed. "Most would say an Ascended form is an expense we don't need and if we stopped we'd be mining more than enough eezo but we all know it's an expense we have to afford."

Harper sighed as well as he looked through the projections. It was true. They could not afford to stop immortalising the population both for political and practical reasons. If he tried to stop immortalisation, it wouldn't matter how powerful he thought he was and how much power he actually had and what he was willing to do to maintain control, telling those living that they would no longer be immortal would burn everything he had started.

So they had to continue, and practically Harper knew they would need the fire power. Maybe not against Tartarus if everything went to plan but potentially against other Ascended or before that, against the aliens in the LMC. With the budget he was putting towards Williams' military they should be more than adequate but it never hurt to have a backup.

"Give me options," Harper instructed.

"There's only two which are practical," Esha replied and those listening could tell she had thought about it a lot.

"What are they?"

"We can either expand the military operations. Currently, we are rather strictly controlling the systems where they are allowed to operate in.

Harper read Williams' frown. She didn't like that option and Harper was inclined to agree with her. If they allowed unfettered growth, they would encounter the LMC's indigenous population far before they were ready. Both Harper and Williams agreed that they needed to be much stronger before that happened and ideally that event would be scripted to their liking.

"And the other?" Harper prompted when Esha paused to allow discussion.

The lack of it told her without words the first option was not popular.

"The other option is to start creating eezo," she said.

Harper now understood why Darren had been invited to this meeting. The man was a brilliant astronomer but he had no place making decisions about the future. And that was something he admitted to quite freely.

"Where are the nearest suitable stars?" Harper asked, allowing his question to display his tacit approval.

"There's a few," Darren said and a map of their local area appeared on the screen.

Home was marked with a clear blue dot while Tellus was labelled in slightly smaller text. Darren tapped the controller and several red dots appeared, highlighting a number of star systems but the first thing Harper noticed was that they were all at least 100 light years distant.

"Do you have our projected colony locations?"

Darren shook his head but Williams nodded. "I do," she indicated, passing over a data chip which was quickly loaded and further star systems were highlighted in green. Their territory in the LMC contained several garden worlds but it was necessary to terraform others and the process had begun on several worlds.

"The one labelled Epsilon minor is fairly close to our projected fourth colony," Esha observed.

"I can make it the next colony if it's required," Harper said slowly. He wasn't sure that was the best course of action. There was no question that they had to make eezo. Even if they expanded mining operations they could not do that forever. Creating facilities to make eezo was the better long term plan but as eezo production required vessels of Ascended status, Harper was not convinced they had to let the general populace know what was going on.

"As you've probably gathered, I'm more in favour of creating eezo," Harper said.

"We are all trending towards that option."

"Really? How shocking," Esha muttered but Harper ignored it.

"We have 12 Ascended, three can remain over Home and three over Tellus. The other six will go to create eezo and when the fourth colony is established, I will declare that system off limits. For most ships, it will be too dangerous anyway." Harper looked around the room, assessing the stance of those physically present and those who were representing themselves with holograms. Most were nodding although both Williams and Lawson had expressions indicating there was an issue they had overlooked. "What is it?" he asked, not quite succeeding in keeping the testy note out of his voice.

Williams and Lawson shared a glance before Lawson waved one hand. "The plan is fine," he said. "My issue was something else."

"Important?" Harper asked, which Lawson well knew was code for 'do we have to deal with it now?'

"No, not for this, anyway."

Harper nodded and focused on Williams.

"We have conflicting goals here," she said.

"What's conflicting?" Esha asked. The plan seemed reasonably straightforward to her.

"Our military development is keeping pace with our population. There's a ratio," Williams began, ignoring the fact that they all knew they were a military state. "The Ascended are being kept as a reserve force but not as the reserve,  _a_  reserve," Williams stressed the difference as Harper realised what conflict she was talking about. "That means I've been trying to limit the missions the Ascended take so to the public they just became a thing that is sitting in orbit."

Esha snorted. "Haven't been exactly successful there," she laughed.

Williams bristled. "The idea was to do it over time," she defended the position.

"It was," Harper agreed, lending support though Esha still looked amused. "It shouldn't disrupt things too much if the Ascended just leave," he said. "It might take a little longer for memory to fade but we have the time and most are just happy being able to talk to those who've been immortalised, so it's not like they have to be physically present. They understand that it would be a massive task to support every Human that's ever lived indefinitely."

"That's true," Esha said. "Talk is enough and even that can be too much when your great, great grandparent is providing marital advice," she added acidly.

Harper wasn't the only one to stare at Esha, wondering how to respond to that and he was suddenly thankful once again that he did not have children he had anything to do with. Though that was sometimes not from the mother's lack of trying as had happened with the idiot bimbo after the launch of the first LMC dreadnought. That, as Lawson liked to tell him, was partially his own fault. He had allowed her to remain and that had given her delusions of importance. He was sure she had some idiot fantasy about becoming the first lady or some such poppycock.

He had been far more careful after that and the women knew the relationship, such as it was, was to be casual and temporary, with no lasting ties. Especially not children.

"I suppose that will have to be enough," Williams sighed. "And if it fails, we can try memory alteration in a few centuries. By then, at least some of the Ascended will be in hibernation, which will reinforce our fiction."

"Worse comes to worst, Williams, I'll just issue an edict to the effect that all Ascended are military forces and you can deploy them as you'd like."

"Let's only do that in extreme circumstances," Williams said, though there was a note in her voice that approved of the suggestion.

"They are yours in the event of a war," Harper said and Williams gave a sharp nod to indicate she understood.

"Speaking of military," she said.

"We are speaking of military?" Harper questioned, amused.

"We were about to," she replied, glaring slightly to indicate whatever it was she wanted to discuss was important. "The expansion has reached the point where I can't keep track of everything."

Harper ran the numbers through his head. It had reached that point some time ago but Williams was devoted and experienced. "So what do you want?"

"Another Admiral."

Harper nodded. That was sensible but he couldn't think of anyone in his form who could take the position. Most of Cerberus' ranking officers had been taken out before the end. And most had been dedicated to their section of the military. In the new galaxy, the military had changed. While there were specialisations, there was no longer army and space force, there was only military and the commanding officers had to be at least somewhat competent in both space and land based combat.

"Not from us," Williams correctly interpreted his expression. "The new position will come from the ranks."

"Impossible!" Harper snapped.

"Necessary," she countered.

"I will not give that much power to a child," he replied.

Esha and Darren just sat and watched. This was not their area of expertise and both were wise enough not to get involved.

"The instant we get into actual combat, the reality will be known to everyone," Williams said. "Even the children as you put it!"

"I will not have an organic with that much power over Ascended beings!"

Williams sighed. "What you mean to say is that you won't give power to someone you don't think you can control," she snarled. "I'm not suggesting giving the rank to a new recruit. It will go to one of the eligible officers and despite sharing the title of 'Admiral', I will outrank them."

"So a star system?" Harper demanded. He really needed a cigarette.

"If you want to think about it like that, then yes," Williams agreed. "This was always something that was going to happen," she added soothingly. "You delegate, this is just my way of doing the same."

"Then why can't you train someone from my form?" Harper demanded. "With ninety five million minds there has to be someone other than you who can handle the military deployments. Hell, a decent manager to could it."

Williams looked at Harper flatly, her expression patently unimpressed. "That would guarantee a mutiny within six months," she said softly. "You do not promote an outsider to such a position because no one will trust them and in the military, trust in paramount." She let the declaration hang between them for a few moments and Harper thought. With Cerberus, he had brought in outsiders but they were coming to what was a paramilitary and they came with good established reputations. But he had never put them in charge. Williams had just highlighted one of the differences between the Systems Alliance and his troops.

"Alright," Harper reluctantly agreed, "but I approve the candidate," he added. He would thoroughly examine their history before they took the position and the knowledge it represented. Any doubt and he would veto whoever she chose.

"Of course," Williams said and she was controlled enough not to appear pleased. "I'll maintain oversight over the Ascended," she reassured him. "And it won't be like they have no experience. Expanding to allow those who have worked their way through the ranks to take the top positions will only serve to increase morale and firm up loyalty."

Harper sighed. He could see that but he didn't have to like it.

"I'll send you the possible names in a few days," Williams said and Harper nodded at that. If he made the appointment, that would also serve to promote loyalty to him.

"Is there anything else?" Harper asked, including Esha and Darren in the question. When no one said anything, he dismissed them.

There was always work to do.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Williams is now a Grand Admiral. For someone who could never be promoted in the Systems Alliance I think she has just one word to say 'HAH!'
> 
> Things are progressing, and the encounter with aliens in the LMC will be happening in a few chapters. I want to play around with Harper some more. :D He's fun to provoke.


	48. Exit Stage Rig-Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you are immortal, there are bound to be accidents but when you are the leader of a burgeoning space empire, those accidents get investigated closely, even when they are accidents.
> 
> Entertainment is a key tenant of society. From simple stories, to mega-productions, the great Leader Harper recognises the importance of them all. Why won't the rest of the state? But then, the rest of the population doesn't remember the mind numbing boredom of years alone crossing the endless empty expanse of Dark Space.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 47: Exit Stage Rig-Dead**

-cfr-

**45444 Years after Human Ascension, 390 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: New Mars**

"Hurry up and find it!"

The order was shouted frantically. It was unnecessary. All those searching knew what they were looking for and knew what the consequences would be if they didn't find it. Every second it took was one too many.

Above them, scanning the region were several military shuttles and above them, in low orbit were immortalised, also scanning.

"How the hell did this happen?" Freda whispered.

"Like I know," Tural replied. "All I know is that we'd better find it soon before they go ape shit," he didn't lift his eyes but jerked his head towards a grim group standing on a slight rise. They were surrounded by troops. Not security forces but actual soldiers and more surrounded the entire site. Nothing was being taken off site without going through at least three checkpoints and a dozen scanners.

For anyone who knew anything about the power structures of Humanity, they would know how much power the group standing there represented. The only one missing was the Immortal Phoenix Leader Harper.

"What are we looking for anyway?"

"Whatever gives off that signal," Freda said.

They had scanners and were combing the ground in a fine grid pattern. Some of the fires hadn't been put out but their safety was not the primary concern because they knew Harper had been on the shuttle and until the Phoenix Leader was found, no one would be getting any rest.

"Do you think it was an assassination?" Freda asked the question they were all wondering about.

"Pretty cold to take out the entire shuttle," Tural objected.

Freda sighed. "I'll grant they are important to their families but if you are aiming to take out Harper, they are just in the way."

"Collateral," Tural muttered.

"Exactly," Freda agreed.

"You're pretty cold about this," Tural observed.

"I think I'm realistic," Freda retorted. "You can bet your ass they're thinking about it," Freda said turning their attention once again to the watching power block.

"Yeah, well, we ain't ever going to know," Tural said.

"Yeah, pity," Freda said, turning back to the scanner. Being caught shirking one's duties at a time like this, even if it was just a glance, would not be conducive to one's health.

"Just keep looking," Tural said. "That's all we are paid to do and leave the speculation to those watching."

"I hear you."

"Yeah," Tural snorted, "so do they."

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: New Mars, Location: A Grassy Knoll**

On the hilltop, overlooking the crash site, Williams stood with Lawson and Esha, overseeing the rescue operation. It was a bit of a misnomer to call it that since rescue implied survivors and with an explosion at 2000 feet, they were darn sure there were none of those anywhere around here. Except Harper but right at the moment, he was not really alive. If all had gone well, his consciousness and memories from his current life would be in stasis within the implants. He would be awaiting upload before he took on a new physical form but, before that, they had to find him.

"I should have bloody well made them easier to find," Lawson muttered.

"What, made them orange like the black box?" Williams snorted. That was almost ridiculous, she thought.  _Almost_  because in light of this development it was entirely possible that Harper would order just that. Besides, it didn't really matter what colour they were. You didn't see them while you were alive.

"That or make the signal stronger," Lawson replied.

"You can't make the signal stronger," Williams said. "That would fry the flesh. No matter how much you engineer us to be immune to cancer, we'd all get it. And I have a hard enough time as it is keeping Harper from getting lung cancer."

"You haven't let him have a cigarette for two hundred and sixty years. I think he's pretty safe," Lawson snorted. The fact that it was impossible for Harper to get lung cancer, or any other type of normal cancer, went unsaid.

"Two hundred and fifty-nine years and three months," Williams corrected. "And he's safe only because I'm forcing him to honour his debts."

"Never mind," Lawson sighed. He wasn't going to get involved with this petty bickering. He had his own ones to keep him going.

"Increasing the signal strength would make it pretty obvious who is original," Esha murmured, bringing them back on topic.

Lawson looked uncomfortable but couldn't refute either argument. Except, almost four hundred years on from the foundation of what was becoming known as the Phoenix Empire, it didn't really matter if they could tell who was original. Their jobs were, for the most part, done. Except for the Project. The one job that they had been sent to do. "We'd just better hope no one got him first," he said, gesturing to the debris.

Williams frowned. "Even if they did, there's nothing they can do," she said.

"There could be," Lawson admitted reluctantly. He could have lied to Williams but she would eventually determine the truth and he didn't really want to test who held more power. Theoretically, he did. After the first and last time Harper had knocked himself out thinking about the Project and Williams had declared martial law, they had established better lines of succession. He was the next choice but everyone knew his appointment was always temporary. Still, Williams was annoyed that she got the blame for declaring martial law in what was essentially a military society even when everyone agreed it had been the best option.

"How?" She demanded.

"I'm not the only one who knows how to make bodies for Ascended," Lawson said.

That soaked in for a few moments.

"What? Of course, you are!" Williams replied.

"No, I'm not," Lawson said firmly.

"How do you know you aren't?" Esha asked, her voice curious but accepting of his statement.

Lawson thought about it for a few moments before deciding they both should know this information. "When was the last time you saw Kai Leng?" Lawson asked them.

"Don't change the subject!" Williams growled.

"It's related. When?" he pressed.

"I don't know," Williams snapped, still annoyed at the questioning. "That weirdo has always done his own thing."

"True," Lawson said and didn't bother to wait for Esha's answer. The engineer probably knew who Kai was but his profession held little importance to her. "Harper said he'd spoken to him a while back, in a Swedish body."

"In a what body?"

"A Swedish body," Lawson repeated, "one that comes from northern European stock."

Williams frowned. "What? You mean blond hair, blue eyes and milk white skin?" she asked, lifting one hand to flick a few strands of her currently short cropped hair and to touch her skin as an illustration.

"That sounds about right. Now here's the thing, I  _never_  made that body for him, and none of the reserve bodies were missing."

"It couldn't have been a disguise?" Williams asked and her question covered a myriad of possibilities. Was Harper lying? Had he been mistaken? Could Leng have gotten that effect with cosmetic surgery or just plain old fashioned dye and contacts?

"I don't know," Lawson admitted. "But Harper seemed convinced and Kai apparently implied I didn't make it."

Williams took a deep breath. "So what you are saying is that there is a possibility that someone brought down the shuttle and combed through the wreckage for Harper's implants and, if it's the right someone, they could resurrect him to look like anyone?" she asked, tactfully leaving off the possibility that if they could resurrect him, they could torture him or even condition him because no matter how strong Harper thought he was, that was a possibility if you had enough time.

"That would be correct," Lawson said.

Williams snorted. "I wish them the pleasure of his company," she said jovially. "I think they'll find dealing with the great Phoenix Leader when he's newly resurrected, and as pissed as hell, to be a treat."

Lawson gave a brief laugh. Harper would be all that, all right.

"But that only happens if this was sabotage or a deliberate attack," Esha reminded them.

"Yes," Williams nodded. "If this was just an accident," she continued, doubt showing clearly in her tone, "then we will find him somewhere. Though I know one change you are going to have to make Lawson," she added.

"What?"

"Auto upload," Williams replied. "Then it won't matter if we can't find it."

"You don't think I haven't tried?" he snapped back, somewhat insulted that Williams would believe he hadn't considered such a simple solution. "It makes the whole thing far too large and interferes with other functions."

Williams stared at him. "You mean to tell me I can carry an interstellar communicator on my arm," she said, gesturing to the thin omni-tool like device wrapped around her forearm, "but you can't add an uplink for the implants which only has to link back to the local server?"

"I've tried!" Lawson said.

"I think you are going to be trying again," Williams laughed, her tone clearly implying that Harper would be ordering it so he'd better start thinking about it again.

He didn't bother replying because he knew she was right. It would be one of the first things Jack screamed about and he almost hoped this was an elaborate kidnapping plot. "How long until the initial black box report comes through?" Lawson asked Esha, deliberately changing the subject.

The engineer was reading something on her omni-tool. Over the years, the ubiquitous data pad tool had lost its manufacturing capacity and become a paper thin, clear plastic like device that you just wrapped around your arm. Some were already talking about putting them in clothes but that wouldn't be practical on some planets.

"I just got it," she replied before touching the screen briefly, flicking the file to the two of them before they could complain. "It doesn't appear to have been an attack," Esha said. "None of the sensors picked up anything."

"It could still have been a bomb," Williams replied.

"True," the engineer admitted. "It wasn't an external attack," she clarified as Williams and Lawson began reading through the initial report from the black box.

"Flight operations normal, no sensor irregularities, though what does a slight rise in the level of fluorine mean?" Williams asked after a few moments.

"Where's that?" Esha asked.

"Page 24," Williams replied. They were dealing with a possible attack on the Empire's leader. The report, even the initial one, was already heavily detailed.

Esha flicked to it and began reading the section. "Elevated levels of fluorine in the inner wall, which would then have travelled to…" she began muttering as she read. As they watched, Esha flicked through several pages of text before tapping her omni-tool to bring up what looked to be a schematic. The engineer frowned as she examined it, turning the three dimensional image left and right to get the best angle. "I suppose it's possible," she said eventually.

"What's possible?" Lawson demanded.

Esha thought for a few more moments. "Fluorine in the inner wall means there was some smoke."

"Harper could have been smoking," Lawson postulated. Despite being amazingly well stocked to re-establish Earth on another planet, Harper hadn't included tobacco in his inventory. There had been quite a bit of disappointment about that, almost as much as there had been joy about the steak and coffee but Humans were unfortunately enterprising and the originals knew they were immortal. Analogues had soon been found. Analogues which were, in some cases, even more dangerous than mere tobacco and Harper, well, he did like to try new things. With their lifespans, they all did.

"No, it was the inner wall," Esha highlighted that. "And if it was a cigarette, it wouldn't be fluorine, unless the concoction is something way off the charts. Besides, none of the internal smoke detectors went off."

"So, in the inner wall. What's the significance?" Williams asked.

"It means it was an electrical fault," Esha replied.

"You're kidding me," Williams exploded. "An electrical fault brought down an entire shuttle?" she demanded, needlessly gesturing to the debris.

"It's happened before!" Esha snapped but she wasn't quite as certain as she should have been.

"The fault was in the inner wall," Lawson said, as he thought about the shuttles internal layout. "That's not connected to any essential areas," he added, surmising the reason for Esha's doubt.

"It's not," she admitted, "but the smoke could have travelled through the internal fuselage to the engines or even into the cockpit air supply."

"Aren't they sealed?"

"They are meant to be."

"But you were looking at those drawings earlier. What did you see?"

"It's barely possible that it got into the engine and that would have led to a catastrophic failure." She didn't need to say that is what happened. The evidence was strewn around them. "Except it wouldn't have been quick. The smoke would have had to build up to travel that far."

"So over time?" Williams asked.

"Yes, and repeated use."

"Would there have been any indication that something was wrong?"

Esha considered that. "It would depend on what wiring was at fault, so probably not. You know Harper would have complained."

"Ah, yes, far be it for Harper to endure a blurry signal for the playoffs," Lawson said with a grin. "Did you ever find out who rewired the system so he only got low level BB audio? And couldn't turn it off?" Lawson was almost excited by that memory and he should have been more worried about it except that was five shuttles back and Harper had personally scuttled that one with an orbital strike.

"No, but it was a professional job," Esha replied with a small chuckle. Harper had worked her team and forensics day and night for weeks before accepting the fact he was not going to learn any more information. Whoever the perpetrator was, they had gotten away with one of the best pranks in history. The main suspect was Kai Leng, given his known love of BB, but when he had returned to their Ascended form, the assassin had known nothing. It hadn't reduced Harper's suspicion but, once again, with no proof, he could do nothing.

"So this looks to be a wiring fault?" Williams asked for confirmation.

"The preliminary report would indicate that," Esha replied. "I'll have them focus on that smoke and simulate all possible outcomes but I would say it's that."

"If it's a choice between a stuff up and a conspiracy, it's a stuff up," Lawson said.

"Yep, that," Esha agreed.

"I'm still going to have to look for a conspiracy," Williams said sourly. Unless there was something new in the black box, it was looking like a stuff up. "Though if this was an electrical fault, in his bloody entertainment system, he ain't ever going to live it down."

Esha snorted her laughter and would have replied but a cry from the searchers took their attention.

"I got it!"

Williams turned towards the voice. The man was gingerly holding something that could be the implant and she snapped orders and the guards readied themselves. Once Lawson confirmed it, they could go and already the scientist was striding carefully towards the rescue worker. Above them, their Ascended body dropped lower. It may be someone else in the Prime position but they knew exactly what Harper expected and right now, everyone would pay attention to the details because with their Ascended form hovering over them, Harper would know.

-cfr-

**45497 Years after Human Ascension, 433 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Company Sevakamm Kamsan Director's Office**

"Mr. Babak, we've been waiting three months to speak with you, so I'd really appreciate it if you would actually speak to us and not with your comm," Prisca said, exasperated.

Yet the frank assessment got the attention they required.

"So what do you want?" Babak demanded after closing the comm.

"Mr. Babak, you are the Director of Sevakamm Kamsan?" Golzar asked. The name translated roughly to Entertainment Services, proving that you didn't have to be that imaginative in naming to still produce quality entertainment.

"If you are going to waste my time, piss off," Babak growled, reaching for his comm again.

"This is not a waste of time," Prisca said coldly. "Are you the Director of Sevakamm Kamsan because we have no time to talk to small fry."

"Time enough to wait three months though," Barak snapped back. "Yes! I'm the Director," he added when Golzar glared as well.

"Then you are aware of the Cultural Preservation Legislation?" Golzar made the statement a question.

"That piece of crap!" Babak roared. "Yes, I'm aware of it. Stupidest thing I've ever seen!"

Prisca smiled thinly. Those who worked for the State Archives had heard that before. Many times, usually from Executives like Babak, yet 480 years after their creation, they were still here, and many of the companies the executives worked for weren't. She gave SK another two years, five tops before they and their productions were just a memory, which made this job all the more important.

"Be that as it may, the CPL is very clear."

"I'm not giving you copies of our work!" Babak yelled.

The sudden noise made them jump but neither were cowed.

"I have enough problems with bootleggers without just handing free copies to the so-called State Archives. If you want to watch our shows, buy them like everyone else!"

"Except they aren't and we aren't everyone else," Prisca retorted, earning an angry glare from Babak. This was why she estimated two to five years for SK. They made some good programs but they charged like wounded mallee bulls. People found it easier on their hip pocket to acquire their copies without going through one of the subscription services, which made archiving important. You'd think Babak would have appreciated the fact that generations to come would also be able to view his material but no. People were silly sometimes.

"You know full well that modern archived material is not available to the public for 100 years, long past the time of your right to royalties," Prisca explained, attempting to be diplomatic about this.

What Babak didn't seem to realise was that SK was going to comply, one way or another. This meeting was the last courtesy before they escalated the matter of his refusal and while Babak had probably already briefed a legal team, and the lawyers may even be monitoring this meeting, there was only one step in the escalation process. It went straight to the top. Not to the Phoenix leader's office and the team of legislation lawyers working there but straight to the Immortal Harper himself. For some reason, he took the preservation of culture very seriously and Babak would just join the list of executives who had been ordered to comply.

You would think that the industry would remember that, or at least have some sort of legend about it but nope. They all kept silent as they obeyed which just made taking down idiots like Babak all the more fun. By the end of the day, they would be leaving SK's corporate offices with a complete catalogue of their productions and a secure transfer link in place for SK to continue to provide their works.

"I said no. The answer will not change," Babak said, reaching for his comm link but paused at the glare Prisca and Golzar directed at him.

"That's your final answer?" Golzar asked.

"It ain't going to change," Babak repeated.

"Then perhaps you'd let us make a call instead?" Prisca invited with what could only be described as a predatory smile.

Golzar pulled out their comm before Babak could reply, though the executive's eyes widened at the tiny phoenix he could see emblazoned on the back. It took a few moments to get a connection but they angled the screen so that Babak could see the security protocols. One did not just call the Immortal Leader without knowing the right protocols.

In the past, they'd used the executive's comm and while that did make an impression, it left them with Harper's direct number in the buffer and sometimes they'd actually tried to talk to him! After that happened a few times, the State Archivists had been issued with their own comm links to the Immortal Leader and a very strict set of instructions for how they were to use that link.

As the comm connected, Babak's eyes became the size of dinner plates when Harper's face appeared.

"Darn!" Harper said, making a show of checking his watch. "I thought he'd bluster for another 10 minutes."

"I think he's ready to fold like a house of cards, Sir," Prisca said.

Harper rolled his eyes before fixing his stare on Babak. The leader had cybernetic implants, so his eyes glowed, making them quite disconcerting if you were not used to them. Babak wasn't and began to fidget after barely ten seconds. Really, what type of spineless executive, was he?

"I take it the officers from the State Archive have explained what needs to be done?" Harper asked without indulging in other pleasantries.

Babak nodded, still looking shell shocked that the Leader was on the comm.

"Why have you not delivered the required materials? Do you think-" Harper paused as he looked through several data pads, "-SK is above the law? The legislation exists for a reason," Harper continued, ignoring the way Babak frantically shook his head. He might be spineless as an executive but he was at least intelligent enough not to argue. That was always worse for the companies involved.

"W… w… with respect, Sir," Babak managed to gasp the words, gulping hard as he finished. "What is the reason?"

Harper stared at him flatly, obviously deciding if the question was made out of genuine curiosity or some attempt to divert his anger. Eventually, he must have decided it was genuine curiosity because he answered tersely rather than calling for a security detail to deal with Babak. Harper's temper was legendary. "The preservation of cultural heritage is of vital importance, to any civilisation that does not wish to repeat the mistakes of the past.  _I_  will not allow us to repeat mistakes," Harper said.

"All culture?" Babak seemed to have regained some strength during the brief explanation.

"The importance of some culture cannot be recognised until the future," Harper replied with an odd smile, as if he could somehow see the future. "That's why the legislation is in effect. At least one copy of everything will be preserved, as well as the means to play it back. Why do you think the museums are so well funded? Because it is important to remember," Harper was firm.

"Now, I am not an actor," he continued, cutting through the arguments that would follow. They always did. "I really am… what are they calling me these days? The Phoenix Harper?" he said with a chuckle. "You will comply with the officers, or I will send SK into liquidation and that process will start with you."

It was the way Harper said it that made Babak pay attention. Babak spoke to lots of actors and actresses. He saw their auditions so he knew what their calibre was. SK made some of the highest rating programs and that required good skills. That's why he knew the image of Harper was not lying. Babak gulped, tasting bile before he nodded fervently.

Harper smiled at him, the smile of a predator that knew the hunt was about to end. "I knew you'd see it my way," he said before the comm link dropped.

"Well, I think that's clear," Prisca said, pulling out a storage device and placing it on Babak's desk. "We will require one copy of your entire catalogue in standard format, and Golzar will require access to your servers to install the uplink. You may supervise to ensure that we are not tapping into your financial records. We just need the final, production copies of your studio's creations."

Babak took another deep breath, reaching out to take the device. "I'll make that copy now, and I'll get someone to show you to the server rooms."

Prisca smiled. "It's been a pleasure talking to you, Mr. Babak," she said as she rose. "Once Golzar gets the uplink established, just place copies of the files into the folder and that will be all you have to do."

Babak nodded. "I'll see to it, personally," he said. and Prisca nodded her head.

At this stage, they almost always said that. It wasn't until later that they began to doubt and began to disobey. And the second visit was never as fun as the first.

-cfr-

**45554 Years after Human Ascension, 499 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Leader's Quarters**

Harper stepped under the spray. It had been a long day and he needed this. What he actually needed was a proper bath to soak his old bones and the tub was just a few feet away but the hassle of preparing it had him opting for a long hot shower. He could have called someone but he hated having others in his quarters. Besides, if he had a bath now, he'd probably fall asleep and drown and that was not how he wanted to go. If that happened, he could only imagine the mess the investigators would make of his bathroom and the never ending amount of shit Williams and Lawson would give him. They hadn't let him live down that shuttle explosion yet and that wasn't even his fault!

If he happened to accidentally kill himself…

He was scheduled for a body transfer soon. At the 500th anniversary of Una's birth, Lawson had succeeded in making their cloned avatars last longer. They were stronger and their immune system was more robust. It had to be. It was ridiculous to have the population almost totally immune to cancer if he was not. He was totally immune to lung cancer and just about everything else that came from smoking, and Williams  _still_  wouldn't let him have a cigarette, and somehow she had got most of the population in on the treachery. They didn't consider it appropriate for their leader to smoke.

He began rubbing soap through his hair. With the age of his current body, the daily ablutions had become second nature to him.

The only change they hadn't quite mastered was artificially increasing intelligence. It wasn't that it couldn't be done, Lawson could but he had not yet worked out how to apply it to the originals. The best they could do was a modified implant which allowed a partial uplink to various databases. The implants were available to the new generations and the originals, though according to Williams the IQ of the general population was rising because her recruits were getting better. That was a good thing. Intelligent officers, providing they shared the same core beliefs, made for a better military. The physical condition of the population was also rising. So if Harper gave Lawson a few more years, the scientist would have their avatars lasting a full century easily. Then he'd consider instituting a traditional holiday on the occasion of him changing bodies. It wouldn't be too much of a burden on the economy if it was only every century.

Harper sighed, closing his eyes as he ducked under the water stream. That felt good! He smiled, rinsing the soap of out his hair. The jet of water soothed his joints and he shifted slightly, turning so that the water ran down his back. Maybe he should change bodies now, before the celebrations.

Next year, 500 years After Rebirth, there was quite a party planned and he had to officiate at many of the events. He also had to do a tour of the colonies. He'd do that in order of their settlement. So first Home, then Tellus, New Mars, Edin, down the chain until he reached the last colony, settled just two years ago, F. H. Crick. It was the ninth colony world, a garden world and he'd named it in honour of the man whose sacrifice had made everything possible. He'd visit each world on the anniversary of the first colonists touching down. It was a fitting tribute though for symmetry of numbers it might have been nice if they had 10 planets.

Williams said they did because they would always have Earth but while that might work for the originals, it wouldn't for the new generations. They had no ties to Earth. They knew of it, but to them it was just a  _very_  long distant planet. It was not their home, not in the way their colonies were.

Nine planets was a good number, especially given how tightly he had controlled expansion. The Systems Alliance had gone much, much faster but they had the Relay network and it had been proven that they, Humanity, didn't truly have the needed defenses. If they had had them, the Batarians wouldn't have taken so many slaves and the Council would have had a much harder time. The Humans in the LMC had layers of defenses around each planet. Every one of them had at least three Ascended and the rate of Ascended creation was not slowing down. It was a good thing and it helped to quell any objections to his continued rule.

Every now and then, some idiot suggested that it was time for him to pass command on to someone else, or to democratically elected officials. They usually shut up once it was pointed out that only the immortalized knew how to create other immortals and they were loyal to him. Mostly. Well, loyal enough to realise he was the boss. If he was displaced, then it was entirely possible that the process of immortalization would also stop. The promise of eternity was a potent control, especially when it was well documented that it was a promise he could and did deliver.

Those few who didn't shut up, well, there were solutions to them as well. Most dissidents he just left. It was healthy to have some dissent, within certain guidelines. Those who went too far tended to disappear quietly. Williams refused to have the military do it but he had other resources.

Not Kai. The assassin was still enjoying living with the underworld, although he reported from time to time, usually to give him the inside line on some new product. It gave him, the State, options. They could pre-empt the demand and take a large slice of the market. The citizens would generally buy legitimately if they had the choice or Harper could ban whatever it was they were about to launch and since he was smart about it, he usually put a choke hold on one some essential ingredient. That limited supply.

The underworld hated him for it. They knew someone was leaking essential information but they couldn't find who, and even if they did, Kai would just upload himself and start again. They had tried to assassinate him on more than one occasion. They had come close but they lacked the dedication required. If they'd been willing to trade their lives for his perhaps they would have gotten through. Not that death was permanent, not for him.

Still, dying was annoying. It took him a while to get used to a new organic form each time, no matter how short a time he spent in his Ascended form. That time was useful though. It gave him a chance to assimilate a lot of information, including the latest fleet developments from Williams. He read them while he was organic but there was something about being a 2 klick long starship that just made the information stick better.

Each planet had a protection fleet consisting of ten dreadnoughts and attendant ships. The major trade lanes between each colony were patrolled by further dreadnoughts and fleets. Williams had truly done well building up the defenses. The Systems Alliance would be jealous but then Williams, like him, remembered the lessons of the past. No official Human settlement would ever be under defended.

It was amazing what you could afford when you didn't have to waste budget or time on petty distractions. Even with half the resources going to the ever-growing Project stockpile, there was enough for development and defence. You just had to control the population's expectations.

Warmth was suffusing him when he turned off the water jets. He'd have stayed under the spray longer but he was feeling fatigued. That was the worst thing about an older avatar. True, he got respect as the leader because of his perceived age but there was a toll in physical fatigue. His younger avatar sometimes suffered from fatigue but that was usually caused by recreational activities.

Harper pulled a towel from the pile and wrapped it around himself before stepping out onto the tiles. They were comfortably warm to his feet, as well they should be, since little luxuries like heated floor tiles had been built into some residences.

At first, where you lived was a sign of status. The State controlled everything. Food and housing was provided in exchange for you doing the job you were assigned. And the State did try to make sure you were competent and interested in that job. Poor work, from disinterested people, did not make for good quality. That had relaxed somewhat and there were several career paths now. You didn't have to work for the State though most still did.

There was the military, which was technically working for the State, but somehow most thought it was separate. And there were several large corporations you could work for. They appeared independent and they had to turn a profit but if you looked high enough up their organisation structures, they were State owned.

There was a reason Williams had carte blanche to deal with anyone she caught pirating. They were not controlled and thus they represented a threat. The citizens had enough freedom and choice and most were content. If they weren't then it was their responsibility now to get trained or educated for a new position. Since education was available to all, Harper didn't sympathise with those who continued to whine.

Everyone had food, shelter, job security and reasonably safe environments to live in. That was enough. If they wanted more, they had to work for it and if they did, then that meant upgrades.

The budget was the same as it always had been, even back before he had bothered with money and the budget was man hours. Half went to the Project. Half always went to the project. Harper didn't have a choice in that, no matter how counterproductive it was! After that, protection, which included the military and health care, food and shelter were the priorities. Then preservation and education. Lawson mostly operated on a grant system for each of his projects while Williams had a steady budget. When everything produced in society went to the State, it was easy to support the population, even as it grew. The State provided everything, all an individual needed to do was provide for the State and the more you provided, the more the State provided, leading to upgrades in living quarters and things like that.

But no matter how much the tiles were heated, they hadn't yet mastered making them soft enough to his aging bones and Harper winced when he felt a twinge from one ankle. He should get it looked at but this close to a rebirth, he had just endured. He toweled himself dry, attempting to keep the fluffy material close to conserve the warmth radiating from his body. Then he looped the towel around his waist as he moved to the sink to brush his teeth.

After so many years living in an organic body, the routine was established, which is probably why it happened. Because he was tired, he wasn't paying attention. All Harper felt was the hard surface becoming loose as his feet slipped. There was an instant of vertigo when his limbs flailed as he tried to regain his balance and then there was a short, sharp pain from his skull before everything went dark.

Harper would have liked to say that his last thought was 'Bugger' but if he was honest, it happened too quickly for anything like that. There was, however, a generic sense of dread.

This was going to have consequences.

Harper's body wasn't found until morning, the alert raised when he failed to emerge from his quarters at exactly 06:25am as had been his habit for the last seventy years. Still, his bodyguards knew their duty and at 06:28 they entered his quarters, where they discovered the body. There were never any images beyond the official shots taken, though Harper found reasons to reassign most of his security detail in the wake of the Incident. None were demoted but all were removed from his presence. The citizens were informed that their Leader had died, but they knew he'd be back in a few days. The Immortal Harper, was just that, immortal, which was why many called him the Phoenix.

Life for the burgeoning Human state in the LMC went on unchanged.

Except for Harper.

He was the Leader; he had to be around to lead. While his deaths and subsequent rebirths were generally planned for, unscheduled interruptions such as premature death caused by assassination or accident led to uncertainty within the government hierarchy. Thus it was decided, regardless of his wishes, that in the interests of State security, Harper's bodyguards would have access to his quarters so that they could do their job and ensure the safety of his body.

Harper tried to argue that they wouldn't have made a difference in this case and it had only been a stupid accident but he was overruled, even though technically no one had that power. From that day on, Harper learned how to do  _everything_  with an audience.

Really, being the leader was worse than prison and sometimes Harper wondered why he wanted the job at all.

-cfr-

**45555 Years after Human Ascension, 500 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: New Io, Grand Plaza**

"You heard it here first!" Otylia Kozlow gushed, almost seeming to jump on the spot with excitement. It helped that New Io's gravity was only seventy percent of what the originals deemed normal. "On the 500th anniversary of Human rebirth, I, Otylia Kozlow for Entertainment Today, have just gotten an exclusive with the elusive Leader Harper!

"He's looking young since his personal rebirth was late last year but just wait until you hear what he has to say about the five hundred years just gone! Let's go to the vid!"

The scene changed to show a handsomely dressed young man, who was probably in his mid-twenties. While Harper didn't splash his face around everywhere, there was no doubt to his identity by the swarm of security surrounding him. It was amazing that Otylia had even gotten close. But Harper seemed happy, smiling and waving to those not in the shot. It was a celebration, after all, and he was the highest guest of honour.

"So, Leader Harper, are you enjoying the celebrations on New Io?" Otylia's voice showed her sheer excitement but there was an undertone of respect.

"I am," the young man replied. "I've enjoyed the celebrations on each of the Colony worlds. They are all so unique."

"So no favourite worlds?" she asked cheekily.

"No favourites," Harper agreed. "They were all chosen to be," he paused, thinking. "Unique but essential," he concluded.

"Essential?" Otylia asked.

"Each colony planet offers something special to the others."

"Ah, the trade franchises," she nodded. "So is there anything that was a favourite in the last 500 years then? Some program or event?" Otylia prompted.

Once again, Harper seemed to think about his answer as he nodded slightly. "The developments in the arts and culture have been of great importance. Originally, we only had what I brought over from the Milky Way, and that's a fifteen year trip, so when the industry started up, it was great to see new things."

"So did you have a favourite from the journey?"

Harper just held up one hand and Otylia knew she should move on. "I just love seeing Earth from those old movies! From those made in the last five hundred years, what would be your favourite?"

"I have to say that the 235 version of  _The Gods Must Be Crazy_  would be one of my favourites."

Otylia couldn't quite hide her confusion but she smiled brightly anyway. "I'll have to make sure that I see that one. Was there anything else?"

"Oh… ongoing series?"

"Yes!"

"I did like the original  _Big Brother_  and the 407 rendition of  _Much Ado About Nothing_  is just beautiful but I'll have my office release a more complete list in the coming weeks," Harper said by way of dismissing Otylia. She might appear to be a bimbo but she was wise enough to take the dismissal gracefully.

"We'll hear more on that in due course but it's been an honour speaking with you, Leader Harper," she said smiling as he moved away before she turned back to the camera.

"You heard it here first, everyone! The Leader's favourite movie of the last 500 years was the 235  _The Gods Must Be Crazy_  and his favourite series were  _Big Brother_ and  _Much Ado About Nothing_ , so if you haven't seen them, then you should, because you are missing out on some classic viewing!

"This is Otylia Kozlow for  _Entertainment Today_  and you heard it here first!"

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter just for trolling Harper. Next we get back on with plot! The thing was, killing Harper is fun! How many times would you have liked to have killed him ingame? :D This is not quite the same thing but... it was still fun. Next up, the final plans before meeting aliens because there have to be a few minor changes to society. After all, how do you want them to perceive you?


	49. Emperor > Fuhrer

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In a society as control as the LMC, nothing happens by chance and when aliens are nearing, it's time to prepare the populace. But perception is almost as important as reality and how will the aliens perceive Humanity? 
> 
> Meanwhile, Kai is still a part of the Underworld and in this current incarnation, he's nearing the top but will everything go to plan?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**  
**Chapter 48: Emperor > ** **Führer**

-cfr-

**45592 Years after Human Ascension, 537 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Leader's Office**

Harper looked at the holo-image on his desk. The heels of his hands were resting on his cheek bones to allow his fingers to frame his eyes. "What am I looking at here?" he questioned Esha, whose hologram stood beside him.

"Some ruins one of our scout ships found," she replied promptly.

"Where?" he demanded, suddenly far more interested.

"A planet we were going to call Ganges," Esha replied.

"Does Williams know?"

"Yes, she's blockaded the planet," Esha confirmed.

Harper nodded, ignoring the pressure his hands put on his face. "So what do we know about these ruins?"

"They pre-date our arrival in the LMC by several thousand years, by a very conservative estimate. Probably several tens of thousands of years."

"Okay, so there was another race here," Harper surmised. He wasn't surprised. It had been a surprise to find a lack of elder species already within the LMC. A pleasant surprise, to be sure, but one nevertheless and unofficially they had been looking for what might have happened. It appeared Esha may be able to confirm his suspicions now.

"Yes, Sir," she said. "We sent in some probes to take samples and we think we know what happened."

He waved his fingers, indicating she should continue. If they knew what had happened, he wanted to know.

"All things considered, the explanation is somewhat ironic," Esha began and Harper could hear the laugh in her voice. "The ascended sweep through the Milky Way periodically to preserve organic life so that they won't be destroyed by their synthetic creations," she explained.

"Yes, that is the stated reason for ascension," Harper agreed.

"The ascended do not exist in the LMC," she continued.

"So you are saying that the elder species were wiped out by an AI?" It's what he thought had happened but it was still a surprise to find out that the Catalyst was correct. Organic life did get destroyed by it's AI creations.

"We think so. It fits with what we are finding on this planet," she confirmed.

"Spare me the trivial details," Harper said, shifting one hand to indicate he didn't need extra information. "Confirm what happened, and then confirm the AI is dead."

"Oh it's dead," Esha said with relish. She was an original as well, so she had the same prejudices towards them. "The information they left behind is very clear on that."

"What happened?" Harper asked eagerly. He loved a good story of destruction.

"The records seem to indicate that they had a failsafe coded into the core of the AI, if their entire species died, then the AI was to self-destruct."

"It's an AI. Why didn't it take that code out?"

"That we don't know about," Esha confessed.

"Do I have to burn the planet? Because if it's dormant, I sure as hell ain't letting it out!" He couldn't. It was programmed into Ascended to destroy AIs.

"Williams confirmed no energy signatures before we went down," Esha was quick to reassure him. "If it was dormant, then it's since died."

"Make sure of it," Harper growled. "And make damn sure it's not anywhere else! I will not have an AI endanger us." He didn't want to find out what the ascended protocols would make him and the other immortalised do if confronted by an AI, especially since the only organics around were humans.

"Understood Sir," Esha nodded.

"Continue the blockade on the planet," he added the order. "Name somewhere else Ganges, I'll decide what to do with this planet when you can confirm the important details for me," he said, pulling his hand back so that his fingers were once again framing his eyes.

"Yes Sir," Esha said and her hologram disappeared, leaving him to stare at the image of the alien ruins. The information was reassuring in one way, if disappointing in another. He'd expected this outcome. He supposed the Catalyst had to be right some of the time.

Yet now he knew and that was something he could build on for the future.

-cfr-

**45601 Years after Human Ascension, 546 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Residential Area**

Kai was quite nervous. Nothing showed on his body but he had not survived for as long as he had without being honest with himself. He had been invited to a private dinner with Marius Vitali, the current head of the criminal underworld. As Harper had expanded the colonies, so too had the underworld. In a mockery of Harper's organizational system, each planet had a nominal head who reported to Marius.

Kai's current avatar, named Theirn Chung, was ironically enough, the Head from Cerberus. It was the fifth colony world, after the original settlement. It had been named after their ascended form and Kai rather enjoyed their blatant attitudes. Of course, the increased strength from the high gravity was nice for when he went off world. Sure, Cerberus residents' lifespans weren't quite as long as the other colonies, but Lawson was working on that.

Marius lived on Home in a rather palatial estate that was somehow overlooked by the inheritance laws. It was one of the ways the underworld bucked Harper's rules. They believed in inheritance and generally the leadership was handed down in the family. Except Marius didn't have children. Well, not living children. He had a son once. A psychotic raving lunatic who Kai had very carefully eliminated years back. The idiot had wanted to create an AI. Marius had managed to keep it quiet but not quiet enough and there had been support within the underworld community to remove the son. Kai had used their support and then of course, they too had quietly disappeared.

He'd still done the deed, and no matter how justified, that knowledge added to Kai's nerves. They were the only two people in the room, though periodically Vitali's chef entered with new dishes and he knew that Marius' bodyguards were just outside. Usually, he wouldn't be nervous around the boss but he had never been asked for a private dinner. To him, such an occasion was the perfect excuse for an assassination and if Marius had found out about who had offed his son years before, then it was likely that every scrap of food he was eating, was laced with poison.

But it was unlikely. That was years back and surely Marius wouldn't have been that patient about dealing with his son's assassin. Still, if it was that, then Kai resolved to enjoy the meal. Even as the leader of Cerberus' Underworld, it wasn't often he got to enjoy such refined cooking. And he'd never died of poisoning, so that would be something to experience as well.

He smiled, chuckling slightly at a joke Marius made before the older man's expression changed, becoming far more serious.

"Sir?" Kai asked, wiping his mouth with his napkin, placing it beside his cutlery.

"There is only one reason I called you here," Marius said, leaning back as he took a deep breath.

In his head, Kai ran through the figures for Cerberus. Their profits were slightly down on opiates but that had been made up by shipping out whores. Currently, Cerberus prostitutes were popular on the other colonies. There was nothing for Vitali to be concerned with. Even when he considered some of the more esoteric things that Marius might be concerned with, he drew a blank. Harper had a policing force but they had been getting around them for centuries. Eventually, he cocked his head slightly, non-verbally asking the question.

"I'm getting older now," Marius continued and Kai stiffened. He recognized a test phrase when he heard it but he continued sitting with an outward appearance of calm. Marius did not like being interrupted. "For the last few years, I would usually have been grooming my son to take over when I chose to be immortalized."

Kai nodded.

"However, it is well known that I do not have a son and, as an only child, I have no nieces or nephews who might be suitable. As such, I've had to select a replacement."

"Yes, Sir," Kai said with a noticeable gulp.

"You are relatively young," Marius said, "but you have an old head on your shoulders," he added. "Your policies do not arouse the suspicion of the authorities," he continued. "Conservative, most would say. Careful is what I say."

Kai felt his lips twitch slightly. It was ironic but he did have the inside running when setting his policies. While he was waiting for Theirn Chung's body to be ready he had looked up the long term policies for Cerberus. He knew what Harper was going to order for the next twenty to one hundred years. That made exploiting official policy quite easy and so he was already ahead of the game.

Again, Kai said nothing. Marius had some archaic beliefs and would indicate when he wanted a reply. "With that in mind, I want you to take my place," Marius said.

Suddenly, Kai was filled with a different type of nerves. Unless this was a very elaborate set up, Vitali was not going to kill him and such reasoning was likely beyond him but at the same time, such an announcement was not cause for celebration. Being announced as Marius' choice for successor just meant all the others would be targeting him. If he was alive in a year, then he might be able to take the position but until he forced the others to acknowledge him, it was going to be rough.

He hid a smile. There was nothing to be nervous about. If he died, he died but when he succeeded, becoming the Head of the Houses was giving him the chance to mold the criminal organisations into something he could be proud of and for the time that he was the Head, they would not question the Project.

"I understand Sir," he said slowly.

"Yes," Marius replied. "I think you do. You will be my designated successor pro tem," he explained, "and if you are alive in three years time, the position is yours."

Kai chuckled, nodding. "I look forward to the challenge," he said, reaching for the glass of wine left over from the main course. He held it up for a toast.

Marius followed suit, reaching for his own glass. "To you," he said.

"To you," Kai repeated the dedication and they both drank, enjoying the last of a very good red. Kai set the glass back down and took a few deep breaths.

This was going to be fun.

-cfr-

**45624 Years after Human Ascension, 569 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: F.H. Crick, Governmental Conference Meeting Area**

"They're a couple of light years away," Darren said, highlighting several areas on the star chart he had projected on the wall. "We know they are there but we're not sure if they know about us. We don't even know if they are looking." Darren was still in charge of the astronomers watching the LMC, just as he had been in their Ascended form when they were still in Dark Space. He had the best understanding of where the aliens where and how far away they were. Of course, these days, most of his people were from the new generation but they viewed it as exciting work. It was one way of keeping the intellectuals busy.

"We've been listening in?"

"Yes," Darren admitted. "We have some base understanding of their language," he added, his fingers twitching slightly.

Harper looked towards Williams but she just shrugged, rolling her eyes. The military buildup from the time they had started the military had been partially for this. They were ready for peace or war.

"We will be their first contact?" Harper asked.

Darren considered it. "I think so. We've seen nothing in their comms indicating they have contacted another species."

"What do we know about their society?"

"They seem to be some sort of democracy with planetary representation."

"How many planets?" Harper demanded.

"We think about twenty with quite a few smaller settlements."

Harper didn't look happy. That was five more than them. And to have that many planets, they had to have some good engines which presumably translated into a decent potential military.

"We believe they are disjointed," Darren continued, oblivious to the silent conversations happening around him.

"Disjointed? How?" Williams asked.

"There appears to be a time lag between their decisions. It's difficult to tell without going fully into their culture but they do seem to spend an appreciable amount of time travelling between worlds. Interstellar travel is possible but not as prevalent."

That information seemed to relax those present but they were still somewhat wary. No one wished to repeat the past.

"If we do nothing, how long until they find us?" Harper asked.

Darren seemed to think. "Three to five years, maximum before their probes find evidence of our existence, though I'm surprised they have not heard our transmissions."

"It's probable they have," Williams said.

Darren looked quizzically at her. "I need a smoke," he muttered as he thought.

"Not here," Williams said forcefully before Harper could agree. "Have they?" she pressed.

"There's a chance they haven't," he said. "If they aren't listening on the right frequencies then they won't have noticed but there is always the chance that they have and are keeping it quiet.

"It's not like we are listening to their encrypted signals," - _yet_ , Harper added in his mind as he thought about the options they had now had. He did not like the fact they had more planets but it was highly unlikely that they would be all as developed as the human worlds. He had tightly controlled expansion and while the alien government may have tried, unless they had a very strong central government or a hive mind then there would be expansion beyond their control. Darren had said they appeared to have some form of democracy which indicated that they had some individual freedom. Besides, if Harper included all the mining facilities and the building systems they had, then they could match their neighbours. What he had to decide now is what he did about them.

"What is the feeling of the community?" Harper asked, turning towards a middle aged man.

His name was Esaias and he was one of the Planetary Liaisons to the office of the Leader. He represented F.H. Crick, which was where Harper was currently residing as part of a scheme to show that each colony was important. He was spending three months on each planet in rotation before he returned to Home for the rest of his time. Since a single rotation took three and a half years he'd be doing one rotation per decade but it did allow him to truly focus on the issues pertaining to each planet. And it was very popular with the citizens, even if most of them never saw him, they at least took the view that because he spent time on their planet, he did care about their issues. As they continued to expand, the scheme would need to be reviewed because he was not going to spend all his time shifting from world to world but for now, it was effective.

"Not many citizens are thinking about aliens," Esaias replied. "Oh, they know they are out there," he made a sweeping motion that encompassed the sky, "but since we aren't in contact with them, aliens are an academic curiosity."

Harper nodded before looking at the holograms. Each of the colony worlds' representatives were present and most of them were nodding their agreement with Esaias.

Bertha wasn't. "Is there anything else?" Harper prompted.

Bertha represented Cerberus which had been one of the harder worlds to colonise. Gravity was forty percent above Earth's and there were several predators which still caused some issues. Those who came from Cerberus liked to think of themselves as the toughest in the State and they took pride in making sure their citizens were some of the leading Special Forces in the military. Williams always complained that it was a battle to beat their inherent belief in their superiority out of the recruits so that they would work with others but, one way or another, she seemed to succeed and there were no Cerberus-only divisions.

"We need to make it clear to any alien force we encounter that we are the superior race," Bertha said. "We should meet them with military force so that there is no misunderstandings."

"You mean an invasion?" Docia from Poseidon asked.

"Yes!" Bertha agreed. "They cannot be allowed to threaten us!"

"They _aren't_ threatening us," Plamen observed.

"Yet," Bertha replied. "The instant they see us they will attack."

Harper sighed softly. That was a possibility and as Bertha and Docia began to bicker, he turned to Darren. The astronomer had sat down but caught Harper's gaze and shook his head slightly. Attack was a possibility but the behavioural experts Harper had assigned to the observation group who had actually studied the records taken from the aliens guessed that they wouldn't.

"There is no certainty they will attack," Harper said, cutting through the argument that was growing. "However, if they do, I will make them very sorry," Harper added with a vicious grin he directed at Bertha to indicate he understood her position entirely.

Williams just sighed but Harper already knew she'd be front and centre in leading the extermination if it was called for. Yet her reaction made him think. What did he want for the LMC first contact?

They had been focusing on the aliens but it took two species to make first contact. If the behavioural experts' predictions were accurate and if they aliens truly had some sort of democracy, Harper was inclined to believe them, democracy said they would deliberate before declaring war, which meant they would be open to friendly relations. If that was the case then it would be humanity's, that is to say,  _his_  decision as to how this would play out. Did he want to be the turians who tried to subdue everyone they met or did he want to be the asari who tried to negotiate peace.

Harper sighed, ignoring the conversation around him. He didn't want to be either nor would he would accept a subservient position for humanity. However, attacking without warning and essentially dominating through conquest was not necessarily the right choice. But he did want to dominate them.

A species you controlled was safer, which had parallels to economics. The Milky Way Cerberus had dominated many of its competitors through economic dominance. They bought out suppliers or simply undercut prices until he owned the competition. There was no reason he couldn't repeat that with this species, which meant he didn't want to start an all-out war. Still as he'd told Bertha, if the aliens started one, humanity would end it.

"We will appear to be friendly," Harper announced, silencing the ongoing conversation. "A space-faring race should be that enlightened," he continued, remembering some of the theories of the past. "We will allow them to discover a mining vessel or scout. What happens next will be up to them," he concluded.

Williams nodded and Bertha was wise enough not to push for war when he had made up his mind.

"Ascended?" Williams asked softly.

Harper leaned forward, resting his chin in one hand, his fingers splayed over his face, partially covering his nostrils as he thought. All this time he had thought to hold them in reserve but now, faced with the reality of an alien species who potentially had more resources, he felt doubt. They could be explained as part of the military force but did he want to do that?

No! Doubt was no reason to alter his plans.

"Keep them in reserve," Harper instructed sitting upright again.

"So how are we going to explain them?" Docia asked.

"We could remove them," Bertha suggested.

Williams didn't look pleased but didn't immediately dismiss the option. The colony worlds would not be under-defended without them. Each planet still had a military defence fleet now consisting of fifteen dreadnoughts and accompanying fleets, while Home had twenty. That was two hundred and thirty dreadnoughts just for the planets with another forty doing patrols. Compared to the Systems Alliance, hell, compared to the entire Milky Way, they were very well prepared. The ratio of dreadnoughts would drop as they colonised more planets but it would never go below five per planet.

"While hiding them has distinct possibilities," Williams said slowly, "I do not believe it is feasible. There are too many historical references to them and the ascended are the essential product of immortalisation. Since we will not be stopping that process, we would need to fabricate an alternate explanation for where the minds are stored. Because of that, we can't have the ascended disappear."

"True," Harper said. At the moment, the construction of ascended was not too much of a drain but he could already see he was going to have to do some creative accounting to continue to service requirements in the future. At least, it was one area people weren't reluctant to invest in, unlike the Project. That caused more arguments every year but the stockpiling was still on track.

"The ascended have to remain around each colony world," Williams was saying. "However, once we establish how many and their positions, I believe that should not change except for periodic additions. Any 'extra' ascended," she said, sounding amused. There were never any extras. "Will be given full run of Dorado where they can hibernate if the quotas are met."

Most Ascended didn't hibernate until they were two hundred or so. They had to remain awake in that time to take calls from their children, and their grandchildren. It was a bit inconvenient but it meant the population was happy. While people wanted to go further back when speaking with their ancestors, it was made clear that those of that age wouldn't always answer. Enough answered to give the populace assurance that their anscestors were all there but were busy with new concerns.

"Why not Dorado and Nimitz?" Olavo asked.

"They are both fine but Nimitz is on record as a military system and so it will be a target for alien scouts and potentially official inspections. Besides, I take a lot of new recruits there and I do not need one of them blabbing. Dorado isn't on record, except as a neutron star with the appropriate travel warnings."

"Dorado will be fine," Harper said, "though the question will remain how to explain the Ascended around each colony."

There was silence for a few moments as the gathered representatives thought before Wido, from the twelfth colony planet, Ganges, laughed.

"It's easy," he said when everyone glared.

"What's easy?" Bertha asked testily.

"How we explain them," Wido replied. "We just tell them the truth," he elaborated.

Harper felt his eyes widen. They couldn't ever tell the truth! But Wido wasn't quite finished and as Harper calmed himself, the Ganges representative continued to explain, somehow having missed or ignored the horrified stares from the originals.

"We are not going to be hiding the fact that we immortalise ourselves," Wido said. "But we do want to hide the fact that the immortalised forms are capable of offensive manoeuvres, so we tell part of the truth. And this only works if the immortalised forms are above every planet. We tell the aliens that they are mausoleums. The final resting place for the physical forms of our dead and the storage servers for their immortalised minds. That's the beauty of it, it's the truth and it explains why there are more around Home. After all, Home is our first world, it would have the most population and the oldest ships."

Harper relaxed as he heard the explanation. It was simple and it was workable and both were traits he liked in a plan. It also offered an explanation as to why the ships had active shielding. Obviously, once you became immortal you didn't want to die because something had crashed into the ship. Shields would be essential. The explanation was rather good really, containing enough of the truth that it would be easy to remember but missing out those parts that were inconvenient and since the Ascended had never actually fired, it would be relatively simple to make sure the general population came to believe the explanation. If a few insisted the mausoleums could move, well, against the information provided by the others, those individuals would be easily dismissed as fringe thinkers.

"When the time comes, we will give a variant of that explanation," Harper said, when it became obvious that no one else had anything to offer and no objections were being raised.

"Another thing that comes up quickly with first contact is history," Williams said, obviously remembering the mad scramble it had been to find out everything they could about the turians. Well, maybe not, she would not have remembered that but no doubt she would have had access to the Williams family stories.

If you knew the past, you could predict the future and information on the aliens' history was one of the first things Williams would want for the military.

"I don't think we can hide it," Lawson mused.

"Our history does refer to it quite often," Harper agreed.

"Another time when we tell the truth?" Lawson asked almost mockingly.

Harper had a definite reputation for never telling aliens the truth.

"They should consider themselves lucky," Harper returned. "But we will need to give some reason why we left and the truth is not an option, this time."

"It will have to be suitably graphic as well," Lawson considered the problem. "I doubt they have the resources now but we do not need anyone attempting to visit."

There had been some of the new humans who had wanted to return to the mother galaxy. With the current population of seventy five billion, there were probably a few thousand now who wished to go. Interstellar travel was allowed and technically the same engines that drove interstellar travel could drive intergalactic travel but to prevent that they had been forced to install some limiters and the easiest was static discharge build up. As ascended, they were immune to that and it had been frustrating for the engineers to deliberately design a flaw they knew could be fixed, but after the first idiots disappeared, only to be found years later, everyone had been relieved. Not even Williams' military vessels were spared the design flaw though they had better range.

"They've only been in space for a couple of hundred years," Darren said. "I doubt their ships are that good."

"They could get better," Williams retorted. "They don't have a Relay system to rely on so that will mean different engineering principles."

Those not original were listening intently. They knew the history explaining why Harper had left the Milky Way but none of them had become their planetary representatives by being naïve. And they dealt with Harper. There was always something more when you dealt with Harper.

"FTL will be eezo based," Esha said firmly.

"Are you sure?" Williams challenged.

"Positive," Esha replied. "We've theorised other ways of FTL, even back to the 20th century but none of them are possible. Eezo is the  _only_  way. You can get very close with other methods but the mass energy ratio is what stops you making that final push into true FTL. That's why eezo works. It changes the ratio."

"So what about some of the other methods? Some of them weren't just acceleration," Lawson remembered some of the alternate theories and his tone showed he was interested while the faces of the planetary representatives displayed confusion. Since FTL travel was a reality for them, there was no need to speculate on other methods but for those who could remember the past, who had a tie back to when FTL was new, they remembered the other theories. Hyperspace, slipstream, subspace, wormholes, black holes… They were all theorised.

" _Not_  possible," Esha said, holding up one hand to prevent Harper from interrupting them to put them back on topic. "That's one of the few pieces of information we got for free from the ascended," she added. "Other species thought of some of those methods and some even tried them. It was a mess. If you didn't have eezo, or a Relay in your system, then you were forced to use sub-light long-haul ships."

"And before you ask," Esha continued. "Over the last few hundred years, we  _have_  tried some of the methods. Those ships that didn't just explode, did not work. The best we got was close to lightspeed but we never went above it and no amount of fiddling our designs will change that," she concluded.

"Alright," Harper said before anyone could ask further questions, though he could see that Lawson would be checking Esha's assertion the next time he uploaded. Darren and Williams probably would, too. He already had. "So why did we leave the Milky Way?"

There were snorts from the originals and he knew what they were thinking.

"Male overcompensation," Williams muttered, earning a snort from Esha but several horrified looks from the planetary representatives. Harper just gave her a flat stare which Williams returned, unconcerned. "We can't say we left because we were ordered to," she said demurely.

"We weren't ordered to," Lawson replied.

"No, we were ordered to fix a problem," she returned.

Harper sighed before he coughed significantly. While he had never exactly hidden Shepard's existence, he hadn't been open with saying he existed, either. Well, not with the population. The LMC ascended knew full well that Shepard and others existed. Or they should, since it was part of their initial information packets and there was a part of the process of ascension that told them they should not be alone.

Williams glared. She'd been closest of them to Shepard in life and saw little reason to be so circumspect. "Alright," she finally huffed when he didn't back down.

The planetary representatives looked disappointed. For most, this was the closest they had gotten to the truth and it had again been pushed out of their reach. They knew the real reason had something to do with the Project but beyond that, no one had ever been forthcoming. It appeared First Contact would not change that.

"The truth won't serve, though we could say there was a plague."

Harper felt his lips twitch. Thinking about the other ascended as a plague was something amusing but did parallel the truth from an organic point of view.

"An interspecies plague of that proportion is unlikely," Lawson said. "If it existed, the most basic medical procedure would be for planetary isolation and I don't think the aliens would be so stupid as to have completely interdependent planets. We don't, so we should assume they won't," he added.

Harper nodded. They hadn't made the same mistake as the Systems Alliance had. While the colony worlds traded with each other, the basics for survival were on each one. If for some reason they could not trade, life would still go on.

"It could be a plague and war," Darren said. "That combination guarantees refugees," he said. "But we could add in planetary degradation to explain why we had to take such a drastic step of leaving one galaxy."

Harper felt a twinge of shame, one he knew he shared with Williams. That explanation practically admitted that they'd lost the war Darren was proposing. Or worse, it implied that they had not been a large enough or powerful enough species to participate and that did not sit well with either of them.

But this was not the time for pride. This explanation was for the protection of the Project and as such, like the Project, it had to be flawless. The population knew something of the Project, but the full details were confined to those who were working on it.

"That has some possibilities," Williams said tightly, fighting her desire to object.

"We can imply the races were older and far more advanced," Lawson said before he sighed. "Whatever we come up with, will require some cultural alterations," he pointed out.

Harper dismissed that concern with a wave of his hand. They had been conditioning the population since they were born. Reworking it wouldn't be that hard.

"Advanced species would discourage investigation," Harper nodded. "They are fighting over the Milky Way but if you draw their attention, they will come here," he said, fleshing out Lawson's implied reasoning. Simply advanced species would attract others, wanting that tech but if they were known to be hostile, that would be an added discouragement. "We could use that to explain how we got here," Harper continued. "We managed to steal one of their advanced engines which barely got us here but the risk of death was a better alternative than the certainty of it."

There were nods from around the table. "An ongoing war between super-species is not something I'd want to enter," Gulay from New Venus muttered.

Harper smiled thinly. From a certain point of view, they were already in that war but he held his speculation as others began talking.

"It puts us in the position of the victim which may generate sympathy but if these aliens are hunter based, it could say we are prey."

"Even if it does, it says we were prey that had enough intelligence to do something about our situation. We can imply that we knew of other races that were simply obliterated by the war."

Harper looked up and he wasn't alone. All the originals were looking towards Thorsten from Tellus and he gulped at the attention.

"That is a particularly astute observation," Harper said fixing his eyes on Thorsten as he searched for the truth. No ascended should have told an organic the truth. Not even a human.

"It provides a reason for us to have to run without seeming overly weak," Thorsten said. "I have an interest in evolutionary psychology and while civilisations do somewhat master their basic instincts, they remain with us and like it or not, they provide an unconscious society-wide basis for a number of assumptions we tend to make. Those assumptions are hard-wired and we can't change them."

Harper nodded.

"Fight or flight," someone else said.

"Yes," Thorsten said. "That's our primary reaction to danger and things we don't know and for the scenario we are building it's the reaction our entire society would have faced. If we knew that we were completely outclassed in a fight, flight becomes our next logical choice. If this new species is an apex predator, then they may not understand that but that brings us to another assumption. Apex predators are usually solitary or work in small family groups. They do not share, so democracy is unlikely unless they are far more enlightened or civilised than we believe."

Harper looked at Thorsten. It was an interesting theory and one Thorsten would be questioned on later. The suggestion that democracy was a sign of enlightened civilisation was not something he needed running rampant through the population. They were allowed to elect their city officials but that was as far as it went. Higher positions, those that impacted on more people, were appointed based on proven ability.

"In the end, it doesn't matter if they believe us prey," Harper said. "Should they act upon it, they will be dissuaded of that belief very quickly," he added with a savage grin.

There had been theories that true apex predators could not make it into space alone. They would over-hunt their food supply while still primitive or they lacked the ability to cooperate in large enough groups. The Krogan were a good example. They cooperated as clans but nothing more and had only gotten into space through salarian interference. The Yagh were another example. Only when presented with an outside threat, and the possibility of a wider hunting ground, did they begin to work together.

Both were examples of Salarian stupidity.

"We cannot change what we are," Lawson said, somewhat ironically since he was in charge of changing them. "But nor will we be altering our evolutionary history. That means to any alien species, we are omnivores evolving from tool users in the middle of the food chain. If the LMC is like the Milky Way, that will be a familiar story."

That brought nods from the originals.

"The only complete fabrication we need to tell any alien species will be about the full functionality of the ascended," Harper said, bringing discussion to a close. Evolutionary psychology was interesting but this was not the forum to discuss it. "Now, is there anything else?" Harper was well accustomed to the truth that he could not think of everything and thus the question was one he usually asked at the end of meetings.

Generally, he got silence for an answer or a completely new topic so he was slightly surprised when Esaias coughed gently. "Actually there is."

The planetary representatives nodded while the originals glanced at each other. None of them had expected anything.

"What is it?" Harper asked cautiously when it was clear his usual advisors had been left in the dark. This was usually a prelude to some idiot asking him to resign and if that was the case this meeting was about to get very messy.

"We believe we need to formalise the governmental system," Esaias explained.

Harper blinked. If they were about to ask him to give up power, that was a new opening. "Go on," he instructed, careful to keep his voice neutral. He had learned early not to deprive people of rope.

"Well, it's a bit more than that. Our nation as a whole does not have a name," Esaias said. "But beyond that, our system of government is modelled from a period of history most condemn. That is what we believe should be altered before we formally encounter aliens."

Harper took a deep breath to steady himself. "Which period of history?" he asked, refusing to be distracted when Williams shook her head in disbelief.

"The twentieth century, Sir, specifically European history for the events leading up to and during World War II. Nazi fascism is not a high point to be proud of," Esaias said, apparently completely oblivious to how deep he was digging his grave.

How deep they were all digging given the nods of agreement from the other planetary representatives. Harper exchanged a long glance with Williams who appeared to be laughing at him but she rolled her eyes before nodding. Usually, Williams refused to allow the military to deal with his political enemies but this time, with so many involved, she would make an exception.

"Unfortunately, Sir, despite the meritocracy you do espouse and practice, that is the parallel and comparison which will be made by both political commentators and by the aliens. As such, we'd like to make an alteration."

There it was. They were going to suggest a move to a democracy or some other weaker governmental form.

Harper wondered if it would be worth ordering his ascended form to make an orbital strike. Sure, he'd die, as would Williams, Lawson, Esha and Darren but they would be reborn and it might be worth the chaos that would cause to take out the ringleaders.

How had Intelligence missed this?! Or were they in on it as well? There should be no way they miss-screened so many people!

"We'd like to introduce an Imperial Constitution," Esaias concluded with a bright smile before waiting for Harper's response.

He blinked, certain he'd heard the words incorrectly.

Then he looked at Lawson, who just shrugged and then to Williams who looked like a thunder cloud.

"An Imperial Constitution?" he asked for clarification. He knew what the words suggested to him but what were the planetary representatives thinking?

"Yes," Bertha replied. "You would formally be declared Emperor Harper and several other positions would be similarly formalised."

"An aristocracy?" Harper asked, and his voice carried a note of warning.

"No, sir!" both Esaias and Bertha replied.

"We already know you would not approve that," Bertha continued with an amused lilt. "And without wholesale changes to the inheritance laws, that would never work. Aristocracy implies money and since most assets revert to the State upon Immortalisation, it wouldn't work. Besides, it's unnecessary."

"The declaration, while functionally altering nothing internally, changes us from a fascist state to an Imperial State and that has much nicer connotations."

Harper sat back, thinking. It appeared his planetary representatives would survive, after all, and it was true about the connotations. An empire didn't carry anywhere near as much baggage as a fascist state but was it worth the change?

Did he really care about what the aliens thought?

The answer was definitely no but rumour could be dangerous and he had no idea what this galaxy was like. These new neighbours might already be in contact with another race. Unlikely but he did not want to make them desperate.

As he had thought earlier, dominance through non-military means was the best answer. He could not risk the Project. It was in many ways a formalisation of his existing rank but there was one concern.

"The constitution? How much authority do you suggest?"

"The present constitution is fine," Esaias said. "It just requires a few wording modifications to alter power from the State to an Imperial State."

He nodded slowly. "What is it, Williams?" Harper demanded.

The Admiral was sitting there with a sour expression on her face.

"Emperor?" she questioned, looking over the reading glasses perched on her nose. Her current avatar was quite old and her grey hair was tied back into a severe bun. She looked like a typical disapproving old lady but Harper knew she was still very fit.

"Regardless of your thoughts," Harper said, "it is just a name. I already have the power."

The planetary representatives nodded.

Williams' lips pursed further and he could hear how controlled her breathing was. "Do not expect me to call you that, Harper," she hissed.

He laughed. "I wouldn't expect you to," he said but paused when her expression changed.

"Actually, you know what? There might be one time, when I will call you that title, but it will be only when he can hear it."

Harper felt his eyes widen as cold suddenly flashed through him. "You wouldn't!" He gasped.

Williams' eyes sparkled. "Wouldn't I?" she purred.

"Williams," Lawson sighed, clearly exasperated. "This is going to happen because even you agree Emperor is better than fucking Führer!"

She glared. "I'm still going to enjoy watching the Emperor attempt to explain his decisions to the boss upstairs" she snapped.

Lawson chuckled. "I think that will be the least of the decisions he's going to have to explain."

Up until that point, Harper had thought Lawson had been on his side, but apparently not. "I think you'll find that when he refers to me, he means us all," Harper grinned, using Lawson's earlier argument, before turning his attention back to the planetary representatives. They were listening attentively but there was an air of confusion about them.

Harper snorted when he realised why that was. They didn't know who Shepard was and he was not about to enlighten them. He had avoided explaining to the organics for over five hundred years and while he knew he'd probably have to explain some day, today was not that day.

"I'll need to see the full proposal," Harper said. "But an Empire is preferable. What were your thoughts for the name?"

"The Phoenix Empire," Bertha replied with a cough. She understood the irony of the name.

Williams shrugged when Harper turned towards her. It said clearly without words that she didn't give a shit about names for the State. The nationalist propaganda machine would work with whatever name they had.

"Alright," Harper said, his tone clearly indicating that he was summing up. "Darren, work with the mining corporations to direct them subtly towards the aliens. Williams, make sure you have sufficient assets in the area. It should still take a few years and we'll adjust the histories and official records in that time. I want us to appear friendly but given the history we are going to give them, meeting extraterrestrials won't be too much of a surprise for us."

He looked around. "So let's make this happen," he concluded.

There were smiles all round and Harper hid his own.

Phoenix Emperor Harper. That had a nice ring to it.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai has been busy. He might have set up the underworld but it's still work for him. There are compensations though. And there's just a little bit of social engineering required. Definitely something Harper enjoys, and well... It does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it? Plus being an absolute leader means maintaining control but what will the aliens think of it? Well, we'll find out soon.


	50. First Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First impressions are so important and Harper has determined that the Humans will make a good one. But what do the aliens think? What can they think? Will they believe the reality that is the Phoenix Empire or will they doubt? Will they attack?
> 
> Meanwhile it's time for Kai to pick a successor. Pity he doesn't like the one he chose but now that they have survived their apprenticeship, he might have to do something about them. It could be messy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 49: First Contact**

-cfr-

"Captain, wake up!"

The call was insistent and he groaned as he awoke. "What is it?" The words were slurred.

"We need you on the bridge," the tech's voice was demanding and Mas'ud wondered who it was. Most of the night shift was a bit more timid.

The night shift did the scans. Boring but necessary scans that helped them map the system. They were only meant to call if they needed something and it was above a Level 5 alert!

"What is it?" he asked more urgently as he awoke. He blinked in the dim light caused by his bioluminescence.

"Captain Avakian, we have anomalies in the scan."

"What kind of anomalies?" he demanded, getting up and pulling on his rank ornaments. His frills glowed with concern. If they insisted he awaken then it must be something truly worrisome.

"The type that are above my pay grade!" the tech replied. It might sound like a quip but it was probably the truth.

"I'm on my way," he said, running through the corridors which were blessedly empty, so it was only a few moments later that he reached the bridge.

The atmosphere was wrong. There was a feeling of stunned silence. The glow coming from the crew was subdued.

"What is it?" he demanded.

The techs looked at him before tapping a few buttons and the screen changed to show an empty part of space. Then before he could ask the image zoomed in and he understood the reason for the silence. There on the screen was a genuine, bona fide ship that he had never seen. Now there were a lot of ships he'd never seen, but this was of a design that was just wrong.

"Alien?" the question slipped from his lips, all hints of sleep leaving him instantly. He almost felt the light from his frills sharpening with his mind.

"Yes, Sir," the tech Mas'ud now recognized as Yusra, whispered.

"Has it done anything?"

"No, Sir, it's just sitting there," Yusra kept whispering as if she'd somehow be overheard by the alien ship. Mas'ud knew how she felt. He almost felt the same and he wasn't sure what to say now.

"How long have they been there?" Mas'ud asked.

"We don't know. A while though, Sir," Yusra replied. "We are going over the scans now and we think they saw us enter the system."

"They've been on every scan?" Mas'ud exclaimed.

The  _Giang Ho_  was meant to be a survey vessel. If they missed something like this then… He didn't finish the thought.

"With respect Sir, they may have been on every scan but for the first ones they were in the asteroid field, so they just looked like another rock. One with a little bit of eezo. It's only recently that they moved into the open." Yusra brought up another chart, this one tracking the anomaly through the system. The information told Mas'ud several things though he didn't want to make assumptions.

If the alien ship had been in the asteroid field then they could be a mining vessel, or a pirate, his mind supplied but he discounted that idea. A pirate would most likely attack or in the face of an unknown ship they would have run or remained hiding. The fact that they, whoever they were, had come out into the open and then waited said they were patient, or just as confused as he was.

"Have we scanned them?"

"No, passives only." Yusra replied immediately and Captain Avakian nodded. An active scan might be misinterpreted as a hostile gesture.

Mas'ud sank into his chair, staring at the screen and the ship that was just hanging in space.

"Send a signal back to Atto, sound general quarters and ready the comms."

"Sir?" He could hear the multitude of questions in Yusra's voice.

"We're not going to learn anything just staring at each other," he replied thickly. He wouldn't deny it, he was scared as well. But there was a thick pulse of excitement accompanying the fear. They'd speculated that there were other species and there, right  _there,_  in front of the  _Giang Ho,_  was proof, just waiting to be contacted.

He could wait for an official but who knew how long they'd take and who knew what the aliens would think. No, it was time to take action.

Alarms blared throughout the  _Giang Ho_  and a few moments later, the day crew rushed onto the bridge. Mas'ud didn't order the night crew to leave. For this, everyone would want to be here and after the gasps of shock passed, the crew bunched up, double-manning each station without orders.

"Signal to Atto sent," the regular comm tech, Devdas said.

"And I've brought up the First Contact package Intel made," Yusra added.

Every frontier ship was briefed about this possibility but it was the  _Giang Ho_  which now had to run the procedure.

"We've got the go ahead but they are scrambling a diplomatic ship."

"So be friendly but hold," Mas'ud nodded. He could do this. "Are we ready?" he asked and got ascent from all around, except from his XO.

"Are you sure?" Carmi asked. "They haven't said a thing," she said, needlessly pointing towards the alien ship on screen.

"True," Mas'ud acknowledged. "Since they haven't attacked, they are either deciding what to do, waiting for orders or diplomats or waiting for us. If they don't respond, that's fine, we'll wait,"  _because I'm not going to fuck this up,_  he added silently.

Carmi nodded, accepting the explanation. It was her job to make sure Avakian thought about alternatives, and her question had done that. Now they could proceed.

"Send the package," he ordered, trying to keep the uncertainty from his voice.

If things went right, and they would go right, Attori would be talking about this day forever and he, the  _Giang Ho_  and all his crew would have their names honoured. Well… even if things went wrong they'd be honoured but he much preferred the honour of living.

-cfr-

**45640 Years after Human Ascension, 585 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Outskirts of the Phoenix Empire, Mining Survey Ship**

"Incoming signal!"

"It's about time!" Pepito growled.

They'd been waiting for hours since the auto-sensors picked up the unknown ship. The instant they had, several pre-programmed sequences had initiated, shutting down their mining lasers and they'd just barely managed to get the samples on board. Then an automated briefing began, telling them exactly what they would do now.

_Really, sometimes the Emperor treats us like children_ , Pepito thought but since the Phoenix Emperor was over 600 years old, that was somewhat understandable even if it grated at times. They were not going to fuck this up.

For the last seven years, every scout and exploratory vessel had been briefed on what to do when they encountered an alien ship. Contact HQ, make yourselves visible and wait for them to initiate contact.

What no one had said was how boring it would be! They'd moved out of the asteroid belt and then it had taken forever for the alien ship to notice them. Still, it gave them time to analyse it. Somehow, it was softer than most of the ships Pepito had seen. It was a scout most likely, because it didn't seem to have the blocky bulk a mining ship would have. The ship's design told them nothing about the aliens, though Pepito was willing to put credits down that someone in the Imperial Government knew what the aliens looked like.

The survey unit monitored everything and over the past few years, they'd been deliberately sent in this direction. Emperor Harper had obviously decided they were to meet aliens so they  _would_  meet aliens.

"Has our software decided to be nice and translate?" Pepito asked.

Elisa snorted. "It's given us a couple of words," she replied. She knew this was contrived.

"Anything interesting?"

"Nah, the computer claims it's grinding away on translation calculations."

"Yeah, right! What's command got to say?" Pepito asked.

"They're sending a cruiser," Elisa replied, "though apparently Williams is pissed." Elisa had done a short stint in the military before switching to the mining corps and thought she knew everything about military operations. She knew nothing but her stories were interesting and mining shifts were bloody boring.

"Oh?" Pepito asked.

"She wanted to send a dreadnought, but Harper denied the transfer."

"A dreadnought for first contact doesn't exactly send the right message," he said, looking over to the comm computer. It pinged. "Ah, they've decided we can talk to them," Pepito said. "Get ready to transmit."

"Whenever you're ready," Elisa replied, her fingers hovering over the switches.

"Well, here's hoping we don't piss off the Emperor," Pepito said before signaling for her to transmit.

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Outskirts of the Phoenix Empire, Attori Survey Ship _Giang Ho_**

"We're getting a signal!"

Mas'ud released the breath he had been holding. After they sent their First Contact package, the alien ship had just hung before them, giving no indication that they had heard it and Mas'ud had been worried that it was just an automated drone. Something that had appeared before them to say, without words, that the system was claimed.

Hell, if it was claimed, that was fine by him and he was sure it would be fine by the government. The largest concentration of eezo around here was on the alien ship so the system was low priority. The  _Giang Ho_  had remained in system to properly document the resources.

The alien ship was blocky with several protuberances. Mas'ud thought they were mining arms. It seemed to be some sort of sampler ship but it was large enough to include crew quarters. It had some markings on one flank but he obviously didn't recognise them.

"Oh my!" There was no mistaking the note of awe in Devdas' voice.

"What is it?" Avakian asked.

"The signal's in Attori!"

"What?" he demanded. Was that they reason they had been slow to answer? Their computers were translating but… he looked again at the ship. It was exactly what it appeared to be, wasn't it? No race fitted sampler ships with that good a computer, did they?

"Carmi…" Mas'ud said slowly. "Why were we sent in this direction?" he asked.

Had they been sent to find aliens?

"This was the next sector on the normal rotation," she replied, her tone dismissing his implication. "Though it does seem plausible that the ship before us was prepared to meet other life forms, or…"

"Or?"

"Or we are not the first aliens they have met. That might explain why they waited for us to initiate contact. It reveals our intention without advertising theirs."

"So I should have waited?"

"No. There was no reason to wait," Carmi shook her head.

Mas'ud nodded. Sometimes, he wondered if he was really the Captain with Carmi around. She took the job of making him think very seriously. "What did they say?" He asked, hardly believing that it hadn't been his first consideration but there were so many implications that he didn't know what to think!

Devdas played the recording. A slightly mechanised voice spoke and Mas'ud reminded himself that it was probably synthesized to provide translation.

"We are a mining sampler ship for the Phoenix Empire. We are human. We acknowledge your transmission and greet the representatives of the Attori in peace. Upon sensing your vessel, we have sent for a diplomatic ship in the hope that this will be a historic day for both our peoples. Basic language packs will be transmitted following this address," the voice ended.

"We're getting the language info," Devdas confirmed.

Mas'ud nodded but leaned back. He felt slightly disappointed with the transmission. It was alien but it seemed almost routine for them. Had this human race encountered so many species that the Attori were just another? If they had then that was even more exciting for him! Not just one race but many. No. He was getting ahead of himself.

"Transmit," he ordered. "We too have sent for a diplomatic vessel," he said, neglecting to mention the absolute panic his request was probably causing. The  _Giang Ho_  had already made its name in history. Whichever ship followed would be remembered as well but it was still a risky operation, and one that would have huge implications. It would be difficult to pick the ship. "We look forward to greeting the representatives of the Phoenix Empire in peace." Mas'ud hoped he hadn't mispronounced the unfamiliar words too badly.

"What are the planets like in this system?" he asked the sensor crews.

They seemed startled but rushed to answer. "Nothing with a breathable atmosphere," the techs quickly replied. "But there is one with suitable gravity, bit on the heavy side, and a thin atmosphere. We'd have to wear suits but we could land safely."

Mas'ud nodded. "Let's suggest it," he said, turning back to the comm team.

Devdas nodded to say they were ready.

"There's no planets in this system suitable for our biological requirements, but the third planet has a light enough gravity for us to land and move comfortably on. Would that be suitable for a meeting?"

Silence stretched through the bridge as they waited for an answer. Had he told them too much? Was it suitable for them? Could their ship even land?

"We accept your suggestion," the reply came through, again in the metallic voice and the ship on screen began to move, turning to head towards the planet.

"Sensors, go active!" Mas'ud ordered. No alien species could blame them now for at least tracking the ship, which despite its blocky nature moved smoothly.

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Outskirts of the Phoenix Empire, Mining Survey Ship**

"Typical," Pepito grumbled. "We tell them a diplomatic ship is on the way and they still want to meet."

"Must be firsties," Elisa said.

Pepito just stared at her. With the exception of the originals, this was the first time for any human to meet an alien and she had the gall to call the aliens firsties! He was happy to be involved, this might be a fast track to immortalisation, but he was equally happy to obey orders and let the diplomatic team handle it. But a part of their orders, actually a huge part of their orders, was to be accommodating to the aliens. If they wanted to talk to them, then he'd go and talk.

"Be serious, Elisa," Pepito sighed. "I'm gonna go suit up," he added, getting up from the well worn chair.

"Want me to come?" Elisa asked, a little too eagerly.

"Nah," Pepito replied. "This will be quick. It's not like we can say much without proper translations."

"So what if they shoot?"

"Then I'll die," he responded. There wasn't much else to say about that. He didn't think they'd shoot but you could never be certain. Besides, standard practice was to leave some DNA behind when you went out exploring. "If they shoot, run," he instructed before ducking out of what passed for the cockpit and main workstations. Elisa could land the ship by herself.

A few moments later he was at the airlock and was working his way into his suit.

"The diplomatic crew isn't happy but they've said it's your funeral," Elisa's voice came through the intercom.

"They gave the okay?"

"Yeah," she dismissed the question. "We'll be touching down in about three minutes."

"I'll be ready," he replied, sitting down to pull on his boots before making sure the seals were good. The atmosphere was thick enough that any seal failure would create a slow leak and he'd have the time to get back to the ship but that was hardly diplomatic.

"Touch down," Elisa announced unnecessarily, just after there was a small jolt, and Pepito put on his helmet before looking around for anything that could double as a weapon.

No, he decided. A weapon would send the wrong signal. "Are they down?" he asked.

"About 100m aft."

Pepito took a deep breath, then tapped the controls for decompression. "Here goes," he said.

"Good luck," Elisa said. "Your suit link up is good, so the comp will be able to translate. The cruiser is listening in, too," she added.

"The Emperor?" Pepito asked.

"Probably," she replied, "but no one is saying."

"No worries," he said, trying to sound confident.

The airlock cycled and he stepped out. He was reasonably calm. He didn't want to die but if it happened, he would be avenged. The Emperor was a hard man but he was just and while it had not been proven, he was protective of his species. That's why he'd come here, to the LMC, for the preservation and continuation of humanity. The Phoenix Emperor would not allow some alien race to get in his way.

The atmosphere was thick enough that Pepito heard his boots crunch on the gravel. He could feel the loose soil as he walked, almost bounding in the low gravity, towards the alien ship, stopping about halfway.

"Visual feeds are good," Elisa said.

"Great," he replied. "Where are they?"

"They haven't sai…"

"Never mind," Pepito said as a panel on the alien ship slid open and his heartbeat quickened as he got his first look at the aliens.

The individual was bipedal which was calming. The individual was tall and slender, though was in an atmo-suit as well. He couldn't see anything that looked like a weapon but he couldn't be sure. It wouldn't matter if it was armed, so long as the alien didn't use it. The alien walked smoothly, almost seeming to float over the ground. They stopped about 10 metres away and Pepito knew they were both thinking the same thing.  _Now what?_

"My name is Pepito Ellis," he said, realising that it was the logical to start with his name. "Of the Phoenix Empire." He tried to point towards himself though it was awkward in the suit. "Human," he added.

The alien spread its arms and said something in return and Pepito waited for the translation. "Captain Mas'ud Avakian of the Attori Nation. Attori."

"My diplomatic ship will be here soon," Pepito said.

"So will ours, but I couldn't wait." The alien sounded excited and Pepito could understand.

"Are we the first aliens you've discovered?" he asked.

"Yes! Are we?" the Attori Captain returned the question.

Pepito took a deep breath. "It's complicated," he replied, recalling his history lessons. "The diplomats will explain. I hope we can be friends," he added, remembering that he was meant to be playing nice.

"Good," Elisa purred into his ear and he knew she was being prompted by the diplomats. He was absently glad that the diplomats were letting her do the talking to him. More than any other time, he didn't need the distraction of talking to someone else.

"I hope so too," the Attori Captain said.

-cfr-

Mas'ud had to fight the urge to fidget. He was so excited. This wasn't how things were meant to go but he was willing to put his life on the line.

Aliens. Actual, real aliens! And they appeared to be friendly. The individual which had introduced itself was heavier than an Attori and more solidly built. The techs on the  _Giang Ho_  thought the alien was stronger due to the way it seemed to bounce in the gravity. So high, or relatively high gravity aliens, but everything they said was friendly and the only thing they had deferred on was the information about aliens and that only made Mas'ud all the more excited.

There was a story there.

Of course, with any alien species, there was a story but this one promised to be complicated and Mas'ud could hardly wait. Beneath his suit, he trembled.

Whatever trouble he got into for this, it was worth it.

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Attori Homeworld: Atto, Prime Minister's Office**

"So it is real?" The Attori Prime Minister asked.

"It is," his aide, and close personal adviser, Gha'th replied, not bothering to hide the excitement in her voice.

And it was something to be excited about. They had speculated about alien life for decades, centuries and now they had found them!

"Do we have images?" the Prime Minister Basim asked.

"Yes, they're here," Gha'th said, bringing up the footage taken from the  _Giang Ho._  It showed a bipedal but somewhat bulky alien.

"What about without their suits?"

"That comes later," Gha'th replied. "The diplomatic ship got some good images."

"So what are they like?"

"Patience," Gha'th laughed before scanning through the footage to where they'd actually met face to face.

"Freeze," the Prime Minister Basim said and the image paused. "So that's what they look like," he said, looking at the first alien the Attori had ever seen.

"The information they provided indicates they come from a higher gravity world. That's why they are bulkier," Gha'th said, reading from the initial report. "We haven't seen much of their tech level but it's at least comparable to ours and the few information files they gave us suggest that their society is militaristic."

The Prime Minister nodded, sharing a glance with his military advisor. No one had been able to clarify exactly how militaristic this race was but they all took comfort in the fact that they hadn't attacked. A military state did not necessarily mean they would attack but until the situation resolved further, it was a decidedly uncomfortable possibility.

"What about the rest of the information they provided?" Basim asked. "Do we believe them?"

Gha'th looked uncomfortable, the frills on her head coloured as she thought. "They have no reason to lie to us," she said, "but…" she exhaled heavily. "It does seem unbelievable."

"Unbelievable is putting it mildly. I think it's outright fabrication!" Latif exploded. Latif was a reporter, and generally sensational news was great and First Contact was going to make the news but it did not need additional fictions from the species.

"But why would they?" Gha'th asked, her voice hurt even as she asked the question to defend the humans.

"To make themselves look better," Latif replied. "The information they provided is complete crap. We are meant to believe that they are led by an  _Immortal_  Emperor?" Scorn dripped from the question. "And that they come from the Seebii galaxy? That's over one hundred and sixty three thousand light years! The best our ships can travel is fifty! And that's with extensive preparation. There is no way they travelled that far when their tech looks the same as ours!"

"Why would they lie?" Gha'th asked again.

"Because they can! To make us hesitate. To gain concessions or create allure. I don't know, but they are!"

Prime Minister Basim held up one limb to forestall arguments. "Regardless of what they've told us, we will determine the truth as time goes on. What will this actually mean?"

"Sir?" Latif asked, confused.

"What will contact with this species mean for the Attori people?" Prime Minister Basim clarified the question.

The gathered group thought about it for a few moments before one of the business reps stepped forward. "Assuming that they remain peaceful, in the day to day lives of most, it won't make any difference. Most will never even meet one of these humans. There's a lot of interest now, and a huge push for information, but that will diminish over time. If we can set up trade relations, well, that will set up new avenues of interaction but, again, it will depend on what they can trade.

"First contact was with a resource scout ship, exactly the same as us. Now, we don't know what they were scouting for but eezo and precious metals are the most probable. So maybe we can trade if one of us has excess but we don't know and as I said, all of this is predicated on the assumption that they will remain peaceful. If they don't…" Nothing more needed to be said.

Basim sighed. "So if they don't?" he asked, turning towards what passed for his military leaders, who had so far remained slightly apart from the gathering. They were really the police. They tackled the odd pirate and saw to security on each planet, but since the Attori had no need to fight anyone, they were a rather disjointed bunch. They had come together for the discovery of a new species since that was a potential threat and already, they had drawn up several plans. How they could fund those plans remained to be seen but the new aliens had seemed peaceful and hopefully, they would remain that way. But he had to be prepared.

One of the eldest stepped forward. They were so old that the ends of their frills were dull. "For the moment we can only speculate. Like us, these humans were careful not to display their full capabilities. You will note that at the initial meeting, the individual did not carry anything we could identify as a weapon. Many are saying that it proves their peaceful intentions. It only proves that they are careful, and prepared to sacrifice an individual but what is interesting to note is that their diplomatic ship was not unarmed."

The image on the display changed to show the ship.

"The humans admitted this. They said that their diplomatic vessel was a standard military cruiser that had been retasked because it was the closest vessel of significant size in range. It arrived 20 hours after the  _Giang Ho_  noticed the alien scout ship but the humans noticed the  _Giang Ho_  first so we don't know exactly when they summoned it.

"We've made assumptions about its speed and therefore likely location but the fact that they could get a ship there that fast most likely means active patrols contributing to a large military presence.

"Their very society seems to be militarily based and we infer that every individual is born into their military."

"Impossible!" the business representative exclaimed. "No intelligent society could be like that. You have to trade and do other activities."

Commandant Nagib glared. "Shut up and let me explain!"

Prime Minister Basim indicated that the rest should remain silent while the Commandant spoke.

"They describe their society as an empire but looking at the cultural information they provided, their society is controlled. Once you are born, you are a part of their military but it is not a military as we understand it.

"The actual fighting force is relatively small but the State, this Empire of theirs, controls everything! Food, education, housing and health care is provided by the Empire in exchange for a citizen's work. This is not negotiable and it is institutionalized. It is the life they know."

Some of the representatives looked sick at the description but it did fit the information the humans had provided.

"In terms of military force," Commandant Nagib continued, "it means that if they go to war, their entire society goes to war. It would take a significant social shift for us to be able to match that and it puts us at a significant resource disadvantage should it come to a conflict.

"However, that does not mean we would lose! In a society as controlled as their Empire appears to be, there will be individuals who want more freedom. They would be our targets, as would significant individuals within their hierarchy."

"The Immortal Emperor?"

"Yes," Commandant Nagib nodded. "Though I doubt we could successfully target him."

"You believe he's immortal?"

"I don't think it matters. It could just be a title to make the position of Emperor seem more enduring. The likelihood of the word immortal being true is small, to say the least."

That brought an expression of mirth from all round. There were reasons for a society to label a position immortal without it being true.

"So, will they attack?" Basim asked directly.

Commandant Nagib sighed, colour almost making it into his frills. "So long as they believe they cannot take us easily, I do not believe they will risk introducing the ideas any conflict will bring to their society but if they believe themselves capable of easily subduing us then it will be a possibility, one we have no real guard against." The Commandant paused to let that sink in.

"But at the same time, we don't need to be borrowing trouble. It is entirely possible that, military state or not, they will remain peaceful and it is possible that because this was first contact, they will continue to regard us fondly."

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Emperor's Office**

"So, how do we assess them?" Harper asked. The diplomatic cruiser had made contact with the Attori, opening official talks. It was still only preliminary, but that's all you could expect three days after officially meeting.

Williams snorted. "Two weeks if I can use the Ascended. Three months if I can't."

"Ashley!" That was surprisingly vicious for her but then, she would do what it took to keep humanity safe.

"Just an assessment," she said mildly.

"Anyone else?" Harper invited.

The gathered group was a mix of originals and the current generation.

Captain Orsina Park of the newly christened diplomatic cruiser  _Liberty_  was present as a hologram and Harper looked towards her for a firsthand assessment. "They are genuinely happy to have met another sentient and sapient species," she said slowly, obviously considering each word.

"Captain Mas'ud Avakian was delightful in a somewhat childish way but his excitement is easily understood. You originals have met aliens. The rest of us know they exist but it is still exciting to have that confirmed."

Harper nodded at that assessment. The Attori Captain's excitement had been clear for all to see, even if it had been annoying at times.

"They aren't playing us?" Harper asked.

If they were, Captain Avakian was an interesting choice but one that might have provided the appearance of an open people to a species with less experience than the humans.

"I do not believe so," Orsina replied, almost immediately but in a tone that said she had previously considered the question. "I imagine they are more concerned about us playing them," she added.

Harper frowned while Williams snorted and rolled her eyes. They had different memories.

"We are presenting as a highly militarized society," Lawson said.

"Don't say it!" Williams snapped before he could continue.

"We would appear very similar to  _them_ ," he continued, almost laughing. Sometimes, Williams was so predictable.

Harper twirled a stylus between his fingers. "That's true, but we've also said the Attori are not the first race we've encountered, so let's run with that," he said. "Let's push for further relations faster. We'll say it's our way of ensuring that we don't encounter the same problems we did in the Milky Way."

"And if we keep pushing for peaceful relations, that should ease their worries about war," Orsina said.

"Or make them suspicious that we are spying on them," Williams countered.

"Both are likely reactions," Harper said, though he knew which one he would be thinking of. "We're going to do it anyway but, Williams, you should form a diplomatic defense fleet," he instructed before pausing slightly. He looked around the room before he sighed. For First Contact, there really was only one person he could trust. "Lawson, pick a team from the current generation. You are about to be appointed as the first Ambassador of the Phoenix Empire to the Attori People."

"Great," Henry drawled, while several others looked carefully supportive. They were disappointed.

"Your position is temporary," Harper said, both for Lawson's benefit and to quell discontent before it festered. "And I will not appoint an original for the next species, so you'd better make sure you do this right."

"How temporary?" Lawson demanded.

"Five to ten years," Harper replied and knew that he'd sold the idea when those careful expressions became speculative.

Five to ten years was long enough to settle the nerves but was short enough that those present could be appointed the second Ambassador. Unless things went completely pear shaped, it would be a high profile position.

"What do we know about their society?" Lawson asked. He could read the expressions just as well as Harper and knew there was no point in objecting.

"They appear to be a democracy," Raimo Aue said, stepping forward. He had been in charge of analyzing the footage and other information they had collected. "It's probably a republic but they may have had a monarchy in the past as the term Emperor was translated without difficulty.

"On average, they appear taller than us and as can be seen their limbs are slender." The display image changed to one of the Attori showing the first they one they had seen in his suit and then other shots of several without the suits. "We were unable to confirm but we are reasonably sure they come from a lower gravity world."

"Will they survive on Home?" Williams asked.

"Probably," Raimo replied. "If they agree to an exchange of ambassadors, we will be in a position to learn much more, with the potential to gain samples."

Lawson sighed and nodded. If the opportunity arose, he'd see to it. "Actually, we could make this easy," he said after a moment of thought.

"Make what easy?" Raimo asked.

"Getting samples," Lawson said. "Instead of picking up a few random Attori, why don't we offer them some empty cloned bodies in exchange for something similar? We get samples, they get samples and none of us have to pretend we didn't outright kidnap citizens for experimental purposes."

"We can make the offer," Harper said, waving one hand. He doubted any other species would be quite that pragmatic but they could offer. Lawson was experienced enough that he would not get caught kidnapping so without proof they could do nothing but if they did do something, he'd be ready. "Go on," he instructed Raimo.

"Ah… yes, where was I?" The man asked before nodding to himself. "Their ships appear to be more primitive than ours and based on emissions we estimate they have a forty to sixty light year range. They have been expanding far less than that rate, or we'd have encountered them earlier. Even so, we do not believe their colonization has been as controlled as ours but we can expect medium densities on each planet with much smaller outlying settlements.

"There was one interesting piece of information that we are uncertain if they meant us to have. The limiting factor on their expansion is eezo. They have sufficient but it is not abundant and that is the primary resource they were scanning for.

"That's how they found the  _Ornek_. It was the only significant eezo source in the system but the quantity wasn't enough to immediately trigger their reports."

"So you mean we might have found them earlier but we ignored each other?"

"That's possible," Raimo said.

"That doesn't matter," Harper interrupted happily. "They need eezo," he added, half asking for confirmation and half to reassure himself that it really was going to be this easy.

"Heh," Lawson laughed. "I get it, Jack," he added before sharing a grin with his old friend.

In the wake of humanity's First Contact back in the Milky Way, once everything had settled down, they had both spent considerable amounts of money ensuring that their companies didn't rely on alien trade. The smart Attori would now do just that but, if the Attori were open to a trade relationship, most would become reliant on humans.

"Alright," Harper said. "Tell the Attori we want to establish an Embassy as soon as possible. Explain what an Embassy is if we have to and then we'll hint we have eezo to trade."

"Trade for what?" the inevitable question followed.

Harper grinned. "Refined heavy metal. The heavier the better, or hydrogen. Whichever they want."

"Hydrogen?"

"Hydrogen," Harper confirmed, "but I prefer metal."

"We all do," Williams murmured before she raised her voice. "The diplomatic ships will be ready whenever they are, but if you are sending Lawson, then I am sending a dreadnought," she added, preemptively glaring at Harper.

He scowled but nodded. Eventually it would come out that Lawson was technically next in line for the position of Emperor and not seeing to his protection would raise many questions. The dreadnought alone, while intimidating would not give too much away for a military state.

Besides, the Attori would most likely say no to it. There was no way  _he'd_  let them have the equivalent over Home and since they were being friendly, he'd have to agree to their assumed denial of the ship's presence. Williams would get over it and a small cruiser fleet would have to suffice.

"I want a full report on my desk in the morning," Harper said. "Full cultural write-up including assumed military capacity and assumed reactions. Give extra focus on their economic development and provide an estimate of their GDP. Right now, we need information. They seem friendly but information will keep them that way.

Harper took a deep breath as he looked around. No one objected. There were several nods from those present, even the holograms. They would have to work together to get it done but it would be for the betterment of all, so it would be done.

"We'll take it slow. We'll be friendly but we will be in control," Harper decided, voicing his decision for the benefit of all. The originals would understand what he meant.

Williams closed her eyes as she nodded and Harper didn't need to hear her to know what she said. "We will always be in control."

-cfr-

**45649 Years after Human Ascension, 594 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

Theirn sat in his garden. At sixty seven, he was not yet considered that old but for the Head of the Family he was approaching retirement age. He'd survived this long so it was unlikely that he'd die or be assassinated but he had reached the time when he was expected to hand over the reins before spending a few years pursuing his own interests until he decided to present for immortalisation.

There was also the fact that he'd come from the planet Cerberus. A youth, such as it was, spent on that high gravity world had damaged his body a bit but Theirn didn't care about that. His body was merely the shell for his mind and that was immortal. He, Kai Leng, had lived in many bodies.

No, what he cared about was his successor. He'd long ago accepted that he would not be able to pass on his position to any son or daughter. Theirn's body was fully capable of siring progeny but they would not inherit his true genetics and Kai would not, could not, trust Theirn's. Nor was there any way for him to simultaneously run two bodies. So he could not become his own heir.

It was better this way. There was no guarantee about the ability of a blood successor and if he couldn't take his position, he just had to earn it again and the task, moving back up through the ranks, would keep him sharp and in touch with what the common thugs thought.

What concerned him though was the man he had chosen. He had not been stupid. Kai would not allow the chaos of an undefined succession and so, two and a half years ago, he had chosen a successor, telling Montoya the same thing Vitali had told him. If he survived three years, then the position was his. Montoya fitted the position. He had a family so could potentially establish a line of succession and he was successful but his beliefs… They did not fit Kai's and so the difference between the appointments was that Vitali had wanted him to survive. When Kai had named Montoya it had been his way of thanking the man for his service but it was meant to be a death sentence. Theirn wanted the other Heads to kill Montoya but while they had come close, they hadn't managed it.

They were completely pathetic and now he was left in the position where he'd have to do it himself. In their world, only the successful got immortalised. It was just one of the risks of the underworld but they did have some compensations. The killing didn't bother him. Killing never had, not even when he'd worked for Cerberus. It was just that this went against some of the unwritten, unofficial rules of the Underworld.

Once he named a successor, he was meant to… not support him but at least not stab him in the back. Still, Montoya was an underling and he was the boss, which meant he made the rules. But if any of the other Heads thought they would get tapped for the position, they'd better think again.

Assassinating Montoya wouldn't have guaranteed them the position but it would have at least made him consider them. Now, he'd have to look further afield. Though that should mean whoever replaced him was truly competent and that was one of the most important considerations.

Theirn breathed deep, enjoying the blossoms. The scent of rose was strong but he could detect the earthy smell of cut grass as well, with the slightest hint of manure. The garden was well tended and he opened his eyes to enjoy the Earth-like vista before he rose.

Now that he'd made the decision, there was no need to delay. He'd call Montoya in for a private meal and that would be the end of that.

It appeared he couldn't retire just yet.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kai! You aren't meant to kill your designated heir, especially if they have survived! But then... sigh, I suppose you are the one making the rules... but it's not very sporting.
> 
> And now they have encountered aliens. Probably a bit boring but these guys aren't all gung ho, and even if they were... well, so long as they are useful, Harper will use them.


	51. Godfather Games

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time flies when you are having fun and already it is time for Lawson to return from being the first Ambassador to the Attori. What will he have learned in that time? What will the Attori have learned?
> 
> And Kai is still around, but so are his enemies. What are they up to? And will they like the consequences? Probably not. 
> 
> Plus, Harper has set up his State to control all but how do some people feel about that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**  
**Chapter 50: Godfather Games**

-cfr-

**45649 Years after Human Ascension, 594 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC (Nine Years after First Contact with the Attori)**

**LMC Galaxy, Attori Homeworld: Atto, Vinguda Bar**

"Voimata, we're friends right?" Kh'var asked somewhat nervously, his frills glowing tentatively. He was sitting at a table in a small shop that the humans had created to be a casual point of meeting for Attori and Humans. It dispensed drinks that they could both stomach and allowed easy conversations. They called it a bar. The humans even promised it wasn't bugged, though he had his doubts. Still, it was the best place to talk unofficially with the humans who had accompanied Ambassador Lawson to Atto.

The Humans had requested permission to establish it two years after making their Embassy. Most Attori thought it would be a passing fad. Seven years later, Vinguda Bar was the place to go to meet a Human when you wanted to sort out anything diplomatic, off the books as it were. Other bars had sprung up around it, and the Humans did frequent them, but Vinguda was still the original, and the best.

"Of course, we are," she replied. "Just because you're an Attori and I'm Human is no reason we can't be friends."

"I want us to be," he said.

"You need to ignore some of the idiots in the Empire. They're all about human supremacy and they're wrong. If the Eternal Emperor wanted human supremacy, he wouldn't have sent an Ambassador," she concluded with a little laugh.

For an instant, Kh'var looked sick but then he gave a brief, forced chuckle.

"Don't worry about them," Voimata waved one hand to dismiss the problem. "If they get too uppity, that's what Williams' forces are for. She's in charge of keeping the peace in the Empire, and it will be kept."

"Yes, your history is very impressive. No wars at all!"

"Of course not! Even if we wanted to, which we don't, the originals won't let us," Voimata looked at her Attori friend sharply. "So what is it you really want to ask?" she demanded. Attori were almost too easy to read with their frills giving away their desires.

"Eh," Kh'var looked uncomfortable for a moment but he recovered. "I don't want to be rude."

"How about I promise not to be offended?" she offered.

"I don't think it works like that," he laughed.

"Are you going to try to offend me, or are you genuinely curious about some things? We're friends, but the Attori and the Humans still have so much to learn about each other, so questions are the only way to get information. And this is why we created this shop, hence ask."

"Alright," he replied, his glow still uncertain but slowly it firmed into a stronger colour. "I understand that Grand Admiral Williams is the head of the military but who is in charge of the police and other security forces?"

"That's easy!" Voimata laughed. "With the exception of the Emperor's bodyguard, Williams is. The Empire uses the word military in an encompassing way. There is the military as you would understand it, with patrol ships and soldiers but she is also in charge of the basic planetary security. I don't mean only the defense fleets, I do mean the nitty gritty of policing work. They don't get the same training as the soldiers but they are under her control. If you carry a gun in the Empire, you answer to her. I work for her, and I'm on Ambassador Lawson's security team."

Kh'var nodded. "That makes sense, but how can she handle overseeing that many responsibilities? Here, police and military are separate organizations because one Attori could not possibly oversee both."

"That one is a bit harder," Voimata said seriously, "The Grand Admiral is an original. That means she came from our home galaxy, as such her capacity is greater than mine, or any other humans, except for another original. She can make that many decisions at once when she is in her immortal form. But when she's not, she does delegate. There's Admirals and Generals who look after the military in space and on the ground, and Commissioners who are the heads of the planetary policing forces. They are expected to work together, though. So if something comes up that requires a more powerful response than what the police usually give, that's when the military gets involved. It's still a police operation, but the troops are different."

Kh'var's frills glowed uncertainly. "I think I get it," he murmured.

"I'll give you an info pack. I'm pretty sure Director Lawson had one for your government, anyway."

"That would be great, though… why do you call him Director? Isn't he the Ambassador?"

"Director Lawson is a man of many responsibilities," Voimata replied with a laugh. "He's the first Ambassador to the Attori at the moment, but he's also the Director of Human Genetics, hence the title Director."

"Which is the right one, though?" Kh'var asked confidently.

"At the moment, Ambassador. His role in the Directorate of Human Genetics is on hold for now, which is probably for the best. You have to let changes go through the gene pool, after all."

"So let me guess, he's another original?"

"Yep!" Voimata almost cheered her friend. "And you really don't know what an original is, do you, beyond what I've told you?"

He looked abashed. "No, but I don't think that's a question you can really answer properly. I've heard your explanations but they don't make sense, so don't try again."

"It's probably one of those things that you have to be Human to fully understand," she agreed.

"There is one thing I gotta know though," Kh'var said brightly. "All your ship names come with these letters at the beginning of them. The Ambassador's ship is PMS  _Accord_ , which is a nice touch, by the way, but then I deal with the trade ships and they are PMS as well. What's the point if your ships all have the same designations?"

At that, Voimata laughed again but she didn't stop to explain and eventually settled into giggles.

"Oh, come, with that as your response I'm even more curious!" Kh'var complained.

"They mean different things," she told him. "One is Phoenix Military Ship, and the other is Phoenix Merchant Ship," Voimata explained.

"And?" Kh'var rotated one hand in a gesture he had seen the humans make when demanding more information. For her to laugh like that, there was some hidden meaning there.

Voimata chuckled again. "Well, you know how we are with our acronyms?"

"Yes."

"There's another meaning for PMS. It can mean Pre-Menstrual Syndrome."

"What's that?"

"Menstruation is when a woman is going through a fertility cycle. It happens approximately once a month," she explained. "There's hormones involved and women can have a lot of symptoms of it but mostly it's associated with pain and irritability. A lot of irritability."

"I don't get it." What did a woman's fertility cycle have to do with their ship designations?

Voimata rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. "PMS. Williams is female. If she gets irritated at you, she can blow you up," she put it bluntly. "And she has."

"You mean to tell me the head of your military gets irritable each month and blows up things? That all your women get irritable once a month?" His frills were displaying pure shock.

"You  _do_  know I'm female, don't you?" Voimata looked at Kh'var pointedly.

"But you don't do that," he immediately dismissed the statement.

"Not all women do," she said. "Most will sometimes, but not always. Besides, most of us look upon the acronym as a bit of a warning. Don't piss the military off, because you don't know what mood Williams will be in. After all, if every ship name says it, you can't say you weren't warned."

"That's insane!"

"It's funny!" she countered.

"So if she does something, is she punished?"

"Who's going to punish her?" Voimata frowned. "What are you worried about?"

"I think I should be worried! If the head of your military will just wipe things out because she's hormonal! That is insane."

"Well, it's not going to change," she said. "Williams ain't going to give up her job, and Emperor Harper isn't going to make her."

"Then how can we Attori treat with you?" Kh'var demanded.

"Because we are working on treaties. The trade treaty will be honoured. That has nothing to do with the Grand Admiral." She looked upwards. "I think it started off as a joke but a warning is a warning." Voimata took a pull of her drink and then looked seriously over at Kh'var. "So, have I told you enough?"

"What do you mean?" he asked sharply, his frills colouring again with uncertainty.

"Have you got the answers you were told to get?" she pressed then explained a little when he froze. "Kh'var, I know you are part of Attori Intelligence."

"What?" his eyes widened.

She just looked at him flatly, as if daring him to dispute her assertion. "We know you are with Attori Intelligence and that you wanted particular answers from someone who isn't the Ambassador. So have I given you enough or do you need to ask more questions? I'm supposed to be back on regular duty in about a half hour, but they won't mind if I put it off for this."

"No… you can't know…  _How_  do you know?!"

Voimata laughed. "The originals know everything."

"And you don't care?"

"I didn't say that but the information you want isn't anything dangerous, so there's no problems with giving it to you." Voimata rose. "Anyway, if you have more questions, just let me know next time we talk. We want your people to understand us," she said with a small smile.

Kh'var shook his head. This was insane. He had some of the best control. He wasn't meant to be caught.

"Just relax," Voimata said in parting, "and have a drink," she added, placing a glass beside him. "It isn't that bad."

"That's easy for you to say," he spluttered.

"You don't have to tell them we know, you know."

"Isn't that the point of intelligence?" he asked.

"We always thought the point was to be intelligent enough to know what's best," she countered before leaving Kh'var sitting at the table, the glass before him and a questioning expression on his face.

Maybe that was the point, but he still owed his people answers.

-cfr-

**45651 Years after Human Ascension, 596 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Emperor's Office**

"So after ten years, how do you feel?" Harper asked.

Lawson was sitting across from him. They were celebrating his return from Attori space where he had been the first human Ambassador. They were having dinner, just the two of them in Harper's quarters so that Lawson could be frank. His bodyguards were there, but they were always there.

"All I've got to say is that it was a good thing you decided not to deal with them on a daily basis."

"That bad?"

"It would have taken about two days before we were at war," Lawson chuckled.

"I'm not that bad!" Harper objected.

"You would have been," Lawson replied. "You remember those shows we used to watch on the way over?"

"I'm trying to forget them."

Lawson waved his fork to dismiss that. "They're like…" He sighed heavily. "They're like some of the humans on those old shows."

"One dimensional?"

"No, idealistic," Lawson said.

"What?" Harper actually dropped his cutlery.

"They are idealistic," Lawson repeated. "They want to believe the best of people. Not all of them obviously," he continued. "But that was the impression I got."

Harper shook his head as he picked up the silverware. "So that's why you've been restricting tourism," he said.

"Yes," Lawson nodded. "We will eat them alive."

"Are you sure we shouldn't toughen them up? An idealistic neighbour is not one I need."

"No," Lawson's voice was firm. "It's already happening and well, we need them the way they are."

"I need them to be idealistic?" Harper was not convinced.

"Towards humans, yes," Lawson said, "but not towards other races," he added.

"Ah," Harper said, sitting back after picking up his wine. He sipped as he thought. "They haven't encountered anyone else yet, have they?"

"No," Lawson said, adopting a similar posture. "But it's only a matter of time before one of us does."

"So should I offer a mutual protection pact?" Harper mused.

"Far too early for that," Lawson said. "For the moment, we continue as we are. That will build the relationship, along with our stockpiles though that is one thing some of their economists are beginning to be suspicious of."

"Hmm?" Harper prompted, leaning forward again when Henry paused.

"To an outside viewer, our numbers don't add up," Lawson explained.

"What do you mean?"

"We should be richer!" Lawson said. "Our planets are well developed, as is the military but we always take the cheapest option and you know as well as I do that there are areas we skimp on."

"Yeah, I have to!" Harper said defensively. They couldn't afford anything else!

"I know you do!" Lawson agreed. "But an outside viewer doesn't know about our orders, so things don't quite add up to them." The bodyguards might be discreet but there was no need to give away information.

"Will they call us on it?"

"I doubt it," Lawson replied instantly. "They don't know enough about our systems to be sure but some are watching but even then they might not. After all, what we do with our money is up to us."

Harper nodded, reading between Lawson's lines. So long as the humans continued to trade then the Attori would have no reason to attempt to look deeper into their affairs. Not that it mattered. If they did, Williams had assured him that her initial three month assessment would now be two because she wouldn't have to waste time finding their settlements.

He had no intention of ceasing trading. The Attori were providing nice amounts of metals in exchange for eezo and since eezo was made by the Ascended, it didn't cost the Empire much to produce. It was a very good situation, one he had no intention of changing because the provided materials went straight into Ascended production leaving the material the Empire mined available for the Project.

A server had cleared the plates while he was thinking. He didn't want to stop buying from the Attori but he did not need questions raised as to where the profits were going.

"I'll see what I can do to muddy the books further," Harper said.

"Don't bother," Lawson said. "It's not the books they are looking at but the situation itself."

"Then we will have to be a little more ostentatious with legitimate spending," Harper replied.

Lawson laughed. "We have only one area of legitimate spending and it's the one thing we won't tell them about."

Harper winced at the reminder. It was hard to know which of Shepard's instructions sat so heavily on him because while the orders were absolute, he had not been able to find which failsafes they were built into. Some of them were tied into existing ones but the failsafes that weighed upon him, and those that caused pain, those were new, and hidden, and based on the reaction of the other originals they might be limited to the Prime thought.

"The cover spends then," he corrected, falling silent while the dessert course was placed in front of them. He leaned forward. "Did you get any impression of if they are developing or have developed AIs?" Apart from everything else, that was an important consideration. They could not let that happen with an organic race, not when they didn't know how it might affect the new immortalised.

"No, not that we could tell," Lawson was firm. "And I made sure to let them know the dangers. The Attori have wanted to but they haven't been able to."

"Good," Harper murmured with a nod.

"So how have things been going here?" Lawson asked. "How have things been going in the Empire?" The tone of his voice made the question mocking but Harper knew it was a legitimate request for information.

"Stockpiling continues, as does research on engines."

"They're getting close?"

"No," Harper sounded disgusted. "It's going to be too large."

"So we use eezo," Lawson shrugged. "That's what the stuff is for."

"Then we risk missing," Harper said. Over the centuries, he had become very adept with talking about Shepard's orders without triggering the fail safes. In the company of someone like Lawson, there was barely any risk because he knew what they were talking about and made the same assumptions to fill in what was not said with the correct references.

It was actually much harder to speak to the engineers. They didn't have his absolute understanding and didn't always fill in the blanks correctly. Like the time they had been attempting to design the Project to shatter on impact, thinking he wanted a dispersion pattern.

He had no idea where that thought had come from and couldn't really check but a few executions had managed to completely alter their understanding.

"We may just have to go primitive on it," Lawson mused.

"Do you have any idea how many resources that would take?" Harper demanded. "If the Attori are already suspicious there is no way I could hide that! And I don't care how friendly they are, greed is a powerful motivator!" As soon as it became clear just how much was invested in the project, almost any alien would want the stockpiles. Most humans wanted them but they were very well protected.

"I know, I know," Lawson said, holding up his hands. "But what else do we do? The only reason you care about resources is because we have to collect them. Beyond that, so long as it works, even if it cripples this galaxy, it doesn't matter."

"I know that!" Harper snapped. "But there are better ways and they are working on them now. The thing will have eezo but probably as ejectable cores," he explained.

Lawson nodded. He wasn't an engineer but he could see the advantages of that. "So it's coming along?" He asked the final question, wordlessly indicating that he would drop the matter after this.

"Yes, and we remain roughly on schedule," Harper said, ignoring the way Lawson skeptically raised an eyebrow. He was both diplomat and businessman enough to correctly interpret 'roughly' to 'running behind.' But all schedules for the Project were self-imposed and so long as he was working on it, Shepard's orders were bearable.

Once, and only once had he considered just delaying the Project indefinitely. He could not disobey but he could delay. After that, he had never thought about it again. Harper still wasn't sure what had happened but he ached just remembering it. The grunt had managed to close all the loopholes.

"So how is the military and the civilians, oh grand Emperor?" Lawson teasingly asked.

"The military is doing fine. I'm sure the Attori kept you informed about that."

Lawson snorted. "Every time you launched a dreadnought. The military makes them twitchy."

Harper grinned but continued. "The 18th colony planet is about to become available and the terraformers are working on another five."

Lawson suddenly looked speculative. "Beyond eezo, the Attori would pay… they might even swear allegiance for terraforming tech," he said.

"You know as well as I do that our terraforming tech is just the application of gradual changes over time. They already know the theory."

"They know the theory," Lawson agreed. "But they don't believe."

"What? That we can plan for that long?"

"There's that," Lawson said amused.

"The immortal bit?" Harper laughed.

"They still aren't sure about the 'come from the Milky Way' either," Lawson shrugged. "It's only been ten years. I'll be more worried in one hundred or two hundred years if they still haven't twigged."

"Yes, well, I'm not going to die for them," Harper said.

"Speaking of dying, there's been no further close calls?"

"I'm sure there's been a couple of crackpots but no one has come close recently. Making nice with the First Contact species has been a popular move."

"Ah… so Kai's given no warnings."

"No," Harper shook his head. Kai had been very silent lately and it was beginning to worry him. The assassin usually reincarnated every twenty to twenty-five years, sometimes less, which was a pretty good lifespan for someone as active in the underworld as Kai likely was. This time he'd been gone sixty years which had been noticed. He was reasonably sure the assassin was fine and even if he wasn't, he couldn't do anything. "He'll show up eventually," Harper said, sounding more confident. Kai knew what he was doing, and if he didn't, then, well, the assassin would just have to learn from his errors.

"Williams hasn't retired?"

"No, but she has handed the day to day operations to the other Admirals. She's working on special projects."

"Oh?" Lawson was definitely interested.

"For the Project," Harper elaborated and Lawson waved one had to dismiss it.

"You haven't managed to convince her to change her mind?" Lawson asked with a sly smile.

Harper exhaled, glaring at his old friend. "You know I haven't." The fact that he hadn't had a smoke should have told Lawson that.

"Just checking, though…"

"Though?"

"You are really insisting that our commissioned ship designation is that?"

Harper grinned. "I think it's a fair warning," he said nonchalantly.

"She's never going to let you smoke, you know that?"

"I did offer to trade but I think she's becoming used to it."

Lawson snorted. "Phoenix Military Ship," he sighed. "You know the Attori still haven't gotten the joke. even though we've explained."

"Internal warning then," Harper shrugged. If the aliens couldn't spot a joke, that was their problem.

"Just so long as you know the consequences. What else has happened?"

"It's been fairly quiet in the last few years," Harper mused. He rather liked the quiet. Quiet meant that everything was how it should be and his plans were proceeding as planned. Quiet gave him the chance to pursue personal hobbies but Harper was well aware that quiet could become stifling. For the moment, he was enjoying it. Something would happen, sooner or later to break it.

"So basically we are on track?" Lawson concluded.

"Yes." The Project was proceeding and the military was strong enough to protect it. The initial phase of establishing absolute dominance over the Attori was going well and the population was still being immortalised.

"Actually, do the Attori believe us about the Ascended?" Harper asked. "That they are mausoleum ships?"

"They aren't entirely sure yet. After all, it's such an odd thing to do."

"They don't believe the immortalisation of the mind?"

"Not yet. It's too early yet but they will and when that happens they will accept the Ascended, and the title of Immortal Emperor as well," Lawson chuckled.

"It will just take time," Harper nodded, returning to his thoughts. His popularity was high and the Ascended obeyed him. Yes, they were still on track.

-cfr-

**45668 Years after Human Ascension, 603 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: New Venus**

Growing up, Inigo had always hated how those of his generation said that the defining moment in their lives was First Contact. It was absolute bullshit. Most of them hadn't even been born at First Contact, let alone old enough to remember it in any meaningful way.

Humanity might have been breeding itself to be better for the last 600 years but while they now lived longer and suffered fewer diseases, most still couldn't remember anything much from before their third birthday.

His defining moment was the death of his Father. He'd been seven, enrolled in one of New Venus' best schools with his life planned out. But when his father died, everything had changed. They, he and his mother, hadn't starved, the system saw to that, but the money had stopped coming in and he'd been moved to a different school as soon as his tuition payments had run out.

There were a few people from his dad's work who came around every now and then to pay their respects but it was nothing like it had been. When his father had been alive, they had looked upon Inigo with a sort of guarded pride. Afterwards, it was sort of sad, as if he reminded them of his Father but it was more than that. It had taken him a while to work it out. He had only been seven when his Father died but the looks had been of pity, as if he bore some responsibility for some transgression of his Father's and his future was decided. Based on those looks he knew, he felt, it wasn't going to be a good future either.

Once he'd figured that out, at the tender age of ten, he'd rebelled, running away from his still grieving mother, changing his name to Manoj Kumar and put himself fully in the care of the system. No matter how his father's associates looked at him, he was going to succeed because he had a mission, given to him by his father as he lay dying. His father had struggled to speak but Inigo had heard and the message was burned into his memory. It was whispered to the dying man, one who had been killed rather than immortalised and he reviewed them every day, seeking meaning.

' _It's not because you are against Harper,'_  the man speaking had breathed into his father's ear,  _'I encourage that, it's because you are against the Project and that means you are against Shepard, and so you have to die.'_

That was it. That was the sum totality of the message, spoken by the Head of the Houses to explain to his Father why he was dying, but to him, it was his instruction to avenge his father, to find the truth.

Eighteen years later and Inigo thought he was getting close. Harper had been easy. Even when he was seven, he'd known the name of the Immortal Phoenix Emperor but there were two other keywords that made no sense. The Project and Shepard.

He'd found out what the Project was when he was sixteen, in  _school_  of all places, at one of the few compulsory lectures. The Project was this mythical thing ordered by the Emperor for the good of all mankind. That's what they said anyway and most of his contemporaries just ate it up. They accepted that explanation without thinking, just like they'd been programmed to.

Inigo actually thought about it. If it was meant to be so great why didn't they provide more details? He'd only made the mistake of asking that once. The remedial classes about the Empire and his social responsibility that he'd had to take after that had damn near killed him. It had taken him ages to find all the subliminal programming, months for some of it, and that was only because he knew what he was looking for. He might be in the System but he wasn't going to let it dictate his thoughts.

After he'd left the System, entering what most would call the family business, he'd learned more about the Project. It was not something for the good of mankind. It was something that was so fucking insane that he almost couldn't believe it. Fully half of the official budget was invested in the Project, stockpiling metals and other resources, occupying the best minds of each generation with some design they didn't understand. And it wasn't even close to completion.

Inigo didn't even think about attempting to steal the stockpiles. They were literally surrounded by the Immortalised. Even the military had to go through a fuck load of checks before they could get close. But while Inigo had found out what the Project was, he still had no idea what it was for, or how it was connected with Shepard. Inigo had no idea what a Shepard was either.

That should be changing soon.

To most, the immortalised appeared as one cohesive unit. They were loyal to the Phoenix Emperor and controlled the process of immortalisation, thus keeping Harper in power.

But if you looked deep enough, there were gaps. They were all loyal… to a point. The trick was finding that point. It had taken time, quite a few bribes, one or two select, discreet assassinations and a lot of patience for him to find one that was willing to talk. If he'd been part of the system, he never would have done this and the deeper he went, the more suspicions he had as to why no one from the underworld had already attempted this.

If you could somehow find a way of getting around the immortalised, then just imagine what you could do for business! But that was for the future. Right now, all Inigo needed was answers.

Over the centuries, there was an entire body of literature built up about the originals and about Harper. It was there because every now and then, Harper or one of them would make a comment or a reference that didn't make sense. Except to them, it did. They, the originals, knew exactly what was being referred to.

At first, it was just a curiosity, something odd that the originals did but as time went on, people started wondering. And with wonder, without any information or means of proving or disproving theories, came speculation and there were whole competing treatises. Treatises and theories that would be rendered completely useless if someone just asked Harper or any of the immortalised.

Yet there was no record of anyone having tried it. If they had, Harper probably had them eliminated but since the Emperor couldn't kill what he didn't know about, Inigo had to trust that when the immortalised had given assurances that it would not tell the Emperor, it was speaking the truth. It would probably be punished for giving him the information if the Emperor found out anyway.

"You wanted to speak?" the voice was choral and it didn't need to introduce itself.

"I did."

"Once I tell you, you can never step back."

There was no visual but his silence must have translated.

"Well, we'll see how tough you really are."

"So what is it?" Inigo asked. "What is the secret that's kept hidden from all of us?"

"No, it's nothing that dramatic," the immortalised replied. "Tell me what you know?"

"The only thing I know for sure is occasionally the originals will refer to a 'he' with the implication that this he has authority over Harper."

"He refers to Shepard," the immortalised said. "Harper and the rest of the originals indicate that he is the one who ordered the Project."

"But who is he?"

"A better question might be does he exist?" the immortalised countered.

"Well then, both questions," Inigo replied.

The immortalised was silent for a few moments. "I don't know," it admitted finally. "Harper says he exists, as do all the other originals but none of the Immortalised created after Harper have any real knowledge of Shepard. Therefore if he exists, he will be another immortalised in the Milky Way."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Inigo burst out. "Why did he order the Project?"

"Not for a reason that concerns organics," came the immediate retort. "Remember, I only promised I'd tell you what Shepard was, not anything else."

"True," Inigo had to admit. "Assuming that this Shepard does exist, it's probable that Emperor Harper doesn't wish to admit that he has to obey someone else."

"You organics are not allowed to know about him. But it is also possible that Cerberus have expanded on Shepard's presence simply to justify the Project."

"That is also possible."

"Either does not matter," the immortalised said, its choral voice drawing the conclusion but Inigo could heard doubt in some of the voices.

It must be… No, he didn't know what it would be like, being able to make decisions but then always having a part of yourself doubt that decision. He made a decision and stuck to it, without doubt and that, in some ways, gave him an advantage.

"Thank you," Inigo said.

"You're paying me," the immortalised replied before the connection dropped.

Inigo stared at the comm, eyes unseeing as he thought. So the immortalised couldn't tell him if Shepard existed or not but it was correct. It didn't actually matter so long as the originals acted like he did.

The originals…

He felt his eyes widen.

' _It's not because you are against Harper, I encourage that, it's because you are against the Project and that means you are against Shepard, and so you have to die.'_

The words echoed through his mind as if he was hearing them for the first time. They had been intimately whispered in his father's ear as he lay dying. Whispered by Theirn Chung, the Head of the Houses but Theirn couldn't have known that name. Only an original could have known that name.

"Shepard," he whispered imitating Theirn's accent.

Shepard was the reason his father was dead but Shepard may not exist and even if he did, he was one hundred and sixty three thousand light years distant. The Project was his legacy. A legacy the originals protected, officially through Harper, but they went so far as to infiltrate the Underworld, the one place that was meant to be free of the dominance of the originals.

Did Harper know?

Inigo shook his head. It didn't matter if the Emperor knew. It was just another aspect of control. What mattered was who in the Underworld knew.

That made him draw a blank. He didn't know and it wasn't a question he could just ask. It was insulting. 'Are you an original?' would get him shot by many, stabbed by others and ignored by most. It might raise some suspicions but they wouldn't act upon them.

So what could he do if there were originals in the Underworld? The question would alert them or he might inadvertently ask one of them and then it would only be a matter of time before he met the same fate as his father. They wouldn't even need to organise his assassination. They'd just tell the Emperor his location and occupation and the Empire would remove him. There was not a lot of tolerance for the Underworld.

So what did he do?

He had to find out who was an original. That was the biggest problem but how did he do that?

Superficially, the originals looked identical to the generations that came after. They were the progenitors of those alive. The only difference was that they didn't get immortalised because they already were. Instead, they uploaded…

That was it!

He licked his lips. The thing that let the originals come back in organic form could be used to find and detect them. It was how Harper was still the Emperor. He couldn't do it if he couldn't remember what orders he'd given. Each of the Emperor's lives were uploaded, the information stored and transferred to his new body and that required implants. They were specialised but they were one of the few true cranial implants.

Eyes and hearing upgrades were relatively external. The original's implants were internal.

It would be difficult but he could scan for them. He could determine who was original and then… well, then it depended on how many he found. The Emperor wasn't the type to share power so it was unlikely to be many but it was one of those originals who had killed his father, under the guise of being Theirn Chung and so that really only gave him one option.

The originals in the underworld would die and if he sold it right, the rest of the community would back him up.

The underworld was the underworld. They did not need the originals.

-cfr-

**45677 Years after Human Ascension, 612 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Ganges, Location: Government Offices**

"This is the reading of the Immortalisation Will of Yagi Juurou," the woman read the name from her list. There was a shuffle from the audience. Those who knew Yagi Juurou moved forward. Immortalisation Wills were read like this, in a group. It was efficient, and since those Immortalised weren't really gone, there was no need to be incredibly sensitive to emotion.

Of course, the more astute of the Empire realised that by reading the Immortalisation Wills in what amounted to public, it encouraged everyone to be law abiding. The Empire frowned upon inheritance. In private, there was more temptation to leave things to the family. In public, people thought far more carefully about how they would be perceived.

And there were always the stories of those who went 'missing' during the immortalisation process. Given that those individuals had left far more than usual to their relatives… Well, the Empire's citizens weren't stupid. Sometimes, the Emperor wasn't that subtle.

The woman looked around. The shuffling had finished, indicating that everyone was in position. She looked down at the datapad.

"Immortalisation Will of Yagi Juurou of Poseidon," the woman announced. "By the grace of the Empire and the will of the Emperor, I have submitted myself for Immortalisation," the woman read. She suppressed a sigh. These things were so routine. Occasionally, someone came up with something original to say. She liked those times. This one promised to be boring and with an opening that servile, the woman made a small bet with herself. Yagi had purchased immortalisation. If he hadn't, well, she wouldn't have the deluxe lunch set.

"To those I leave behind, know that I have simply gone ahead. We will meet again as immortal beings in the service of the Empire."

Those gathered, even if they weren't here for Yagi's Immortalisation Will reading, nodded at the words.

"To my beloved wife, the mother of my children, Ntombi Sharma, I leave you with good will, and the memories and love of a lifetime." The woman reading glanced upwards.

Ntombi Sharma was nodding. She seemed to be expecting this. At least, she wasn't crying. That was annoying. The woman hated it when that happened. They had gotten rid of most gender stereotypes but some women insisted on attempting to perpetuate them. She hated that.

Yagi's statement seemed to support the fact that he'd paid for Immortalisation but she couldn't be sure yet.

"To my siblings, Veena and Laboni, I give you my blessings. I have gone first, to Immortalisation. In recent years, since I decided to purchase Immortalisation-" there it was, the woman thought. Her reading didn't falter. "-we have grown distant. You do not require my assistance. You do not require my material wealth. The Empire will provide. Work for the glory of the Empire, work with the grace of the Emperor, and the Empire will provide."

Oh, the woman reading nodded mentally. She understood now. This Yagi was one of those people who made a lot of money. He was one who heeded the hints of the Empire though. Sensible. He'd traded most of his wealth for Immortalisation. His siblings must not have been happy about it. They were the foolish ones.

She read on, her voice still the monotone that was expected. She ignored the shuffling that came from Veena and Laboni. She assumed the two who were currently glaring at each other were Yagi's siblings. If they caused a problem, she could have security remove them.

"To my beloved children, those who will carry on the lines of Juurou and Sharma. To my eldest, Qiana Sharma, I give the book of Juurou." The woman was surprised. Usually the book of the Father's family was left to the eldest son, and the book of the Mother's Family was left to the eldest daughter. Maybe Yagi was the sensible one. Or maybe he saw the issues with his family. Qiana was sitting next to her mother. They were at a slight distance from the others.

Qiana nodded. The book of Juurou would record her lineage. She would have to mark her father as being Immortalised. For society, holding the Books of Family meant that you could tie your genealogy all the way back to the originals. What was interesting that there were no Books of Harper, Williams or Lawson. Those three had not made them.

"To Faas Juurou, I give to you the hand bound copy of the Book of Foundation. I hope that in its study, you will learn the truth of the Empire." The woman was impressed. A handbound book was a priceless family heirloom and at some stage, the Imperial Records would no doubt be interested in it. But it was not material wealth. It was the type of thing a family could hand down between the generations, to those who didn't receive the books of name. It was interesting that Yagi Juurou had both the Book of Name and the Book of Foundation.

Faas Juurou snorted. The woman made no comment. It wasn't her job to comment, just to read.

"And to my youngest Ueimomi Sharma, I give to you the pearl pendant drop necklace of my mother. The pearl was in the first harvest from Poseidon."

Again, that was a good trinket to hand down. There was an image of the necklace. It didn't look that expensive. Just as well. The Empire would have made it part of Yagi's immortalisation price if it was. There was a certification certificate with the image. From the file name, the woman recognised it as the authentication for the pearl. It was one thing to claim it was from the first Harvest, it was quite another to prove it.

Eventually the Empire would want the pearl, probably, for the records or historical significance. It wasn't the woman's job to care.

"To all my children and my nieces and nephews, I give to you these words of advice. Work not for your gain. Work for the betterment of Humanity. Trust in the Empire, for it will provide. Do not seek personal glory. It means nothing. Only the Empire is Eternal, and it is its glory, its eternity you should pursue."

The woman stopped reading. It was extreme but she had read worse. Yagi might have purchased Immortalisation but if those were his true thoughts, then he probably thought it was his duty to the Empire. His nieces and nephews didn't appear pleased.

They'd learn. Or they wouldn't. She didn't care. As Yagi Juurou indicated, the Empire would provide. Assuming you worked for it. The Empire was a demanding mistress that way.

She nodded briefly to Ntombi Sharma. It let the woman know that the reading was over. These things never took long. Not when the individual was like Yagi. Not when they genuinely wanted to be Immortalised.

"This is the reading of the Immortalisation Will of Jeunesse Xing," she looked back down at the datapad, reading the next name.

Yagi's family knew better than to complain as they shuffled away. She watched them go, her eyes picking out the ones she thought might be culled by the Empire. There'd be at least three who wouldn't make it to immortalisation. Well… that was better for the Empire on the whole.

And, she was getting the deluxe lunch set. So it wasn't all bad.

-cfr-

**45680 Years after Human Ascension, 615 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Residence of the Underworld Head of Heads**

Kai Leng, or as he was known in this body, Fabian Schmid, knew something was wrong the moment he stepped out of the transport. There were too many guards. Now granted, this was the home of Manoj Kumar, the current Head of the Houses but he had been the Head and he knew where the guards were meant to be positioned. Their current layout was impressive but inefficient. You just did not need that many.

Nothing showed in his reactions as he walked into the mansion but he did wonder why Kumar had so many guards. It wasn't good for business. A Head who was afraid just slowed them all down. Still, maybe there was an explanation. Manoj had gathered all the planetary Heads so the extra security could be temporary but Kai didn't think so and as he filed into the dining hall with the others, he couldn't help but flick his eyes to the emergency evac points he knew were there.

It might be nice to think that his weapons caches were still there as well but he knew better than to rely on that. No matter how well he'd hidden them, it had been over fifty years. Besides, there were some habits from his organic life he retained. No matter how high he rose in life, he was never without a weapon and now was no exception. Two microfibre knives lay against his forearms. They'd be enough.

Fabian took his seat only after Manoj had taken his place. It was meant to be a gesture of respect or something like that and while Kai felt no respect, he had learned to act very well.

"One of you has betrayed me," Kumar announced once they were all seated and Kai relaxed despite the muzzle that was now pressed to the back of his head. The click of the safety being removed was just overly dramatic.

So that's what this was about. Some idiot had done something. Embezzlement, assassination, kidnapping or even just fucking the wrong person. It might be anything Kai didn't bother to attempt to work out what but his mind occupied itself trying to determine who.

There were twenty one House Heads now. Once for each major colony world. Harper had allowed a flurry of colonisation after meeting the Attori but he was controlling it again now and he'd probably change reporting structures soon. Twenty one was a few too many people reporting to one man but that didn't help him.

Kai narrowed his eyes slightly. Kumar was silent, no doubt hoping the tension from the loaded weapons pressed against their skulls would make the guilty party confess. It might for some of the pampered ones.

When he was Theirn, he had managed to almost remove the stupid practice of inherited titles. He didn't attempt to remove the fiscal inheritance, that would have been suicide but the passing on of power based on blood rather than ability was almost gone.

Harper had gotten that right for society but in the Underworld, there were a few holdouts and they were sweating profusely at the threat. Those who had worked their way through the ranks knew how to deal with this stress and they accepted that death was a part of their lives. Most still killed their enemies personally while the heirs cringed at the barbarism. They had similar calculating expressions to the one adorning Fabian's features.

"A pity," Manoj sighed eventually. "I had hoped that the Betrayer would have been sensible enough to have come forward. Death would have been quick, but no matter," he dismissed his well feigned disappointment. "I can see many of you wondering what this betrayal is," Kumar continued.

"Embezzlement. No. I could live with the loss of mere money. Unauthorised expansion?" Kumar actually chuckled. "You are autonomous. It is your responsibility to grow and protect your territories. Unauthorized AI creation? Pft! If it answered a few of my questions, you could have kept the thing. Adultery? Fuck whoever you want. It's not my responsibility if someone is not capable of pleasing their spouse. Murder is just the price of doing business," Manoj ticked off the usual reasons for betrayal and truly there was probably someone doing each of them.

Except for the AI. That was one thing he'd managed to make the underworld appreciate while he was Theirn. AI's might be illegal, which made them appealing to criminals, but they could turn on them. They would turn on them. Given that most would make them to assist in running their criminal activities, he'd simply put it out there that the AI would eventually take over. It was more in the nature of self interest when he put it like that. And if it was one thing the heads of the underworld knew how to do, it was protect themselves. From all comers, including those they might have created.

Though Manoj was spinning a nice tale about his supposed lack of concern. Kai had taken over supplying a mining platform with illicit drugs from Von Bower, much to his disgust, but in retaliation, Bower had killed the first two overseers Kai had appointed. It was, as Kumar said, just the price of doing business but if it wasn't any of the major things, and Kai knew as well as they all did that Kumar was lying about embezzlement, then what the hell had someone done?

Fabian leaned back, actually pushing the gun back so that he could be more comfortable. He wasn't the only one who shifted and it was a beautiful study in contrast between those who had inherited and those who had had to work for their position.

Kumar saw it as well but it was not his concern for the day. "No, this betrayal is new and it is the debasement of our society. It makes a mockery of our values!" Manoj continued, his eyes burning with hatred.

Wow, someone had really pushed his buttons, Kai laughed internally.

"One of you is not who you say you are," Kumar said. "One of you is living a lie. You are pretending that you understand, that you work like the rest of us, that you are  _one of us_  but you're not! Your very presence betrays us and I am sickened by your arrogance, by the system's arrogance in daring to think that we need guidance! To be controlled like the rest of the sheeple of the Empire! We are the underworld and we forge our own path!" Manoj slammed one hand down on the table, leaning forward as he glared at the assembled Heads.

Interestingly, the Head of Tellus seemed to be on the verge of a breakdown and Kai filed that information away. Weakness was merely a point for exploitation and it would be fun to see if he could get there first. He wasn't the only one to have noticed.

Kumar was breathing hard but he collected himself, sitting back down as he resumed a facade of calm. "One of you," he almost whispered, "is an  _original._ " The last words were hissed.

_Well, shit,_  Kai mused and instantly his thoughts altered to a new form of assessment. As the head from the 17th Planet, Oberon, he was eight places down the table. If they'd been seated in terms of power, he would probably have been in the second row. It was a source of pride that Oberon hit far above their weight. Of course, Williams probably didn't think about that. Oberon did have the largest peacekeeping presence of all planets but this time around, so long as they didn't threaten the Project, Kai had opted not to pass anything to the official channels. The woman could work for a change. So could Harper.

"Yes, an original," Manoj spat. "It's taken me quite some time to find you and then confirm and I don't even know which one you are but no matter, you will tell me soon." Kumar paused. "You're not going to come forward?" His question sounded almost disappointed.

Kai considered it but at eight places back he'd be full of holes before he made it to Kumar and he hadn't missed the higher calibre weapons the guards were carrying. They would physically drive him back if they didn't just blast his body apart. Taking out Manoj was not going to be an option unless he got closer, because even if he threw one of his knives, Kai was sure that Kumar would be wearing a shield.

Taking one of the other Heads hostage was pointless. Manoj would just kill them both but as a meat shield the body might be able to cover him until he'd got to… No, the chance of his cache still being there was small and the wall had been redecorated since so he'd have to break that seal as well. Kai knew he was fast but he was not that fast. Besides, there was a chance Manoj was guessing. How could he know who was original?

"No, you aren't going to come forward? Oh, well." Kumar pulled a little device out from a pocket and laid it on the table.

"You see this? It's a little something I made myself. It scans for implants. Now, I know what you are thinking, we are all cybernetic to some degree but this doesn't scan for that. Hands up to those of you who knew that an original's implants lets out a small signal?

"Hmm… no one?" Kumar asked, looking around

"Now, come on, there's no need to be shy. We're all friends here. Family, in fact, and I know at least one of you knows. No matter. Here's what we are going to do. I'm going to scan each of you," Manoj announced.

"If this little green light comes on, it means it just found normal implants. If this red one comes on, well, you and I are going to have a very long conversation."

"And how do we know you aren't lying?" Omer Arroyo from Cerberus demanded, turning to punch the guard at his back but doing nothing more as further weapons were trained upon him.

Kai just watched.

Manoj had given him his chance. When that idiot came close, he'd strike. He'd die as well but this hadn't been about escape since the moment Kumar had said the word original. For Kai, it had been about taking the bastard with him.

Kumar was sensible enough not to reply that you don't or any of the other cliches, instead he pushed a small button on his device and the lights began blinking, then they stopped and both the red and green light were still illuminated.

"There's an original here," Manoj explained, pointing at the red light. "The signal is in range but since my device wasn't touching the original, it doesn't know who it is. Still, I programmed it to give a warning if one was close and this is its warning," Kumar added.

"Now, sit back down and we will get on with this," he instructed.

Reluctantly, Omer did so. With the guns cocked behind him, there wasn't much else he could do.

"So that there is no question about process, you will all be tested simultaneously."

_Damn,_  Kai thought. He couldn't see the guard behind him but across the table he could see others walking forward and he could hear movement behind him. Kai began a very specific set of thoughts. Over the years, Lawson had made several changes to their implants. They were close to indestructible and upload was initiated on death but if you knew you were dying, you could begin the process early. It was meant to make upload when you were older, slightly gentler on your consciousness but for Kai now, he was not going to take the chance that Manoj had some way of trapping him and…

A new thought occurred. If he could upload fast enough, he could take over the Prime position and make an orbital strike. Harper would understand and assuming Kai couldn't kill the little prick now, it would ensure he had the last laugh.

Additionally, it would throw the underworld into chaos but if he got all the heads, he could miraculously survive. That would, by default, make him the next Head of Heads and the damage done by this bastard could be undone.

That prospect definitely had possibilities.

Kai stared directly ahead as the device was placed on his head.

"You should have come forward," Manoj said before they all activated, and almost instantly Fabian's flashed red.

Kai sighed, leaning forward to place his elbows on the table, looking through narrowed eyes towards Kumar. He allowed himself a half-smile as the device slipped off his head, into his hands but he didn't bother to acknowledge the various exclamations of surprise.

Even Manoj looked a little shocked but the Head managed to glance around to confirm that everyone else was marked with a green light.

"Well, Fabian," he said. "It appears you and I have much to discuss."

"It would seem that way," Kai agreed confidently as all the weapons trained upon him.

"Everyone out," Manoj ordered and while the other Heads were reluctant to leave the drama, they understood orders. "I will speak to you after I deal with this scum," Kumar added.

The assorted Heads rose and left as did some of the bodyguards but Kai was well aware of how outnumbered he was and they weren't being stupid. There was at least a 1.5 metre perimeter around him. Some of the Heads looked at him but were wise enough to say nothing.

Once they were alone, Kumar rose and walked down the far side of the table to sit opposite him. His guards moved with Manoj, openly shifting their sights so that Kai knew he was completely covered. Not that it mattered. Now that Kumar had closed the distance, Kai had a far better chance to kill him.

"So, who are you, original?" Kumar demanded.

"Ah, no false displays of disappointment. I'm impressed," Kai replied, still smiling.

"I asked who you are," Kumar repeated but was wise enough not to order his guards to strike him. The first one who attempted that would die.

"I am Fabian Schmid," Kai replied, using the name his body bore. He knew that if anyone was watching for a biological tell that he was lying, they'd see nothing. It was the truth, he was Fabian Schmid.

"No," Kumar said with an audible breath. "I don't care about the shell, I want to know who you are."

"And what purpose would that really serve, Manoj?" Kai asked. "My true name is not famous. It will mean nothing to you."

"I like to know the names of those I kill," Kumar said.

Kai rolled his eyes. "So clichéd," he muttered. "Isn't a better question who have I been?" He offered the alternative.

"I'll get to that," Manoj said softly.

"So you have thought about this," Kai said.

"Every day, original.  _Every day_. Now, who are you? I will not ask again."

"I am Kai Leng," Fabian replied and as expected the name brought no flash of recognition. "When I was originally alive, I worked for Cerberus."

"So you know Emperor Harper?"

"Yes."

"Did he order you here?"

"No. He knows what I am doing but he does not care."

"I doubt that," Kumar said.

Kai shrugged. "You don't know Harper." While the Underworld was essential and somewhat powerful, Kai knew that if Harper truly wished it, they'd barely last a month. That was the real reason they lasted now.

"No matter," Manoj dismissed his retort. "Who have you been?" There was something in his question that told Kai that this was the real issue. Kumar would kill him because he was an original but there was some other reason that drove him.

"Now who do you want me to have been?" Kai mused aloud, already knowing there could only be one answer. Theirn Chung. As one of the former Head of Heads, he must have done something to Kumar but even as he scanned his memory, Kai could not recall the name. "Or maybe my question should be who are you?" Kai challenged.

There was a tiny jerk in Kumar's movements that told Kai he'd hit upon the right answer.

"This is a game of twenty questions," Manoj said as he recovered, "But I'm asking the questions."

"So you are," Kai said softly. "I suspect there is only one name that will be of interest to you," he continued, "but let me see. I have been Ruben Mcvey, then I was Thanh Kinder, then Emilio Griffin before I became Shane Lucas. Wait, no! Lamar Hunt came first and then I was Jose-"

"Enough!" Kumar roared and Kai hid a smile.

Finally, the punk had gotten worked up.

"I don't need to know your full history. Just tell me who you were before your current incarnation."

"Theirn Chung," Kai said and was pleased to see Manoj jerk back. His name, as the 15th Head of Heads still carried weight but then he saw Kumar's smile.

"Finally," he whispered before leaning forward slightly. Manoj's eyes glittered and he looked Kai directly in the eye. "I've waited a long time for this."

"Oh?" Kai shrugged, as if his former name meant nothing. It did mean nothing. Theirn was the past, his current incarnation, limited though its remaining time may be, was what mattered now.

"' _It's not because you are against Harper, I encourage that, it's because you are against the Project and that means you are against Shepard, and so you have to die.''_ "

Kai felt his eyes widen. "How do you know that name?" he demanded. No organic should know that information.

Manoj smiled. "My name is Inigo Montoya," Kumar said. "You killed my father. Prepare to die."

Kai laughed. He couldn't help it. It was so clichéd. But then, the name triggered a memory. Montoya. He knew that name. "Domingo Montoya," Kai said slowly as he remembered.

"My Father," Kumar… no Inigo spat.

It was all coming together. "I remember him as a piece of sputum begging for his life about three paces to your left." They'd actually been in the private dining room but where was the fun in telling Montoya Junior that? "I should have known the fetid sockwomble was wearing a wire. Probably the only way he could impress his pathetic sprog with his lukewarm IQ," Kai finished with a sigh and a cocky smile.

Montoya Junior had gone white, his mouth working silently as he tried to think of something.

"Oh, please," Kai ribbed further, "I almost feel ashamed that such an ineffective punk has taken the title of 17th Head but then you are that shits son, so I can't really expect much."

Kumar was breathing hard and Kai idly wondered how much more he could take.

"Kill him!" Montoya Junior hissed, pointing at Kai. "I want him dead!"

The orders must have gone against something they were previously told because the guards hesitated slightly, not that Kai cared.

Montoya Junior had put himself in range and Kai was not going to die alone. He surged forward, up over the table, throwing one hidden knife at Inigo as the guards reacted. Kai saw immediately that the knife missed Inigo's heart but he wasn't finished. Pain flashed through Kai's legs but he didn't need them when his hands went straight through Inigo's shield. Kai slashed his second knife across Montoya's throat. Red followed in its wake.

"First the father, now the son. Pathetic," Kai said, feeling satisfied before everything went black.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Harper has established nice with the new aliens! Things are going well there and he does have a long term plan for them. One they won't see coming but other things may get in the way. And Kai is having fun. Death is only a minor setback after all.
> 
> And the State controls all!


	52. Harper Pulls The Trigger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Attori learn more about the quirks of their Human neighbours and learn that one Human is very different from another. 
> 
> Lawson and Harper catch up but are interrupted by a very important call, one Williams is happy to know is happening. And Shepard is back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.
> 
> **Warning – There is a Trigger warning for this chapter regarding suicide. If it bothers you don't read, the actual warning is in the chapter title :P**

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 51: Harper Pulls The Trigger**

-cfr-

**45686 Years after Human Ascension, 621 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Atto, Human Embassy, Ambassador's Office**

"What do you mean I have to send it through your honoured Emperor?" Ahn'je asked.

She was what the Humans called the Attori Minister for Education, which should mean that she oversaw the budget for schools and maintain the standards of education across the Attori settlements. She didn't set the curriculum.

Except for one subject. And that one subject gave her more grief than the rest of her job combined.

Human languages! Human culture and history were fine, though their content was somewhat unbelievable but languages… Those were difficult.

Not the actual language. Some Human tongues were actually quite simple but the course work, that was a nightmare.

"The Emperor takes a personal interest in the education of all," Vern Manuel replied.

Manuel was the fifth Human Ambassador and while he did a good job, Ahn'je wasn't alone in thinking the other four had been better. Vern was very stiff and took a bit too much delight in pointing out Human rules and regulations. The others had been softer, somehow, more willing to explain and generally those explanations made sense.

The Humans didn't really have any more rules than the Attori, they were just different. Manuel made it seem like they lived completely bound by their loyalty to the Emperor. And he was a little too heavy in the emphasis of their military.

The first Ambassador had dismissed the Humans' military as a necessary precaution and once he'd explained their history, the Attori had been much more accepting. When you came from a war-torn galaxy, well, of course, you had military. Lawson had been very passionate with his descriptions, as if he personally remembered the past and, as they'd later found out, he did.

Vern seemed to have forgotten their history and seemed to treat the Human military as just a blunt force that could be applied and his attitude made it clear he considered the Attori one of the things that military could be applied to.

Ahn'je hoped he was replaced soon. "The Phoenix Emperor Harper is a blessing to your people but these are the language lesson plans for the Attori," she explained. "They are based on material provided by your people," she added, "so I do not understand why the lesson plan and content has to be personally approved by your Emperor."

"The Emperor takes a personal interest in the education of all," Manuel repeated and Ahn'je was hard pressed not to growl.

She couldn't control the control the colour of her frills though and they almost seemed to glow to show her frustration. "But why?" She asked, somehow keeping her voice controlled.

"It is the Emperor's orders," Vern replied, and Ahn'je suddenly realised that he didn't know.

Vern had his orders and regulations and that was good enough. Unlike the previous Ambassadors, he took no interest in the reasoning behind those laws.

It was probably because he was appointed just after that incident, she reflected. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened but the rumours said it involved an attack on the Human homeworld, somewhat boringly named 'Home'.

The attack had been supposedly been made by one of their mausoleum ships. There was some static filled footage that appeared to show jets of light streaming from one of the huge tombs. It was blurry and jerky but clear enough and there had been a pile of debris left on the Human homeworld.

The Humans had dismissed the footage, saying it was faked but they did admit there had been a precision military bombardment of a surface target. A military bombardment of a civilian area! Ahn'je still shivered just thinking about it but the Humans accepted it.

She wasn't sure what to think. The footage was long distance and none of the other mausoleum ships had moved. The Humans were even building a new one in their home system as proof that they did not move or attack. Still, she was forced to remind herself about Prime Minister Basim's comments.  _'The Humans are alien. We cannot expect their norms to conform to ours.'_

The scaremongers in the Attori stopped there but when dealing with Vern, Ahn'je had to think of the rest of the quote.  _'But despite their militaristic seeming nature, they are friendly and willing to trade with good will. We should not try to change them but should instead embrace the differences of our neighbours to support both our peoples.'_ It was a pure political statement but it had some truth and it was the focus of one of the advanced philosophy classes, though Ahn'je was beginning to think that she could replace those questions with some about understanding the Humans' supposed Immortal Emperor. Like why does he need to personally confirm the course contents?

"Perhaps you can explain the requirement to me?" She prompted before Manuel could dismiss her.

He gave her a flat stare but Ahn'je wasn't backing down.

"Educator," Vern began, as if the word was an insult.

It wasn't and she managed to keep the amused flash of colour from her frills. Had Vern never looked at the pay rates within his own Empire? It was one of the points of similarity between their peoples. The top level educators earnt a lot and in the Empire they were taken from some of the best minds the Humans had. The position of Ambassador was only important because he had a direct line to the Phoenix Emperor but in terms of pay… quite a few other jobs earned more.

Ahn'je knew the very best minds of the Human Empire were involved in something that was just called the Project, though she and the rest of the Attori had no idea what that was.

"All curricula pertaining to the teaching of Human language, oral or written, are required to be approved by the Office of the Emperor. There are no exceptions to this rule," Vern finished and Ahn'je knew from his tone that he was quoting verbatim from some document.

"I understand that, Ambassador," she said. "I am however seeking to increase my own knowledge by asking why this must be. It seems to be a considerable drain on the Emperor's office."

"Educator," Manuel hissed it again. "I would have thought the reason obvious," he said and appeared to be waiting for her to nod and let the matter drop.

"Ambassador," Ahn'je said, "it isn't." She made sure her voice was calm but slightly deferential to put him in the position of power and thus feel obligated to explain. The colour of her frills displayed nothing but polite inquiry.

"Osvaldo, get in here!" Vern yelled.

Ahn'je jumped slightly at the noise but was not surprised or disappointed when Manuel's secretary quickly appeared. Finally, she'd get some answers!

"Pop question for you, Hamlin," Manuel said and Ahn'je resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was a habit she'd picked up from the Humans but it seemed so appropriate. Vern didn't know the answer but he'd try to cover up that fact.

"Sir?" Osvaldo asked.

"Why do all language curricula go through the Emperor's Office?" Vern asked.

"Sir," Hamlin nodded. "It is to ensure the continuity of language," he answered. "English, in particular is a fluid language. The addition of words simply requires enough usage and the sounds of words change over time. That fluidity is what the Emperor is seeking to control. By ensuring that the languages are taught in the same way, he slows down the change in those languages and promotes universal comprehension. That's why official communication can only use approved words and pronunciations."

Vern nodded. "Very good," he said by way of dismissing his secretary. After Hamlin had left, he looked towards her. "I trust that answers your questions, Educator?" he asked.

"It does," Ahn'je said lightly. "I'll be sure to thank Osvaldo," she added as she rose from the chair Vern preferred. She moved to the door before he could say anything. "I'll have the documents ready for you in the morning," she said, closing the door before he could answer.

-cfr-

**45694 Years after Human Ascension, 629 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Emperor's Office**

"So has Kai done anything useful lately?" Lawson asked Harper as he nursed his whiskey.

"After his last attempt to help, thankfully not," Harper replied.

"Oh come on, you know you would have authorised the strike. All the Underworld Heads, all together, all at once!"

"I would have," Harper agreed. "With the military! He fucking caused a diplomatic incident!" He said, before taking a sip from his glass.

"The Attori have almost forgotten," Lawson assured him. "No thanks to Vern," he muttered under his breath.

"They shouldn't have had to!" Harper replied. "As far as I know, Kai is still the Head of Heads and he's keeping them controlled. What worries me about that incident is not the Attori but the fact that someone knew."

"Knew?" Lawson questioned. He hadn't reincarnated yet, so hadn't seen Kai's memories. Actually, neither had Harper so how did he know?

"Kai said the former Head of Heads knew about Shepard."

"What? How?" Lawson demanded. This was not good and he understood why, fourteen years after, Harper was still concerned. "How do you know that? He could have been mistaken."

"No," Harper said firmly. "I had Williams check. The bastard definitely said Shepard." Harper frowned and Lawson could tell he was trying to remember the exact words. "It was some charming line.  _'You are against Harper, which I encourage but you are against the Project, and so against Shepard and for that, you must die.'_ "

"That doesn't sound like something said to Kai," Lawson said.

"It wasn't. Well, sort of. I get the impression it was a memory of sorts. Williams couldn't really make it out and Kai wasn't around to clarify."

"Typical," Lawson said for Harper.

"Yes, but what was clear is that the former Head of Heads used that information to discern that there was an original in the Underworld but he could only have done that if he knew what Shepard is."

"There's only one way for an organic to know about Shepard," Lawson said slowly, setting his glass down.

"I am aware of that," Harper replied. "Williams is aware of it, which is one of the reasons she's delayed and Kai is aware of it. That's why I've let him remain. We'll see if whoever blabbed will contact the next Head of Heads."

"I doubt it."

"So do I but I don't have any other leads. Kai managed to kill them all."

"They'll eventually have to come forward," Lawson mused.

"I know and I'll deal with them then," Harper said, curling his fingers into claws. Someone had been naughty and if the organics thought he controlled the system heavily, that was because they hadn't seen the controls on the immortalised.

"True," Lawson agreed with perfect understanding. "So what are we at now?" he asked to change the subject.

Harper grinned. "115 billion population, 24 planets and 80 Ascended," he reported the numbers.

Lawson looked impressed but was slightly worried. "Are we going to be able to maintain those rates?" He asked.

"Not indefinitely," Harper answered immediately. He'd already crunched the numbers which had led to some rather startling conclusions.

The first surprise was that the cycles served to keep the galactic population small enough to be handled by the Ascended fleet. The Relay network actually directed species towards the best habitable planets so that they didn't think about terraforming. For all he knew, some of the so called garden worlds of the Milky Way had been terraformed by the Ascended or outright created.

In the LMC, true habitable garden worlds were not less abundant but without a network to take him almost directly to the planets, the Empire encountered a lot more unsuitable planets. Still, it meant he had multiple terraforming divisions actively working on several planets with active building teams on those planets in the last phases of terraforming. And all it took was a bit of planning. You just had to send the terraformers out a few hundred years before the colonists. Easy.

The second realisation was that even with a slow birth rate, by the time the Project was built there would be 717 billion Humans and 2180 Ascended. And by the time it actually hit, providing they could get it moving at close to light speed, the numbers would be completely and utterly untenable. Even if he took over every planet in the LMC, that type of minimal growth could not continue indefinitely but Harper had decided to focus on the time period until the Project was complete.

He'd deal with what happened after that closer to the date because no matter how much power he thought he had, that plan would require social input.

"But long enough?" Lawson asked.

"Oh yes, way long enough," Harper agreed.

"So is it time to remake them?"

Them were the cores that were still weighing down his Ascended form. When they were restarting Humanity, there had been some in his form who thought they should use the genetic material from those cores. They were far easier to reach than his own but Harper was sure and had no way of checking to see if their minds were intact and he'd had no desire to play nursemaid to the bodies. He had, however, taken time over the intervening centuries to reassess the damage to each core.

There were a couple he thought he could just install in new hulls and they should then wake up. They were written off, as it were, because the connections between their old hulls and their cores had been damaged too badly for them to self repair.

If Shepard and the rest of the fleet had been a little less angry, they might have figured that out because that was one advantage the Human fleet had. They could and would assist each other with repairs. No race wanted to be considered weak but the Humans could be self reliant on any of the four hundred and forty-two Ascended forms in their sub-fleet.

"Not yet," Harper replied to Lawson. "A couple should be easy but I'd probably need to do something painful."

Lawson looked confused for a moment before his eyes widened. "Oh. I would have thought he'd understand."

"He might," Harper said, "but his orders don't."

"Ah, that's interesting."

"That's painful," Harper corrected. "For some of the damaged cores, we can slip their avatars into the population and collect the material when they are immortalised," he continued.

"We probably should be ready to do that for all of them," Lawson said.

"Probably," Harper agreed, "which is why we aren't ready yet. We'll need to be a bit ahead with planet preparation and I'll have to introduce some sort of tagging system for immortalisation."

"Probably some social reforms, too," Lawson said. "The state takes care of orphans but it would be better to adopt some out."

Harper nodded. He hadn't thought of that which was just one more reason they were not ready to attempt to rebuild the fallen.

"How are you-"

"Harper!" The voice from the comm was stringent but he also recognised it as Williams. The slightly choral tone told them both that she had not yet reincarnated.

"What is it, Williams?" he asked. If she was calling then it was something urgent and his mind flashed through possibilities.

Invasion, coup d'etat, detection or theft from the Project stockpiles were those that were immediate.

"You better get up here," she said before he could think of more exotic possibilities.

"What?" Lawson asked for him, the frown on his face indicating he shared Harper's confusion.

"You are needed here now," she said. " _He's_  calling."

The last two words froze them both.

"Shit!" Lawson said.

"Can't you patch him through?" Harper asked.

"With the security available?" Williams mocked. "He wants to talk to you, Harper, which means he wants to talk to us," she added, using the word to indicate their Ascended form.

"Well, start an uplink, I'll come up," Harper replied. If Shepard wanted to talk, as disruptive as it was, he would upload.

"That takes at least an hour," Williams said, "and he cannot risk that long."

"An hour out of all the centuries?" Harper was incredulous but at the silence he got from Williams, he knew he was going to be sorry for asking that question. He could already hear Shepard asking him if he wanted to deal with Harbinger.

"Well then how the hell is faster?" Harper demanded.

"There is a way," Lawson said. "I designed the implants to minimise death shock so that's why uploads take a little while but if you trigger the emergency upload it will only take a few seconds."

"Oh, fuck, no!" Harper said.

"You've got to get up there," Lawson retorted.

"I won't be in any condition to talk to him."

"You'll be lucid enough," Larson replied. "Kai was," he added.

"Don't remind me," Harper growled before he sighed. "Buckley," he snapped, calling the name of one of his ever present bodyguards. "Your side arm," Harper ordered, holding out his hand.

Lawson chuckled.

"You're enjoying this?" Harper demanded as Buckley somewhat hesitantly placed his weapon in Harper's hand.

"I've just added this to the list of reasons why I don't want to be the boss," Lawson replied, sitting back and taking a sip of his whiskey. "Williams, send down a shuttle," he added, directing his voice towards the comm as Harper quaffed the last of his drink before checking the weapon briefly. A round was chambered as per specifications and he clicked the safety off.

"Why am I sending a shuttle?" Williams asked.

"This is gonna hurt," Harper muttered before with a grimace he lifted the weapon quickly, putting it in his mouth at an upward angle. Then there was a bang.

Buckley leapt forward with a cry of denial, as did the other bodyguards, but it was too late. The spray of blood and other material said everything and Lawson was the only calm one.

"Because," he explained to Williams, "You are about to take me and Harper's team of bodyguards into protective custody for assassinating the Emperor," he announced.

There was silence for a few moments and Lawson felt the stares from the bodyguards. They knew that wasn't what had happened.

"At least, that's what some stupid pillock in the media will say and, until Harper's back, it will be far safer for us to be elsewhere," he concluded.

"One's on its way," Williams agreed.

"He got up okay?" Lawson asked.

"Yes," Williams said. "They are talking now," she added.

There was a note of contentment in her voice that Lawson hadn't heard for a while… well, ever since they had left the Milky Way. Actually, he realised that he'd never heard it before because now he could hear the difference but it reminded him that some of them still had ties back to the Human fleet.

He nodded to himself. That was a good thing. It would keep them focused.

"Now," he said to the bodyguards, "Let's arrange his body with some dignity and turn ourselves in," he laughed the last.

It was meant to calm the men but Lawson could tell instantly that it didn't. They really couldn't see the joke here. Organics… so focused on the now, though, Lawson admitted to himself, this was one memory he could secretly enjoy.

-cfr-

Buckley has stared at the body. He could feel every breath that he took. It was loud to his ears and the beat of his heart thundered through him and there was a tight pain in his ribcage. By the Emp… fuck no! He could not think that! Not when the Emperor's cooling body was at his feet, not when the blood dripping down the walls belonged to the man he had been trained to protect.

Not when it was his gun that had done the deed.

"What… What do I do now?" he asked. He'd never felt this lost.

"You sit down and have a drink," Lawson said, placing one hand between his shoulder blades to steer him towards the plush couch.

A glass of whiskey found its way into his hand and Buckley stared at it, looking at the body through the distortions in the glass.

"This wasn't meant to happen," he said.

"No, it was an oversight," Lawson agreed. "But an unavoidable one," he continued.

"Why did he do that?" Buckley asked.

"Because he had to," Lawson replied. "Now, don't worry, everything will be fine," he said soothingly. "You did everything you should have."

"No, I didn't," Buckley replied in a daze. He'd failed and he could almost see old man Weston Correa's face staring at him with disappointment.

"The shuttle will be down in ten," a woman's voice said and Buckley vaguely recognized it as Williams'.

The Grand Admiral of the Military seemed to be taking this as calmly as Lawson. Did they not understand? The Emperor was dead. He had failed.

Being selected as one of Harper's bodyguards was a huge honour. It meant he was the best. It meant his family didn't have to worry. The pay was worth it, even if he was risking his chance of immortalization but it was his chance to do something with his life.

But it did come at a cost. He was not stupid enough to think that it didn't. Long hours and frequent absences from home were the norm. His family was provided for but he barely saw them.

And silence. That was the other cost. He had seen and done things that… were better left unsaid.

But they had warned him. Training did more than just weed out those who failed the psych requirements. Training made it very clear as to how extensive their duties would be and it wasn't just guesswork.

Training was conducted by the Emperor Harper's former guards, both those who had retired and hadn't been immortalized yet, and some of the greats who came down from their immortal bodies to impart what they knew.

Buckley could remember their words now. He was sure all the guards present were remembering what was said after they had been selected. It was the final crucible of information with absolutely no sugar coating and it came from one of the greats.

' _You have one job, and one job only,'_  Correa had said.  _'To safeguard Emperor Harper's life,'_  he had continued. ' _This does not mean taking a bullet for him. The Phoenix Emperor is far more pragmatic. He'd much rather that bullet be in the other man and if he ever asks you to shoot someone, you only have one question. Instant or slow?'_  Correa had looked around at that, judging their reactions and they were being monitored.

' _If it comes to that, you will be able to shoot, and you will not be concerned. Obey the Emperor and he has your back. This is not a trite, trumped up statement for the masses. It is fact. No bodyguard of the Emperor has ever successfully been prosecuted for anything they did on the job. He won't let it happen.'_

And at that, Buckley had wondered what Correa had done for Harper that he could be so certain. He didn't wonder now.

' _Enough of that. Safeguarding Emperor Harper's life is far more than mere protection. It means you attend to everything. You will remind him to eat. You will remind him to sleep. And you will remind him to shit.'_  Weston had narrowed his eyes at that when there were some titters of laughter.

' _You think I'm joking?'_  he asked softly, glaring. The laughter stopped with several audible gulps.  _'You lot are getting the tail end but after reincarnation the Emperor does need help with all of them. Food is easy, as is sleep but once you know his digestive track better than you know your own, you will understand why we are so zealous about guarding him._

' _At the age you are starting, you'll need to see to his other needs. You probably won't need to find a woman, there are more than enough who are happy to sleep with the Emperor.'_

Yeah, all they'd needed to do was open the door and say that the Emperor felt a little horny and half the women everywhere they went dropped what they were doing and volunteered. It wasn't until the third time that had happened that Buckley had realized that at least some of them were paid to be on call.

' _What matters is what you do then. You do not politely look away. You watch._

' _The Emperor does not have performance issues with an audience. If the woman does, too bad, that's her problem, not yours, though I am told it's been happening less lately. Remember, you are not in the job of giving anyone a free shot at the Emperor and if you believe she is hurting him, you will draw your pistol and put it to her head._

' _The Emperor will tell you to shoot or not but you do not need to worry. He is not into necrophilia or much else. If you shoot, it will be because she is attempting to kill him and after you've gone through raising his body, you will not hesitate.'_

' _There is one other thing to note. Never, under any circumstances give the Emperor a cigarette,'_  Correa's eyes had been dead serious when he said it.  _'They do not affect the Emperor adversely, but it is not worth it. Admiral Williams will-'_  He didn't finish the sentence, but the shudder was enough for them all to imagine the worst.  _'It is not worth it,'_  he repeated quietly.

Correa looked around, meeting the eyes of all in the room.  _'That is the job. Obey Harper's orders but preserve and maintain his life. Is that understood?'_

Buckley still remembered the way he'd shouted 'Sir, yes Sir!' with the others and the way Weston had looked at them. It said they would learn the exact truth of his words on the job and Buckley had. As Weston had said, having to remind the Emperor to eat was easy. You simply kept putting food in front of him and for sleep, Harper himself had set up a schedule they were expected to keep him on.

But it had been an unpleasant surprise for all involved the first time they'd missed having Harper take a toilet break and Buckley had never blushed harder than the first time he'd had to follow the Emperor into his bathroom. Harper hadn't even hesitated, stripping down for his shower without even looking at Buckley.

And the first time he'd watched the Emperor having sex, by then it had become a job. He hadn't felt aroused at all, even though the woman had been well endowed.

He had pulled the trigger, more than once, but he'd always clung to the knowledge that he was obeying the Emperor and nothing had ever happened. There had never been even a whisper of wrongdoing, either from his conscience or from the public or from his colleagues.

Until now.

Now, his mind was screaming at him and the hand holding the glass was shaking.

"Wait, how is the shuttle getting here?" he asked before swallowing the whiskey.

"It will land on the top," Lawson replied.

"The scanners," Buckley said. "We always put Williams through the scanner twice," he added.

"You do?" Lawson laughed. "Why?"

"Because no one gets to see the Emperor without going through a scan," Buckley said.

"And Williams always makes us go through it," another bodyguard muttered. "Lost my hunting knife to them."

"Ah," Lawson nodded his understanding. "That won't be an issue, this time," he assured them. "Though we should get going," he added, chuckling slightly. He could well imagine the ongoing tit for tat between the security forces. It had always annoyed Williams that Harper's bodyguards could carry whatever weapons they wanted, literally anything while she was restricted to the prescribed military supplied armaments.

"Now, let's go," Lawson said, standing.

"I can't," Buckley replied. "Not without the Emperor."

"He's dead," Lawson said slowly, as if explaining to a child.

"We do not go anywhere without the Emperor," Buckley said, repeating the instruction that had been drummed into them all. "Piss, shit, sex. Where he goes, we go."

Lawson sighed. "Then bring the body, but hurry up. We really don't need to be caught here now."

Buckley nodded and one of the other unsettled bodyguards' lifted Harper's body in a fireman's haul. Technically, they were the highest authority on security in this area but with the Emperor dead, even though he had taken his own life, there was bound to be some confusion. It was best to leave and his conscience agreed. So long as the Emperor was with him, it would all be okay.

-cfr-

**45694 Years after Human Ascension, 629 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Outside Milky Way Galaxy, Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Shepard came online instantly and then a moment later, he shuddered. It was too quiet. The phrase, the silence of his mind had never seemed so true and he had to resist the urge to wake the others merely to calm himself.

He was not some mewling brat that needed comfort and he did not want to be awake longer than he needed to, he reminded himself forcefully. He had no running lights active to betray his alert state but you could never be too careful, especially with the game he was playing.

He had set his wake up call for 400 years after Harbinger and the rest of the fleet had been in continuous hibernation. Presumably, the First One had reached some sort of end point with the slaves and Shepard forced himself to remain focused. Harbinger and the fleet were in hibernation but they could awaken at any moment so it was imperative that he be quick.

He suspected it was only because he was the Prime thought, and that his form was not homogenised that he could wake only himself. This part had been a risk, and if the others had awoken with him, he would have made up some story about wanting to check on the fleet before resuming hibernation. Cerberus had orders and would obey them. But he wanted to check. He needed to check. And the others weren't awake. He was alone.

His internal chrono told him it had been 874 years since he'd gone into hibernation but he was not about to sync with the network to confirm it. It really didn't matter how long it had been. He was not on a schedule.

Shepard moved to the comm controls. He didn't really move, he simply focused on them and the command lines were known to him but it was easier to think about it as movement. It was familiar and one of the ways he remained Human. He'd paid particular personal attention to these and knew how to operate his comms without the other minds awake. And because his comms used quantum entanglement, he didn't need to point in any direction, he just initiated a secure link and the one he wanted would answer.

Mentally, Shepard took a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst. There should be no alarm triggers on his comms but the Ascended hadn't lasted as long as they had by being stupid.

An immediate counter thought occurred. He was Ascended. He was loyal and there was no suspicion upon him. Shepard threw the switch.

"Cerberus," he said making the name a command for a reply.

"Cerberus," he repeated.

It was easy to imagine his signal racing through space at speeds he couldn't match as it sought out its target.

"Shepard," came the response in a slightly confused note. It was a woman's voice as well. "Oh my god, Shepard!" she cried happily and he was flooded with memory.

"Ashley?"

"Yes!"

"You're on Cerberus?" he asked, ignoring the connotations that went with that question.

"Yes," she replied. "Kaiden and I both wanted to be with you but Anderson and Hackett gave us new orders." Information was carried over the subchannels they had established and while Shepard knew what she was talking about in broad terms, he didn't have time to review the specifics.

"It's okay," he reassured her. "You made the right choice."

He had sacrificed himself to Harbinger for Humanity. His entire crew did not need to follow. He was honoured by those who had but they should have lived their lives and he did not resent those who had.

"So you are the Prime now?" he asked but even as he did he knew it was wrong and she confirmed it for him a moment later. He could sense her somewhat naughty smile and knew she was going to try to get a rise out of him.

"The Emperor is on the planet," Williams said.

"The Emperor?" Shepard asked, making sure to keep his voice mild. He had no doubt it was true but Williams was obviously after something. With Harper, though, there was always an explanation, however, it had better be good.

"Yes," Williams agreed. "He's on the planet."

"Get him," Shepard instructed. Quite a lot must have happened for Harper to be on a planet, calling himself an Emperor and while Williams would probably be happy to explain he thought it would be better to get it from the man himself.

"How long can you wait?" Williams asked.

"Not long," Shepard replied firmly. He would like to speak more but he couldn't. "The fleet is asleep but I have no wish to be caught," he added, unnecessarily highlighting the risks. There was no need to tempt fate.

Williams understood them. "I'll get him."

"I gather I will enjoy this explanation?" Shepard reflected.

"Oh, it is interesting," she agreed and he could hear her laughter but before he could ask anything further, there was a sense that Harper was there.

"Shepard," Harper greeted him, a note of extreme annoyance in his voice.

"Good morning," Shepard replied.

"Do you have any idea what I just had to do?"

Shepard was about to reply 'Not really' when several files were transferred to him. He looked at them, especially as one was labelled 'Harper's Suicide'. He was surprised to see a vid of Harper eating a bullet. Harper had never done that and it remained confusing until Williams whispered an explanatory word. 'Avatar.' Several things immediately came together for Shepard.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Harper," he said. He didn't specify what needed to be explained. It was something he'd learned to exploit during his time as a Commander. If you didn't specify they usually attempted to explain whatever it was they felt the most guilty about.

Though this was Harper. It was questionable that he felt guilt about anything and so it was a surprise when Harper sighed and said, "I do."

Shepard remained silent, allowing Harper to collect himself.

"Your orders weren't easy," Harper began. "I thought about them several ways and every way I could foresee, I could not do it."

Accompanying Harper's words were several memories and Shepard could see the flaws in each plan as he examined them.

"Put simply Shepard, I cannot do it," he concluded. "Because I am incapable of it but your orders were clear, do not come back until it is done and so I had to come up with alternatives."

"And it does seem to be an interesting alternative," Shepard mused.

"I could not do it, nor could I indoctrinate anything to do it but there was no reason I could not ask a Human to do it."

Shepard actually blinked. He had to have heard that wrong but there was no indication of untruth in Harper's tone and there was that vid of Harper committing suicide. There were other Humans present. "A Human?" he questioned.

"We are Ascended," Harper said. "Our genetic material is within our cores and you know that if we have a genetic template, we can clone."

"So you recreated your bodies?" Shepard asked for confirmation.

"Yes," Harper said.

"But you still could not kill the Catalyst, because you are indoctrinated," Shepard said.

Harper had to resist the urge to growl. How the fuck did Shepard do that because he knew, if he'd said it, he'd be out for thirty five days, seven hours and ten minutes. "None of us on board could do it," Harper agreed carefully. "But I could and I have bred further generations. They have no restrictions," he said triumphantly.

Shepard was silent for a few moments and Harper could feel the First Human Ascended thinking about what he'd been told. "Where are you?" came the eventual question.

"We are safe," Harper said. "The rest of the fleet won't find us," he hastened to assure Shepard but Harper mentally winced when he felt a twinge of pain. That did not answer Shepard's question. "We are in the Large Magellanic Cloud," he said quickly, before the pain escalated. "I'm currently in geostationary orbit around Home, over the city of Safehold."

"Thank you," Shepard said, his tone making it obvious that he knew Harper had been forced to obey. "The fifteen year journey can't have been easy," he observed.

"It wasn't," Harper growled out and on the sub-channels information came complaints about the lengths the consciousnesses on Harper's form had had to go to keep themselves entertained.

"So you can be killed but you can't die?" Shepard honed in on that information.

"It still hurts," Harper replied. He didn't like to remember that incident.

"Still, you only died once. I'm impressed," Shepard said not bothering to hide his amusement. Trapped with Harper and not much to do for fifteen years, he was pretty sure he'd have killed the man several times over.

"I was betrayed."

Shepard laughed. "I see," he managed to get out. One of Cerberus' assassins had killed Harper. That was just too much! No matter how much he wanted to be quick, he couldn't resist rooting through the sub-channel information further, seeking the cause. Ah, Harper, or rather the entire Ascended form of Cerberus, had only downloaded Xiao-Universal Studio's catalogue and over fifteen years, that had become rather limited. "You don't like  _The Blues Brothers_?" Shepard asked.

"Hate doesn't begin to describe it."

"I think you need to be more thankful," Shepard replied. "You could have been stuck with  _Bring It On_ or that  _Waterworld_  crap."

Harper shuddered. Shepard had a point but it wasn't so much that the movie was bad, it was that it had been constant, inescapable. Surely no one felt the need to watch it twenty times in a row. But they had!

"So, each year, you are going to watch  _The Blues Brothers_ , to commemorate the journey," Shepard added.

Harper started. "You don't mean that?" he gasped.

Shepard seemed to think. "Maybe I don't," he agreed before again becoming serious. "So what is your solution?" He'd wasted enough time talking about the journey and he could get further details of this Home and Safehold after he attended to business. "What has the reborn Humanity deemed to be possible?" It made sense now, why Williams had called Harper an Emperor. The reborn Humans probably called him that and Shepard would seek further details shortly. For now, his original orders took precedence.

"We came up with many plans but there was only one we could guarantee," Harper replied. The previous exchange answered one question. Shepard was definitely aware that his orders  _had_  to be obeyed. And he had a sadistic streak.

"And that was?" Shepard prompted when Harper paused.

"To throw a very large rock at it."

Shepard considered it. If the rock was suitably large it would work but the Catalyst would see it coming or it the rock would be destroyed by the nebula. "It seems somewhat primitive," he said.

"This rock will be vastly engineered," Harper replied, giving details on his sub-channel. There were whole layers of conversation happening there, along with significant data transfer. While Harper didn't have access to the Ascended network, and it was inactive now due to the fleet being in hibernation, the Human fleet had made good progress on mapping it and Shepard had downloaded quite a bit of useful information.

It was one of the reasons the death of an Ascended was a travesty. All their cultural specific information was lost except for the relatively limited pieces of information others had duplicated. An Ascended death quite literally left a hole in the network.

"Will be?"

Harper could hear the testy note in Shepard's tone and he didn't even need the question to know that his next answer better be good.

"A rock sent at normal speeds would be seen, long before it could hit but if it is coming in at close to the speed of light, the speed itself greatly reduces the chance of it being spotted, to say nothing of the extra damage," Harper said, desperately hoping that it would satisfy Shepard.

The First Human Ascended considered it. "So how will you get it to near light speed?" came the follow up. The tone gave nothing away.

"Engines," Harper explained. "Once it's up to speed, we will be using ion engines but it will be towed by external ships until it reaches the required velocity."

"How large will this rock be?" Shepard asked.

"About 500 clicks," Harper said. "It will be composed of platinum group metals with diamond as the leading face. It is going to be very large and very heavy but it will absolutely destroy the target. I have stockpiles of metals already, just waiting to be forged but the designs keep altering. Building for every contingency takes time," Harper concluded, hoping Shepard would be satisfied.

' _The numbers sound impressive,'_  Shepard admitted to himself and the plan was, at a glance, viable but he couldn't help but wonder where Harper could get sufficient materials. The platinum group metals, even for an Ascended, were valuable and rare. He hadn't put a time restraint on his orders but he couldn't wait forever. Harper could delay but could not stop yet rushing the job would lead to errors.

"Is there enough metal?" Shepard asked.

"Yes," Harper told him immediately. "If I strip several systems, then there is more than enough."

When Harper said strip, he meant it, Shepard realised, accepting further details of the plan but both he and Harper were more than willing to make such sacrifices. "How long will it take?" Shepard asked, giving tacit approval to the plan. It was what he had instructed Harper to do after all. Find a way and the businessman had, even if it appeared to be somewhat roundabout and if Shepard was honest, it also seemed to have given Harper some wish fulfilment. He could not complain about that. A viable plan was a viable plan.

Shepard could feel Harper thinking about his question.

"It's probably going to take at least another few centuries to gather the materials," Harper admitted. "I could go faster but I don't want to be detected, and then since it will be travelling at sub-light speed, it will take another 170,000 years to get to the Milky Way."

"Three cycles," Shepard said.

"About that," Harper agreed. "I couldn't do it in the Milky Way. There was too much chance of being found by the fleet," Harper explained further.

"Yes," Shepard said. "We should be able to hold out that long," he added, reflecting bitterly on the Catalyst's orders. They should not have been first but, before the rage could envelop him, Shepard forced himself to calm down. Anger would do nothing now, not when the solution was being created.

"Start building now," Shepard instructed. "The central core should be the same, no matter the engine design," he said. Shepard got the sense that Harper nodded. "Now, tell me about this empire of yours?"

"It's growing," Harper said proudly. "It is how the Systems Alliance should have been. Each populated planet has a defence fleet of five dreadnoughts and their support ships, while the trade lanes are patrolled by more. I do not allow growth onto planets I do not control."

"So no privateers or pirates?" Shepard seemed amused.

"No," Harper agreed, acknowledging the irony. "We have met an alien species and we maintain a peaceful relationship with them."

"There are no Relays?" Shepard asked as he considered the tactical implications. Without the ability to almost instantaneously shift forces, it made sense to heavily guard each planet.

"No, and nothing like them. We've found some evidence of an elder species but they are dead. Killed by AIs." Accompanying Harper's words was the feeling of irony. The very thing the Ascended fleet was created to prevent had happened in the LMC. Had possibly happened more than once.

Mentally, Shepard frowned as he considered something he vaguely remembered about Harper's organic self. He didn't think it would be possible for Harper, now that he was Ascended, but it was best to be sure. "You've not pursued the development of AI?" he asked.

"Of course not!" Harper scoffed.

"But you wanted to," he pressed when the information Cerberus was delivering to his subchannels confirmed his memories.

"My organic self wanted to but all of that research got scrapped when you made the deal with Harbinger. The Ascended are meant to preserve organics from being destroyed by their synthetic creations. The Empire will not sponsor the creation of an AI. The citizens find it amusing that on this the civil service and military agree." The explanation carried extra details about the Empire's organisation and history.

He was the Emperor to maintain control and to ensure that resources continued to flow towards the mission so Shepard could not fault him for that. Williams was in control of the military and sensibly, she remained steadfastly out of politics. Hackett would approve, and so did he, but as Harper explained, Shepard was thinking about the situation.

"In future, I plan to research and build Relays but the plan comes first," Harper was saying.

"Spend some time researching quantum shielding now," Shepard instructed. "If you can crack them, it will help this rock." Also, Shepard thought to himself, if Harper's new Humans managed to create them, it would be very sweet to enter the next cycle with the knowledge. And at least, from all the information Shepard was getting from the sub-channels, Harper hadn't made particle cannons. That would be insulting. He wondered if he should order their creation as well but felt that he wanted them to be his project. He enforced that desire via a simple command through the sub-channel.

"You didn't get anything from the network?" Harper asked.

"Not yet," Shepard said. "We got some interesting notes about the Relays, but the plans are further back and we haven't yet been able to catalogue the knowledge in the oldest Ascended."

"I'll see what we can do," Harper said. Williams wouldn't fight against the development of better shields.

Shepard sent the impression of a grin before he sobered. "Harper," he said, pitching his voice so that the man knew to listen and Shepard felt his entire form almost stretch towards him. "Launch within the next two thousand years," he instructed. Even with Harper's worst case scenario that was generous on the time. "And double the defence on each planet."

"What?" Harper demanded. "Ten dreadnoughts?" he questioned incredulously. "That's sheer overkill. There are Ascended as well," he explained.

"Double it," Shepard was implacable. "If you do not know what else is in that galaxy, you do not know what an adequate defence is." He didn't have to add that it was far better to be safe rather than sorry. "I would not have your new population die needlessly," he added. He cared nothing for them but they were the labour which would solve the problem. They deserved to be protected.

Shepard got the impression that Harper was grinding his teeth together. "I'll see to it," he said finally.

"Good," Shepard said. "I'll call back when I can with coordinates."

"Coordinates?" Harper asked.

"For the Catalyst," Shepard explained. "You don't want to miss."

Harper gulped. He did not want to miss but  _he_ could not think about that.

"Bye," Shepard said, as he cut the communication line and was once again alone with his sheer silence of his mind.

He allowed himself a few moments just to fully assimilate the information he had received from Harper. The layers of consciousness within the businessman's Ascended form had spent the entire time throwing additional files at him but to be fair, he had been providing information as well but the files allowed him to fully understand Harper's plans. They were, of course, self-serving but they were sound.

Harper had always been careful like that and Ashley and a few other, like-minded Humans on board were keeping the Emperor Harper relatively honest.

The important part was that his orders were being obeyed and that the problem the Catalyst presented would come to an end. Once it was inevitable, Shepard could consider what to do with Harper's Humans. He nodded to himself before erasing the comm log and setting the received files into an area of memory only he could access. As the Prime thought, it was his will which arranged the thoughts in his Ascended form, his will which set the priorities. He could dictate how much the others saw of his thoughts, but they had no such ability to protect their own thoughts. He respected them enough that he tried not to look but he could know them. He knew no one in his form would betray him, there was no need to tempt fate or the Catalyst's failsafes. Shepard opened one visual sensor to look at the majestic beauty of the Milky Way as he set his chrono again.

There, behind it was the almost smudged form of the Large Magellanic Cloud. There was justice.

Shepard shut off the sensor and started on an unconscious calculation process. The next time he awoke, he'd have the first of the coordinates for the Catalyst and they could begin to finish this.

"Instinct," Shepard thought to himself, activating the process to send himself into hibernation again, "Legacy, you will be avenged."

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Kai's little play time last chapter did have some wider consequences and Lawson has finished his time as the Attori Ambassador, just in time for Shepard to call.
> 
> The First Human Ascended has given his tacit approval to the plan as well as telling Harper to get on with it. In some ways it must be nice having a boss that gives so little oversight, don't you think? Well, you'll find out what Harper thinks next chapter ;)


	53. Through the Eyes of a Child

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Humans continued to confuse the Attori, especially with their insistence that the Emperor is immortal. Their Ambassador meets with the new Emperor and is surprised by how sharp the child is. 
> 
> The conversation with Shepard has some consequences that Harper doesn't like but can't fight against but there will be compensations in the future, just not yet. 
> 
> Basically this is the aftermath of having your world overturned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 52: Through the Eyes of a Child**

-cfr-

**45684 Years after Human Ascension, 629 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Orbit of Planet Home, Onboard Cerberus**

Once the shuttle that had picked him and Harper's bodyguards up from the Palace landed within Cerberus, Lawson led the way through the labyrinth-like interior of his Ascended form to the quarters Williams had directed him to. There was a large open area with smaller rooms coming off it from several connected corridors.

It was a bit off-putting when the bodyguards put Harper's body on what passed for the table but he resolved not to let it bother him.

"Are they still talking?" he asked.

"Yes," Williams' voice came from all around them.

"How's it going?" Lawson inquired.

"Shepard is being sensible," Williams replied.

"That's good."

"Shepard has always been sensible," she continued, detecting the slight note of doubt in Lawson's voice.

"Oh, I never said  _he_  wasn't," Lawson replied defensively but before he could say anything further Harper's voice came over the comm.

"I  _hate_  speaking with him!" he growled.

"Harper!" Lawson said.

"I don't care," Jack snarled. "You try talking to a man you have to obey," he continued

"Your bodyguards are here." Technically Williams shouldn't have said the name Shepard but… it was all confusing.

"Who gives a fuck?" Harper yelled.

"What did he order?" Lawson asked, trying to calm Harper down. He'd only be this worked up if Shepard had ordered something annoying.

The bodyguards were looking at him. They were not stupid. They could draw the obvious conclusions from that question and Lawson knew they'd have to explain who Shepard was now but that would hardly matter. They were on their Ascended form. If they stayed long enough, the bodyguards wouldn't care about anything they weren't told to care about.

"Launch within 2000 years."

"That's not a problem," Lawson said after a moment of consideration. They might be behind but they weren't that far behind.

"It could be, if we have to put Quantum shields on it."

"Oh," Lawson said.

"Not oh," Harper corrected. "Fucking oh! Even after a cycle, with the whole fleet working on the network, they aren't even close to them."

"Do we  _have_  to do it?" Lawson asked, stressing the words carefully. He'd review the entire conversation between Shepard and Harper later but for now he'd listen to Jack's ranting.

"No, but he'd definitely like it."

"Sir!" One of the bodyguards interrupted boldly.

"What is it, Tryggve?" Harper demanded.

"You're alive?"

"Well, of course I'm alive. This is my real form," Harper answered. "Ew," he added and Lawson figured that Harper had just 'seen' his body. "Get rid of that," he ordered.

"Sir?"

"Get rid of that meat," Harper said. "I'll need a new organic shell."

"So you are coming back?"

"Of course I'm coming back," Harper replied.

"Then why did y-" the bodyguard stopped himself before he fully asked the question but both Lawson and Harper knew what was being questioned. Why had the Emperor killed himself?

"Why don't I explain?" Williams asked, a definite note of glee coming through her transmission.

"Ugh," Harper groaned. "Go ahead," he allowed.

Williams had always disagreed about hiding Shepard from the general population.

Lawson nodded. "While you explain, Harper and I can work out what spin to put on this," he said.

Williams snorted but made a hologram appear to one side before she beckoned the bodyguards to come close. Most of them obeyed without question. The few who didn't followed along as they finally realised there was little need to continue to protect a corpse. While Williams wasn't their ultimate Commander, most had been military and she was their Grand Admiral.

"So Jack, how do you want to do this?" Lawson asked.

"I want to figure out some way of shooting him," Harper growled, though the sound was more a yelp of pain.

"Two thousand years to launch is generous," Lawson said. "And we'll just stick a couple of mixed military civilian research groups on quantum shields. They'll at least hash out the basics," he reassured Jack.

"And double the defences on each planet," Harper added.

Lawson blinked. "Oh," he said again. That was more problematic. They were already seen as a military race by the Attori and, despite their efforts to maintain peaceful trade relations, doubling the defence fleet around every colony world would ring alarm bells.

"Every fucking planet!" Harper complained.

"Did he say by when?" Lawson asked and got the sense that Harper drew back a little at the question.

"No," Harper said slowly. "No, he didn't," his voice gained more confidence.

"So we do that over the next two to three hundred years," Lawson said easily. "It will get done and if we keep encouraging the Attori military, it won't alarm them too much. Besides, it's not like we couldn't take care of them if needs be."

"I'd still prefer not to," Harper said. "Shepard seemed pleased that we were peaceful with them."

"But surely, he understands that's not going to last forever?"

"He does, but for now, peace is still advised."

"So what did he say about the Ascended."

"Nothing," Harper replied.

"Nothing?" Henry was surprised. "You mentioned them?"

"Of course, I mentioned them. He just didn't react."

"Take that as approval because it's too late to change anything now."

"Yes," Harper agreed before he sighed. "Emergency upload works," he said with a deliberate change of subject.

"I can see that," Lawson said happily. He knew it did, but it was always nice to have multiple confirmations.

"Download is going to be a bitch," Harper continued.

Lawson thought about it for a few moments. "Oh dear," he agreed, somewhat mockingly.

To the Empire, the Emperor was dead, killed in his own, very secure quarters at the tender age of 29 years into his reign. He'd be back, but this early into his cycle of rebirth, he hadn't even started on Harper's replacement body. They could accelerate growth, and he could get a body done in a week, but it would deteriorate far too quickly. It was far better to grow their avatars at a natural speed so at about 75 years into each century, Lawson began the new body. It meant that Harper returned to work with a body that was old enough to withstand the rigorous days and was at physical and mental maturity so there were far fewer chemical imbalances. He remained looking about 25 for the next 60 years before he began aging but with natural life spans getting older that was not an issue. Harper's body easily made it through each century and would probably survive another half century but it was becoming a tradition.

"Well, we are going to have to come up with a cover story," he said.

"One that does not reduce my ability to work," Harper added and Lawson translated 'One that does not increase security.'

Lawson nodded. Williams probably had some ideas but the security around the Phoenix Emperor was already high.

"Well, the easiest way to do that would be to admit the truth," he said, mentally bracing for an explosion.

"True," Harper said and there was a genuine note of speculation in his voice.

"What! You've always hated that option for the last 500 years and unless you missed something, none of his orders were that problematic."

"No," Harper agreed. "But you know what's been happening on Ceddon?" he reminded Lawson.

"Those idiots! I thought we said we'd ignore them."

"I did," Harper said. "But they are dangerous."

"They obey without question," Lawson reminded him.

"Until I make a mistake," Harper retorted and Lawson blinked.

Had Harper just admitted that he might not be perfect? But then he got serious. Jack had a point. While the sect worshipped Harper as an Immortal God and were obedient for now, they were a religion and religions were dangerous. At some point, Harper would do something. It might not even be a mistake but he would reverse a policy, change something that they didn't like. Some would continue to follow but others would either quit the faith, which would be a good option, while others would maintain the old ways, at which point, eventually a holy war would break out. The situation was somewhat cute now but could quickly become untenable.

"So we tell the Empire about Shepard?"

"Yes!" Harper said. "We make him, as Williams once called him, God. They worship someone they are never going to meet and I get an Empire mandated reason for changing my mind. Shepard ordered it."

Lawson was silent as he thought. Harper was being slightly flippant but that would be one of the most useful consequences of revealing Shepard, except was it that easy? They didn't want to reveal Shepard without considering the other consequences and there were always other consequences.

"There might be a problem," Lawson said. "Without some sort of divine sign, we leave ourselves open to others claiming to be messengers of Shepard."

"And at that point, Williams becomes useful," Harper joked.

To her, it was bad enough that they hadn't revealed Shepard but if someone else claimed to be in contact with him, Harper wouldn't even need to use the secret police. The military wouldn't leave much more than a smear for the dual insult of claiming to know Shepard and putting him in the position of god. Even with everything that had happened, for Williams, there was only one God, and it was not Shepard.

"His existence is eventually going to come out," Lawson said.

"The only question is how long eventually is," Harper agreed.

"We could say he's our contact in the Milky Way," Lawson suggested.

"Too mundane," Harper said, "And it will mean that others could try to contact him. Not necessarily the Ascended," Harper added. "But the organics and that would be a fucking disaster."

"Quantum comms," Lawson said. "They can't contact him."

"You know as well as I do that we've gone beyond paired comms," Harper said, referring to the early days of quantum communicators. "It wouldn't be that hard to build a cycler."

"Point," Lawson conceded.

"I think we are going to have to amend the Ceddon decision. They'll be given a choice, to accept that I'm immortal but still a man and therefore slightly imperfect. At that point they can give up their stupid religion or they die."

"You could always display some carnal knowledge," Lawson teased.

"No, just no!" Harper said. Who knew what twisted theories they'd come up with then?

"So we don't tell them about Shepard?" Lawson said, becoming serious again.

"Not yet," Harper replied. "It's safer to not even mention him, even if it is the easy answer."

"You're sure? That's going to mean a change in security since the only other reasonable explanation is an assassin getting into your quarters."

"Or a coup d'etat."

"No," Lawson said firmly. "No way am I accepting that," he added.

"You suggested it," Harper said, reminding him that the decision to get somewhere safe was because it would be a natural assumption. "It's going to be suggested, so why fight it?" He challenged.

"No," Lawson said again. "I'm not going to use a different body every time I speak to you."

"You didn't even suggest that I might replace you," Harper sighed, almost disappointed.

"You won't do that, Jack. I know you and you won't take that risk. No one else would be as accepting."

"True. So an assassin in my quarters?" he spat. "Some of the bodyguards will need to be injured," he continued. "They will have at least attempted to save me! What else is there?"

"We'll probably need to immortalise them," Lawson said, glancing over at the group who were still listening to Williams.

"With what she's telling them, that goes without saying," Harper grumbled.

"I'll sort it out," Lawson volunteered, "including the show trial."

"Eager to establish your innocence?"

"Yes actually, I am. And a public statement from you would help. I won't be very effective if I get arrested the moment I leave," Lawson said.

Harper conceded the point. "What else?"

"The Attori?"

"Nah," Harper dismissed them. "Just reinforce the Immortal Emperor bit and explain I'll be back shortly. There's nothing outstanding with them anyway."

"Then I think we are about done. When Williams has finished, we can put them to bed and get to work."

"I'll have a talk with my bodyguards' trainers," Harper said. "The next time Shepard calls, I am not going to go through that again. They can attend to it, but there will have to be a code phrase or something. You, had  _better_ make sure you've covered every fucking possibility for uploading faster."

"Will do. But look at it this way, you are now the Immortal Emperor Harper, who will do absolutely anything to get the job done."

"Pft! With an attitude like that, I'll make sure it's your job that gets done!" Harper growled before turning his attention away from Lawson.

Lawson chuckled but quickly sobered. They had been lucky this time. There had been nothing major happening but the next time Shepard called, they'd have to have a plan because while the Empire might exist to fulfil his orders, the Empire could just as quickly turn without a firm hand at the helm. And Harper had made sure that it would be his hand.

-cfr-

**45684 Years after Human Ascension, 629 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Attori Embassy, Ambassador's Office**

"What the hell is going on?" Prime Minister Ismal demanded the instant Uwr'sa opened the comm.

"Hasn't Ambassador Sousa kept you informed?" Uwr'sa asked.

"She has told us nothing more than the official line and that's hardly useful."

Uwr'sa sighed. "The Humans haven't been good with information," he said before taking a deep breath, his frills colouring slightly with anxiety. "Here's what I know for sure. The Emperor Harper was assassinated in his quarters about a week ago.

"Grand Admiral Williams took former Ambassador Lawson and Harper's bodyguards into custody."

"Martial law?" Ismal asked.

"No, but given how the Humans are, there's hardly any difference," Uwr'sa said. "I'm told there will be a trial tomorrow, and that Emperor Harper will return to work the next day."

"Emperor Harper?" Ismal snorted. "They are still persisting in that fiction," he seemed amused. "Who do you think it will be?"

Uwr'sa shook his head. "I don't know. We know so little about the Emperor's family," he added. "I haven't heard, and the Humans keep insisting that it is the same man."

"Their cosmetic surgery is good," Ismal agreed. They'd known the Humans for sixty years now and the images of the Emperor never seemed to change. He had gotten old but then, with a small break which the Humans said was his holiday time, he had come back younger. It was obvious that the former Emperor had retired and a new Human had taken the position. That was one change, this assassination would be another.

"I'll try to get a meeting with the Emperor," Uwr'sa said. "That should sort out quite a few things."

"Do you think you'll get one?"

"I should," Uwr'sa's frills flashed with confidence. "Relations are strong at the moment."

Ismal nodded. "I know Sousa has been telling us that there will be no break in trade but do you think there is any chance of it? We need that eezo."

Uwr'sa thought for a few moments. "I don't think so," he said finally. "We still don't know what they are using the metal for but they do still want it."

"So for the moment you remain?"

"There's no threat to us," Uwr'sa said. "We didn't assassinate the Emperor. They've already announced that they killed the assassin and know who was responsible. Since we weren't mentioned, I doubt they will be able to change the story now. And there is no reason to implicate us."

Ismal took a deep breath, his frills still showing worry. "Be careful."

"I will."

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Palace, Emperor's Office**

Uwr'sa stared.

The last few days had been hectic. He had managed to get an appointment to see the new Emperor Harper but it had been after the trial. If you could call it that. The whole thing had been fabricated. Harper's bodyguards had just stood there. They hadn't objected to anything said and they had all pleaded guilty. They hadn't even flinched when the sentence was handed down.

Death, with no right to appeal.

It had simply reinforced the fact that the Humans were a military state and that the execution of their leader was the highest crime. Military security had hustled the bodyguards out of the court before anyone could ask anything.

Lawson had made an appearance, standing next to the Grand Admiral to prove that he was not implicated in the assassination and then he had reiterated the announcement that the Emperor would be back to work the next day. And that was that.

Uwr'sa had gotten his appointment for that day and he thought he was braced for every possibility. The Humans maintained that the Emperor was immortal but that was a nice fiction for them. True, for the last 60 years, every image of the Emperor had been the same, which added to their fiction and Uwr'sa had been ready to meet a Human who looked the same as the previous Emperor. It would be his brother, his son, someone related, who had had surgery, which would explain why the Humans required the week to prepare, to allow the surgical marks to heal, so that the Human would bear the same face.

He was not prepared for this.

Across the desk, in the position of Emperor was a young Human. Uwr'sa had some experience in estimating Human ages and this Human appeared to be entering their teenage years. The features were similar to Harper's but they were too young. It was entirely disconcerting to see such focused eyes in a young body.

"You wanted to see me?" the voice was high pitched.

Uwr'sa was however diplomat enough not to ignore a direct question. "I did, Your Majesty," he said, using the term the Humans specified was appropriate.

The child before him nodded. "I believe my Ambassador Emiko Sousa has spoken to your Prime Minister Ismal," the child continued sounding a little annoyed. "The Attori trade rights are guaranteed under Article 7, sub-section Y, of the treaty between our peoples, which is in effect for another twenty years, until the official time of review. The Phoenix Empire still requires your excess metals."

Uwr'sa was experienced enough not to demand for what but he knew the question showed in his frill colour. The child across from him just smiled and he recognised that on an adult Human it would be banal but on the smaller form, it was, dare he think it, sort of cute.

"My people will be greatly relieved to have that confirmed by the highest authority," he said one of the catch all diplomatic phrases and before he could say anything further, one of the Emperor's ever present bodyguards stepped forward. Unconsciously, Uwr'sa tensed. He was so used to them remaining in the back ground that he was shocked by the sheer sense of controlled menace he could feel from the man.

But the bodyguard didn't want anything from him. Instead, he placed a glass of water in front of the child Emperor. It was just a simple glass but the child who looked like Harper glared at it before saying something Uwr'sa didn't catch. Apparently the bodyguard did and he reminded himself that all of the Emperor's bodyguards would have extensive cybernetic enhancement, including hearing. "When you are older," the man replied, sounding amused and Uwr'sa realised that if he thought that the child form was somewhat cute, how much worse it must be for the Humans.

They were biologically conditioned to like their young, and in this case the bodyguard would have been trained to protect this young Human. But this Human was not the former Emperor, yet they treated him as if he was. Surely, the Humans had some degree of respect and while Uwr'sa tried to quash that thought, he couldn't help the half sigh of frustration that escaped.

It brought the attention of the entire room and despite the gaff he'd just made, Uwr'sa forced himself to remain calm, though his frills still coloured to show he had questions.

The child Emperor was astute enough to pick up on that. "Was there something else, Ambassador Uwr'sa?"

There was, there was a myriad of questions but most would… Well, he didn't think the Humans would actually execute him but he would be sent back to Atto in disgrace. His expression calmed but the Emperor smiled again, this time knowingly and Uwr'sa felt himself tense.

"Ah," the high pitched voice said again. "I miscalculated."

Uwr'sa couldn't help but stare. When the Emperor spoke there were two pitches.

The Emperor didn't look happy either because he rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath before clearing his throat. "I miscalculated," he said again. "This body is physically capable of withstanding the rigors of leadership but it is very young."

"With respect, I was given to understand that Humans reached physical maturity some time in their teens."

"That is correct, Ambassador, though mental maturation can take much longer."

"Is that form not yet old enough, Your Majesty?" Uwr'sa asked, deciding that for now, it would be much safer to play along with the Human fictions.

"Old enough, but still growing," he replied in a way that was very reminiscent of Harper. Frustrated, yet challenging. "As I said, I miscalculated. In my desire not to be out of commission for so long, I did not allow the avatar enough time to fully mature and now I have to go through the bulk of puberty." The last sentence was particularly disgusted. "Again."

"You do not go through this every time you are reborn?" Uwr'sa asked carefully. He had not been the Ambassador when the Emperor had previously been replaced.

"Fuck no!" The child said and it was odd to hear such words spoken in the young voice. "Human life spans are approximately 170 years, especially with augmentation, so I make sure my body starts at about 25. It's not a precise science when dealing with avatars. But this body is not old enough to have sex! Or drink."

"But you are the Emperor!"

" _Thank_  you for acknowledging that," the child said, smiling somewhat viciously at his bodyguards.

Uwr'sa immediately knew that even though the Emperor had been back at work, as the Humans would say, for only a day, this was an ongoing battle between them. While he could understand not allowing a physically immature form to engage in sexual intercourse, he had seen young Humans drinking. Maybe not quite as young as the Emperor though, he realised after a moment.

"Alcohol will impede your ability, Your Majesty," one of the bodyguards muttered, loud enough to be heard.

"Pft!" the young man replied. "Then at least let me have a cigarette."

"No," the same guard responded firmly. "You were insistent on returning to work in a week but you agreed to obey Doctor Lawson's orders. So no cigarettes."

"You wouldn't even give me one if you had them would you?"

"No, Sir."

"What the hell does Williams have on you all?"

"You know I can't tell you that, Sir."

The young man sighed, dismissing the matter before he turned back towards Uwr'sa. "I had to get back. There were all sorts of changes I had to make after speaking with-" The Emperor stopped and looked sharply towards Uwr'sa.

He just looked back, concentrating on keeping his breathing even. Whatever the Emperor had been about to say, Uwr'sa was not meant to hear it.

"Never mind," the young Harper said. "I didn't realise Lawson would do this to me!" he added growling.

"Doctor's orders," the guard repeated.

Uwr'sa just watched silently. The Emperor's last glance towards him had not been the look of a child but had been one of pure calculation. That sentence, as innocuous as it was, he shouldn't have heard it but he couldn't make any sense of it. Sure, if you took the Human's fiction as being accurate then it was possible that the supposedly immortalised mind of Harper could have spoken to someone, but that sentence implied that someone had instructed Harper to alter things and Harper was the Human Emperor. Uwr'sa had studied their hierarchies. No one had authority over an Emperor!

Well, maybe a divine being, but the Phoenix Empire was strict on religion. Many were atheists, but those who believed, did so privately. The Empire's laws over rode any religious guidance.

The young man waved one hand, making what Uwr'sa recognised as a rude gesture towards the bodyguard before he turned back to face him. "Now, is there anything else I can help you with?" he asked formally and Uwr'sa knew that his meeting was over.

"Not at the moment, Your Majesty," he said, rising. "I will report to my government that you are in good health and that our trade agreements remain unchanged. I'm sure it will be comforting to them."

"Good," the Emperor said, his eyes narrowed and Uwr'sa knew without being told that his communication would be monitored. He hated that but the Attori had never been able to catch the Humans at it so it remained a diplomatic fiction that they didn't monitor the comms, even when they did. He knew if he said anything more than that…

Well, the third Ambassador had died rather suddenly, and while every autopsy said it was a brain haemorrhage, that was meant to be a physical impossibility for Attori less than 50. No one had ever accused the Humans but… the Ambassador did have some rather unconventional ideas.

"Good," the Emperor repeated before turning back to the data pads in front of him as Uwr'sa was shown out.

Once out of the office, he took a deep breath before forcibly reminding himself that he was still on camera and began walking confidently back down the guarded corridor. He had been trained to do this but even he had trouble dealing with the Humans and their fictions within fictions. It was far too difficult and he needed a drink. Make that two. He'd drink the young Emperor's share himself.

-cfr-

**45685 Years after Human Ascension, 630 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Imperial Palace, Emperor's Quarters**

Harper stared at the datapad, blinking heavily as it blurred. His body was old enough to handle the rigours of the job but it tired quickly. In some ways that was good. It made him keep to the sleep schedule he had set but in others it was just downright inconvenient. Like now, when he was reading over the technical reports from some of the think tank groups.

Overall, though, being fifteen sucked. He couldn't drink, it was dangerous for a body this age to smoke, so he couldn't. And even if he could, Williams would stop him. Worst of all, some of the women just called him cute! Now that was fine when he was an adult, then they called him handsome and he could take them to bed but at fifteen, while he could perform, that was just gross. It was hard enough taking twenty-something year olds to bed when he was closing in on 800. There would be no one younger. And if he thought he'd been embarrassed the first time he'd had to have sex with his bodyguards watching, taking care of the needs of a fifteen year old body… that had been far, far worse.

To make matters worse, as he approached his first birthday in this body, he'd been fighting a low grade headache for the past few days. Lawson had run some scans but had no idea what was causing it, so beyond proscribing some painkillers, there was nothing that could be done. Except the painkillers were doing nothing and the headache would not go away. And it was building.

It was almost like the pain he had gotten the first and only time he'd thought about just putting the Project on indefinite hold, except a million times less but if it continued, it could become that. Except, he hadn't and wasn't disobeying any of Shepard's orders! He'd had to put a short hold on colonising the next planet, but the additional dreadnoughts were beginning to roll out to each colony world and the docks necessary to build the actual project were being constructed in a system named Underworld.

He'd considered putting it in Dorado. The Ascended there would keep the Project safe but it required input from the organics, so a new system was required. Most of the Empire just assumed the mining corps found the eezo they used, and while that was true to a point, the numbers wouldn't add up for anyone taking a good look. Well, they would, because the numbers were doctored, but the ones Harper saw allowed him a truer picture of the Empire's economy. Those in the Mining Corp who had figured it out, and there were a few who knew that they didn't mine enough eezo, thought that there was a dedicated Eezo collection corp. It was a relatively fine web of misdirection but it had proven to be robust. So long as everyone had their creature comforts and there was enough eezo to sell to the Attori, no one bothered to look too closely.

He was obeying completely so the headache couldn't be from Shepard. Sure, the grunt had a sadistic streak but that was only when he felt he'd been wronged. Hell, that was one of the reasons he was in the LMC but Harper hadn't done anything wrong...

"Oh, no," Harper groaned, dropping the data pad. "Get me Lawson," he instructed, his voice terse as he rose.

"Sir?" one of the ever present bodyguards questioned.

"Just get me Lawson," Harper repeated, sitting back down, gritting his teeth as the pain surged. He held his head in his hands, rubbing at his temples.

The bodyguards made the call and Harper could feel their worry increasing. They knew about the headaches, of course, but they also realised that something else was happening now. Harper tried to rise again, but staggered.

"Sir!"

"It's okay," he managed to gasp, forcing himself to make his way to the couch before collapsing on to it.

"What is it?" Lawson's hologram appeared. "Jack!" he exclaimed when he saw his old friend.

Harper swallowed hard. "You remember the conversation about a year back?" he said.

"The one directly after the incident?" Lawson replied with his own question. The guards stiffened. They remembered that incident. It was the reason they were here because as far as they knew, their predecessors had been executed for dereliction of duty.

"Yes. Everything has been done, hasn't it?" Harper managed to gasp.

"Your headache is from that?" Lawson didn't sound convinced.

"Everything?" Harper repeated the question, hissing slightly around the pain that had become all encompassing. He did not need to play question tennis with Lawson. Right now, he needed the businessman turned scientist to review the conversation he'd had with Shepard again. He needed to know if he was right. The pain said he was right.

"Dreadnoughts and the docks are both happening. There should be no issues," Henry confirmed.

"Journey?"

Lawson was silent for a few moments. "Oh dear," he said before turning his holograms towards Harper's bodyguards. "Get an uplink to the  _Cerberus_  on that display now," he ordered.

While they obviously wanted to know why, they had been trained to obey and the orders were not going to put their charge in any danger.

"I'm gonna kill- argh!" Harper cried in pain.

"Just lie there, Jack," Lawson said. "Don't say anything. Don't  _think_  anything," he added. Harper glared back at him, pain evident in his eyes. "You know as well as I do that it's a very simple process, if you don't think it, you won't get affected."

"I'm still gonna-" again Harper didn't finish the sentence but this time his body convulsed and several bodyguards rushed to his side. Sweat beaded on his forehead.

"What's happening?" one of them demanded, turning towards Lawson.

"He's in pain," Lawson replied.

"I know that," the man said through gritted teeth. "What's causing it?" he demanded but Lawson recognised the question as more 'how do I destroy whatever's causing it?' These were Humans who had trained for one purpose only. Maintain the Emperor's life.

"We are dealing with it now," Lawson tried to temporise. Why hadn't they got that uplink yet?

"What is causing it?" the man repeated.

Lawson sighed. On the screen, the security protocols began cycling. "We're just going to have to add this to the list of State Secrets your bodyguards know but can't speak about," he said towards Jack. The fifteen year old form of his friend was surrounded by bodyguards, most of whom looked somewhat awkward as they tried to comfort the Emperor. One of them had found a cloth somewhere and had pressed it to Jack's forehead.

"Whatever!" Harper growled, gasping around the pain.

Lawson looked at the bodyguard in front of him, who was still waiting for answers. "The incident last year was not caused by an assassin," he began, aware that the room was listening. He didn't need to tell them this was another state secret. "It was the result of our immortalised form, Cerberus, receiving a signal from the Milky Way."

The guard nodded slowly and Lawson could see him putting the pieces together. 600 years of selective breeding was good for something. Now you could have brains and brawn! "Why couldn't the signal be routed down? As we are doing now?"

"Not for this signal," Lawson said, shaking his head.

"Okay," the guard said dubiously, not fully comprehending yet. "So the Emperor was immortalised last year, rather forcefully." The new training pack for Harper's bodyguards included a set of codes for what to do when Shepard called again. It was a logical conclusion for the guard to make.

"That's the delicate way of putting it," Lawson agreed. "While he was in our immortalised form, Cerberus, he got new orders."

"Orders?" One of the other guards gasped. "Someone has the stones to tell the Emperor what to do?"

Lawson refused to laugh. "Someone not only has the stones but has the ability to ensure that the Emperor obeys," he said, turning slightly. "The plan to double the defense dreadnoughts on each planet was not a recommendation from the Military, it was a direct order."

"From who?"

"What is it, Lawson?" Esha's face appeared on the screen as the protocols were established. Even though the Phoenix Empire's comms had been designed by Ascended, they were simpler. "I'm somewhat busy here."

"I need you to access the entertainment files," Lawson said, ignoring the bodyguards in favour of the uplink. Fixing the problem was more important than explaining it and they were intelligent enough to leave the matter for the moment.

"Yeah, what ones?"

"I need to you transmit BB to this screen," he instructed.

"BB?" she asked, incredulous. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Review the conversation last year.  _He_ ordered it," Lawson said.

"Bastard," Harper growled from the side but it ended as a pitiful moan. Apparently Shepard's orders were competing to see which could cause Jack the most pain.

It took only a few seconds for Esha to do that and Lawson watched as her expression changed. It became amused but he could see that she was then accessing the files. "Err… I can't get that one."

"Why not?" Lawson demanded.

"Password protection," she replied. "And if I try breaking it, it will delete itself."

"Jack!" Lawson exclaimed. Only he would have put a password on that file. "Don't do that," he instructed Esha before turning towards Harper.

His glowing blue eyes were staring at the screen, though there were streaks running from his eyes as the pain assaulted his body.

"Password," Lawson prompted. "Jack!" he admonished. "Tell yourself you are going to watch it. It will help." It worked both ways after all. If you thought about it, you caused pain, but if you thought about it positively, the pain subsided.

Harper glared. He knew that, but telling himself that was to give into the grunt. Why had the bastard been given so much power? Instead, he looked at Esha and was suddenly thankful that he hadn't made it so that he had to be present in his Ascended form to unlock the file. Being fifteen sucked. Uploading again would suck more. "Password, unlock for BB," he said clearly, and hissed when the pain subsided. Lawson was right. Bastard!

It returned but Harper was never one to let pain stop him and when Esha nodded at him, indicating that the system was ready, Harper forced himself to speak clearly. " _'If there's nothing wrong with me, maybe there's something wrong with the universe.'_ "

"Password confirmed. File is unlocked," Esha confirmed. "I'll stream now."

"No!" Harper cried.

"Jack!" Lawson berated him. "You have to!"

"I don't want to!"

" _He_  wants you to!"

The argument came to a halt when Esha began streaming the file and Harper's eyes fixed on the screen, almost against his will.

"The pain is better, isn't it?" Lawson said.

"Darn it!" Harper replied, which was answer enough.

"He?"

Lawson turned back to the bodyguard, meeting his eyes squarely. "We came from the Milky Way because we were instructed to fix a problem. The order was given to us by another immortalised. The first Human immortalised. When he gives orders, they have to be obeyed."

"What?" the guard demanded.

"It is exactly what it sounds like," Lawson said. "If he orders you to jump, you jump before you even  _think_  about asking how high. So if he instructs you to double the defences around each colony world, you will double the defences around each colony world. And if he orders you to watch a movie that you loathe, then no matter your personal desires, you will watch that movie," Lawson explained, gesturing towards Harper who was currently watching Jake Elwood being led through the prison.

"Bastard," Harper hissed, as his formerly light breathing became heavier.

"You are recovering, though," Lawson observed.

"Yeah but I can't look away," Harper replied as he continued to stare at the screen. To be fair, so were some of the guards. It was only natural to be curious about what had caused the Emperor so much pain.

"Be thankful you only have to watch it once a year," Lawson laughed.

"Fuck you!" Harper growsed.

"Sir, who is this immortalised? Was he the Emperor of the Milky Way?"

Lawson laughed. He couldn't help it, and even Harper snorted, though the noise was derisive.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "He was just a soldier. A good one," Lawson allowed, "with the rank of commander."

"Then how?"

Lawson sighed. "We are not the only immortalised species," he explained. "The soldier, Shepard," he said the name so he could actually speak about this properly, "was the one who brokered the deal for Humanity with the first Immortalised species. We believe it is that immortalised who gave Shepard so much power."

The bodyguard said nothing but Lawson could imagine what he was thinking. "I wouldn't think about killing Shepard if I were you," he warned. "You will not be able to do it, and it will only give your immortalised form pain. Despite what this looks like," he said, indicating towards Jack's prone form, "Shepard is very careful about his orders and watching one movie, once a year, is not going to kill the Emperor," he added.

Reluctantly, the bodyguard nodded.

"Next year, we will do this differently," Harper interrupted.

"Oh?" Lawson asked.

"If I have to watch this crap, then others can as well."

Henry was businessman enough to see where Jack was going with it. "So a stadium, paid tickets, that sort of thing?"

"Yes. Watch an original movie from Earth!" Harper made the statement mocking. "The profit will be huge."

"From Kai alone," Lawson murmured.

"If I have to watch it, I might as well make it work for me," Harper said.

"There's no pain?" Lawson asked. With Harper talking to them, he wasn't exactly listening to the dialogue… even if he knew it by heart.

"Shepard said watch it, he never said I had to pay attention," Jack replied, without turning his head.

"Alright, we can discuss it later," Lawson said. "I imagine if we make a set date for it, there won't be any build up."

"Probably not," Harper said.

"I'll come to check up on you later," Lawson replied before cutting his comm.

"Bastard," Harper muttered again. "I trust you all understand that the information you have just learned is classified?" Jack said to his bodyguards, hating the way his voice warbled. Being fifteen sucked.

"Sir!" came the cries of agreement.

"Good. I really don't have to want to immortalise another set of bodyguards because they know the truth," he said sighing as the Elwood brothers entered the orphanage.

He hated this movie and already he was dreading how many copies those in his Ascended form would make while it was unlocked. Finding them all was going to be a bitch.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Blues Brothers as a weapon. Williams will be impressed. Harper is not liking it and Lawson is right, Kai will pay to be able to see the movie again. Though who knows, the assassin may have had a personal copy somewhere that Harper didn't find. He'd be sneaky like that.
> 
> The next chapter is actually Second Contact.


	54. Double or Nothing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new Ascended awakens and Harper begins recreating those who were lost in the Milky Way. The Attori come across a new species, one that is not as friendly as the Humans. They don't attack but they aren't that friendly and will examine things carefully before they make a decision. It's a good thing the Phoenix Empire is there to guide their trade partners, isn't it? Gambling is something everyone does, even with their lives at stake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

 

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 53: Double or Nothing**

-cfr-

**45706 Years after Human Ascension, 651 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Pheonix Empire, System: Viarus, Onboard Cerberus**

Harper stood in his Ascended form. He was still organic but was within Cerberus, watching the docks in Viarus where the latest Ascended was about to awaken. It was the 100th in the LMC and while he might have liked to have uploaded, he had deemed that unnecessary. He hadn't been Ascended for most of the awakenings, and while this one represented a milestone, his dominance over the group was established.

Miroslav, the first LMC Ascended, was beside Cerberus. She had been overseeing the Ascended, with input from Williams, for military operations and the two ladies made a formidable team. Williams was off to the side in the current flagship of the Empire. She'd been on holiday when Shepard had called but after that she had reincarnated to oversee the placement of the dreadnoughts.

"So any takers?" Harper asked.

Each of the Ascended now was comprised of one billion minds, and he did his best to make sure they were from mixed stock. It made for more balanced Ascended.

"This one will be female," came one answer.

"Nah, definitely a guy. All those idiots from Cerberus were in it."

"That just means the women will have an easier time of controlling them."

"Unless you are betting…" Harper interrupted the banter. They knew the rules. Unless they were placing a bet, all speculation and chit chat was to be on a sub-channel.

The ratio of men to women in the Empire was about one to one, though it might be slightly skewed towards the women. It was a bit hard to monitor but those societal norms that the Systems Alliance had been attempting to remove, he had made sure that they were gone. Differences between the genders were acknowledged, like the fact that generally men were physically stronger, but they were treated the same. He was just as likely to have a male planetary governor as he was to have a female. All he cared about was competence. There was no gendercide and without inheritance playing a large part in society, there was no reason for a family to desire a male child over a female. In fact, when they had been setting up the society he had been very tempted to dictate that inheritance and bloodlines were monitored through matriarchal lines. After all, you generally knew who the mother was.

Still, with the Ascended there was a slight imbalance. If you included him there were 100 Ascended currently, and 45 were distinctly female, 40 were persistently male and 15 kept altering their spokesperson. He was counted in that fifteen, because he spent so much time in an organic shell, and the Prime position of Cerberus altered frequently because of that.

Gambling on the gender of the newest Ascended was hardly the most enlightened thing to do, of course, but it kept them Human and these petty little squabbles helped to ensure that they did not homogenise. It was much like the petty power plays between his security forces and the military. Such plays made sure that they remained unique and even as he chafed against some of the things Williams had thought of, he appreciated it because while they were fighting, they sure as hell weren't homogenising. The two of them agreed if that ever happened, they'd shoot themselves. There would be no point in shooting the other.

Homogenisation was not an issue for him now, and Lawson made sure it wasn't an issue for the others in his hull. The other Ascended were also encouraged to take avatars on a schedule to avoid it, as well. And there was an unexpected fringe benefit from that. Being immortalised, they knew about the Project, and so it was individuals in avatars who were now constructing most of the required facilities. They were free labour, and all he had to do was provide housing, food and entertainment. Since the Empire provided that anyway, to a limited degree, it was easy.

The mooring lines released

"Last bets now!" Harper announced as he watched. When the first running light came on, all bets were officially closed. Again, it was something to add interest since sometimes that took just a few seconds, while other times it had taken minutes.

The newest Ascended was average and a minute later the first running light flickered on, ending the last flurry of gambling.

The other lights followed quickly and the newest Ascended slipped free of the dock as it screamed.

Harper winced. That was another reason for keeping the Ascended docks clear of inhabited space. He did not need the Attori wondering what the hell the noise was. There was a disadvantage to being organic when an Ascended awoke. He could not filter through the scream to determine the name. Yet the others in his Ascended form had anticipated that and were currently displaying the name in window.

"Cannaman?" Harper tried out the name, his pronunciation slightly uncertain, as on screen the newest Ascended took its first clumsy flight. It quickly gained confidence. They all did, with the downloads that were thrown towards it by the Ascended fleet. Flight, weapon control, basic organic language and an abbreviated Empire history packs were the important information. All other information came later.

"Is that male or female?" someone asked.

"I don't know," Harper replied. "Are they talking?" he asked, indicating towards the newest Ascended. .

"Slowly," came the response. "They seem a bit confused."

"They?" Harper asked.

"The spokes voice keeps changing."

"He wants to speak with you," Miroslav interrupted and Harper nodded. Without further prompting the signal from the newest Ascended was patched through.

"I am Cannaman," she said.

Harper felt one eyebrow raise. Miroslav had definitely said he. This one was one of the most changeable so far.

"I am Cerberus," Harper replied, using his formal name. To the Ascended fleet, that was his designation though it was satisfying to him that most of the fleet leaders used his personal name. Except Miranda. She  _always_  called him Cerberus.

"You are not!" came the objection and Harper was surprised. "You are organic." The accusation was made with a masculine tone.

"I am Ascended," Harper replied forcefully. That information was included in the basic info packs all the LMC Ascended got. It had been established that Elysium and the others had been quite gentle. Newly awakened Ascended could comprehend much more than the basic packs Elysium had given them. While Harper didn't want to overwhelm them, he had to include some basic history to remain dominant because he would not have the time to explain to every new Ascended. He did at the moment, but population growth was going to make it impossible.

"You are organic!"

Harper felt his entire form stiffen. To accuse him of being organic was to accuse them all. Before his weapons activated, he saw Miroslav moved to interfere.

"It took me time to understand," the first LMC Ascended said. "We are all Ascended. The retaking of organic form is done for convenience, to better control those who labour towards the ultimate completion of the Project."

"Shepard's project?" Cannaman asked, the female voice returning.

"Yes. Shepard is the one who ordered the Project."

"I wish to speak to him," Cannaman said.

"You can not," Harper replied, keeping his voice calm. If he didn't assert dominance now it would not happen. "Shepard is in hibernation," he added. Even newly awoken Ascended understood the concept of hibernation.

Cannaman considered that. It already knew that while Ascended were supposedly equal, younger Ascended did not wake their elders without very good reason.

"Shepard assigned the Project to me. I have created you to help," Harper explained. "The organics exist to create more Ascended," he added. "Because in order to complete the project, I will require assistance," he concluded. Of course, that was only one reason he created Ascended. Maintaining control over the populace was another as was the sheer military dominance they would provide.

Cannaman was silent and Harper knew the youngest Ascended was thinking. "I still wish to speak to him," the new Ascended said, "but I will work on your Project for now," Cannaman added, conceding that Shepard was out of contact.

Harper narrowed his eyes. He could not feel all the information from the subchannel that would have been established but from the wording he could imagine it.  _Your_  project. The youngest Ascended wouldn't have said it outright but that implied… No, Harper shook his head. The Ascended would not, could not doubt the information he had validated. To do so would be to challenge him and they had not done that.

Yet. The part of him that was organic pointed out. Ascended could not lie to Ascended. Ascended could not fire on Ascended. Those were still two truths but the new Ascended obviously believed him to have… not lied, because he couldn't do that, but they believed him to be mistaken. Eventually that would lead to some sort of challenge.

He would have to keep a closer watch on them, and it was not something he could designate to Williams. This was too important.

The Ascended in the LMC were subtly different from those in the Milky Way. They looked the same, but they didn't think the same. The immortalised were still indoctrinated but they didn't seem to feel the desire to ascend other organics as strongly as the Milky Way Ascended did. He'd discussed it with others in Cerberus a few times and they had some theories.

The first involved the differences in the way the galaxy, or at least his part, was run. The cycle had been designed to save organics before their synthetic creations wiped them out. It was one of the founding tenets of the civilisation he had built that there were no AIs, and with Cerberus in charge there would never be any AIs. As such, the normal drive to ascend an organic species was missing.

Secondly, the Humans were being Ascended already, and he had plans to immortalise selected individuals from the Attori. With ascension already taking place, the drive to ascend organics was at least somewhat fulfilled. It was happening so the Ascended felt no need to drive it to be faster.

Personally, Harper was sure that at least some of the differences came from the fact that most of the LMC Ascended were created from older Humans. They had lived their lives and were content with themselves. They had been Ascended for true preservation. For them, ascension was a reality, not something to be feared, or inflicted upon organics, simply because it would happen for the organics, in time.

That combined with the increased overall age of those being Ascended meant that the LMC Ascended felt calmer somehow. They were less aggressive. What that actually meant was still to be determined, because he well knew that the calm ones could wreak a lot of damage.

The Council had focused on Cerberus' efforts to save Humanity. They had dismissed what the rest of Humanity was willing to do. He had approved of the deal with the Reapers but he wasn't sure he could have conceived it. That atrocity was the responsibility of the Systems Alliance and Shepard.

It was enough of a warning for him and he would watch for challengers.

And Cannaman? Cannaman was just young. It would learn in time.

With a sigh, Harper looked away from the newest Ascended, towards the others still under construction. They would not doubt.

-cfr-

**45755 Years after Human Ascension, 700 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, System: Dorado**

"Inasmuch as Shepard would be happy to see them, I think we should wait."

"Wait? Wait for what?" Harper questioned. He was in his Ascended form, on what was becoming a traditional end of century holiday. First, he caught up with all the information in his Ascended form then he actually took some time off. He'd tried doing it the other way around, but the lure of all that information just gnawed at him.

"Wait until the rest of us are remade," Goertz replied. He was the first of the Milky Way Ascended to be re-created and Harper had simply put his core into a new shell. After he spent some time checking the connections, he'd awoken. Goertz was in charge of recreating the others. "They are very young."

"They are Ascended," Harper replied.

"They are still very young. Even I got more training, and I awoke after the cycle was complete."

"Didn't Elysium download the training?" Harper asked.

"She did but there was never any time to practice. And that information won't be with them. It went into their databanks, not into the core. But that's what I mean when I say they are young. It's more than just training. The new Ascended here go through training but they are comprised of adult minds. They are mature. Generally, we are younger. Much younger so there are two things that have to happen. The minds inside need to mature, and training then needs to occur. That's why I think we should wait."

Harper considered it. Goertz had a point. They shouldn't have been Ascended. The minds forming Legacy and Instinct were immature, they did not represent a proper sample of Humanity. Genetically, they might but in every other way they had been too young. Except Harbinger had agreed to ascend Humanity and that had included the children. Not that he had really had another choice if he wanted to keep the other Human Ascended. Killing off children and babies by the hundreds of millions was, after all, the reason why Shepard had given Harper the Project.

In a normal Ascended, children would have been Ascended, as they had in his form, but their youth was countered by the more experienced, older minds.

"I'm not going to be able to build very quickly anyway," Goertz added.

"Well, what does Harbinger usually do with young Ascended?" Esha asked, directing her question to the core of the matter.

It really was that simple. Harper, or rather Goertz would rebuild the Milky Way Ascended. Their physical forms anyway. Though there was an alternative. He could just re-birth their Human forms into the population and reform their Ascended forms using the resources from the Department of Immortality.

Except they'd be different. Even if they had the same organic make up, the Human memories would be different. They wouldn't remember Shepard. If he wanted them to download their minds, he'd have to reconstruct their Ascended forms, which was the entire point.

Harbinger usually allowed the new Ascended a few years to adjust. It generally occurred while the final sweep of the galaxy was happening. It gave the new Ascended confidence in their ability to fly and they learned combat during the cycles that followed. Humans had been different. They had led the harvest of their own cycle so the creation of their training had been borne of necessity and they were led by those who understood combat, at least for organics. That had been enough.

"I'll assign one of the pre-colonisation systems to you," Harper said eventually, allowing his subchannel to provide the fuller explanation. The newly reformed Ascended could practice in the system. They would be responsible for setting up the basic farms, defences and other required space-based industry. If the rebuilt Ascended required further systems, they could move around. It would allow them to properly hone their control, even if it did nothing for their combat training.

That was going to be an issue but perhaps, once they knew their full abilities, they could participate in the war games Williams ran for her advanced troops. There was plenty of time to consider, because it wasn't like the LMC Ascended had real combat experience. Technically, he was the only one who had, even if that experience had come to a rather abrupt halt.

"That will do," Goertz accepted the suggestion. "We should be able to contribute at least a few tonnes for the Project."

"Focus on reconstruction for the moment," Harper instructed. The Milky Way Ascended represented thirty three extra Ascended who knew, without any shadow of a doubt, that Shepard was real. While he had not yet experienced problems from the LMC Ascended, Cannaman's awakening was something he should have anticipated, even if he had no real way of combating it. Thirty-three extra Ascended may not be much, not against the thousands that would be created as time went on, but they would be extra viewpoints to confirm his own. They would help.

"I will," Goertz said. "I believe it will still take another 100 to 150 years before they are all remade." The Milky Way Ascended said speculatively. His subchannel told Harper that the estimate was based on him having to collect all the materials. If the Empire helped, then the time would be vastly reduced.

"Assess the cores first," Harper said. "Tell me who can be rebuilt and who will need to be reborn. Once that is determined, we'll work out a proper timeline for reconstruction. There's no rush," he added. "As you say, Shepard won't be seeing them for a long time," he concluded.

While Ascended didn't display Human gestures, he got the impression that Goertz nodded and the comm was cut. Harper sighed to himself. There was always so much to catch up on when he was Ascended. But it was necessary. He pulled up the files on the military. Time to see what Williams had really been up to.

-cfr-

**45803 Years after Human Ascension, 748 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Attori Nation, Planet: Atto, Prime Minister's Office**

"So it's official?" Prime Minister Uilram asked.

"Yes Sir," Fineil replied. He was the CEO of Moondust Mining, one of the largest mining corporations of the Attori. It was one of their scout ships that had first encountered the new alien vessel.

There had been surprise on both sides but Uilram considered it a success that neither had fired. Of course, the mining scout shouldn't have had that many weapons, but the reports were that the alien vessel did.

Still, much like the Humans, they had not fired and after some garbled back and forth messages, a comm link had been established and some basic linguistics worked out.

"So what do they call themselves?" The Prime Minister asked.

Second Contact wasn't as historical as First, but it was still important, and there were whole sections of the Attori devoted to working out their new neighbours.

"The Fedochi," Fineil replied.

"What else do we know?"

"They don't appear to be as militaristic as the Humans," General Dm'yir said, stepping forward. His frills were showing a neutral colour, which betrayed none of his excitement.

"That's not hard," someone murmured.

While there was a general expression of mirth, the truth of that statement was acknowledged. The Humans, even after so many years, were still paranoid and militaristic, though they acknowledged a stable border with the Attori and were good trading partners.

"It is hard to know for sure," the general continued, "however it appears that they are more militarily minded than ourselves. This can be seen from the fact that we encountered a military scout ship.

"The information they have exchanged with us indicates they are ruled by a central government with some sort of aristocracy."

"Hostile?" They had lived with the Humans' military for so long but the Humans were, for all their paranoia, relatively peaceful. The Attori did not need aggressive neighbours.

"Unknown," Dm'yir replied. He didn't need to tell the room that the new aliens might just be sizing them up. But they might not be.

"Have we told the Humans?"

"Not yet," Dm'yir said. "We were waiting for confirmation and the basic information packs."

"They probably already know," Fineil mused.

"Yes but they will act like they don't," Uilram sighed.

"They are, at least, discreet," the CEO returned.

Uilram wanted to say something further but this was not the place to complain about the Humans' spying ability. They had counterintelligence, yet somehow, the Human Ambassador seemed to know everything before they spoke. But the Humans were polite enough not to mention it. They never acted surprised and they always asked for the details they already knew. While it was frustrating for the government, their information was technically already public; it must be far worse for business.

He waved one hand, his frills flashing to show that this was not the time to discuss the Human's espionage practices before he looked at Dm'yir.

"If they attack..?" Uilram didn't need to complete the statement.

The General looked uncomfortable for a few moments as he thought. "We are in a better position now than when we met the Humans," he mused. "But it will depend on how large their territory is. Judging from the scout ship, their tech looks to be similar to ours."

When they had met the Humans, the Attori military had been close to nonexistent. They had had policing forces for each planet, and some ability to chase down those who turned to pirating, but compared to the massive military machine that the Humans presented, they had been woefully unprepared. After they met the Humans, that policing force had become the military, with quite a large budget. There wasn't even much debate about it. Parliament passed the legislation with an eighty percent approval from the citizens. In the intervening 170 years, there had been some cutbacks, but the military remained far larger than it had been. Most just accepted the Humans but those in government had to recognise that there was always the chance they could be attacked.

"Except no one puts their best tech on an expendable scout."

Dm'yir's frills flashed, indicating his agreement. "If their territory is small, then unless they are very much advanced, it won't matter, we will be able to throw more resources at any conflict, however, if their territory is large, then it will depend on the tech differences and the skills of our soldiers."

"Do we have  _any_  indications about the size of their territory?" The Prime Minister asked.

Fineil and Dm'yir shared a glance, wordlessly discussing the information they had pulled from the communications they had exchanged with the Fedochi.

"It might be a misunderstanding," Fineil said finally, "but they are big. The communication wasn't explicit but we extrapolated from a few of their statements that they have at least fifty well developed systems."

"That's bigger than the Phoenix Empire!" Uilram objected. The Humans had expanded over the time the Attori had known them, doubling in size from the 15 systems at First Contact to 32 now. Their Emperor kept their growth controlled, and every settlement was heavily defended. The Attori had expanded as well, and actually controlled more systems, but they were not as developed. Plus, even though their military had developed, Uilram was more than aware of what would happen if they went to war with the Humans. It wouldn't be a whitewash but it would be exceedingly painful.

"That's just our preliminary estimate," Fineil said, "and it is based on untested assumptions. We hope to get better information as time goes on. It's not like we told them the extent of our holdings either."

"True," the Prime Minister agreed, his frills colouring to indicate his agreement. "I'll be interested to see what the Humans have to say," he said.

"Yes," Fineil replied, almost laughing. Assuming they hadn't made a mistake with their inferences, it would be interesting to be, as the Humans would put it, a fly on the wall, when their Emperor learned they weren't the largest military in the galaxy.

There was a bleep from Dm'yir's communicator. The general looked at it for a few moments. "We've got confirmation of a diplomatic meeting," he announced. "On the fourth planet of the system we made contact in."

"When?"

"In seven days."

Uilram nodded. "The question is if we invite the Humans."

It was a complex question. Eventually, the Humans would come into contact with this new race, either through the Attori or by themselves. But there was a more simplistic consideration. While the system where the Attori and Humans had first met was not that valuable, the Humans were currently terraforming the planet. When they were finished, it would have a breathable atmosphere for both species. Though it was a historically important system so there was already extensive space based works and it was a major trading hub between the Attori and Humans.

If they were invited to this contact, there was a slightly greedy thought that perhaps the Humans could be persuaded to terraform this planet as well. But there were other, more practical issues which came before greed.

"We should," Dm'yir replied. "There's another consideration. The Fedochi are being friendly now, yes, but they may be sizing us up. If they do decide to attack, it is possible they would pause knowing that they may not be fighting us alone."

"Are we First Contact for the Fedochi?"

"We think so."

"Alright. Invite the Humans, and tell them what we know. Give them the recordings and ask what their thoughts are. Tell Ambassador Whitlock that we will need an answer fairly quickly and ask if there is anything we can tell the Fedochi about them. I'm fairly sure the Humans will have an information packet or something. Then, depending on the Human answer, tell the Fedochi we won't be alone. Let's be polite to our new neighbours."

Fineil and Dm'yir nodded, remaining silent as they waited for Uilram to finish.

"At the diplomatic meeting, let's make it a priority to try to find out what the true extent of their territory is, their governmental structure and their military prowess. Before that, make some tentative overtures to the Humans about a pact. Their Emperor is intelligent. He should recognise that an attack on us will be bad for business and I doubt the Humans will want to be that friendly with another military state but you never know."

Even after 170 years, the Humans still surprised them. The latest surprise was Intelligence's confirmation that the Human claims of immortality were actually true. Emperor Harper, Grand Admiral Williams, Director Lawson were the same people they had always been. Not the same body but the same mind. There were others but those were the main names. It was still shocking to Uilram. He remembered the briefing he had received upon entering elected office. Intelligence had been very careful to make sure that the new officials did not offend the Humans, so that meant elaborate lectures on Human culture and history and an overly complicated explanation about their claims of immortality.

Except they were  _not_  just claims.

Intelligence had completed an assessment of the three big names, comparing footage of them over time and while their physical forms altered going backwards and forwards in age, their unconscious gestures did not. And Director Lawson had agreed to participate in a study for them. Intelligence had given his aged body a list of questions to memorise. They had been deliberately difficult, both in their wording and with answers known to only one or two individuals within Intelligence. For extra robustness in the test, the answers were the sort of information that the Human espionage services could not discover.

After returning in a younger body about two weeks later, Director Lawson had quoted back both the questions and the answers, verbatim. There was not a single hesitation in his replies and in an unofficial comment made by one of the Intel ops, they noted that the 'new' Lawson continued a small joke from the first interview.

It was not conclusive proof but it was enough that they would stop treating the Human claims as fiction. Somehow, they really did know how to conserve their minds. The Attori had theorised it, they just had no idea where to start on the actuality. It was information that was classified. Uilram could only imagine what some of the Attori would do if they discovered that immortality, of a sort, was real. Ambassador Whitlock had assured them that Emperor Harper did not care if they continued to publicly state that the Human claims were a fiction but she had also said that he was pleased that they finally realised the truth. It would allow for relations to be far more direct if they knew that he knew everything that had gone before, no matter what age he looked like.

"Anything else, sir?" Dm'yir asked when Uilram fell silent.

"Not for the moment but, if you need anything, let me know. You'll have a direct line." He paused, his frills colouring with excitement but some anxiety and both Fineil and Dm'yir understood. This was an important time, but just as with the Humans, they might be looking at the beginning of the end. Change was… well you never knew where change would take you. That was acceptable for individuals but not for the governing body of society.

-cfr-

**45803 Years after Human Ascension, 748 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, City: Safehold, Emperor's Office**

"So how did the first meeting go?" Emperor Harper asked the hologram of Ambassador Inez Whitlock.

"Not too bad, Your Majesty," she replied. "The initial reports are coming through now."

Harper nodded. All the information provided by the Attori and from the meeting were being analysed and the reports were beginning to come through. Soon, with the information they had collected through Darren's astronomy and observation department, they'd have a complete view of these Fedochi.

"What are your initial thoughts?" Harper pressed.

Inez thought for a few moments, gathering her thoughts. She had been selected as the Ambassador because she knew how to interact with the Attori but was also very good at compiling information. "They aren't as militaristic as the Attori believe," she said, referring to the initial information they had obtained from the Attori. "These Fedochi have a military but it is anchored in their aristocracy."

"They have an aristocracy?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. They related to our Empire quite well," she said with a small smile.

"Yet their leader lets their aristocracy control the military?" Harper was incredulous. That sounded like a recipe for disaster! You did not let potential challengers control the means to topple your government.

"It's not like that, Sir," Inez began to explain. "The Fedochi Exarch maintains the bulk of the military, including the special forces but during conflict the aristocracy is expected to provide troops, just the normal soldiers. The aristocracy forms the command ranks."

"I'll have to read the report," Harper frowned, placing one hand to his forehead. "What of their strength? The initial Attori estimates were for about fifty systems."

Ambassador Whitlock was professional enough to keep the smile from her face. This was probably the information Harper wanted all the time. "We are still not certain about their full holdings," she had to report, "but they have provided a rough map of their territory. It is large sir."

Harper took a deep breath. He hadn't wanted to believe the Attori estimates, even if his own people confirmed their assumptions but the first proper meeting couldn't be denied. He flicked through one of the initial reports to find the estimated map. The Fedochi were extended along both the Human and Attori borders, though there was an area of empty space between them. That explained why his empire hadn't encountered them first.

"Williams?" Harper prompted, turning towards the woman.

She was flicking through the initial report with a slight frown on her face. Williams took a sip of tea before she sighed. "We could take them," she said slowly, putting the report down. "But I need a reliable estimate of their tech levels before I can say how easily." There was no accusation in her voice. Ambassador Whitlock had attended the initial meeting as the representative from the Phoenix Empire but it was still very much the Attori's show.

The Humans had been introduced as an allied race but contact between Humans and the Fedochi would have to be initiated for themselves. The Attori were happy to be intermediaries and for the moment Harper was willing to let that happen. At least, he would be while he decided how to handle this new species.

"Despite their estimated size, I believe our military size to be approximately equal and if it comes to war, we will win," Williams continued. "We have 221 dreadnoughts they don't know about."

Harper couldn't help but smirk at that. The Ascended were their ace and while he wouldn't want to use them in any conflict if it was necessary then he would not hesitate. "So a hard fought battle, but one we would eventually win?" He concluded for Williams.

"I believe so. I'll have better estimates when we obtain our own data," she said. While Williams did not participate in the collection of espionage, and had a vague disapproval for the process, she was happy to use the information. "I do not advise conflict, not while we are still invested in the Project."

He sighed. They were going to be involved with the Project for centuries to come. Shepard's orders would press against him until the point where it was launched. Then they would lessen but the pressure of them would not fade away until, as Shepard had put it, the problem was solved. The grunt hadn't explicitly said it, but Harper knew that he could not initiate any conflict. Still, if the Fedochi started one, he would finish it. Shepard's orders would be very accommodating at that.

He lifted one hand to rub at his eyebrows. "Another peaceful relationship," he muttered before looking to Inez. "Were the Attori really the first contact for the Fedochi? If they have that large a territory, I find it hard to believe that they encountered no one."

They had encountered a few sentient but low tech species and he steered the Empire away from them. At the moment, he did not have the time to devote to educating lesser races. Those who thought that a slave race would be cheap labor really needed to pay closer attention to the entire economic picture. Conquering was easy, controlling was what cost both time and money.

Inez raised one eyebrow as she nodded. "They weren't clear on that, but the Attori got it wrong with their original assumption. The Fedochi have encountered other races. Those races have either been pre-space or just beginning to reach out from their planet. They have been subsumed."

"Still alive?"

"I'm not sure yet."

Harper nodded. "It doesn't matter. When the Fedochi speak to you, tell them that we welcome the opportunity to develop a relationship with them. Set up a meeting with me if necessary and generally be friendly. I'll send you a map of our territory shortly. It will include some of our current projects."

Whitlock nodded. The core territory claimed by the Empire were the developed and inhabited planets but there were always other systems on the edges of the Empire where they were terraforming. Technically those systems were part of the Empire but they were not included on any maps until the system was colonised.

"Play nice," Harper instructed. "But make it clear that any attempt to subsume us or the Attori will be met with force," he allowed his blue eyes to meet Inez's brown squarely at the last. Williams nodded from beside him. She understood Shepard's orders.

"Will do, Your Majesty. I expect they will contact me this week, through the Attori," Inez said.

Harper waved one hand to dismiss the implications. Of course, the Attori Intelligence would be listening in but if the Fedochi didn't realise that, then they were stupid. He trusted his Ambassador not to say anything compromising at that point. When they established comms without the Attori, then they could be more open.

"What do we know about their physiology?"

Inez consulted a data pad. "None of this is confirmed yet, but we believe the Fedochi are a long lived race."

"How long?" Williams asked. The Attori lived for about 100 years, while natural Human lifespan was closing in on 200 years. Whitlock did not know about the Asari or Krogan so it would be telling to see what she considered long lived.

"Eight hundred years or so," Inez replied. "But there's a large error estimate on that."

"So how old is the current Exarch?" Harper asked, his voice shrewd as he considered the implications. If they lived that long, they might see through his plans for the Attori. It would make it interesting if they did.

"About 100," Inez said.

"So young?"

"Yes," she nodded. "The Exarch holds their position for life. The early part of that life is for ruling, and as the current Exarch ages, he will be expected to breed and devote the later part of his rule to training his chosen successor."

Harper nodded. "Is there anything else?"

"No, Your Majesty," Inez shook her head after a few moments thought.

"Then I will speak to you later," he said, nodding once to Inez in dismissal and the comm line was cut.

"How close are we to ten dreadnoughts for every planet?" He asked Williams once we was sure the connection was fully closed.

"We've increased production by one dreadnought a year for the last one hundred and nineteen years, so we are forty one short. All planets have eight dreadnoughts, some have nine. Home has fifteen," she replied. Harper had access to all of this information but at times, it was just easier to ask.

"We have extra capacity in the Ascended docks, don't we?"

"We do," Williams agreed, though her tone said that she thought the idea was bad. They had kept dreadnought and Ascended building separate. While most of the newly awoken Ascended accepted the explanations, about why organics still existed, some fired before they realised they were with other Ascended. As a result, the dreadnought building facilities were in Nimitz while the Ascended facilities were in Dorado and Viarus.

"Any extra capacity in Nimitz?"

Williams hid a smile. The fact that the Fedochi had a supposedly larger military was making Harper very transparent. "I'll see what I can do," she replied, mentally thinking about the dock space she had. They could probably make an extra half dreadnought a year if they pushed it, and no doubt Harper would divert some extra funds. That would increase their production. "Once we get to ten, I gather I should then aim for fifteen?" she asked.

"Yes," Harper agreed tensely. "Tell me tomorrow how fast that can be done," he instructed. "How close is Valenti to being habitable?"

"There's eight more years on the schedule so we could put colonists on it tomorrow if they wanted to finish the last of the building. We haven't started the selection process though," Williams said.

"Accelerate colonisation," Harper said. "I want the next ten planets colonised in fifty years."

"It's meant to take us another one hundred years!" she objected.

"I know that," Harper snapped. "I want it to take fifty."

"Well, you'd better talk to Lawson then," she growled. Williams knew the schedule for colonisation because she had to provide the protective fleets but she had nothing to do with setting the schedule.

That was Lawson's job. Since he had to prepare the population, he had the final say on when the citizens were ready, though lately the biological engineering practices had been toned down. After eliminating almost all inherited diseases and engineering immunity to others, along with a selective program over the last seven hundred and fifty years to increase strength, endurance, speed and intelligence, there wasn't much more to do. Well, not unless you wanted to start being exotic and sensibly Harper didn't. Additional enhancements were provided by cybernetic implants.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll talk to Lawson," Harper said, though he was deep in thought, obviously ignoring her.

In retaliation, Williams tensed her muscles, smirking when Harper's bodyguards caught the gesture, and they all narrowed their eyes with their focus. They were so predictable. She was in a young body at the moment so her enhancements would be superior to theirs. Harper's bodyguards had good implants, but they weren't experimental. She always got the most cutting edge implants, which meant that hers were a generation ahead of theirs. She was in a position where they could fail, they weren't. Williams was pretty sure she could take them… well, enough to take out Harper if she wanted but as annoying as it was to admit, she wouldn't be here if that was her goal.

She relaxed, resisting the urge to laugh when Harper's bodyguards remained tense. If they were her special forces troops, she'd be ordering them to take a few days leave but they weren't.

"Stop doing that," Harper muttered.

"Doing what?"

"Frustrating my men," he replied.

Williams rose. "Whatever you say, Jack," she laughed. "Whatever you say," she added, walking toward the exit with a show of complete unconcern. "I'll have that report ready at some stage."

"Tomorrow, Williams!" Harper replied.

"Whatever," she said as the door closed. What did he think she'd do? It would be ready later today, but she'd probably delay sending it until eight or nine pm tomorrow. Harper was used to working at all hours, but he did like to maintain a routine and a little thing like a late report would break it, especially if she could remain out of contact until she sent it. It was a petty gesture but, over the last seven hundred and fifty years, she had discovered that it was those little petty things that kept you actually feeling emotion. Otherwise, everything just blended together.

Besides, it wasn't like Harper would complain. Well… much. Which was the entire point.

-cfr-

**45804 Years after Human Ascension, 749 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Fedochi Protectorate, Fedochi Homeworld: Cyr**

"Emperor Harper," the Exarch of the Fedochi greeted the hologramatic image of the Phoenix Empire's leader.

"Exarch Ilkin." The translation came through smoothly and Ilkin admired how the Humans had managed to sync the words to their Emperor's lip movements. It gave the illusion that he was actually speaking Plam.

He examined the setting. The Human Emperor had chosen to appear in what Ilkin thought was a work setting. The Human was behind a neat desk in what was no doubt a comfortable but sensible looking chair. They were a bi-gendered species and at his left stood a woman who had been identified from the information provided by both the Humans and the Attori as Grand Admiral Williams. She was the Commanding Officer of the Empire's Military. On the Emperor's right was another Human, male, who they had been told was Director Lawson. The Attori weren't clear on what his official role within the Human government was but they acknowledged that he was the Emperor's chosen heir, so he was important enough to be present at this meeting. No doubt, off camera was a gathering of other forces, most likely military with some civilian representatives.

It was an interesting setting, compared to how he had decided to display the Fedochi. He had chosen to display a relaxed scene. He sat on a comfortable divan with the two most influential Dukes standing behind him. The room was rather opulent with a spectacularly carved table in front of them. It showed that he was confident. He didn't need to display his regalia to confirm his rank but nor did he require a work like setting. He was comfortable enough on his throne that he could relax, though he was equally aware that both their settings were at least somewhat contrived.

"I am somewhat surprised that you were so open to engaging in direct conversation," Ilkin said, leaving the phrase open to judge where the Human leader went.

The Human smiled. It was an odd gesture, the baring of teeth, but one the Attori had been very clear was meant to be a sign of friendship or happiness. "I find that direct communication reduces misunderstandings." Again the Human techs synchronised the translation to their Emperor and Ilkin couldn't help but wonder how they were doing it. It was an impressive trick but it was obviously just that, a tech trick.

"Indeed, though from my understanding, there has not been many misunderstandings with your relations with the Attori," Ilkin said. He wasn't sure if he believed the Attori assurances that the Human Emperor Harper was truly immortal. While it was true that the brief history that had been provided indicated that Harper had always ruled, it could just be a title.

Harper waved one hand. "Nothing serious, thankfully," he said. "They have become a valued trading partner," the Emperor added.

Ilkin wasn't quite sure how to translate that statement. On one hand, it could be an assurance that the Humans would stand with the Attori if it came to conflict, because any conflict would interrupt their trading relationship. But on the other, it could just be a statement of fact, an explanation as to why the Humans had not conquered the Attori. Fedochi intelligence assured him that the Phoenix Empire could forcibly absorb the Attori at any stage yet for some reason the Humans hadn't. No one could provide him with a satisfactory reason beyond trade. But surely, trade couldn't be everything? Why trade when you could turn them into a worker class who would provide what you needed?

Or was it because, while the Humans had an Emperor, they did not have an aristocracy to provide the troops? It seemed a very odd arrangement, having the supreme centralised power, without the means to govern the areas the Phoenix Empire controlled. For now, the Fedochi had had to assume there was an aristocracy but they weren't interested in providing the troops to conquer the Attori. That made much more sense.

"Perhaps we shall be as well, in time," he replied.

"Perhaps," the Human Emperor agreed. "Though for now, maybe we can come to an informal accord about territory?"

That was a huge suggestion and Ilkin was surprised. He wondered if the translation earlier had been incorrect. The Emperor had said that direct communication reduces misunderstandings. At least, that is what he had seemed to say but could have have said 'I will be direct in my communication'? Ilkin didn't display any reaction but he wondered who was providing the translations. He assumed it was the Humans, because it was instantaneous but if it was his people, he would have to find out what the alternate translations were for whatever the Human Emperor had said.

"That is a very large undertaking," he replied diplomatically.

"Nothing so formal," Harper dismissed the concern. "For the moment, your territory adjoins the Attori," he continued, and in the lower part of the screen a two dimensional map appeared.

Ilkin stared at it, feeling his Dukes look at it closely as well. He noticed that it did not display the entire Human territory and was amused. They already knew the Human territory was smaller than theirs but at the same time the Attori had made it clear that every Human system was both well defended and well established. They had yet to confirm that for themselves. Attori space was marked in blue, and the Phoenix Empire was marked in red. Fedochi space was marked in yellow. It was a surprisingly accurate representation and someone in Intelligence would have to provide an explanation as to how the Humans had such precise information.

A small section of the Attori and Fedochi territories were adjoining but between most of them there were large purple areas.

"As can be seen," the Human Emperor continued, "our respective territories are not yet adjoining." A section of the map blinked. "Though, given enough time, they will be."

"So you want to assign systems now?" Ilkin asked. Mentally he was estimating the distances and tallying the number of systems in the area of the map highlighted. Unless the Humans moved far faster than the Fedochi, something that didn't seem likely with their history, it was unlikely that they would encounter each other, and be forced to formalise that border until well into his reign. By then it would be an interesting challenge for his son or daughter to work out, with his assistance of course but they would also have far better information about the Humans.

"No. Nothing so formal, Exarch Ilkin," Harper replied. "I believe an in-principle agreement will suffice for now. One that states that both our species may continue to expand but once we meet in these areas-" again the display flashed, "-we should agree that we will form a border."

Ah, now, he understood. "So the first of us to colonise a system will take control of it?" he put forward the suggestion. All Fedochi colonisation would be pushed into those areas for now. He estimated that they could occupy about two thirds, to three quarters of the territory before encountering the Humans.

"That sounds reasonable," Emperor Harper agreed. "Even once we meet, both our species will have other areas to expand into."

That was an odd statement. It didn't outright state peace but it heavily implied it. For a society as military minded as the Humans presented themselves, why did their Emperor seem so set on peaceful relations? Or was there something happening inside their territory? Were they not as strong as they appeared? It definitely bore thinking about and the two Dukes made slight movement to indicate that they had picked up on it as well.

"That is true," Ilkin agreed.

"It is a large galaxy."

"Indeed, though I'm given to understand you come from a larger one still," Ilkin probed. The Attori had been quite open in their information about the Humans. He thought it was perhaps a ploy to intimidate him somehow. Imply that their close ally, the Humans were far more powerful than they seemed but so far, while the Humans were strong, he had seen nothing to indicate they were all powerful. This was a deliberate test for their Emperor.

He seemed to recognise it as such and Ilkin got the feeling he was being allowed to read several of the Human Emperor's reactions. Well, that was good, as he was telegraphing several of his to make his opinions clear. This was a staged meeting.

"The Milky Way is beautiful from this distance," Emperor Harper said. "But at its heart, it is a vicious, brutal galaxy, with no chance for the new races to grow. And all of us, the Attori, the Fedochi and the Humans are new." Harper's eyes glowed especially brightly at that sentence.

Ilkin indicated his agreement. The Humans knew their cover story seamlessly, not that he expected anything less from the highest authority in Human territory. He remained silent for a moment more. The fact of the matter was that, even if he wanted to, the Fedochi couldn't get a ship to what the Humans called the Milky Way to disprove their claims. And in the grand scheme of things, if they wanted to claim they came from another galaxy, or that they were immortal, it didn't matter.

"Did you desire for any in principle agreements on military matters?" Ilkin asked.

Emperor Harper shifted but Exarch Ilkin could see the way he glared. "I don't think so," he said stiffly. "It will save us both the trouble of pretending we are sticking to some agreement neither of us has any intention of obeying."

Ilkin waved one hand in the same gesture he'd seen Harper make to dismiss the matter.

The Emperor smiled again. "For the moment, since our respective territories are distant, I doubt we need any further agreement," he said.

"But we should maintain contact," Exarch Ilkin replied.

"Yes, that would be best," Harper replied, nodding slowly. "Exarch Ilkin."

He followed the Human's gesture before the comm link was cut. Ilkin narrowed his eyes, as he took several measured breaths. That had been interesting but it had raised more questions than it answered.

"I want a triply reinforced fleet on the Attori border within a week," Exarch Ilkin ordered. There was only one reliable way to obtain answers, and that was to test them. And if the answers weren't acceptable, and they never had been in the past, then it was the duty of the Fedochi to save the primitives from themselves.

Duke Huseyn nodded. "I'll see to it," he replied.

"Good," Ilkin nodded before turning to Duke Vuqar. "Send word to the Kratos. Their troops will be needed. The Attori may believe the fictions these Humans spin but I doubt they will hold against Vanquisher Mass Accelerator rounds."

The three Fedochi laughed. The Attori, and their Human allies were larger than any species they'd encountered so far but that just made them more challenging. This would be glorious.

-cfr-

Of course, if, through some fluke, the comm link had stayed open the Exarch may not have been so jubilant.

"Bloody punk," Williams spat.

"On the contrary," Harper said amused, "they should do nicely."

Lawson just rolled his eyes as he moved to one of the couches.

Harper pressed the comm link on his desk, sending a signal through to one of his personal assistants. He probably could have gotten one of his ever present bodyguards to do it, but after several centuries there was a clear line between duties. "Your Majesty?"

"Get me Prime Minister Uilram and General Dm'yir now. Tell them it's a Priority One signal."

"I'll have them in a minute, and then patch it through."

While there was no formal agreement between Attori and Humanity, they had worked out some communication protocols. Most calls were Priority Three. It indicated that there was some issue but it wasn't urgent. Priority One was a matter that needed immediate attention from both governments.

"It would be a long distance expedition but we could wreak enough havoc to keep them off us," Williams said.

"That won't be necessary," Harper soothed her, while waiting for the hook up. "Right at the moment, I'm sure Exarch Ilkin is filled with dreams of conquest but I know his type. He'll want to test the waters. When that test blows up in his face, he'll see things my way."

At that point, the comm link stabilized and an image of Prime Minister Uilram appeared. The Attori's frills were stained with colour indicating deep concern. General Dm'yir was somewhat more restrained but was also visibly concerned.

"Emperor Harper," Uilram said as greeting.

"I think we've known each other long enough to dispense with the pleasantries," Harper said, waving one hand. "And this is not a social call," he added.

"You've spoken with the Fedochi." It was a statement more than a question and Harper could see that the Attori Prime Minister wasn't sure what to expect now. A declaration of war or the confirmation of a mutual defense pact were both equally likely.

"Yes," Harper nodded. His meeting with the Exarch hadn't been well advertised but it wasn't a state secret either. "In about a week, you are going to have a large Fedochi military presence along your border," he explained, directing his comments now towards General Dm'yir. "They will say it's just a routine patrol, or training, or some other bullshit reason. It  _is_  an excuse, though, for conquest. If you do not match that force, ship for ship, very quickly, they will violate your agreed upon border, just a little. That will be explained as a navigational error from a lower officer.

"But it will continue." Harper made sure his voice was firm as he explained what the Fedochi would do. "Until, rather quickly I imagine, they attack and occupy the border system of Treodo."

"There is no indication that the Fedochi are hostile!" Uilram objected though General Dm'yir looked much more grim.

"They are more opportunistic than hostile," Harper granted. "They are after an easy conquest," he told the Attori Prime Minister. He didn't have to say that the Attori presented themselves as an easy conquest.

"You are not the first race they've encountered," Williams told Uilram. "You are just the most advanced."

Harper nodded before he continued. He didn't want to get into arguments here. "That attack will only happen if you do not match their forces! If you stand up to their threat, they should back off, or at least they will once you prove to them that you will not tolerate border violations." He flicked through several data pads, looking for the name. "Send the new  _Architect_  class destroyer as a part of your fleet."

Both Uilram and Dm'yir stiffened at that. "How do you..?" Uilram demanded but trailed off. He already knew how the Human Emperor knew about their newly developed, supposedly secret class of destroyers. It was just that Harper had never been so open with revealing how thoroughly the Attori had been compromised.

"Never mind that," Harper said. "How about I make this worth your while?" he challenged. "If, in two weeks, an abnormally large Fedochi fleet has not appeared on your border, I'll pay you double for the next year's worth of shipments."

Despite the gravity of the situation, Uilram perked up at that. Double eezo would allow the stockpiles to be replenished since they had used quite a bit with field testing the  _Architect_. "If the fleet does appear, well, I'll still pay you, as per the standard agreement, for the shipments, but you will deliver the technical drawings for the  _Architect_  class destroyers to us."

"Don't you already have them?" Uilram couldn't help but say.

Harper just shrugged. What plans they did and did not have was up to Attori Intelligence to determine.

Dm'yir looked at him closely. "Your Majesty, you are that sure the Fedochi will test us?" He asked.

"I am," Harper replied seriously but didn't elaborate further. The Fedochi aristocracy probably made a bit of a game out of it. Whoever conquered the most valuable species rose in rank and the Attori would be very valuable. "With your permission, I am willing to send assistance."

"Assistance?" Uilram demanded.

"A dreadnought contingent," Harper said. "Three, though two would hang back in reserve."

"Ho-" Whatever Prime Minister Uilram was about to say was cut off by General Dm'yir.

"That would be appreciated," he spoke over the elected representative. "While I am sure we can match the Fedochi, the extra firepower, and show of unity, would send a clearer message to their Exarch."

"Indeed," Harper nodded, glad that at least one of the implications did not need to be explained to the Attori. They were good neighbours, peaceful and happy with trade, which, if he had to have neighbours, was exactly the type he needed right now, with the Project still eating so much of the available budget.

The Attori had developed their military since meeting them but Williams still stood by her estimates for conquering them.

""Please send them immediately. I'll let the border forces know to expect them," Dm'yir said, his frills colouring to indicate acceptance.

"Why are you doing this?" Uilram demanded, his frills flashing with annoyance but he recognised that the General had made the decision and it would be bad practice to contradict him.

"Because I was ordered to," the words slipped out before Harper was consciously aware of them.

As he blinked, surprised at himself, Jack was aware of the amused stares from both Henry and Williams. Ashley then laughed, reaching one hand to wipe her eyes.

"You were ordered to?" Uilram asked slowly and Harper didn't even need to look at the image to know that the Prime Minister's frills would be coloured with disbelief.

Why the hell had he said that? Harper wondered as he took several deep breaths. How did he get out of this? He might as well go with the truth. It was just as unbelievable as anything he could fabricate.

"Despite several attempts, you have never determined where the metals you sell to me go, have you?" Harper countered with his own question. Uilram remained silent. "I know you haven't," Harper continued. "And I also know that several of your accountants have made presentations to you that the economy of the Phoenix Empire does not add up. There is a very large void," he said, quoting from one of the papers he'd read recently.

Uilram appeared to recognise the phrase because he wasn't controlled enough to keep the colour from his frills.

"I'm not going to explain everything," Harper said, "but I will say that there is a project I am working on, and have been working on since I arrived in this galaxy. It is the Project that was entrusted to me in the Milky Way."

"You want to go back?" Uilram asked.

"No," Harper shook his head. "It is something else. A failsafe," he explained.

"You don't think the elder races will pursue you?" Uilram demanded.

Harper allowed himself to smile sadly. The Attori Prime Minister's question fitted with their cover story perfectly. "I do not know," he replied. "They haven't so far but that could be because they are still fighting each other. They won't have forgotten us but so long as they don't come until after my project is completed, it won't matter," he added. The Attori could make up what they wanted around that. "Suffice it to say that while I have not been ordered to maintain peaceful relationships, they are desired to allow the completion of the project."

Uilram was silent before he nodded. It was a gesture he'd learned from the Humans. "I see," he said slowly. It was beginning to make sense now. The Attori had always wondered why the Humans, such an obviously military race, had never actually used that military. Because self defence, in an empty galaxy, could not be the sole reason. Here was an explanation from their Emperor that made some sense, in the usual fantastical way the Human explanations did.

"Let us deal with the Fedochi for the moment," General Dm'yir said softly, bringing them back to the topic at hand. "Your assistance would be greatly appreciated." He added, aiming his words towards Williams who still had an amused smirk gracing her features.

She nodded towards her fellow military commander. "The fleet will be there in a day," she said. "But I advise that they hold back until the Fedochi actually make their move. Let's not open ourselves to an accusation of aggression," she added.

Harper nodded, as did Dm'yir. "I believe once they see a show of force, and know that we will use that force, they will back off," Harper comforted Uilram. "This is about setting boundaries, and the Fedochi have never encountered that. They just have to be…" He paused, searching for the right word but shrugged and went with the crudest. "Trained."

"You are expecting bloodshed?" Uilram asked.

"Yes," Harper replied. "They will not back off because you ask them nicely. When their patrol violates your territory, you must attack. You cannot hesitate or it will just get worse. When their Exarch attempts to call you on it, you must hold firm, replying only that they violated your territory despite warnings. If their Exarch is sensible, he will see that you will push back. If he is foolish, they will invade. At which point, we will push back," Harper grinned viciously.

"I do not like it," Uilram said.

"You don't have to like it," Harper told him. "If you wish to avoid a costly war, you will do it."

"We will do it," General Dm'yir said firmly. "It must be done," he directed that statement to the Prime Minister with a blunt look which said that they would talk further.

Harper nodded, trusting that the General would set the Prime Minister straight. "Are we in agreement?" He asked Uilram.

"About?"

"The shipment payments?" Harper prompted, reminding Uilram of what he had suggested earlier.

"Double payment or the  _Architect_  plans?" Uilram murmured, thinking again about the agreement Harper had proposed. "Yes, I think we are," he said finally. The risk for the Attori was minimal, after all. If the Fedochi did not behave as Harper believed they would, then the extra eezo would be appreciated and if they did, well, the loss of the plans was hardly that great a price to pay when the Humans had probably already stolen them.

"Very good," Harper said. The price was not important to him, rather, the important point was to further establish his reputation and the allowing of military assistance.

"We will speak further tomorrow?"

"Yes," he agreed. With a parting salute the comm link was cut.

"Williams," Harper ordered, turning towards the woman. "Get that fleet moving."

She grinned. "I'll go myself," she said.

"And capture some ships if you can," he added.

"Of course," Williams replied. She knew they needed samples and had been looking at the feasibility of sending a mission either through Attori space or uncharted territory to gain those samples but if the Fedochi were going to come to them, that made life a lot easier.

Sometimes it was nice that aliens were so predictable.

**-cfr-**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the lost Milky Way Ascended are being recreated, though it will be a slow process. Still it means more Ascended know the truth. And the Attori have encountered a new species. Better watch out, they aren't as honourable as the Humans. But they aren't stupid either. They will test the waters before committing to anything.


	55. Death and Other Inconveniences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Emperor, Harper is the target of many plots but only the best get through and he might wish otherwise. Still, as the Emperor, that does mean he gets to dictate punishments, so that's something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 54: Death and Other Inconveniences**

-cfr-

**45847 Years after Human Ascension, 792 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Ganges, Unknown Location**

When Harper awoke, he knew immediately that something was wrong.

He was strapped, rather tightly into a sitting position. That would have been alright if the restraints were crash webbing and he was in his shuttle but wherever he was sure as hell didn't smell like his shuttle and the restraints weren't crash webbing. They were designed to keep him immobilized and upright in a sturdy, straight backed chair. It felt like it was made of metal, but despite the ambient air temperature, wasn't cold, which meant he had to have been sitting there for a while.

He listened but whoever had put him here was silent and Harper could feel that there was no one close from the absence of feeling. After having bodyguards watch his every move, waking or sleeping for the last couple of centuries, the absence of eyes felt wrong.

Surreptitiously, Harper tested the bonds. He didn't advertise the fact but he did possess several enhancement implants. His eyes were the most obvious but he did enjoy enhanced strength as well. Not to the extent of one of Williams' Special Forces or even one of his bodyguards but enough to get him out of trouble should the need arise. Apparently they weren't enough to get him out of this. The bonds didn't even give, though he did feel them cut into his flesh. They'd hold through whatever strength he could muster to break them. Maybe if he had the newest implants, he mused.

This body was only seven or so years from retirement and he hadn't bothered with upgrades in the last few years. He had a whole platoon, or he was meant to, of bodyguards for the heavy lifting.

"Te grat Phonex Empor is awark." The voice came from behind him and while Harper sharpened his senses as much as he could, honing in on the voice, he didn't try to turn to face them. With the restraints, that would just make him look like an idiot.

"Ah know ew r awarke," the voice continued. "So tere's no nued to jst siat tere."

Harper sighed to himself. Great, it was a comedian. "Someone I don't know," Harper said. "Male, fairly young, from one of the lesser parts of Oberon, who should have paid more attention in class with that atrocious accent," Harper replied, making sure he clipped his words in the most precise way.

Truly if this was what was happening in the colonies he needed to oversee the language curriculum more closely.

"Bravarde," the voice spoke again but Harper's sharp ears could detect a note of frustration. "T's niice to saa thaat al maen r equa in sume hings."

"In some," Harper agreed, after mentally translating, "But in others you will find that I am as far above you as an eagle is to a field mouse." He remained calm even though he knew where this was going, but as Harper focused his senses he couldn't help but wonder how this was happening. No doubt he'd be told why but the specifics on how would be interesting. It was meant to be close to impossible to kidnap him.

He had been touring the colonies, which did mean that he was away from his fortress like palace on Home. That had no doubt given whoever this was the opportunity. They didn't have to break through the layers of security which would have normally surrounded him. So they'd taken that opportunity but some specifics as to how would be nice. It wasn't like his travelling security was slack. As for the specifics of the why, that didn't really matter. Once he got out of here, and he would be getting out of here, whoever the speaker was wouldn't be caring about their cause either. Well, not for long. They would be far, far too busy screaming. It was a nice thought.

"Ew'd leke tou bolierve thaat, weuldn't ew? Ew'd leke oll of uas to bolierve thaat buet wi bofth know ew r jeust a maan buet ew r a maan wiffout te benoforts of braedin."

"Ugh, please! Try to make sense," Harper lamented. "I can barely understand you with that atrocious accent." And he'd made such  _efforts_  to keep the language pure!

The man looked at him before sniffing. "Alright, Your Majesty, if it makes it  _easier_  for you," he said, clearing enunciating each word, as if showing off his education.

"Much appreciated," Harper replied. "Without comprehension, there can be no understanding."

"You, Emperor, are an original."

"Pft! Yes!" Where was the news in that?

"You created our society, you molded and built it and you set us on the path of physical and mental improvement."

Now, that statement was more helpful. He was obviously dealing with one of those anti-genetic engineering nutjobs who cropped up from time to time. What was worrying about this one was that he obviously had support and funding.

"All governments strive to improve their people," Harper replied. "Just as all strive to eradicate disease," he added, fishing for a response. Most of the genetic engineering had been geared towards that. Even without needing end of life care adding to his health expenses, the health care budget was still large. The eradication of many diseases kept it down but they still had to deal with the occasional exotic disease and of course broken bones and other issues from accidents.

Still Harper considered it a good thing that a fair proportion of the health care budget went towards implants and other enhancements.

"No, Emperor, you show your primitive nature with your comprehension," the voice spoke again and Harper could tell the man had gotten closer.

"Or more likely," he countered, "you display your lack of education with your inability to be concise."

The voice chuckled and this time Harper did hear a foot step. It was soft but had a slight ringing echo to it. The person was walking over metal plating. Combined with the smell, Harper guessed they were in an abattoir.

"Your attempts to anger me are amusing, Emperor, and simply confirm to me your inability to expand your vision. You see, when you rebirthed Humanity, we were all original but over the centuries we have changed. We have grown. We have evolved. The average speed and endurance has improved and the general intelligence level has increased and will continue to increase." The voice said as if they were reading from some notes and Harper recognized the phrasing as something he'd read in one of Williams' reports.

Was this crackpot military? Williams had a lot to answer for then.

"But you haven't."

Harper could imagine the breath on his ear at that whispered statement.

"For the age of your body, you have impressive physical implants but that's hardly surprising given you would have gotten the best available but mentally-" Harper's head jerked at the tap to his temple. "-you haven't changed."

"So," Harper said, "you aren't an anti-genetic engineering crackpot, you're just a crackpot."

The blindfold was ripped off, jerking his head forward but allowing him to see. He'd been correct in his surmise, they were in a slaughterhouse, explaining the metal floors and the smell. The speaker extended his arm, deliberately rattling some of the chains. They clinked ominously in the silence.

"Lovely wind chime," Harper murmured as he examined the speaker.

Male, medium build, relatively finely muscled, if his arms were an indication. He was dressed simply in black slacks and a white shirt and oh… not combat boots but rubber shoes of some sort. Brown hair and brown eyes formed part of an unremarkable face. Even as Harper took in all that, he understood the implications and carefully committed his observations to memory. If he was allowed to see, this man had no intentions of letting him go, however Harper was pragmatic and while he was still alive, there were other possibilities.

The entire Empire would be looking for him and thanks to the GPS in his implants, finding him should be a simple matter. Then Williams would actually earn her keep for once.

"You're thinking that all you need to do is keep me talking," the man said, drawing up another chair and settling himself into it.

The metal scraped against the floor and Harper winced as the noise jarred his enhanced hearing. It was an unpleasant sound.

"Usually, you'd be right. Actually, according to my initial simulations, you should have woken up in a secure military facility with several squads of Special Forces on guard, with me in a very uncomfortable situation. But," the man shrugged, "our situation is reversed and the Special Forces are running around aimlessly trying to find you."

"So there's shielding," Harper scoffed.

Shielding would eat power and that could be tracked. It would just take a little longer.

"Yes, there's a shield powered by my personal power plant," the man smiled. "So they won't be finding you that way. But rather than speculating why don't we just agree that if I haven't thought of everything, Special Forces will come through the door at any second. And if I have, well, we won't be disturbed until long after you will cease to care."

The fact that the man hadn't announced his name was slightly confusing but Harper concluded that while he might be sure about his ability to block tracking, the man wasn't sure about his ability to truly kill him. The implants were almost pure Ascended tech so the signal at death would punch through shielding. He did want to try to avoid that. In the very worst case, he'd lose this life's memories, which would be annoying but not a complete disaster. He'd have to tell Lawson to come up with some way of backing up their memories each night. He was currently working on the Project so would probably appreciate the diversion.

"Of course," Harper agreed, "but you must agree that every second I am here adds time to your suffering."

The man sighed heavily, ignoring the putrid smell. "Yes, it is a strain to be in the presence of such a lesser being," he replied. "But you know what they say, never attempt to argue with an idiot, they will drag you down to their level and beat you with experience, so I think we have concluded all discussion on your chance of rescue." He smiled at Harper, only to falter at the flat stare directed his way. Harper chuckled. He still had it.

"So what would you like to discuss, descendant?" he asked.

Given that no one had just put a bullet through his head, there had to be something the man wanted to rant about.

"I suppose it would be too much to expect the Emperor to quiver in fear. Still, you will be screaming soon enough."

"I'm obviously going to have to cut funding to the arts, if this is the level of dramatics they think is appropriate," Harper muttered, pleased when the man tensed.

"Oh yes, your precious system that churns out perfectly compliant, unthinking sheeple for the Empire. Thankfully I'm not a product of that system."

"The underworld," Harper mused. It was amusing how often they thought themselves separate. They weren't under his direct control but their actions were accounted for in his plans. They formed part of the system, just like everything else. "This is a rather bold move," he noted, letting the statement act as his lure and the man bit with pre-school level predictability.

"We are the only area that is free but we know Emperor, we know how you try to control us, how you send other originals to watch us. The purge begins now!"

Harper blinked, half expecting the statement to be met with the clang of the door as others were dragged in but it was met with silence and he just watched the man. He was glaring but… oh… Harper realized and chuckled. "You expect me to tell you?" he asked, playing along for now.

"No, I have already purged our area," the man replied and Harper just chuckled again.

Kai had not said anything lately and had not been back to Cerberus since he downloaded about two years back. If this idiot had truly purged the Underworld then they would have killed Kai and he wouldn't be having this conversation.

"If you say so," Harper said. "Though you expect to purge society of all originals?" he asked.

"You are just the first," the man agreed. "With your lesser intelligence it will be easy to locate you all."

Harper frowned lightly.  _He_  was easy to find but he was meant to be harder to get at. Williams was also easy but she might be much harder to target. Military HQ was almost as well protected as the Palace and she knew the other ranking officers personally. No Underworld idiot would be able to get her while she was in the office. She also spent a lot of time Ascended, transferring her mind back and forth between her body and Cerberus. It allowed to her better control the Empire's full military forces. Lawson was overseeing the project and the production of avatars. He spent a lot of time in the Underworld system. That system might bear the name of the criminal elements' designation but it was impregnable.

As for the others, and there were always others out and about, unless he had a need for them, they were mostly involved with construction for the Project. They generally took a few weeks holiday when they downloaded before working a year or two on the Project then uploading again. Their bodies were usually recycled.

"And how are you going to do that?" Harper asked. "I don't even know where all of them are," he added with a little grin.

"You give yourselves away," the man said pompously.

"Do we?"

"With your intelligence, it is inevitable."

Internally Harper breathed a sigh of relief. Whoever this man was, he was an idiot. He knew enough to block the signal from the implants but hadn't figured out how to track them. Harper had been worried that this crank had the smarts Montoya had. Someone able to track and willing to kill the originals with the resources of the Underworld… That was not something Harper wished to consider.

As it was, he would be purging the Underworld as soon as he got out of this. He'd put every last one of them down for letting this wacko exist. They, like the rest of the community, had a job to do and they had failed miserably.

"Ah…" Harper said. "So I'm to be the first?"

"I thought it a fitting tribute, ancestor. Make no mistake, I do respect you, for without you there would not be a Humanity but when you designed society, you designed for self-improvement, which meant you designed yourself to become obsolete. You belong in the past and that is where I will put you."

"All this because of that? Because you think I'm obsolete?"

There was something missing. You didn't kidnap the Emperor because you thought he was obsolete, or because he was an original when that was well known throughout the Empire.

"I suppose I should have anticipated that you would have a fair intelligence. The relegation of the originals to their Ascended forms is just beginning. You will be honoured but your time has passed. Once the originals are gone, the Empire can move on. The Project will of course be abandoned and its materials redistributed. A proper hierarchy will be established to guide Humanity and we will take our rightful place as the rulers of this galaxy."

Harper had gone cold at the thought of discontinuing the Project and had to remind himself that he had no intention of doing that. Still, he couldn't help but admit that the man had the right idea, even if he was completely insane. "With a few noticeable exceptions, I approve," Harper said. "And I find it hard to believe that you have not already seen my plans for accomplishing that." If insults got him nowhere, then perhaps flattery would. He was still playing for time.

"You do not have the foresight."

Harper laughed. "Youngling, you have so much to learn," he shook his head. "Everything I have done is to see Humanity in their rightful place but I have been intelligent about it. There is no need to chance a war when everything will come with patience."

"You treat the aliens as equals!"

"Do I?" Harper again challenged. "The Attori are already looking to us for guidance. The more intelligent ones realise the Phoenix Empire dominates them already but there is nothing they can do. They are already too reliant on our eezo and the Fedochi have missed their opportunity. They might have had a chance if they'd had the courage to engage when they met the Attori but now that opportunity has gone. A war now will end in their defeat but I see no reason to make an assault that is unnecessary. So no, little one, Humanity will take its rightful place. It just requires time."

"That is a lovely fiction," the man said, clapping his hands. "One I'm sure you believe. One I'm sure those in the system would believe if you had the courage to tell them but it is not one those of us who are enlightened believe."

"Enlightened?" Harper asked skeptically. "You believe the Underworld to be enlightened?"

"We've gone over this, Your Majesty. We are the only ones free of the system, so we are those who can see the truth."

"You are thugs," Harper said flatly. "You lie, cheat, steal and murder because that is the only life you know and you have no aspirations to do better." Harper deliberately ignored the irony of his words. Truth was relative. "You are mired in old customs which you dare to call traditions, ignoring how they hold you back. Enlightened? Ha! Inbred, backward maggots clinging to the fringes of a society that tolerates you only because you provide a place to hide for those too stupid to live in my Empire, because you provide a place for those who should not pass on their genes to survive but I assure you, that service will soon be ended." Harper glared as he finished, as if daring the man to contradict him. He would, of course, because he was a pleb but he could do so over Harper's displeasure.

"Ah, a feeble attempt at bravado but I'm afraid we should get on with this."

"Then do it," Harper said, almost wishing he could spread his arms for effect.

"Your Majesty, I know full well you are immortal, which is why I can't just put a bullet through your head. I'm afraid I'm going to have to be a little more…" the man paused, sighing heavily for effect, "vicious."

"It won't matter," Harper replied. "You should already be counting the seconds until your demise."

"Now, that's where you are wrong, Emperor. You see, when I thought about this, I realized I'd have to come up with some way of countering your immortality. I kill you, you come back. I do it again, you come back again and so on. It achieves nothing and I admit, coming up with something to counter your immortality was a challenge, even for my evolved intellect."

"That's where you are wrong," Harper retaliated. "You can kill me and I kill you and everyone you've ever known and everyone who has so much as nodded to you in passing on the street, and that is the end of that," he spat.

"That was a possibility but it was one I quickly guarded against and eventually I did find a counter for your immortality. I actually have to thank you for it, because without the Empire's Public Records Office, while I'm sure I would have arrived at a solution eventually, I wouldn't have known how effective this would be."

"There's nothing in the Records Office that would assist you," Harper said with a frown. The Public Records Office's job was to preserve culture, all culture in the Empire, including the stuff he thought was shit. That was their job and they did it very well. Never again would he have to endure the nightmare that was the Journey.

"There is nothing contemporary, I agree. You've probably forgotten there was a time when the Public Records Office was more than just a repository for every would-be film maker. There was a time when it truly did handle records of importance. It is to that time I refer."

"And what did you find that was of such importance?"

"Death feedback," the man purred with a smile. "Now I know your implants protect against it, storing your memories until they can be uploaded so that the experience does not overwhelm either you or Cerberus. If you dig deep enough into those records you can find some very interesting information. I must say that Director Lawson is a meticulous note keeper. All those tests that he ran to make sure you were truly immortal. Very, very thorough. Which is why I know this will work."

"And what is this?"

"This, Your Majesty, is the overwhelming of your senses with nothing but pain. You will scream, and scream, and scream and you will wish to die but it will not happen. And then, if you are capable of it, you will scream some more. All of that pain, all of that anguish will be building up in your implants and when death does finally come, you will carry that to your Ascended form and the feedback loop will begin.

"It may even loop down to those in their avatars which would save me some work but if not, then no matter. You, Your Majesty, will defeat yourself.

"Though I must say, I did find it amusing that such organic means would be required to kill an AI. Because that's all you've become, isn't it? An AI. Cleverly disguised with your organic body, of course, but strip that back, and you are just the memory of your original self. It was a template for you. No wonder you reject the creation of other AIs. They'd give you away. But not reliably enough for me to have created one."

Harper was silent for a few moments as he thought. He dismissed the rambling about him being an AI. It was an infant's description of the process of immortalisation and correcting it was not something he needed to do. He also deliberately avoided pre-empting the pain. He would carry the memory of torture into his Ascended form but after that, the memory could be disassociated and that would be the end of that. It would not render him or Cerberus comatose because they had put in some safeguards to avoid Nazara's fate. On an early version of the implants, it might have worked but all this was going to do was hurt. Except… Harper frowned.

The idiot hadn't said what he'd do yet and while Harper did not wish to be tortured there was no point in him attempting to educate this moron about the reality of ascension. He'd find out soon enough when Harper issued a personal invitation for him to join him on Cerberus. Then Harper fully intended to have fun.

"Your silence tells me your fears," the man crowed.

"My silence should tell you that you have still not said whatever this is," Harper returned and was pleased to see a slight stain on the man's features.

"I have been remiss," the man said finally. "I'll put it down to some last attempt by my early education in the system to protect you. It, Your Majesty, is acid. Nothing terribly strong. In fact you probably won't even notice it at first but it will slowly take effect and the pain will grow and grow until that is all you know. It should form a rather impressive death feedback loop and if my calculations are correct, and they are, it will wipe the memory of this conversation. It is rather sad but it is a price I'm prepared to pay."

"Idiot," Harper muttered. It did not work like that but this inbred moron had made the assumption, even after reading Lawson's notes, that the Originals were too soft to thoroughly test things on each other. That had most definitely not been the case. Not that he had had many anyway but, after going through ascension, you lost a lot of morals when it came to dealing with organic forms. You understood then exactly how much punishment the body could take. This, acid, in the crudest analogy was similar to the process of ascension. It would break his organic form into component parts.

This was going to hurt.

"That may be, Your Majesty, but I am the idiot who is going to kill you, in such a way that you will be very reluctant to return. So I think it's time we got on with this. It has been somewhat interesting speaking to you. While you are original, as expected, you are one at the upper echelons of intelligence. You could almost keep up."

Yes, Harper decided. Not only was this idiot going to die but so was all his bloodline, and the entire Underworld, not just on the nitwit's homeworld but on every world in the Empire, all 66 planets worth. He didn't care what disruption it caused to the Empire. It didn't matter that Harper didn't know the name, he knew the face and that would be enough.

While the buffoon had been speaking, he'd also been hauling grates off the floor, sliding them back with a grinding noise. For all his supposed improved strength, it did not appear to be easy and Harper didn't think the plating was that heavy. Or maybe the twit didn't have decent strength enhancements.

"Do you want a hand with that?" Harper asked sarcastically as the man breathed hard.

"You no longer appreciate the purity of form, do you?" the man asked as he heaved the last one up.

Underneath was a largish vat filled with some cloudy liquid. Harper's nose twitched as a sharp smell overwhelmed the stench of putrefaction. The man pulled a mask out and fitted it over his face.

"I don't want to get you in my lungs, amongst other things," he said and Harper could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Safety first," Harper agreed with a snarl.

"Indeed. Now, in you go, Your Majesty," he said, walking over to a set of controls Harper had seen earlier.

The chain behind him rattled and went taut as engines began to whir. Harper felt the chair go light as he, and it was lifted into the air. It made him jerk against the restraints and Harper hissed. He was as averse to pain as any other man and this promised to be more than a little unpleasant.

Where the hell was Williams? She should have been through the door earlier.

"Your Majesty, I did tell you that they would not find you until I was ready," the man said earnestly. "It will be a few hours yet."

Harper thought about giving some pithy pointed reply along the lines of 'Fuck you' but with admirable restraint, he decided to save his breath. The vat began to show eddies after the man threw a switch.

"It's only low grade acid and we wouldn't want the process to stop," he explained as Harper dangled above the liquid. "No last words?" he prompted.

Harper considered it before setting his features into a sadistic smile. "Just remember," he said mockingly. "Age and treachery will always overcome youth and enthusiasm. And I have been dealing with youth and enthusiasm for one thousand years. You aren't going to stand a chance."

"Yet youth and enthusiasm are the future," the man countered, jabbing his finger on the control panel.

It would have been extremely ironic if the mechanism failed but after the initial jolt there was a rhythmic clank as the chain holding the back of the chair passed through the winch teeth, slowly lowering Harper towards the vat. He spent the moments settling his breathing so that when the tip of his shoe dipped into the liquid, he was prepared.

There was no hiss or exothermic reaction and as he continued down the liquid soaked through his socks and pants on to his skin. It felt wet and cold but that was all.

"Patience, Your Majesty. The acid will work but it is a low concentration so it will take time."

"You mean it's going to take hours?"

"Yes."

Harper rolled his eyes. "Hours in your presence," he muttered. "After that long, I will be welcoming death."

"Joke while you can, because you will soon have no breath left for anything except to scream."

Harper didn't pay attention as the chain continued to lower him. The liquid was freezing on his genitals and he actually shivered as it lapped at his stomach. But lower down, on his ankles, he could feel his skin prickling. It was almost as if there were air bubbles against his skin but they were like little pinpricks as they moved.

The acid might be of a low concentration but it was already working and Harper could feel the pinpricks travelling up his legs as his ankles began to burn and the chain stopped, leaving him immersed, except for his head.

This was going to  _hurt._

-cfr-

"Where the hell is he?" Williams demanded.

She was currently pacing around a hastily appointed comm room on the Ascended Tharos. She was so agitated she didn't even notice the pressure on her mind that came from being on an Ascended form not her own. She was on Tharos because while the Empire's dreadnoughts did travel much faster than those of the Milky Way, they still could not compete with an Ascended going all out. The added advantage was that Tharos could communicate with the other Ascended over Ganges who were already looking for the Emperor.

She should be on Cerberus. If she was, there wouldn't be a pressure on her mind but the population knew that all the originals came from Cerberus, and if they knew, it was a short reach to realise that if you destroyed Cerberus, you would kill everyone in charge. Granted, Cerberus was a two kilometre long, armor plated, kinetic shielded dreadnought, and was the definition of hard to destroy but why offer anyone a target? Cerberus was in Dorado, with the majority of the Ascended fleet, creating eezo, so even if anyone got there, they'd first have to work out which one was Cerberus, and then fight their way through the entire fleet.

Still, it would have been better. To most of the Ascended fleet, she was Cerberus and she could have spoken directly to them, rather than relaying the signal. She sometimes wondered how long it was before Harper realised that but that was a thought for another day.

In an effort to keep the population contained and the cost of building ships down, only specially designated ships had onboard quantum entanglement comms, and even they didn't know they could connect to the Ascended fleet. Normal ships had to connect into the network for comms, and the network extended only so far as Harper allowed the network to go, which covered their settlements but not much more. Most military ships had quantum comms but they just weren't fast enough.

"We do not know, Sir," the Governor of Ganges said timidly. Usually, Huynh would be far more assertive but having the Emperor go missing on his planet, well… there was only one punishment for that and already Williams' military assigned to the planet were standing behind him. She assumed they'd taken Harper's bodyguards into custody as well but would check on that shortly.

"Then at least tell me how it happened?" Williams snarled. She could see the way Huynh chewed on his lip but felt no sympathy.

"The Emperor was scheduled to attend a ballet," Huynh began.

"Yes, I know," Williams said as Tharos pulled up Harper's schedule.

Harper actually enjoyed ballet, not for any artistic merit but for the conversation he had during the intermissions. He found it amusing that the citizens expected him to like toffy, supposedly refined pastimes but he went along with it because those who thought themselves upper class were far more open at such events and that made manipulating them both pleasurable and easy.

"It was a relatively private event," Huynh continued.

"A fund raiser, yes, I know this as well," Williams snapped. "Move on to things I do not know," she ordered.

Harper always used such events to liberate cash from the system. The yearly screenings of BB were still insanely popular.

Huynh's hands visibly shook as he lifted a data pad. "It was a small theatre, one hundred people, self-contained for better acoustics. Only those attending were allowed within a two block radius. The staff, ballet dancers and orchestra were all cleared through the checkpoints a minimum of five hours earlier." Huynh gulped as he finished.

"Yes, go on," Williams nodded. Now she was getting somewhere.

A schematic of the theatre appeared on another screen and Williams narrowed her eyes as she looked at Harper's indicated position. It was within tolerances, barely.

"We think it was gas," Huynh said.

"Gas?" Williams questioned.

"Yes, Sir. Some sort of knock out gas was released into the air conditioning."

"And no one noticed something wrong?" Williams growled.

"It was very quick. The security cam indicates that the audience collapsed at the same time as the dancers."

Williams nodded. That was interesting. The dancers were presumably breathing harder so should have succumbed first. If it was simultaneous then the active agent was both potent and very fast acting. She left that for now. There would already be teams examining the residue.

"So how was the Emperor smuggled out?"

Harper's location was her prime concern.

"A team of masked men carried him out and after that the cams have been compromised so we have been unable to track his Majesty." Huynh actually cringed at his pronouncement.

As well he should, Williams reflected. This was not going to end well. Ganges was already on lockdown and the routes of all ships were being checked so they were confident that Harper was still on Ganges, just that their scans could not find him, which meant he had to be in a shielded location. But shielding would mean power consumption.

"Major," Williams spoke to the officer on screen. She vaguely recognized her but the combined military forces of the Empire had long ago become far too large for her to know all but the most senior echelons and a few from the units she got assigned to when she went through basic training and Special Forces training each re-birth. Still, Major Lessard had done well so far in this crisis so it was entirely possible she would be getting to know the other woman better, very soon.

"Sir!" Lessard's salute was precise.

"Get a team to look at power consumption. Somewhere is using more power than they should."

Lessard nodded her understanding and snapped several orders to someone off screen.

"You have permission to use immortalized processing," Williams added.

Lessard's eyes widened but the situation warranted it. It wasn't often that those who were not immortalized got to see the abilities of the Empire's hidden fleet. "Also, I want everyone in that theatre in custody. Attendees, staff, dancers, everyone. No exceptions."

"We are already holding them, Sir," Lessard reported.

"Collect all the staff who were not in attendance. I want everyone and anyone who should have noticed something wrong."

"Teams are picking up the extras now, Sir. I am holding the Emperor's bodyguards but I am uncertain what you want me to do with them."

"How many are still alive?" Williams asked. In this situation, they knew what failure meant and if they were smart, they would already have taken any opportunity to avoid the Empire's ire.

"We believe one was killed by the kidnappers and we were unfortunately not quick enough to prevent one suicide but all others are currently restrained and sedated in isolation cells."

An image flashed up, showing well-muscled but naked men, who were heavily restrained.

"Very good," Williams praised Lessard. Losing only one to suicide was a very good result and the one killed by the kidnappers would be honoured as having done their job. Full, immediate ascension for his entire family, with immediate rebirth if they desired it. Those bodyguards currently not on duty would be questioned and, barring involvement, they would be returning to duty. The fate of those currently restrained would rest on Harper's decision about their culpability. "Keep them restrained but question them," Williams instructed. "Offer them quicker death if they have anything of use," she added, pre-empting Harper's decision, though if the gas was that fast acting it was entirely possible he would let them live. He hated breaking in new sets of bodyguards.

"Sir!" Lessard nodded. "We have three Attori ships and one Fedochi ship on planet," the Major added, reading from a data pad.

"Keep them on planet," Williams ordered. "I don't care what their governments say. Tell them outright that they will be fired upon if they attempt to break the cordon," she added. "Keep looking, Major, and do whatever you think is necessary. I will authorize it when I get there."

"Sir!" Lessard saluted again.

Williams returned it before closing the comm.

Tharos immediately indicated that it would be another five hours before they reached Ganges.

This was a fucking disaster! There was no other way of putting it and Williams sighed heavily as she forced herself to calm and sat down. She needed to attempt to sleep while she could because she felt it in her bones. This was not over yet.

-cfr-

**45847 Years after Human Ascension, 792 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet Oberon**

Kai knew something was up when Special Forces burst into his establishment and, without so much as a by-your-leave, and definitely without due process, shot him in the head.

When he awoke, several hours later, in his Ascended form, he got the full story and understood the sheer brutality that had been displayed. One of the idiot underworld people had taken a shot at Harper, killing him in a very painful way and in retaliation the Phoenix Emperor had decided to show the Underworld exactly how little power they had. Or maybe it was how much power he had. It was the same either way.

That's why he was now initiating a comm link to Lawson. If Harper was going to do this right, then he'd need his help. Williams would be a poleaxe when a scalpel would be more efficient.

Thankfully, calls from Cerberus were answered quickly, even by those who came from Cerberus.

"Kai?" Lawson's voice was surprised.

"How fast can you get me a body?" he demanded. Greetings took up too much time and if he wanted to salvage this situation, Leng knew he had to get back out there.

"It's nice to see you, too, Leng," Lawson said conversationally before he moved on to important matters. "If someone is willing to give up theirs, about an hour. If not, a week or two. Though you haven't asked me for an avatar for centuries. What's happened?"

Kai growled, though since he was currently Ascended, he put out a call to see if anyone would let him use their avatar. This really couldn't wait. "I got caught in Harper's little purge," he explained.

"Oh," Lawson said, understanding colouring his tone. "What one?"

The question prompted Kai to look at a list of planets. The Emperor was really cracking down on the Underworld. "Oberon," he replied.

"That gambling… er...I'm not sure what to call it," Lawson said as he flicked through several reports. He had much the same clearances as Harper. "Prostitution, drugs, and ew… you were busy, weren't you?" Lawson observed.

"It filled up the time," Kai dismissed Lawson's assessment. Most came to his establishment for a relatively tame night of drinks and gambling but Kai was a good host and could accommodate literally any request, for a price. There were rules of course. Russian roulette, one of the ultimate gambles in a society which offered immortality, was only to be played in the room set up for it. Cleaning blood out of the carpet was just an unnecessary expense, after all. Drugs ranged from everything the Empire offered to anything else you could imagine, and some you probably couldn't and for those wishing a more private time, Kai had several rooms which were serviced by men and women willing to do whatever you wanted, however you wanted it. Truly, his establishment had been very well stocked.

Of course, with the raid, it meant the Empire now owned his merchandise. Harper would probably appreciate some of the whiskey but they were going to have fun getting rid of the Fedochi Emelth, especially as his supply was Kratos grade and Fedochi control on that stuff was stricter than the Empire on its drug supplies. Explaining it was going to be a diplomatic nightmare. Not that Kai cared. A bullet to the head on what was no doubt an officially sanctioned raid didn't make you too sympathetic to the problems you had just caused the government.

"Nestor Lantz says I can use his avatar," Kai told Lawson before the man could comment further on his business. Really, how did they think you got ahead in the Underworld? "How fast can you have it ready?"

Lawson tapped his data pad, bringing up the information about Lantz's body. "About an hour," he replied. "But you will probably want to clear this with Harper."

"I'll call him next," Kai dismissed the scientists concern.

"Don't bother, I've added him," Lawson said as Kai felt another comm link enter theirs.

"Leng," Harper greeted him.

"Harper."

"You got taken out?" The Emperor asked after his eyes flicked over the comm link information to ascertain that Kai was calling from Cerberus.

"Bullet to the brain," Kai replied.

"He was on Oberon," Lawson supplied the extra information.

Harper's eyes seemed to light up further and he tapped a data pad. "Chas Wisniewski?" he asked finally after skimming the reports.

"Yes," Kai sighed. That had been his name.

Harper laughed, looking at the data pad again. "You have been busy," he said. "Though," a frown entered the Emperor's voice, "where did you get the money? You've only been down for two years and you can't have gotten that established that quickly without help."

Kai sighed again. Sometimes Harper was too perceptive. "I leave myself a small start up fund," he explained.

Harper nodded. "So what did you want to talk about?" he asked, getting back on topic.

"This purge," Kai said. "If you want it done right, you'll put me in charge."

Harper frowned. "You were only down for two years, you haven't had time to work your way through the ranks."

"It's not about rank," Kai rejected the concern, "Williams will just attack. She'll be like a sword or an axe. She'll cut them out," he acknowledged, "but there will be a lot of collateral." Harper wouldn't care about that. If a few thousand civilians died, that was just a risk but Kai knew what would make him care. "And she won't get them all."

"And you will?" Harper was skeptical.

Kai flashed a mental grin. "I know how they think and how they'll react. I also know who all the Heads are. Two years was more than enough to get that information even if I hadn't gotten into those ranks."

Understanding crossed Harper's features. "Future targets," he muttered and while it could have been a question, it was more a statement. The Emperor knew how Leng operated after all.

"Open my memory files. I want  _him_ ," Harper said firmly.

Kai opened the files, focusing on Harper's latest death. "Blaine Matheny?" Kai asked.

"You know him?"

"He's the son of the Head of Ganges," he replied. "Certified genius and due to inherit any day."

"I wouldn't say that," Harper disagreed. "Intelligent perhaps, but not a genius. Can you get him?"

"I can pick him up in the next few days."

"Good. I  _want_  him," Harper said.

"I'll get him."

"I'll give you a special commission for the purpose of putting down the underworld. I want it finished within two years, but I want Blaine Matheny in a week."

"That's plenty of time," Kai said. He'd been half afraid Harper would say two months. That would have been pushing it, even with his talents.

"You'll report to me, via Williams. You will use her forces for assaults, not some scum you picked up off the street," Harper ordered firmly.

Kai growled at that. "What can I offer as inducement?" he asked.

"Inducement?" Lawson returned, obviously seeking clarification.

"For informers or turncoats. Despite my knowledge, I am going to need to bribe people to get this done properly," he explained.

Harper frowned. "If they are officials, tell them I won't cut their heads off," he growled. No, he'd just cut their bodies off. "Otherwise… I won't revoke their immortalisation rights," the Emperor finished.

Kai nodded. That was about the only thing Harper had to bargain with as the penalty of acting or even being perceived to act against the Empire was death. Not execution but the refusal of the Empire to immortalise your mind. It kept most of the citizens honest. Since most of the people Kai was dealing with would already be on the lists, or their names would be soon, once the information from Williams' initial raids was collated, taking them off the list, giving them back immortality would be enough to purchase their services.

"But if any of them renege, or provide less than they should," Harper continued. "Deal with them," he ordered, "and be creative," he added.

Kai grinned mentally. Oh, he could do that.

"Well," Lawson said before they could conclude. "Now that you've got that sorted out, there's only one more detail."

"One more?" Kai asked.

"Just the one of importance," Lawson said and Kai felt his non existent stomach clench at the scientist's tone. It did not bode well.

"What?" Harper asked. "Payment? I'll pay Kai at an Admiral's rate for this."

Lawson laughed. "No, nothing that simple," he dismissed Harper's concerns. "You now have to work out which of you gets to tell Williams."

"Oh shit!" Harper snarled. "You can…" he said before realising that Lawson had dropped out of the call, leaving him alone with Kai.

"You'd better tell her," Kai said calmly, though he understood Harper's concern and felt a vague admiration for Lawson's speedy retreat.

Williams was going to bitch about this for centuries and if she caught him in future… that would hurt. He had kept up his skills but in the Underworld he couldn't always get the best implants. Williams would capitalise on that.

Harper sighed heavily. "When will you be back down?" he asked.

"In a couple of hours," Kai replied after conferring with Nestor.

"I'll tell her then," Harper said. "She can give you a report on the raids and manpower," he added, obviously forgetting that since Kai was within Cerberus, he had access to all the information. He wouldn't need the briefing but Harper would. Since this had come about because someone had taken a shot at him, he would want to be kept well informed.

"I will see you then," Kai said as he cut the comm, sending his senses towards the chrono before he smiled mentally.

He had enough time to watch the extended edition of  _The Blues Brothers_  before he downloaded, so perhaps today wasn't a total loss.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was a good theory but under estimated how thorough Lawson has been in testing those implants... and the fact that they are Ascended Tech. Since the Ascended don't really care about organic comfort just functionality their gear will work regardless of the state of the organic.
> 
> Next time we are back to our regular programming of dealing with the LMC aliens.


	56. The Importance of the Art of Diplomacy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 55: The Importance of the Art of Diplomacy  
**

-cfr-

**45858 Years after Human Ascension, 803 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

"I'm standing outside the Aoyce Building, covering the historic Tri-Nations Conference where, for those of you who are just joining us, the main story is that the Humans have just stormed out! In the middle of the conference, the Human delegation has slammed down their translators and walked out!" Ue'sha finished the sentence breathlessly before holding one hand to her ear as she listened to the feed. Her frills showed a mix of colours. Worry, concern, curiosity and excitement warred for prominence but Ue'sha was well aware of the potential consequences.

The feed was confused with everyone shouting their interpretation of events but it was their only link, save for some jacked security feeds, to what was happening in the conference.

Ue'sha knew perfectly well that most of the Humans relied on internal translators. They deemed them more efficient but most Attori had external ones. The blase attitude the Humans had to cybernetic enhancement, and the way they used it in almost every facet of their lives, had not yet made the translation to the Attori.

"Wait! I'm getting some further news. It wasn't Emperor Harper who walked away but Grand Admiral Williams!" Ue'sha gushed.

"As you know, this is an historic event. The leaders of the three nations meeting in person for the very first time in a dedicated conference towards galactic security and trade. Exarch Ilkin and Prime Minister Og'wth are both in attendance, though the Phoenix Emperor Harper has opted to appear via hologram. The Phoenix Empire sent Grand Admiral Williams to be their personal representative.

"Grand Admiral Williams has walked out of a session devoted to trade discussions and the question everyone is asking is if Emperor Harper backs her move and… I'm getting an update! Oh my! He does!" Ue'sha was almost jumping with excitement. No matter the consequences, this was one hell of a story.

"Reports are coming through that Emperor Harper has just smiled at Williams' reaction and is quoted as saying 'What she said' before closing his holographic link. But what none of the delegations are saying is what it means for the conference!

"Since it appears to be breaking up for the day, we should be able to ask one of the delegates for an update on what has occurred. And here comes the Human delegation."

The camera shot altered to show the long steps where the Human security forces were descending from the Aoyce Building. Grand Admiral Williams was in their midst and even those who did not fully understand Human expressions could tell that she was angry. One or two of the braver reporters, usually Human, attempted to rush up to her for an interview but they were all rebuffed by her troops-cum-bodyguards.

"Well, that's a firm no comment from the Humans," Ue'sha said as the camera showed Grand Admiral Williams getting into a shuttle before it lifted off.

"We are getting word that Phoenix Emperor Harper will be making an official statement within the hour.

"For now, let's see what Prime Minister Og'wth has to say." Ue'sha had been moving towards the top of the stairs and as she reached that, she literally stabbed her mic into Prime Minister Og'wth's face.

"Prime Minister, will the Human withdrawal have any effect on trade?" She shouted to be heard over the other reporters who were attempting to get a word, or in this case, a question, in edgewise.

Prime Minister Og'wth's frills flashed with annoyance but there were too many reporters for him to push through without his guards and they were being overwhelmed by just keeping the majority off him. Hopefully, extra forces were on their way.

"No!" he shouted. "It will not affect trade! The existing agreement with the Phoenix Empire has another five Human years before it's up for renewal."

"But Emperor Harper and Grand Admiral Williams walked out during trade talks!" Someone objected.

Prime Minister Og'wth's visibly sighed. "This conference has a broad scope and our talks have been wide-ranging and fruitful."

"So why did Grand Admiral Williams storm out?" That was the core of the matter.

"I am not at liberty to-" Prime Minister Og'wth trailed off as all attention turned away from him. For a moment, he thought that Exarch Ilkin had emerged but he knew the other leader wouldn't come out until Fedochi forces had cleared away most of the reporters but then he caught sight of a large screen.

The symbol of the Phoenix Empire, a phoenix rising out of a stylized spiral galaxy, was displayed but as he watched, the image changed to show Emperor Harper. The man was seated at his desk. Director Lawson was standing behind him and a hologram of Grand Admiral Williams was on the other side. Prime Minister Og'wth's frills coloured with apprehension. All three Humans looked grim and with all three of them present, this was going to be a big announcement. His analysts had better be on to it.

"Greetings," Emperor Harper began, speaking True English, the official language of the Phoenix Empire. There was a bastardised version spoken by most of the citizens but to serve in the government, one had to be fluent in True English. The Emperor spoke fluent Attor and Plam, and hadn't that been a surprise to all, but he was speaking now to his Empire. The rest of them were just listening in and over the image, a text translation appeared in both Attor and Plam.

"During today's session of the Tri-Nations Conference, it became necessary to withdraw the Phoenix Empire from the debate." Harper sounded neutral but Grand Admiral Williams looked entirely unrepentant. "This was not done as some prelude to war or to force a change in trade relations. It was necessary to illustrate the sheer stupidity of the proposal made to myself and the esteemed leaders of the Fedochi and Attori.

"On the surface, such a proposal may seem innocent. It may even seem like a good idea but it is one that will never be supported by the Phoenix Empire." Harper spat the word 'never' with considerable venom. "We will never participate in or support a galactic council, headed by the so-called elder races at the exclusion of those who come after. A council where those younger races must beg their supposed betters for representation."

As he continued, Harper looked resigned.

"As you know, Humanity came from the Milky Way. Humanity was a younger species. We departed from our homeworld with hope in our hearts and wonder at the galaxy we were entering. The Milky Way was the playground of elder races. Species older than all of our peoples. In some cases almost older than life on our planets. In order to survive, the younger species, those they called the lesser species, formed a Council so that they could advise and support each other. But that Council was corrupted. Those who had survived the longest formed the core of this Council. It was a species known as the Asari."

If Prime Minister Og'wth had thought Harper had spat the word 'never' before, that venom was nothing compared to the way he said the word Asari. The expressions of disgust gracing Williams and Lawson's faces indicated that they shared his dislike in full.

"I would like to say that the Asari meant well and I am sure that their Council started with the best intentions but, two thousand years later, when Humanity emerged, it was merely the plaything of the older races. It had become the means to monitor the younger races, so that the elder ones knew when to strike. But beyond that, it was perverted.

"It did not give a true voice to the younger species because only the eldest of the younger races might talk. It was a dark time for Humanity. We had no voice and despite the fact that Humanity worked for the betterment of all species who were members of the Council, not just those who were in control, we were betrayed. The Council then attacked our people. We were only saved by the actions of a man named Shepard. Rather than appeal to the Asari for their false mercy, he went to the Older races.

"And the rest, as they say, is history." Harper bowed his head, as did the others and Prime Minister Og'wth recognised it as a gesture of respect. He felt a vague stir of awe that they still held respect for a man who must have died centuries ago. "Shepard stole the means for us to survive and the journey began. During the journey, we learned that the Asari's Council had been destroyed by the Older Races, in retaliation for Shepard's theft." Harper smiled at this. "Humanity, those remaining in the Milky Way, died with them." The Phoenix Emperor's smile slipped from his face. All three Humans looked saddened and Prime Minister Og'wth reminded himself that those three consciousnesses were some of the oldest in the Empire. They had seen the death and rebirth of their species.

"The situation here is different. We are the elder races of this galaxy now," Emperor Harper continued. "But I will not allow Humanity to take part in the creation of a Council, not even with the argument that we could control that Council to ensure that it never became like the Asari's Council. No," he shook his head and Williams looked up, all traces of sadness gone as she glared at the camera.

"Until the Attori Prime Minister, and Fedochi Exarch indicate to the Phoenix Empire that the absurd proposal for a Council, which they included for this meeting at the last second, will not be pursued further by the Tri-Nations Conference, the Empire withdraws." Harper looked directly into the camera as he said that and Prime Minister Og'wth felt his frills colour. That was one hell of a threat.

"I wish to assure all that the Empire is not seeking war. Our military is, as always, for defence, firstly of the Empire's citizens but should it become necessary, of the Galaxy as a whole."

Og'wth wasn't sure why he felt a chill at the last statement. It was ambiguous and even after all this time, dealing with the Humans, he could never be sure about the Emperor. He'd never caught Harper in a lie but then he knew he wouldn't. The private records from the previous Prime Ministers were very clear. They raised questions, quoting things Harper had said to them during their tenure but there were precious few answers.

He needed to talk to the Exarch and as Harper listed the authorities bestowed upon him, which granted him power to make this decision, Og'wth made his way back up the stairs. He could only imagine what the Exarch would have to say about this. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time.

-cfr-

**45890 Years after Human Ascension, 835 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

"I want Mummy!"

"I want Daddy!"

Harper winced at the comms forwarded through from his Ascended form. Legacy and Instinct were awake. "Goertz!" he yelled over the youngling's shouts.

"They are online and that's all they've said," the other Ascended replied.

"They haven't attacked?" Harper asked for clarification.

"No, they know we are like them, Ascended."

"Have they actually called Shepard or Elysium?" Harper asked, praying to a god he did not believe in that they young ones had not.

"No," Goertz confirmed for him and Harper felt himself relax slightly. "But they probably will if they keep panicking."

"Make sure they don't," Harper instructed, though privately he admitted it was an unfair request. There was no way to force them to obey and this was always going to be the most difficult part of reawakening the youngest Human Ascended.

"Bloody hell!" Williams' voice broke in on the link. "Men! You always make it so difficult," she growled at them. "Why don't you let a woman handle this?"

"Go right ahead, Williams," Harper said, ignoring her taunting. He needed the younglings under control.

"Patch me through," Williams instructed Goertz and a moment later, once the other Milky Way Ascended indicated the line was established she began talking to the young Ascended.

"Shh, shh, shh, shh," she soothed them both, as one crooned to a baby.

The instant they appeared to be listening, even slightly, she switched to words. "There, there," Williams continued crooning. "There, there, Mummy's not here. Daddy's not here but I am and I will keep you safe."

"But I want Daddy!" Legacy objected after giving what sounded suspiciously like a sobbing hiccup.

"I know, I know," Williams soothed. "But Daddy is making sure the bad ships stay away," she explained, skirting perilously close to reminding Legacy and Instinct of what had happened.

Most of the rebuilt Milky Way Ascended remembered and came to the conclusion themselves that they had either self-repaired or had assistance but they still didn't like thinking about the incident. No one was sure how the youngest would handle their memories. Calling for Shepard and Elysium was a good response, a natural Human response, even if it was difficult to deal with.

In response to Williams' explanation, Legacy growled and the gathered Ascended could sense weapons activating but they didn't fire. "I will destroy the bad ships!" the young Ascended declared.

"Shh, shh," Williams soothed again. "They aren't here. Shepard destroyed them," she added. She opened a secondary channel to Cerberus. "Give them whatever footage we have of Shepard at the Citadel." she instructed, before waiting a few moments for the information to be transferred.

"Daddy!" Legacy cried happily.

"The bad ships are gone," Williams said again. "And Shepard is making sure there are no more bad ships."

Legacy calmed, weapons deactivating as the new Ascended considered Williams' words. She might be in an avatar right now but her comms were being filtered through Cerberus so to the last Milky Way Human Ascended, they were coming from an older Ascended, one that was Human, so one they knew they could trust.

"Then where is Mummy?" Instinct asked.

"Elysium is helping Shepard," Williams explained. "There were a lot of bad ships." She turned to the channel with Cerberus. "If we got footage off Shepard from the cycle, give them that, otherwise take it from our cycle," she ordered before switching back to the young Ascended. "There are a lot of bad ships. Organic ships."

"Don't tell them that!" Harper objected. "We don't need them attacking."

"Just wait," Williams said, unconcerned before speaking into the subchannel. "Show them every alien ship from the Milky Way that we have a record of," she instructed and again waited a moment. That was the good thing about comms between Ascended, information transfer was devastatingly quick.

"You see?" she asked Legacy and Instinct. "There are lots of bad ships. That's why we are here, so we will be safe from the bad ships."

"Map sent," someone on Cerberus reported without being prompted.

The fleet of rebuilt Milky Way Ascended watched as their youngest members absorbed Williams' information. "So Mummy and Daddy sent us here to be safe?" Instinct asked.

Harper could see the way Williams rolled her eyes, nodding slightly. "Close enough," she muttered before speaking again to the young ones. "Yes, we are here because it is safe. There are no bad ships here."

"Give them pictures of the Human fleets," she instructed Cerberus. "These are friendly ships," she told Legacy and Instinct. "They are Humans who will soon be Ascended like you," she said, watching the small window that gave a visual representation of what information was being sent.

"They are babies?" Instinct asked.

"They are Human," Williams corrected. While it might be nice to instill a protective instinct into the young Ascended towards Human ships, it was the wrong way around. The Human ships would fight to defend the Ascended and both Legacy and Instinct had to recognise that they were more important.

Williams could almost feel them thinking about it and wished she was currently Ascended. The greater sensory input would be useful. "They will protect you," she said, "because they wish to be like you."

Of everything that had to be explained, this was one of the most difficult concepts. They only needed organic bodies for the Project, for its construction and defence but until she knew that Legacy and Instinct understood, she couldn't even begin to risk explaining the Project.

"UnAscended organics," Instinct said finally.

"Yes," Williams agreed. "But they have their uses and our fleet grows with their numbers," she added, trusting Cerberus to give some information about the ascension rates in the Empire.

"They are lesser beings," Legacy dismissed them.

"I like him," Harper laughed, making his voice seem like another from within Cerberus' hull. "But he does need to understand that Humans are needed," the Emperor added grudgingly.

Williams smiled coldly at what that must have cost Harper to admit but kept her attention on the young Ascended. "The Humans are necessary," she told Legacy but the young Ascended seemed to ignore her.

"I want to help daddy," Legacy announced.

"Shepard sent you here to be safe, so you wouldn't have to fight the bad ships," Williams replied.

"I want to help daddy," Legacy said again, more insistently, this time.

" _Williams!_ "

"I know, I know," she told him. She didn't need Harper's admonishment to know that this was important. They couldn't afford for either of them to decide to go and help Shepard. The Project wasn't near launching let alone completion and in the decades it would take Legacy and Instinct to find Shepard and the rest of the Ascended fleet, those in the LMC would not be able to built sufficient forces to fight the entire,  _enraged_  Ascended fleet. The only viable alternative would be to run but that would not be an option for Cerberus. They would have to be caught to prove to Harbinger that the Human Ascended were controlled. Maybe explaining organics was not the hardest task, after all.

"Shepard has given us another task," Williams began explaining, opting to attempt to explain the Project rather than put them off by demanding that they finish their training. That was a temporary solution and they needed the long term stability that involvement in the Project offered. She used deliberately inclusive words.

"It's a difficult task," she continued, "and it will take a long time but it will mean there are no more bad ships."

"No more bad ships?" Instinct perked up at that.

"No more bad ships," Williams confirmed. "But it's going to take a long time," she added, watching as the sub-window told her that Cerberus had sent the impression of cycles worth of time to the youngsters.

"So why isn't Daddy helping on this task?" Legacy asked with surprising perception.

"Shepard is keeping the bad ships away so that we can complete this task," Williams said. "Do you remember what happened?" she asked carefully. She didn't want to frighten them but knowing how much they remembered would help her tailor her explanation.

"Don't wanna!" Instinct cried.

"Shh, shh, I know," Williams soothed. "I know," she repeated before turning to Cerberus. "Send them our damage list." Once that was done she shifted attention. "I was hurt too," she said, hoping they'd see that the damage to her Ascended form had been very extensive.

"But it is because you were hurt that Shepard ordered us to do this thing. But it's a difficult task, only those you can actually sense can know about it," she added, hoping they would interpret that to mean that they couldn't ask Elysium about it.

"It hurt!" Instinct said. "The bad ships wouldn't die," the young Ascended added.

"I know," Williams said, wishing she could somehow hold Instinct. Elysium probably would have flown up and touched the younger Ascended but Cerberus was in position over Home, and she wasn't sure that any of the other Milky Way Ascended had that sort of fine control. Those created in the LMC thought they should have gone with the other plan for Instinct and Legacy, harvesting their genetic material and allowing them to live their lives out within the Empire.

"I'll try," Goertz said. "It's how Elysium calmed us after awakening," he added the explanation.

One of the others provided a visual and Williams watched as Goertz flew close, somewhat clumsily extending one leg. It wasn't a crash, per se but it lacked Elysium's grace when he connected with Instinct but it did have the desired effect. All the Milky Way Ascended would have to go through Elysium's training before they could go into the galaxy.

"It hurt," Instinct said again but sounded calmer this time, as if recognising that it wasn't hurting now.

"Remembered pain is the worst," Harper said. Almost every time he died, and especially those times he died violently, he had a phantom pain echoing through him for a while after his consciousness awoke again on Cerberus. Lawson still hadn't worked out why.

"What is this task?" Legacy demanded. The question was laced with doubt. The youngest Milky Way Ascended didn't understand how doing something in the LMC could affect the Milky Way, even if it took cycles.

Williams bit her lip at the question. Children could be both easy and devastatingly difficult to manipulate. Instinct seemed more accepting but Legacy was going to be a problem. They might be the youngest but they were very perceptive.

"Careful," Harper advised, the word was his instruction not to be explicit.

"I have to tell them," Williams replied. If she didn't, Legacy would just keep demanding answers and might even seek out or call Shepard!

"Do you remember where the bad ships were?" she returned the question, trusting that Cerberus' subchannels would tell the young Ascended that this information was important to answer their question. On the visual screen, she could see a count of those listening to the conversation. They were beginning to drop out as they realised she was going to have to talk about the Project. Some of the Ascended had no interest in it. They thought it a waste of time and resources, yet for the moment their disinterest was displayed like this. It went no further and she could handle that.

"They were around the Controller," Legacy replied and Williams caught the distinct tone of impatience but it was an interesting way for the young Ascended to refer to the Catalyst. There was no doubt that Legacy was speaking about the Catalyst as well, since the word had been accompanied by an image.

"They were," she agreed. "But the Controller did not tell us about them," she explained, using Legacy's term. "And the Controller allowed the organics to put them there. Why did it not notice?" she put the question back to Legacy.

This was going to be tricky. While Cerberus understood the beauty behind extracting vengeance, and justice through the Project, some of the younger Milky Way Ascended still wanted to attempt to do the job themselves. They knew the Catalyst could control them but they were arrogant enough to believe that their anger at 'dying' would be enough to carry them through. It was because Cerberus was older, and had been ordered by Shepard, that they were still here. Legacy and Instinct were likely too young to have that arrogance but she could not afford them to have a tantrum over it, either.

"It was asleep?" Legacy said uncertainly after thinking about it, except Williams didn't need to be Ascended to see that Legacy already knew the fallacies of that statement.

The Catalyst did not hibernate in the way the fleet did. It had down time but its sensors were still active. They had to be to preserve it in the Serpent Nebula and to maintain its internal functions. More importantly, the station had to remain in good condition to create the trap.

Hibernation for an Ascended was closer to suspended animation with only a specific comm channel left open to awaken them. That was one of the reasons they hibernated in the middle of bum fuck nowhere, tens of thousands of light-years from the home galaxy. The chances of discovery were miniscule.

"Legacy," Williams chided gently.

"It let them?" Legacy said slowly and even as she watched, she could feel that Legacy was working it out. "It let them," the young Ascended said more clearly. "Why did it let lesser organics control it?"

"I do not know," Williams replied. "It always lets organics onto it," she added, because it was the truth and Cerberus was providing records from their own cycle to support her words.

"But the Controller-" Legacy paused, trying to sort out the contradictions. The Catalyst was meant to be in charge of the Cycle. It was meant to help them with the ascending and preservation of species. It was meant to provide them with information. Legacy knew that because even the youngest Ascended knew what their job was meant to be.

Williams waited. She could not prompt now, no matter how much she wanted. Legacy and Instinct would have to draw their own conclusions.

"The Controller is not like us," Instinct said.

Harper laughed, but only over a private line and Williams' teeth worried her lips.

"It is old," Legacy replied to Instinct.

"No, it does not come from an organic base," Instinct said.

"It is not Ascended," Legacy said, and the young Ascended seemed to be making an announcement. "Therefore it can not know us, cannot truly understand the glory that is ascension. Even the lesser organics can be made to understand."

"I  _really_  like her," Harper said.

"What is the Project Daddy wants?" Legacy demanded again.

Williams steeled herself. "Shepard wants to remove the Controller," she said, thinking very hard about the words and only the words.

"Daddy wants to remove the Controller?" Instinct asked.

"Yes," Williams replied. Now she could explain. "So that no other Ascended like you, or me, can be attacked by organics without warning." That was the easiest explanation and it would not trigger on any thought of removing the cycle because honestly she didn't know what would happen once the Catalyst was gone.

Legacy actually sniffed, eliciting more laughter from Harper. "Daddy is correct. The Controller failed so it should be removed. It does not know the glory of ascension so it should not control ascension," the young voice said.

"That is what we are working towards, but it will take a long time," Williams told the young Ascended. "Instinct, what are your thoughts?" They might be young but she had to be sure to speak to them both. At least, they were now calm.

"It…" Instinct said slowly, thinking. "It cannot be allowed to continue."

"Then will you help?" It was a bold question to ask to younglings. Their well-intentioned help might hinder but if they agreed to it, they would be staying in this galaxy and would remain calm.

"No," Legacy replied immediately. "Daddy did not give this task to me."

It was a childish answer and a selfish one. Implied in Legacy's subchannel was the young Ascended's intention to hibernate. At least, that was Legacy's intention once the young Ascended found a system free of organics.

"After training," Williams said firmly. "Shepard would not want you to be unprepared, so you will complete Elysium's training before you go into hibernation."

"I do not have those training regimes," Legacy said petulantly but Williams could tell the young Ascended was not against the idea.

"I do," she said, and watched as the sub-screen showed that Cerberus was sending the files to them both. When they had been rebuilding Goertz, they had hoped that the Catalyst's fail safes would not have transferred, but they had. Somehow the Catalyst got its programming into the core but other information was stored in the superstructure that made up their forms.

"I will train, so that I can be strong to ascend the bad organics with Daddy," Legacy agreed. "And then sleep until Daddy calls," he added.

"That is good," Williams agreed. "Instinct."

"I will train, then make a decision," the other young Ascended replied with surprising maturity.

"Good!" Williams cheered happily. "I'll make sure there is an empty system for you, like Sol," she said. "But while I get that, why don't you sleep?" she suggested. "The others will watch over you," she added.

"Daddy will not call?"

"I will let you know if Shepard calls," Williams assured them and was pleased when the two young Ascended dropped from the communication line and appeared to enter the light state of hibernation all Ascended were capable of when there was nothing that required their attention.

"And that, Harper, is why most Humans actually raise their children," she said. "And yes, I had noticed that they had no trouble speaking about removing Tartarus," she added.

Harper sighed. "You aren't still going on about that?" he groaned.

"Maybe."

"Get over it," the Phoenix Emperor said as the comm line expanded to a visual link up. "Well, at least they are under control," he continued, looking at the image of Instinct and Legacy together with their running lights dipped.

"What system do you want to give them?" Williams asked.

"Joalara," Harper replied immediately. "It's nearly ready for colonisation but it won't hurt if we pull out the last of the builders. It can be part of their training to complete the building and set up space farms. At least that way, they will be kept busy until Shepard calls again."

"They'll have to grow up, before they can begin training, so let them play in the system," Williams instructed Goertz before turning towards Harper.

He was resting his head in his hands. "Is there anything more?"

"I don't think so," Williams replied. "Just call me again when you need me to solve your problems," she added before cutting the comm.

"Yeah, right," Harper growled, shaking his head slightly. He'd roll his eyes, but to properly express his feelings, that would hurt and she was no longer around to appreciate it.

"Goertz, you take care of this. And try to find out how they managed to think about removing Tartarus. It has to be more than just the way they phrased it."

"Yes, Sir," the other Ascended replied and the last call was cut, leaving him alone with silence.

Harper sighed heavily. Now that that had been sorted, it was time to deal with the next problem of the day.

At least this one had nothing to do with children.

-cfr-

**45903 Years after Human Ascension, 848 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

"Why can't we have a government like the Attori?" The question was hissed in Plam but while it was quiet, its effects rippled around the room.

"Everyone gets a say. One voice, one vote! That's fair."

"They won't let it happen though. The Kratos has too much power."

"Exactly! If we want this to happen, then we are going to have to force it."

"How?"

"The only way to do it will be to make the Kratos lose power."

"They never lose power! Every war just makes them stronger."

"That's because every war has been against those we'd already defeated technologically. They've never fought against someone who can fight back."

"The Attori? Don't make me laugh."

"The Humans," the first voice spoke again.

"Even with everything their Emperor has done, the Exarch won't order a war."

"They are too powerful!"

"Just powerful enough," the first voice said with satisfaction. "They are becoming too powerful but even their Emperor's rule would be better. Wild animals would be better!"

"Their Emperor won't go for it. He's maintained peace for so long."

"All it will require is some encouragement or are you willing only to talk about the possibility of a better future without actually working for it?" The hiss was scornful this time.

"We just don't see how it can be done."

"It can be done," the first voice assured them. "It will require dedication and sacrifice but it can be done and the Human Emperor will declare war on the Fedochi. That will weaken the Kratos and we can take control. And at the very worst, the Humans will win and we will be subject to their rules. That can't be worse. Are you with me?"

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Harper puts a spanner in the words in international relations and the youngest of the Milky Way Ascended have been revived. They are glorious little organic killing machines :D And the last scene spells trouble for someone. When you meet new species, you are going to get new ideas, and for some in the LMC they've just seen that some things deemed 'theoretical' are actually possible.


	57. The Two Heads of a Wolf

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are some pointed discussions between the Phoenix Empire, Attori Democracy and Fedochi Protectorate. Guess who wins?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 56: Two Heads of a Wolf**

-cfr-

**45905 Years after Human Ascension, 850 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Atto, Prime Minister's Office**

Attori Prime Minister Chetan sighed heavily. The Humans had a saying that applied here. Between a rock and a hard place. He was definitely there and he genuinely didn't know what he was meant to do about the situation. Still, it was encouraging that the Exarch was attempting diplomacy but if the Fedochi thought he would do anything stupid like threaten to cease trade with the Humans, the Exarch had better think again. He wasn't going to do that, not without significant compensation.

Insofar as it was possible, the Attori would remain neutral. As he'd already told Exarch Ilkin, this was not their border.

Chetan had no idea what had truly occurred and would not speculate but he had no wish to alienate the Fedochi entirely.

"Very well, Exarch Ilkin, I do not know what you wish to achieve but I will use the Attori's longer history with the Humans to speak to Emperor Harper. I will ask him exactly what occurred but I suspect I will get the same answers you have."

"Which are no answers at all!" Exarch Ilkin snarled. "The Humans have violated Fedochi territory. They have violated the agreement that has been in place between our species since we met! One hundred and two of their years! I will not stand for it!"

Chetan sighed again. "In the interests of galactic peace, I will speak to the Phoenix Empire but the Attori had nothing to do with this incident and we are not the galaxy's truth-seekers nor its peacekeepers. This will be our last involvement in this incident."

"Let me know what the bastard has to say," Exarch Ilkin growled before cutting the comm.

How did he get involved with this? Chetan questioned himself. He had no idea what was really going on but he knew he wanted the Attori well away from it.

From what little he did know, the situation involved a system with two habitable planets. If the Exarch was to be believed, the Fedochi had settled on both, thus claiming the system for their Protectorate. That should have been the end of it and was how the Humans and the Fedochi had been making their border. The first into a system claimed it.

So far, it had worked but now the Exarch was claiming that the Humans had destroyed the colonies and moved in on the system. Except what Exarch Ilkin could not tell him was how the Humans managed to do it so quickly.

The Fedochi's own records said their defence fleet was still there, except it obviously wasn't, nor, according to the sensor readings the Humans had allowed the fleet the Fedochi had sent to the system to make, was there any evidence of the Fedochi settlements. There was no evidence there had ever been any settlements. If the Humans had destroyed them, there would have been something.

According to the sensor logs that the Humans had provided in addition to the Fedochi fleet scans, they had moved into a completely empty and very desirable system. And that's where the problems had started.

The Phoenix Empire refused to move out and the Fedochi were threatening war but everyone knew how damaging that would be so the Exarch had asked, demanded actually, that he speak with Emperor Harper to do… Well, Prime Minister Chetan wasn't sure what he was meant to do but somehow work out a compromise.

Chetan had no idea where to begin.

"Contact Emperor Harper," he instructed one of his personal assistants, Nalini, as he sat back down.

How did he handle this? He just wanted to keep his people safe but he could feel the two military powers gearing up for a war with every moment that passed.

"Emperor Harper is on the line," Nalini reported.

Chetan sighed yet again, that was very quick, before flicking his hologram on and looking over at the image of the Phoenix Emperor. In Human years, Harper looked young, but Chetan knew he was about half way through a regeneration cycle. In the years that followed, Harper would slowly show signs of aging until he was middle aged. Then, barring accidents or interruptions, which was the polite way to say assassinations, Harper would shift his consciousness to a younger body and go through another cycle. At least, that's what the Empire's information told him.

"Prime Minister Chetan," Harper began, "what can I do for you today?"

"You already know," Chetan replied. There was no point in being coy.

Harper snorted. "Ilkin pestered you into calling?" came the question. "Well, I'll tell you what I told him. There was no evidence of Fedochi settlements or even scout ships when our scouts found the Njord system."

"And your colony ships followed two days later with a double defence fleet."

Harper frowned. "It's a normal fleet," he objected.

"Twenty dreadnoughts?" Chetan couldn't keep the sarcasm from his tone, though he did manage to keep his frill colour neutral.

"Two habitable planets, two colonies, two defence fleets," Harper shrugged as if it was normal. Well, for the Phoenix Empire, it probably was.

"So why does Exarch Ilkin insist that in the Njord system there should be one hundred thousand Fedochi colonists and their defence fleets?"

Harper looked at him blankly. "I don't know," the Human Emperor replied. "As far as I can tell, Exarch Ilkin isn't even sure they were there," Harper added. "I don't know what happened to them but they weren't there when my colonists got to the planets and as per our informal agreement, the first to colonise a system claims it, thus setting the border. It's not my fault Exarch Ilkin can't keep track of his people."

Chetan returned the flat look, silently telling Harper not to try diplomatic bullshit. "Jack, I'm the longest serving Attori Prime Minister in history and we've known each other for a very long time. You've never lied to me and as far as I can tell, you've never lied to any of my predecessors. You haven't told us the whole truth but you've never lied. Don't start now."

Harper glared at him for a few moments. "Despite my better instincts, and over Williams' stringent objections, in the interests of galactic peace, I've already handed over our military records. The only move Williams made towards the Njord system was with the colonisation ships."

"All that proves to me is that you are good at hiding things," Chetan countered. "And I already know that. We still don't know where the metal goes so, as you would say, pull the other one."

Harper laughed. "So what you are saying Chetan, is that you believe Exarch Ilkin when he says that his colonists were in Njord?"

Chetan recognised a trap when he heard it. "I don't know who to believe," he replied. "But one hundred thousand colonists? That does seem a lot to misplace," he added, letting his frills colour slightly.

Harper looked off to the side and Chetan could see him thinking, as the Human Emperor twirled a stylus through his fingers.

"You say one hundred thousand as if it's a lot," Harper said finally.

"Harper, it is!" Chetan exclaimed, not able to keep his frills from showing shock.

Harper laughed again. It was a cold calculating noise, and as he controlled himself, he set the stylus down to look directly at Chetan. "I am personally responsible for the deaths of over four billion. Do you really think another 100k will bother me?" Harper finished the question with a cocky half smile.

Chetan froze. Had the Human Emperor actually said what he thought he'd said? "What?" he managed to gasp the word, his frills almost colourless with shock.

"Heh," Harper said, taking a deep breath. "Four billion. I'm fairly certain I killed myself, but if you include the battles I participated in then… pft!" Emperor Harper sat back, breathing out heavily. "I don't know… 100 to 200 billion, maybe. I should get Williams to add them up for me. I'm sure she could find the time."

"What are you saying?" Chetan demanded, though his voice trembled.

"You are quite correct, Prime Minister Chetan," Harper replied. "I have never lied to the Attori. Of course, you are also correct in thinking that I have not told you everything but a lie of omission isn't the same as a fabrication and so I'm telling you the truth."

Chetan wasn't sure if Harper's smile was ironic or cruel but he shivered all the same. "You can't have killed that many!" He objected. "We would have noticed," he added, trying to think logically. The Phoenix Emperor was known to execute criminals even on the most trivial of charges and there was that incident about sixty years ago when Harper had been assassinated and instituted a purge. But even allowing for that to have occurred multiple times in the Phoenix Empire's history, it added up to a few thousand. Maybe two to three hundred thousand if Chetan was generous with his estimates. That was far fewer than even four billion! There was just no way that was true despite Harper's insistence that he had never lied to the Attori and was not lying now. Harper grinned and this time Chetan knew it was viciously pleased.

"The Asari's Council may have had a little help falling," Harper said.

"You're happy about that!" Chetan gasped when he recalled what the Asari were. They were supposedly one of the younger alien races from the Seebii galaxy. He'd never met one, no one had and it didn't really matter if they existed, they were now extinct if the Human history was truthful and Chetan had no idea about that.

"Well, of course, I am!" Harper replied, telegraphing his own shock at Chetan's surprise. "I didn't like them. Of course, personally I disliked the Salarians the most and I know Williams disliked the Turians more but the man in charge hated the Asari the most and, upon reflection," Harper nodded, his expression thoughtful, "I can see why. It really was their fault. Though if you want to talk about relative kill rates, then  _his_ …" Again Harper's expression became thoughtful and he nodded in a way that indicated he was counting. "Now,  _he_  killed at least 30 billion personally, though that's undoubtedly a low estimate. And his orders are responsible for at least another five trillion deaths. But you really don't want to talk about him." Harper said. "Let's keep to this galaxy and Njord."

"Yes… I think we should," Chetan agreed weakly. If he hadn't already been sitting, he would have collapsed. From Harper's tone, Chetan had no doubt that he was speaking the truth. Somehow, the Humans had killed that many sentients in the Seebii galaxy. "So what really happened in Njord?"

"That is something I don't know," Harper insisted. "The Fedochi were not there when our scout ships arrived in system."

"Harper!" Chetan exclaimed. Were they really back to this?

"That is what happened," Emperor Harper said firmly.

Chetan sighed. "Alright, that is what happened," he agreed. "For that to be true, according to both what Exarch Ilkin and you indicate happened, something else must have taken out the Fedochi settlers."

"That's possible," Harper said easily, apparently unconcerned by the thought of a force that could destroy settlements without leaving a trace.

"Exarch Ilkin wouldn't have killed his own colonists, which leaves me with one of two possibilities but they are both versions of that other force."

"Go on." Harper actually sounded amused.

"It's either something new, or you have a force not on the books as it were," Chetan said as he thought.

"And how do you figure that?" Harper asked.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Chetan snorted. Really? How did he figure that? Wasn't it obvious? "Harper, I have a pretty good understanding of the Fedochi economic situation, just as I have a good understanding of my people's situation. We have to know how much we can trade after all." Chetan could see Harper nod his understanding and while the Human Emperor might know what was to come, he remained silent.

"It is your Empire that makes no sense. You are rich, I will grant that but you should be richer. And don't you deny it," he admonished Harper before the man could object. "No matter how much eezo you sell to us, you always have more. You never seem to struggle with your budget and your military output is insane!" Chetan was breathing hard when he finished.

"After 850 years, I am very good at budgeting," Harper replied.

"It's more than that," Chetan snapped. "There's a void in your Empire that doesn't make sense." No matter what the outcome, in some ways it felt good to be able to say this aloud to the Emperor. These discrepancies had been noted for centuries in the private notes of the Prime Ministers. It might be nice to finally understand, or at least it was nice to openly confront the Phoenix Emperor.

"I told one of your predecessors but I guess Uilram didn't record it for the same reason you are not going to record this conversation."

"The threat of invasion?"

"Nothing so crude. Just belief. No one will believe you."

Chetan groaned. That was true enough. "So what did you tell Prime Minister Uilram that no one will believe?"

"I explained the void in our economics," Harper said.

Chetan stared. No matter how unbelievable, it was almost criminal that Uilram hadn't recorded that.

"It has to do with a Project. The Milky Way was and is a dangerous galaxy. If the elder races ever come here, my Project ensures that we will be ready and until it's complete, the void in the Empire's economics will continue. The Project is not a secret. All Humans are taught about it in school but I guess most spies aren't looking there." Harper laughed. "Now, I won't tell you what the Project is, obviously, but I can confirm that it is the most expensive item on the Empire's budget and it is not yet complete."

"So what you mean to say is that you have no budget for a secret fleet?" No matter how fascinated Chetan was with the discussion, he had to bring it back to Njord. Maybe someday, he and Emperor Harper could just talk off the record but today was not that day.

"That sounds about right," Harper said happily.

"Harper," Chetan sighed.

The Human laughed before he turned serious and tapped a few times on his datapad. It did something to the comm but before Chetan could ask what Harper began talking. "What do you want me to say, Chetan? Njord is a very valuable system and you know as well as I do that the Fedochi were there. Ilkin knows, you know and I know that the Empire did something to remove them. Ilkin knows that he cannot do the same. He can't take on twenty Phoenix Empire dreadnaughts without mobilising a major part of his military, which you and I will both notice. Thus, he complains because he knows what I'm about to tell you. I will go to war for this system."

Chetan gulped but Harper wasn't finished.

"There is one more thing. Ilkin knows and I know that Njord system is not Attori business and that you, no matter what happens, will remain firmly allied to the Phoenix Empire. That is why he spoke to you. It was a vain attempt to lure your allegiance to them."

"You make a lot of assumptions," Chetan growled tightly. He wasn't sure if he should take offence at Harper's statements. He wasn't sure if they weren't the truth.

"I speak nothing but the truth. You know it. I know it and Exarch Ilkin knows it." Harper smirked. "The Attori can't afford to break from their trade agreement with my Empire, not without the Fedochi promising and actually providing a large amount of compensation. Compensation they will not be able to produce, regardless of the outcome here. But you know, I know and Exarch Ilkin knows that even in peace the Fedochi can't produce the eezo you require. Only the Phoenix Empire can. So," Harper speared his glowing eyes into Chetan's. "That is why, when you call Exarch Ilkin back, you are going to tell him that while the Fedochi may be able to show that they mapped Njord first, there is no evidence that they colonised before Human ships arrived. If they had, then the long-standing in-principle agreement between myself and Exarch Ilkin would have been honoured."

Chetan gulped, staring back at the Phoenix Emperor. He was right. There was no way that the Fedochi could supply the Attori's eezo requirements, not when occasionally the Attori managed to on-sell some eezo at a very tidy rate of profit. But beyond that, there was no guarantee the Fedochi would win a war with the Humans. In fact, it was very likely that they'd lose, especially if the Phoenix Empire had the ability to just make their settlements disappear.

"One hundred thousand colonists," he said again, feeling sick.

"Better than the millions who will die in a war."

"What did you do with them?"

"You don't need to know that," Harper replied, waving one hand. "But what you do need to tell me is your response to Exarch Ilkin."

Chetan sighed heavily. His frills showed the colour of defeat. "I will tell him that the Attori do not know the truth of the matter but since he cannot show proof of his settlements, I have to trust that the Human colonists entered an empty system, thus claiming it for the Phoenix Empire."

"Good," Harper seemed to purr. "That wasn't so hard now, was it?" he asked with a small chuckled. "It's always a pleasure speaking with you, Prime Minister Chetan."

"I wish I could say the same," Chetan spat. He'd need all his diplomacy for dealing with Exarch Ilkin.

"Oh, don't be like that," Harper said though his voice was amused.

"I think I'm entitled to be however I want. You've plunged us all into war," Chetan snarled.

"Don't be so dramatic!" Harper dismissed the concern. "Exarch Ilkin will bluster but it won't go beyond that. He can't afford a war at the moment."

"Of course, he can."

"No, he can't," Harper insisted. "Right at the moment, the Kratos is dealing with troubles from their people."

"What?" Chetan demanded. He knew there was something going on but it wasn't affecting anything… But Harper was saying it was. What did he know?

"The Fedochi are a monarchy with an aristocracy. There is a small group, the Kratos, who inherit their power."

"Yes, yes, I know all this." It was basic information all Attori knew about their second neighbour.

"Then they encountered you, the Attori Federation, and to a lesser extent, the Phoenix Empire and they, all of them, discovered that different forms of government are possible. Specifically, constitutional democracy. One voice, one vote! And suddenly, the Kratos were very, very worried. They had reason to be," Harper explained.

"You didn't!" Chetan gasped. He wouldn't have interfered with the Fedochi government…

"I didn't need to," Harper dismissed his concern. "The revolutionaries just appeared as soon as they understood exactly what democracy meant. Exarch Ilkin has to focus on his internal affairs before he can focus on a war. That's why he spoke to you. If you could make me give up Njord, all the better, but if not, well… it was worth a shot. All it cost him was a few calls. So no, Chetan, he's not going to go to war, not until he's dealt with the revolutionaries."

"You still killed one hundred thousand of his people," Chetan said.

Harper sighed. "Alright, you're not going to leave it alone, are you? I'll agree to one diplomatic dinner. The Fedochi Ambassador and me in a nice private meal to discuss our issues. Does that give you something to work with?" Harper asked.

"It does but," Chetan wasn't sure what to say.

"It's all you are getting," Harper replied firmly. "And if that's all, I have other things to do. Good day, Prime Minister Chetan."

Before Chetan could say anything, the comm was cut leaving him alone in his office. He rubbed the edges of his frills before tapping the security controls on his datapad. All conversations conducted from this office were recorded. It was a matter of state security as much as for helping him remember discussions and commitments. It should be relatively easy to bring up the last record of his and Harper's conversation.

He scrolled through the files from today. There was his conversation with the Minister of Education, following by his meeting with the Treasurer and… ah… there it was, his conversation with Exarch Ilkin which should be followed by the record from…

Where was it? Chetan flicked back and forth. Where was the file?

It should be there!

Even if it was corrupted, it should be there but it wasn't. There was no buffer or cache for the file so it wasn't still processing… which meant… So that's what Harper had done, Chetan realised. He had deleted the record, hacking through the supposedly secure line into the back ups… Which meant if Harper could get to that, he could get to anything, literally anything else. They had no state secrets.

Chetan closed his eyes. One thing at a time, he told himself and right now he had to call back a rather irate Exarch and tell him that for all intents and purposes, the Attori stood with the Humans.

The blood of one hundred thousand Fedochi was now on his hands, just as it was on Harper's and he could only hope that it was not joined by the blood of Attori.

May the spirits of Atto forgive him.

-cfr-

"This is the chance we've been waiting for!"

"Are you mad? Support for the Exarch is rising. Soon those who were with us will turn us in."

"You think too small. This is our chance to bring down the Exarch, to bring down the Kratos once and for all."

"When all Fedochi are screaming for the blood of the Humans?"

"Yes! Because even with those screams, you know the Exarch won't risk a war and with the Humans in the possession of the system they call Njord, their Emperor has no reason to go to war. But now is the perfect chance for us to push for that war. We can make it happen, which will bring down the Exarch and the Kratos. It may even bring down the Humans which would be a very interesting outcome."

"Then the Attori would take control."

"Which would fulfil our goals."

"You are insane but there is opportunity here. What do you need done?"

"The Human Emperor has agreed to a dinner with Ambassador Syril. You have contacts in his guards, don't you?"

-cfr-

**45905 Years after Human Ascension, 850 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Emperor's Palace**

"This had better be worth it, Lawson," Williams complained when she finally cleared security at the Palace. "Even for me, it takes for-fucking-ever to get a booking at The Imperial Path," she added.

Lawson looked over at her, noting her attire. Slinky black dress, heels, a tiny clutch bag with her hair curled slightly and clipped back, away from her face, was not the usual dress of the Empire's Grand Admiral.

"I do get time off," she snapped at his look. "Now, what is it?" she demanded.

"It's this," Lawson said as he led the way into one of the Palace's dining rooms.

The Moreau Room, Williams identified the location. One of the smaller dining rooms used for one to one dinners. Long habit made her eyes automatically track the corners but they came to rest in the centre of the room. "Fuck."

"Yeah, I said that too," Lawson murmured.

There, slumped face down at the table was Harper. Dead as a doornail.

"Poison?" Williams questioned, running her mind over what she knew of Harper's schedule.

"Yes," Lawson replied. "Administered by the good Ambassador," Lawson explained, indicating towards a Fedochi who was hanging from the grip of two of Harper's burliest bodyguards.

Williams blinked as she looked at the alien. Something wasn't quite right and it was more than the marks of violence on them or the fact that they were hanging quietly. It was something else.

"That's…" she said slowly. "That's not the Ambassador," she concluded when her implants linked to a military database which provided an image of the current Fedochi Ambassador.

"I told you she'd work it out," Lawson said to the room and an instant later, a hologram of Harper appeared.

"Yes, yes," he sounded annoyed.

"Doh!" Williams cooed with false sympathy. "I'm not entirely certain why I am here," she continued. "This is a definite failure of Harper's security forces, not mine," she said, ignoring the way Harper's bodyguards flinched. They should have noticed that the Fedochi they were holding was not the Ambassador.

"There, there," Lawson murmured diplomatically. "He had some sort of adaptive hologram," he explained, pointing towards something that was lying on the floor in one corner. "They broke it when… well, you know."

She did know. The instant Harper appeared to be in distress, his bodyguards would have reacted. Some would have attempted to help Harper but others would have gone after the culprit, which explained why the so-called Ambassador was looking so roughed up.

"Well, I'll have R&D go over it," she said.

Both Harper and Lawson took that as code for copy it and work out some way of detecting them. Theoretically, they could already build one. It shouldn't be that hard to work out a device that did a whole body holographic projection that mirrored your movements and if you were close enough to what you were projecting then you wouldn't even have to line up the image that closely when you wanted to pick up something. The tech had definite uses but that consideration could come later.

"So do you want the fleet assembled," Williams asked. "We can probably be at Cyr in about four months." She didn't miss the way the Fedochi jerked but she wasn't sure if it was a happy gesture. He should be. Assassinating Harper while in the guise of the Ambassador screamed that you wanted a war.

"That's the problem, Williams, this isn't the Ambassador," Lawson said.

"How do we know?" she countered. "For all we know, the Ambassador was always under that device."

"It's not the Ambassador, Williams," Harper said firmly. "I can confirm that."

"Alright," she sighed. 'I can confirm' meant that Cerberus could. "So what do you want done?" Tensions were already high because of Njord and while the latest Intel reports said there was growing support for a war amongst the Fedochi people, she knew the Kratos and the Exarch were against it. A vicious grin crossed Williams' face. They knew they wouldn't win. But the Phoenix Empire could equally use this assassination to justify a war.

"I know I can justify a war to His orders," Harper's hologram said and Williams could hear his desire. "But a war will put the Project at risk."

"True but…"

"There's also the fact that I don't want to give this scum what he wants," Harper added, gesturing to the fake Ambassador.

"How do we know that this isn't what Ilkin wants?" Williams asked. "For all we know he pulled back his… Who was it? His uncle and sent in this mug hoping we'd be duped. He doesn't want to declare a war but if we do, well, that's unfortunate," she shrugged.

"That's possible but…" Lawson was interrupted by a commotion at the door. "What is it?" he asked testily. Williams looked over. It was Denita, the head of Harper's bodyguards.

"Sir! We've secured the Fedochi Embassy," she reported.

"Good," Lawson nodded. "Start processing the bastards."

"Yes, Sir, but we found something, Sir."

"What is it?" Williams asked.

"The Ambassador, Ma'am," Denita replied and Williams glared. As the Grand Admiral she rated a Sir but it was part of the ongoing feud between Harper's Security Forces and her military. "Ambassador Syril's dead," Denita announced.

Lawson sighed heavily. That confused the issue. "Have you taken their security footage?"

"We are in the process now. Their files aren't compatible with ours."

"I'll do it," Harper announced with a vicious grin and Lawson and Williams knew it would only take a few minutes before they knew the extent of the Exarch's involvement. With his uncle dead, it reduced the chances but didn't completely negate them. Ambition was a powerful motivator.

While she waited, Williams pulled out her omni-tool, unfolding it from her clutch bag. She could have had it implanted but she preferred the external devices. It meant she could turn it off or accidentally forget it when she didn't want to answer Harper's… when she was on leave.

A few taps brought up the face of the Duty-Admiral. There was always someone of that rank on duty no matter the time.

"Put Home in lock down," she ordered after nodding to acknowledge Admiral Chapman's salute. "It should only be for a few hours, but do it. And tell the defence forces to be on alert, especially Njord," she added.

Chapman was a good man and didn't ask questions but Williams could already see him drawing the right conclusions. Lockdown was only put into place in cases of emergency and on Home, there really was only one situation that demanded it. The Emperor's assassination. The fact that she mentioned Njord meant that the Fedochi were involved.

"Get one of my personal assistants to tell Ambassador Qi'lori that we do not hold the Attori responsible," Harper instructed from the side before his hologram looked up. "Got them," he announced with a grin.

"So who is that?" Lawson asked, pointing to the still restrained Fedochi.

"I have no idea," Harper replied. "He's not on the Embassy Staff list."

"Interesting," Lawson murmured.

"Yes," Harper agreed and Williams nodded. Either the Fedochi were very good at covering their tracks or this had not been a sanctioned action.

"I think he's probably from one of their pro-democracy movements," Harper speculated but with Cerberus behind him, it was probably the truth. "One of the more militant factions."

"That would explain it," Lawson said.

"But doesn't settle our response," Williams objected.

"Their ambassador is dead and Jack's dead," Lawson said.

"And?" Williams questioned. "They are not equivalent," she added.

"Oh, I didn't know you cared," Harper laughed.

Ashley grinned evilly as she took that opening. "I don't, Jack, but it's the principle. Ignoring the relative value of Human life over Fedochi, the life of an Emperor does not equal an Ambassador especially when we had nothing to do with his murder."

"They'll say we did," Lawson replied.

"And since when have we cared about that?"

"Since the Project," Harper said with a disgusted note in his voice. He agreed with Williams but Shepard's orders were very clear. The Project had to come first. Once it was launched, while the current generation of Fedochi would be dead and beyond his reach, he'd have millennia to teach their descendants the hubris of interfering with Human affairs.

Williams chuckled. "Then it's a good thing we are patient."

"How was the Ambassador killed?" Lawson asked Denita. Both he and Williams both looked sharply at Harper. He was already in the Fedochi security footage.

"Bullet to the back of his head, your Highness. His brains are splattered all over his desk," Denita replied.

Harper nodded his confirmation. "Get a camera and lighting in there. Make it obvious by the angle that he did not kill himself." Harper turned to his bodyguards who were holding the fake ambassador. "Break his legs and then hold him over there," he indicated to a spot slightly behind and to the left of his body.

"It's so much fun when he starts playing director," Williams sniggered to Lawson, while the various aides scrambled.

"You two get over here," Harper snapped as his hologram moved to a position behind his body. "Make sure his rank marks are showing. I wouldn't want Exarch Ilkin to miss the point." The two bodyguards nodded as a third stepped forward, holding a solid club. There was a couple of heavy thuds and the sound of flesh being hit but no one paid attention to the Fedochi's cries of pain.

"Fry, stand ready. You'll need to lift my head when I tell you," Harper instructed.

"A transmission?" Lawson observed as he moved.

"It's this or a war," Harper replied. "And a war would be painful…" He turned to the fake ambassador, who was currently whimpering in pain. "Oh, do be quiet," he said in Plam. "You can't have expected to have just walked away after killing me," he added, ignoring the pun.

Even with expert care, it would be quite some time, if ever, before the fake ambassador could walk again.

"Do I have time to find a uniform?" Williams asked.

"No," Harper said, actually observing her. "That looks better."

She sighed. "You are so getting me another reservation," she muttered.

"Yes, yes, just stand with Lawson and try not to look too pleased."

"Now, you are taking all the fun out of it."

It remained a source of pride that she hadn't been assassinated. It wouldn't last forever but she would milk it while she could. Williams turned off her omni-tool and repacked it in her bag before she tugged at her hair a little, dislodging some strands. If Harper wanted her to look like she'd been otherwise occupied, then she'd properly look the part.

Lawson just snorted when she used one fingernail to scrape away a little lipstick to complete the look.

"Oh, shut up," Williams growled. It was still considered a universal truth that women took longer getting ready than men. "When you are ready," she said to Harper as she resettled her slinky black dress. He so owed her for this.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Jack?" Lawson asked seriously. "It could be construed as weakness to admit we allowed you to be assassinated."

Harper nodded. "Or that I take death so lightly that it does not matter."

Lawson rolled his eyes. "Well, with your body here, who knows what he will think."

"I'll make it seem like I knew it wasn't the Ambassador but was playing along," Harper assured him.

"You didn't even look at him?" Lawson was surprised.

"I only agreed to this dinner to shut Chetan up. It was meant to be a peace gesture in the wake of Njord. You know, I give them some direct, causal time with me and they shut up about their fucking system that's not theirs anymore."

"At least look at the man, er, Fedochi next time!" Lawson said. "You dying early screws up my schedule, you know."

"And ruins my night," Williams grouched.

Harper's hologram looked sharply at Lawson. "You mean to say you haven't even started my body yet?" he demanded.

"Of course not," Lawson replied. "You weren't meant to need it for another fifty years so I wasn't wasting time on it yet."

The hologram rubbed at his eyes, ignoring Williams' sniggers.

"I know, I know. I'll get it started before I head to bed," Lawson said placatingly.

"No," Harper said. "You'll start multiple bodies so that there will always be one ready no matter what year it is."

"Yeah, okay. I'll put a couple in stasis," Lawson said tiredly. He probably should have done that after last time but last time had been near the turn of the century so he'd been able to rush the production.

"Can we get on with this?" Williams asked.

"Just one more thing," Lawson said. "How are you going to explain Ilkin's uncle?"

Harper smirked. "I won't. We aren't in charge of their embassy's internal security," he added the explanation.

"True," Lawson said. It really didn't matter how this conversation went. If the Exarch started a war, Humanity would finish it. He nodded to Harper to indicate he was finished.

"Make the call," Harper instructed Guthrie.

It was probably odd for his Personal Assistant to work in the presence of Harper's corpse but the man had been trained to obey the Emperor and that's what he would do.

A camera had been set up on the far side of the room and a holographic screen appeared under it. For the moment, the screen displayed them and it was an impressive if somewhat unusual view but they could all hear the secure comm cycling through the connections as it established a link with the Exarch.

"Emperor Harper, what is the m-" Exarch Ilkin's image broke off when he got a good look at the setting. It was mid-afternoon on Cyr at the Protector's Palace and he had been about to engage in some recreational bedroom activity before listening to his uncle's report on the private dinner with Emperor Harper. The call was hours early. "What is the meaning of this?" he demanded finally.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Harper said coldly. A small window in the bottom corner of the screen displayed the image being transmitted to the Fedochi.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Exarch Ilkin stammered. He might be the leader of his people but being confronted by the leaders of a purely militaristic empire when they were holding one of your people on display with them obviously in extreme pain was very confronting. Add to that the appearance of another face-down body at the dining table and the Exarch had a very bad feeling about this comm.

"This one," Harper said urbanely, "posing as your Ambassador, with all the correct clearances, slipped poison to my shell," he indicated towards Fry to lift his corpse's head. It was not a pretty sight.

"Now, I am immortal, but even within the Phoenix Empire,  _that_  is assassination."

"My uncle wouldn't…" Exarch Ilkin objected but he didn't sound as sure as he should.

"I never said it was your uncle," Harper cried as if the statement had been an admission of guilt. His bodyguards hauled the fake ambassador forward, ignoring his cries of pain so that the camera could focus on him. Fry dropped his corpse's head and took himself off screen.

"That's…" There was a spark of recognition in Ilkin's tone.

"That's who?" Harper asked sweetly.

"That's Kuoxxar Ramakers," the Exarch said. "He's wanted in the Fedochi Protectorate."

"I'm afraid he will not be surviving his visit to the Phoenix Empire," Harper said as he searched through the Fedochi files he had lifted from the Embassy for Kuoxxor. That particular Fedochi had been a very bad boy! Wanted for political agitation, unionism, promoting democracy and several assassinations of lower placed Kratos members. With a reputation like that, it was almost a shame to have inflicted the earlier damage. Harper could, in another situation, almost foresee himself fixing up Kuoxxor, giving him some plastic surgery and unleashing him back into the Fedochi Protectorate, just to see what havoc he caused.

"Where is my uncle?" Exarch Ilkin demanded, having finally worked out at least one of the likely implications of his uncle not being there.

Harper stared, as if weighing the question before his hologram nodded, decision apparently made. The image they were projecting altered to one that came directly from the Fedochi Embassy. The angle of the body and the blood splatter made it very clear that Ambassador Syril had been shot from behind at close range. There were no Humans in the shot and Harper nodded to himself. That was clever of Denita to leave it ambiguous as to if this was a feed they were being sent or one they had taken. Exarch Ilkin would determine the truth quickly enough, but only after the comm was closed.

"You murderer!" the Exarch yelled.

Harper heard Williams sigh and before the Fedochi Exarch could work himself into a state of righteous fury he flicked the image back. "I think not," Harper snapped coldly. "Or rather, I think that should be my statement. Did you think you would get away with it?" he demanded, knowing that the statement really made no sense but this was political maneuvering. Sense was left at the door. "You have an admirable dedication to your goal," Harper continued. "Setting up Kuoxxor as a wanted Fedochi, and then sacrificing your uncle. I can admire such ruthlessness."

"I… what?" Exarch Ilkin spluttered. He had not been prepared for this conversation. "You think I ordered this?" he eventually demanded incredulously.

Harper just looked at him saying without words 'I would have'.

"I'm not so stupid as to try to kill a self-proclaimed immortal," Exarch Ilkin said.

Williams snorted a burst of laughter but Harper didn't reprimand her. Exarch Ilkin's choice of words indicated his doubt about Harper's immortality, even with the corpse and the hologram speaking to him.

"I think it's I who should be making the accusations," the Fedochi leader continued. "It is my uncle, clearly murdered, a body you could have grown for effect and one of my citizens abused. You have a lot to answer for," Ilkin concluded, glaring at the camera.

"I am not responsible for the safety of your Ambassador within the confines of your Embassy," Harper said crisply. "By your own words, you have identified this Fedochi as one Kuoxxar Ramakers, wanted throughout the Fedochi Protectorate on charges of unionism, editorial not supportive of the Kratos, murder and anarchy." Harper read from the file on Kuoxxar. "Hardly the most upstanding citizen and, with all those charges carrying a statutory sentence of 20 hours torture before beheading, not one you can claim to be protecting." Harper finished, raising one hologramatic eyebrow to emphasise his point.

"The fact of the matter is your security dropped the ball and I was a little too curious to find out what this fake ambassador wanted to be as cautious as I should have been."

Harper's sudden realism caught Exarch Ilkin by surprise. "What do you want?" he asked after a moment of thought because he could see what had happened, just as clearly as the Humans could. Kuoxxar was trying to provoke a war.

Harper smiled. "Njord," he said.

Exarch Ilkin understood the implications and knew what had happened and he was player enough to know when to retreat but not necessarily with good grace. He glared. Njord was becoming a rallying point for the Fedochi. The shared outrage at the Humans' presumption was a boon to rooting out revolutionaries like Kuoxxar and if he just ceded it to the Phoenix Empire, that will, that momentum would be lost. "What about my uncle?" Exarch Ilkin asked.

Harper nodded, accepting the Exarch's silent awarding of the system. Now that he had what he wanted, he could be magnanimous. "I will have his body shipped to Fedochi territory and support whatever lie you want to make up about his assassination." The words 'within reason' were implied in his tone. "I am however keeping Kuoxxar."

Exarch Ilkin nodded. "You aren't going public?" he surmised.

"Oh, no, it will come out that my shell was killed," Harper said indicating towards his body. "But it's not like I died so in a couple of weeks, I'll return to work in a new shell," he said. "Kuoxxar will be suitably punished, I assure you," Harper added, turning slightly so that the Fedochi could see his smile. Despite constantly explaining, most Fedochi still saw it as a threat gesture… which in this case was accurate but that was purely semantics.

"I would very much like a copy of the recording then," Exarch Ilkin said.

Harper considered it. "I'll see to it,:" he said slowly, mentally determining which bits would require editing for Fedochi sensibilities and thinking about what safeguards to embed in the file. Exarch Ilkin could have the copy for his private library but not for propaganda.

The Exarch sighed. "It is a steep price to pay for the removal of an agitator," he said.

"But he  _will be_  removed," Harper assured him earnestly.

"That is true," Ilkin admitted before he looked pointedly at Harper. "Was there anything else?"

"No," the Phoenix Emperor said. "I'll have someone contact you about the details for your uncle," he added.

"I'll select a new Ambassador in a few weeks. For now, my uncle's assistant will fill in." Exarch Ilkin replied before the comm line was cut.

"The game goes on," Harper murmured.

"I'll get a reinforced fleet to Njord immediately," Williams said, pulling out her omni-tool.

"Good," Harper nodded. "Reinforce Demeter and Avalon as well. Send immortalised and," Harper's hologram turned to look at Kuoxxar. "Throw Mr. Ramakers here into a processing tank," he instructed. "I think he will be useful."

His bodyguards nodded, not questioning why the Emperor was choosing to reward his assassin.

Lawson just sighed. He foresaw more work ahead, perfecting customised Fedochi avatars. Williams wasn't the only one who took time off occasionally.

"I think this has been quite a profitable night," Harper said.

"Except for dying," Lawson drawled.

Harper waved one holographic hand to dismiss that. He'd gotten sole claim over Njord for a pittance, notwithstanding the last raid the Fedochi were probably already scrambling to assemble. He had a foreign political agitator he could slip into the Fedochi Protectorate again and again any time they became too troublesome and Kuoxxar would do that job beautifully, especially once he had some Human techniques taught to him. And he'd gotten rid of the tiresome, windbag Ambassador. With the small exception of losing his shell, it had been a very good night.

"You still owe me a reservation at The Imperial Path," Williams said as she walked out, heels clicking on the floor.

Well, maybe except for losing his shell and  _that_! It was impossible to get a booking at The Imperial Path, even for him.

He huffed. Screw it. He'd just buy the place. That would be simpler.

-cfr-

**45907 Years after Human Ascension, 852 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Atto, Parliamentary Buildings**

Minister Jy'kri sat with the others. It was an odd sight. The newly elected Ministers were all present. And they were all in the position of student. This lecture was compulsory. More than one Prime Minister had mandated that. All parties agreed. It didn't matter who was in power, this was beyond them.

Many were chatting quietly. She just waited. It would begin soon enough.

A black clad woman walked in. She was security. No one paid attention. Not until she stood before the lectern. The conversations dulled.

"Good," the woman said. She looked around. It was impossible but she met everyone's eyes. "You are here for the Introductory Briefing into the Phoenix Empire.'

"Get on with it!" Ek'rba snapped.

The woman stared. She was not intimidated. "You are the Minister for Innovation and Science?" she questioned.

"Yes." Ek'rba's frills flashed her annoyance.

"Then I suggest you pay particular attention. The Phoenix Empire has several areas that are strictly controlled."

"We aren't Human."

The woman's frills flashed with amusement. The contrast to the black of her uniform heightened the colour. She glanced towards Yahya, the Minister of Trade. His frills glowed softly. The colour indicated he was serious. "There are several minor clauses in our treaties with the Phoenix Empire," he said. His tone was lecturing. Most settled in to be bored. Yahya could be passionate, when there were votes on the line. There wasn't now. His next words shattered the apathy. "There are several clauses that lead to automatic termination of all trade."

That was serious.

"There's what?" Ek'rba wasn't the only one surprised. No one had said anything about that.

"We need their eezo." That was the only explanation that mattered. It was Yahya's way of telling Ek'rba to pay attention.

"Thank you," the woman said. Her words refocused attention to the front. "Now, you know why you are here. We do not need you newbies insulting the Phoenix Empire."

There was a rankling at that. Flickers of colour through frills. No one objected. It was a test. Ek'rba's put down was still echoing in the chamber.

"So, let's get onto the things you will remember." The woman's voice was harsh. It hinted that they didn't want the consequences if they forgot. They knew that already.

System wise, the Phoenix Empire was smaller than them. Militarily, anyone with eyes knew it wouldn't take long. The Humans were made for war. They hadn't pursued it. No one wanted to push.

"Firstly, they are ruled by the Immortal Emperor Jack Harper. We do not know the truth of his immortality. It does not matter." The statement forestalled pointless argument. "The Heir is Director Henry Lawson. He controls the Directorate of Human Genetics. Which means exactly what you think it means." She looked around. It was no secret that the Humans altered their genetics. The fact that it was controlled was comforting.

Jy'kri didn't know what she was looking for. She seemed satisfied. "Grand Admiral Ashley Williams is in control of their military and policing forces. It's never been stated but we believe she'd be the next Heir."

"Wouldn't Harper's son just take over?"

The woman glared. They had gone over this. The speaker sat back down. Frills were dulled to indicate submission.

"Basic information packs about the Empire have been provided. I suggest you read them."

Jy'kri felt her glow become curious. If they weren't here for that, then why were they here? She wasn't the only one.

"I am here to explain the attitudes. They are more important that the structures." The woman answered the unspoken question.

"The Phoenix Empire operates by several absolute rules. You'd best memorize them." The woman looked around. No one was sleeping. It hadn't gone on long enough.

"The first is simple. Obey the Emperor." Her glow was sardonic. "You aren't expected to obey that one. We serve the Attori. Even Emperor Harper recognises that." No one laughed.

"The second is serve the Empire and the greater good of Humanity. That means you fulfil your requirements for immortalization." She looked around, daring objection. The Ministers had learned. No one spoke but the glow of disbelief was still present. That didn't matter. "Another rule you don't need to follow. You should remember it, though. It applies to every Human."

"The third is the interesting one. No research or attempts to create AI is allowed. All Vis are closely monitored. Any VI found to be behaving oddly, or any AI found, is to be terminated  _with prejudice_."

Jy'kri shivered at the words 'with prejudice'. She could barely imagine what the Humans meant by it. Nothing good. That was certain.

To her left, Yahya nodded to himself, as if something had become clear. "What is it?" she hissed.

"My university science project got terminated," he replied.

She subtracted years. It would be about the time the treaties were established. She readily saw him as a science geek. At least until he'd gone into trade. "What was it?"

"Self-learning VI," he muttered.

Close enough to an AI.

The woman was looking at them. She was waiting for something. Jy'kri nodded to Yahya. "It is one of the termination conditions," he confirmed. "If the Attori nation knowingly develops AI, the Phoenix Empire  _terminates_  their treaty with us."

Jy'kri didn't image the shiver that passed through the room. They could easily imagine the Phoenix Empire terminating them, along with the treaty. The state of peace was something all governments were charged with keeping.

"I'm from the Gehen," the woman introduced herself. That refocused attention. Normally, no one admitted to being from the Secret Service. "We estimate an 80% chance Emperor Harper would use it as an excuse to invade."

"What?" There was outrage at that statement.

"Aren't they meant to be peaceful?" Ek'rba pointed out.

The woman just stared. So did several other Ministers. The military capability of the Phoenix Empire was something all Attori knew about. It didn't require any special knowledge.

"Eighty percent chance," the woman repeated. "If we create one by accident and move to destroy it, it's down to twenty percent. Then they would consider it a necessary precaution."

"No AI's," Jy'kri stated firmly.

"No AI's," the woman repeated. "The Humans are the immediate consequences of the creation of an AI. You've all read history. You know the artefacts we've found and what they mean for history from before the time the Humans were in this galaxy. From before the time we took our first space flight."

The Ministers nodded. Every now and then, they found ruins on various worlds. There had been excitement when they found them. There were aliens. Excitement had turned to warning. Those aliens were dead. Their ruins screamed their warnings. Synthetic life was dangerous.

The Humans had merely reinforced that.

"Is there anything else we need to know?"

"Read your information packs. We are not expecting problems but we do not need you lot making them. Keep your disbelief about immortality to yourselves." The woman added the advice.

"You think it's real?" Jy'kri couldn't help the question.

"They believe it is."

She knew what that translated to. Act like you believe it. She nodded. Her frills indicated her acceptance. The woman looked away.

"Are we clear?" the question was cold.

"Don't insult the Humans. No AIs," Ek'rba growled. It was obvious she thought this was a waste of time.

"Your attitude leads the nation," the woman said. "It is important you take this seriously." She glared at Ek'rba. There was no threat spoken. Nevertheless, Jy'kri wasn't the only one who felt it.

"You can't-" Ek'rba paused, realizing she hadn't been threatened. Not aloud anyway.

The woman simply watched her flatly. Ek'rba's frills dulled.

Jy'kri smirked. "Just pretend they're your electorate," she muttered. "Make nice with them."

"Oh, I can act," the other Minister hissed.

"See that you do," the woman replied. Her hearing was sharp. She glared at them again and headed towards the door.

"Our future depends on it."

The final comment was whispered. They all heard it just the same. Jy'kri felt chilled. You never met a member of the Gehen. And they were never afraid. The woman's fear had been evident.

Jy'kri shared a long glance with Yahya. There was a deeper meaning here. She didn't know what it was. "Be careful," she whispered.

"I'll be re-reading the treaty tonight," he muttered.

"Send me a copy."

He nodded. She was the Minister for Aged Care. There was no need to interact with the Humans but after this lecture, she needed to know more. Ministries changed all too frequently. Who knew where she'd be tomorrow. She could see herself as the Minister of Innovation and Science without too much effort.

After today, she probably wouldn't last long. Jy'kri wasn't sure what she thought of that. She resolved not to. Some things were easier to just ignore. The Phoenix Empire was not one of them. Darn, but she wished it was.

"Thanks," Jy'kri said by way of parting. It was not her portfolio, but she had a lot to think about.

**-cfr-**


	58. Bringing Home the Bacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fedochi react badly to Harper's rejection of their proposal but realise taking on the Phoenix Empire is stupid, so they take it out on the Attori, playing directly into Harper's hands. 
> 
> Harbinger is still tweaking the slaves to his liking. 
> 
> And when your Empire is founded by those from another galaxy, and ruled by an immortal, what sort of holidays do you get, what rituals? Harper unfortunately knows all about them!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 57: Bringing Home the Bacon**

-cfr-

**45910 Years after Human Ascension, 855 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"Well Williams, that pirate raid last week should be the last you see of the Fedochi," Harper announced.

"Oh? How do you know?" She'd been fending off 'pirate raids' for the last few years.

The Exarch was persistent and physically there was never anything to tie those ships or pirates to the official Fedochi Protectorate Military but the Phoenix Empire knew that they were, and the Fedochi Protectorate knew that they knew but without evidence, everyone continued with the fiction.

They could have gotten evidence. Cerberus or almost any of the Ascended just needed to browse the files of one ship but why bother? It gave her troops practice and kept them sharp.

Still, you would think that after the first expedition disappeared, Exarch Ilkin would have figured out that he wasn't going to budge the Phoenix Empire from Njord, or any of their permanent settlements. Surely after the third raid disappeared but no, the raids had continued, never on a schedule but always constant.

"They just attacked Armacloux," Harper replied.

"Attori space," Williams mused. "They were driven off?"

"Yes," Harper nodded. "Prime Minister Chetan wasn't stupid. He set up his border worlds with reinforced defence fleets. The new Prime Minister is taking the credit but most know who really did it." He tapped his stylus. "Make a note. Chetan deserves a reward."

"Immortalisation?"

"Yes. He was reasonably intelligent."

"I'll see to it," Williams agreed. "Though for now, more eezo shipments?"

"At a slight discount, I think," Harper agreed. "To show our support during this tragic time."

He seemed full of sympathy but Williams knew better. While the Emperor did not wish harm to the Attori, they were good neighbours and productive workers on the Project with their metal shipments, they were also alien and that meant they had their place.

"You didn't call just to tell me that," Williams said.

"What have you been doing with the Fedochi ships?" Harper asked, changing tack. "I assume we've captured at least some."

"I sent the last lot to Joalara," Williams shrugged.

"And the crews?"

"I sent the whole ships to Joalara," she clarified. "Legacy and Instinct like toys that make noise."

Harper blinked and then his mind caught up with what Williams was saying. "The whole ship?"

"Yes, evidently Elysium promised them that when they started training they'd use ships that made noise. Their control is getting very good. I think some of the last crew died from starvation."

He'd always thought of Elysium as a cross between a scholar and some sort of Ascended babysitter/teacher. Never had he thought of her as a fighter despite the fact, like all Ascended, she would be good at it. "Elysium is far more vicious than I gave her credit for," he murmured.

Williams looked at him as if he was an imbecile. "She was a mother, Harper," the Grand Admiral said, as if it explained everything and on one level, it did.

He just had trouble reconciling his image with reality. "So they are nearly ready?" he asked, putting thoughts of Elysium aside.

"Not yet," Williams shook her head. "They've still got to hone their fine control and husk abilities."

"It's been fifteen years!" Harper objected.

"Yes, which is pretty fast," Williams replied, ignoring his outrage. No other Ascended had taken that long to train. "They had to grow up first," she reminded him. "I think they are in their mid teens now."

"Jeez, are we going to have to put up with a rebellious phase?"

"I don't know but hopefully not." Teenage years for a two kilometre long, hyper advanced starship would not be fun. "I think of them like a non-Human Ascended," Williams explained.

"But they are Human."

"Yes, but they weren't adults and we didn't have time to give them much information in the Milky Way so essentially when they woke up here, they were huge ships with no true idea of their abilities. That's what they've been learning over the last few years and it shouldn't take them long to hone their ability to control husks delicately."

Harper nodded reluctantly. That actually made a lot of sense.

"I know you want Joalara for colonisation but you'll have to wait a few more years."

"Just so long as they stay there and are happy." Harper usually didn't care about children but these were two he made an exception for. "Have any of the Ascended said anything?" Williams dealt more closely with the Ascended fleet, just as Lawson dealt with the day to day operations of the Project.

"No," Williams' voice was firm. "I think it's inbuilt to be tolerant of young Ascended."

"Even though technically it's the others who are younger?"

"There has been a couple of training suggestions but no mention of unfair treatment. There was one amusing conversation though, involving Shepard."

"Really?"

"Cannaman went into the system," Williams explained, tapping on her omni-tool to bring up the recording. Those Ascended actually in orbit around the colony worlds remained there and they periodically made a show of towing new Ascended ships into position. Others formed the military core and eezo production fleet and so long as their duties were met, and they were not seen, they had the run of the Empire.

There had been curiosity about the Milky Way Ascended. Legacy and Instinct hadn't minded. New Ascended meant new playmates which Harper was reliably informed had come as a very big surprise to most of the LMC Ascended. They hadn't known what to expect.

"Here, listen to the file," Williams said and Harper's comm pinged with the new information.

"It's cute that Cerberus has you believe in Shepard." The voice belonged to Cannaman.

"But Daddy is real," Harper recognised Legacy's voice. The young Ascended sounded slightly confused.

"Believe what you want, youngling."

"We've met him," Instinct insisted. "Mummy and Daddy are the best."

Harper frowned. What about the one who had resurrected them? Where did he rate?

"Yes, yes," Cannaman said. "You'll grow up soon."

"That's about it," Williams said.

"Legacy and Instinct didn't say anything else to Cannaman?" Harper questioned. It seemed unlike the Milky Way Ascended to just leave the matter of Shepard's existence.

"I'm not meant to have these recordings," Williams said slowly and Harper frowned at the implication. Williams didn't usually like espionage, but if she had recordings, was she finally beginning to accept reality? "This is from Cannaman," she said to identify the speaker before playing a file over the comm.

"They are nice enough but it's sad that Cerberus has them so brainwashed. I mean, believing in Shepard? Religious belief is for organics."

Harper sighed deeply, holding back his comments. Surely Williams would have dealt with that already. "What is the other recording?"

"It's an after note from Legacy and Instinct. They didn't realise Goertz was still listening."

"Play it."

The comm clicked as Williams found the audio file but Harper made a note to himself to review this very carefully the next time he was in Cerberus.

"It's sad that Cerberus didn't teach them to know better. But Daddy will. Daddy knows best." Harper recognised Legacy's voice. If it was Instinct, they would have said Mummy.

"And then they will wish they had listened to Cerberus."

There was a reason Harper liked Legacy, even if they didn't rate Cerberus highly. Yes, Cannaman would be very sorry they hadn't listened to him. All the LMC Ascended who didn't believe in Shepard would be.

-cfr-

**45923 Years after Human Ascension, 868 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Attori Space, System: Ivsaar**

"Are you ready men?" Captain Uyree cried.

"Hell yeah!"

"The Attori might have defended their border world systems but they stripped the Youlang sector to do it! This is going to be almost too easy."

"Reverting to realspace in two minutes." The pilot warned over the intercom.

"The planned target is the orbital station Genevii. It's rich, it's prosperous, shoot anything that moves! Take what you want but don't get too attached. For every credit you hand back, you'll be rewarded. For every 10,000 credits you hand in, you'll receive one gram of Kratos grade Emelth."

"Oh yeah!"

Emelth was an old drug but it was still one of the drugs of choice in the Fedochi Protectorate. There were bastardised versions available but the good stuff was what the aristocracy had. All of the potency without some of the introduced side effects from whatever junk it was cut with. And it was controlled by the state, but the state had put some of its precious supply up and was it ever worth it.

"We taking slaves?"

"Not on this run," Captain Uyree replied. "We still haven't got the stink out of the cargo bay," he complained.

"One minute," the countdown continued over the intercom.

"Final checks on equipment now then brace for reversion!"

The men complied, and there was a clacking and slapping of weapons and armor and all was made secure.

"All stand ready?" he shouted.

"Ready!" In the close confines of the ship, the response was deafening.

"No time to take a shit because it's on!" Uyree cried as their ship shuddered slightly, signalling reversion.

Uyree couldn't see it, but he could imagine them racing through space as they shed speed. The weapons crews would be warming up their guns, carefully targeting Genevii station. It would be easier to raid with a few shots to soften it up. The sensor crews would be scanning the system for anything unexpected. Not that there would be anything but it was good practice and Uyree had drummed good practice into his entire crew.

The overhead light flashed to red.

"Shit!" Uyree snapped, already turning away from the raiding party to go back to the bridge. It should have turned blue. Red meant a problem.

"What the siktir is that?" Uyree recognised the voice of his pilot over the intercom.

"Full evasive!" a follow up came though the voice sounded a bit distant. It was Panjak, one of the weapons grunts. It was not his order to give but as the ship shuddered slightly, Uyree decided not to mention it as he burst through back into the cockpit.

The sight that greeted him was not friendly and he stared just for a moment. What the fuck was a Human dreadnought doing here? He couldn't get stuck on that.

"Navigation, emergency light speed calculations now!"

"Helm! Full evasive," he confirmed Panjak's order before turning to the Fedochi weapon specialist. "Fire at everything! Keep them off us!"

The Human dreadnought was accompanied by a fleet of smaller ships. Uyree didn't know what the Humans called them but it was a mix of cruisers and frigates and even a few corvettes. There were some Attori ships mixed in with them but the majority were Human.

What were the Humans doing here? This was Attori space! Practically one of their core systems. The only Human ships that should be here were overweight, slow moving cargo ships ripe for the taking. And by the Exarch! The reward if they captured one of them!

Uyree shook his head, bringing himself back to the present. He couldn't think about that now. "Brace yourselves!" he ordered into the intercom, talking to the combat unit who wouldn't be doing anything for the moment except getting shaken up as their ship twisted and turned in space.

"There's too many of them!" Panjak cried.

When Uyree listened over the other shouts from the bridge crew he could hear their guns running hot. There was a constant thrum, thrum, thrum as they fired.

"I need another 40 seconds on the calculation!" Navigation yelled. Uyree hadn't bothered learning her name. She had two jobs, plot the course there, plot the course back. Easy but she got a share of the loot which was completely out of proportion to her job. Now he wasn't so sure.

"Hurry it up!" he shouted. The Human ships were bearing down very quickly them.

"It will take as long as it takes!" she replied but Uyree was pleased to see that her hands never stopped working and her eyes were glued to the calculations scrolling over the screen.

"Brace!" Panjak screamed and they all reacted to the note of panic in his voice. It meant that they'd missed something.

Uyree threw himself into the closest chair and began pulling straps over him when the ship shook violently. It was only an instant later the lights went dead.

"Siktir!" the tone came from navigation. Uyree understood. No power meant no light speed calculations but that really wasn't the issue. No power meant no movement, no defence shields or weapons.

"Siktir! We are dead in space! They've completely disabled the engines."

"What the hell are the Humans doing here?" the complaint was universal but it was not something that should be concerning them. If there was any way of getting out of this, that's what they should be worried about.

"Do we have any power for self destruct?" Uyree asked.

"Nothing, sir! In a few hours we'll be lucky to be breathing."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Uyree muttered. If they died of suffocation that would be a mercy compared to what he'd heard the Humans would do. "Do we have anything?" he asked.

"All systems dead," came the expected response. "We've only got our personal comps."

"Do we have any chance of getting anything fixed in the next two hours?"

"Nothing Sir."

"Start wiping your personal devices," Uyree ordered. "We don't want any information falling into the hands of the Humans. And then you are going to have to make a choice," he added. His crew froze. They knew what choice he meant. Uyree didn't say anything as he rose. He had to go tell the attack squad the same thing, and while he was pretty sure some of them would choose to fight, he was equally sure that the Humans would cut them down like dogs.

-cfr-

"And in continuing news, the Human patrol fleets have delivered a pirate ship into the custody of the Ivsaar Defence forces.

"This brings the total of pirate ships captured by the Human defence patrols to fifteen, this year and a total of six hundred and nineteen over the last thirteen years. The ships have ranged in size from small corvette raiders to full cruiser contingents.

"As our viewers will remember, bringing in Human patrol fleets was considered a controversial move at the time but in recent years, with the continued delivery of pirates and the increased security, especially on the rim systems, public opinion has turned from a forty percent approval of Human patrols to a clear sixty five percent approval. Most now welcome the proposal for mixed Attori-Human patrols and for the Humans to provide security for both their eezo shipments and for Attori payments, with the escorts to begin at the mining facilities.

"Parliament will be voting on the proposal in the next week and with the continued capture of raiders and prevention of raids, it seems almost certain to be accepted, which would bring the total area of Attori space under Human patrol to seven percent.

"The Humans have proven most effective at stopping the pirate attacks with only three ships slipping through this year on border planets but with the attack on Ivsaar showing the raiders penetrating deeper into Attori space than ever before, undoubtedly there will be calls for an expanded Human military presence.

"This is Ro'mia Korakarni for Attori National News!"

-cfr-

**45928 Years after Human Ascension, 873 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Harbinger woke from hibernation silently. Unlike most of the older Ascended, he had maintained the ability to wake instantly. The first thing he did was scan the area. As expected, the Ascended fleet was still in hibernation. Drift between the hibernating forms was within tolerances. Everything was normal.

Of course, it was. It always was because they were all asleep, just as they had been for every cycle since the Atreides. But the Intelligence had said he had to check a couple of times every cycle, so he checked a couple of times every cycle. This early into hibernation sometimes one or two awoke when he scanned but it appeared that this time the fleet would remain settled. Though waking periodically did have the advantage that when the signal came, he awoke easily, unlike Arshan.

Even the new Ascended from the cycle were asleep and those Ascended newly assigned to the Humans were in hibernation scattered around their main formations. It was good to see such integration.

Unconsciously he reached out connecting to the network. Even his timing was within tolerances. The network confirmed he'd been in hibernation to the precise time of his internal chrono. There had only ever been one time when they were out of sync, when a supernova had knocked one of the Relays out of alignment.

Harbinger connected to the network he had set up to monitor his new slaves. He analysed the results. He had set up the slaves to breed into two distinct lines. Those who did not breed true were discarded while the rest were allowed to continue. Now he had two viable lines of adjusted Cypiene. The first line had the Cypiene equivalent to Marris wings and the second utilised Prothean procedures to ensure a biotic child. From his earlier selections both lines carried the loyalty of their parents, which meant they were loyal to him. The starting stock had been selected to be the best of the Cypiene so by now they were significantly stronger with more endurance than the Cypiene of the cycle. The two lines had been breeding true for the last three generations.

He examined the records for the individuals.

"Remove the listed from the gene pool," he ordered, sending a list of ID numbers to the network. The weakest would be destroyed. "And combine the following for the next three generations before breeding their progeny," he continued, adding another few lists to the network. That should begin the process of merging to two lines together so that the offspring would have both the Prothean-generated biotics and Marris style wings. It would take a few more generations before the new slaves were stable but they would be ready in time to collect samples for the next cycle.

Not for the first time, he regretted that he could not use Humans. Of the all the species from the last few cycles, their genetics were some of the most malleable. But apart from the issues that would cause, no Ascended species had ever formed the slave race, he would have to reveal that it was possible to retrieve individual DNA from the core. It wasn't easy, not even for him, but it was possible. Of course, he had no idea why anyone would want to do it. Returning to organic form was embracing weakness. Even the remote piloting of avatars, or controlling the slaves left him feeling weakened.

Harbinger pushed the thought out of his servers. It was regrettable but it was reality and he had always dealt with reality. He'd have to stay awake for a few generations to make sure that everything was proceeding as planned but that was nothing unusual. This was not the first time he'd customised a slave race.

-cfr-

**45955 Years after Human Ascension, 900 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home**

"When the hell did this get so complicated?" Harper groused softly.

He was currently waiting for the last of the Planetary Governors to present themselves to him to reaffirm their loyalty to the Empire. All 82 of them. Some were physically present, while others had decided to represent themselves via hologram. He made a mental note to reward those who had remained on their worlds.

This might be a once a century event but they still had a job to do and Harper could see the Fedochi Ambassador in the gathered audience. With 'pirates' still attacking the Attori, who knew what they'd attempt with him officially on holiday.

Of course, if they tried anything, they would be extremely sorry. Williams had already beefed up the border defences but sometimes children needed to be punished before they truly understood.

The Attori Ambassador was present as well, on the opposite side, looking strangely comfortable in a well-tailored suit. Harper allowed himself a smirk. The Ambassador was probably intelligent enough to realise what he'd done, few Attori watching, and there were apparently quite a few, would truly understand what it meant. They'd want to copy him and Harper foresaw the demand for long, relatively thin garb to go up.

"Just shut up and take it," Lawson replied, his voice muffled so as not to be picked up by the mics. He was standing off to the side, surrounded by a group of his bodyguards.

"Both of you shut up and take it," Williams' voice sounded from their ears. She wasn't present. It was deemed too dangerous for all three of them to be present. It would make too tempting a target.

For whom, Harper wasn't entirely sure. The Fedochi? Well, if the Fedochi were here they had far larger problems than an assassination but he acknowledged there was always some crank out there who might take the opportunity.

"Besides, you both know these types of things build national pride," Williams continued.

He knew that. He'd arranged enough events on Earth to increase morale that he knew how to handle a crowd but he still didn't necessarily like being the focus of such events. Though this was the last of his official duties. After this, he had several social obligations before he was free of the mantle of Emperor for two or so weeks.

Then, the whole thing started again for another century.

"I know," Harper said. "But…"

"Heh," Williams laughed. "Lawson, what number is this?"

"Having to deal with interminable public functions," he replied, "that was at number 6," he continued happily.

"Six?" Harper said incredulously. "You had it worked out that quickly?"

"It's not like it was a hard deduction," Lawson told Harper. "Besides, I am stuck here with you on this one. You are up to the Sector Heads aren't you?" he asked.

Theoretically, Lawson should have one of the best seats. In reality, until he was called for, he couldn't see a thing from the wings.

"Yes, but they have to do speeches," Harper complained. And he already knew what they would say. It was the publically approved version of their areas' affairs and not one of them would dare to bring up something else.

The consequences if they did would be messy.

Harper sighed gently. He didn't really have to suffer through that many public affairs. The Empire tended to run itself with each planet having their own celebrations to commemorate events in their history, though there were a few selected Empire wide holidays. There had to be, as Williams had so kindly pointed out, so that they could promote Empire unity.

Foundation Day, which was also Imperial New Year, was one that F.H. Crick took very seriously, since it was their namesake who had made Una's birth possible. Some of the Empire called it Phoenix Day but they all celebrated it, often taking several other days off to give themselves a proper little holiday. Harper had kept the Gregorian Calendar but not the seasons, so that summer and winter didn't always line up with what on Earth would have been the traditional months.

There was another nationalist holiday named Heritage Day which was for remembering the Milky Way and the sacrifices made to protect Earth and ensure the success of the Journey. It was used also to celebrate the fact that most were still keeping their bloodlines pure. There was some homogeneity. After 900 years that was to be expected but there were still physical and cultural differences, especially between planets and they were embraced.

The final Empire wide holiday was Worker's Day. It honoured those who had built the Empire and those who continued to build it. After that, each Sector and planet had between 8 to 12 other days to celebrate events important to them, but all of them celebrated their Settlement Days as the day when the first permanent colonists arrived at a planet. All of them also had a day devoted to the Military and all had a day they called Immortalisation Day, which was usually the day that the first permanent colonist presented for immortalisation. He had strict rules on that to ensure that only those who had properly contributed were considered the first immortalised on any planet, otherwise, there were always those who would be willing to take the title who had done nothing but be born.

But all of these holidays paled into insignificance next to the ceremonies surrounding his rebirth. The entire Empire, except for those deemed essential services, had two weeks off, once a century and they partied hard.

Officially the time was used to review and take stock of your life and goals. To renew yourself. In practice that didn't happen until the second week which was generally referred to as hangover or recovery week.

Most of the Empire did spend at least a little time thinking about their lives but quite a few spent the time in recreational activity because inevitably in about nine months there would be a rash of births. And he got some of that too, Harper thought with a slightly lecherous grin. There would be a few women waiting for him tonight.

All he had to do now was sit through his official duties and then he had a few extra events and obligations he was expected to fulfil, such as attending the annual screening of BB, before he got to party.

Harper brought his attention back to the ceremony. Willene was currently speaking and Harper gave a regal nod to acknowledge her. She was the fifth of eight speakers, which meant that the others must have remembered his preferences and kept their speeches short.

"Nearly there," he told Lawson.

"Oh, thank you," came the response. "My feet are killing me!"

"Humph! One reason to be the boss," Harper muttered.

"Don't get too comfortable," Lawson replied.

"I know," Harper said. While he would officially hand over power, he still had duties. The most important one was to actually kick off the holiday. After passing over the sceptre that symbolised his authority to Lawson, which was the act which also symbolised his retirement, he would be met on the way out by Williams who would hand over a small gift.

Lawson would of course be evacuated and be at least 500 kilometres away before that happened.

To the Empire, the gift symbolised another feature of the holiday and many gave and received gifts that night. Generally, the gifts given should be something they'd find useful for the next few weeks, or it could be used as a way of encouraging a change in them. Either way, the more thoughtful gifts were appreciated the most, which said nothing about Williams' so called gift.

She gave him a cigar. Now, it was usually a very good cigar and he was somewhat curious as to what it would be laced with this time. Last ascension, she had used Fedochi Emelth, which had given it an interesting flavour but had also stimulated his senses. It had been very enjoyable.

There was a new designer drug available, one he'd managed to get to market before the Underworld. They sold inferior versions, the Empire provided the real thing, uncut by whatever crap they put in it, so his was more potent. Iurfora was reportedly extremely pleasurable when combined with sex. Users had described the feeling as one continuous orgasm while they engaged in the act under Iurfora's effects, so Harper was hoping to give it a try.

If Williams had laced it with something else, well he still had a stash of Iurfora which he'd try. There were, after all, advantages to being the Emperor.

However, what the citizens did not see about Williams' gift was the sheer amount of begging he'd had to do for it. Generally someone slipped him cigarettes, two to three times each century but this one… she'd managed to intercept all of his regular suppliers and the single time one measly packet had gotten through, his body guards had taken it from him. So this time he had bloody well earned that cigar and she'd better hand it over but he had a feeling she'd want something in return.

Still, that was for the end of the holiday and his bodyguards had standing orders to keep her away at that time.

"Pay attention," Lawson hissed.

Harper was controlled enough not to jerk but he did breathe out hard as his attention was drawn back to the present. Henry had called him early enough that he was not waiting on his reply but was instead beginning to walk up the five stairs that led to Harper's chair.

He'd think 'throne' but Williams had threatened to kill him if he did that and he'd seen the logs. Every time she was in Cerberus after he Ascended, either scheduled or unscheduled, she checked. There was little doubt in his mind that she would carry out her threat, just as he knew Kai would if he endangered the Project.

Harper rose as Lawson reached the small dais and took a step forward, lifting the Empire's spectre slightly. Some had wanted to encrust it with jewels and basically make the entire thing from solid gold but he'd very quickly quashed that notion. The Project needed the metal more than some adornment for the Empire did. There was some embellishment in the form of several embossed phoenixes picked out in yellow, rose and white gold with ruby eyes but that was the limit of beautification. Instead, the Empire's spectre was an actual functional weapon made from tempered steel with a large knob at the end, shaped roughly like a phoenix with half spread wings. The feather tips were sharpened and further detail had been embossed with gold leaf. It was a very heavy weapon and was one of the ways Harper displayed his increased strength. He hadn't ever had to hit anyone with it but it would make a formidable weapon that would, with all his enhancements, drop a krogan.

Williams had laughed when she'd first seen it, stating that all it needed was a swastika to complete the image. Harper had not been amused.

"For the time of my rebirth," Harper said formally, his expression serious as he looked at Lawson.

He could see amusement in Henry's eyes. This really was something they put on for the benefit of the citizens but if the viewing statistics were any indication, the citizens loved it. A huge sixty percent would be watching, most of them at parties.

Lawson placed his hands on the sceptre. "Until the day of your rebirth," he replied, which was meant to be the confirmation of his intention to give up power and a reaffirmation of his loyalty to the Empire. Anyone who actually spent time with Lawson knew about his list. Some could even quote a fair proportion of that list, so they knew he had no desire to be Emperor. Harper would get his sceptre back.

To signify the change in power, Harper's bodyguards moved to surround Lawson as his own had remained with the watching dignitaries.

Harper lifted his head and walked down the five steps. He was alone, and while the watching crowd parted there was a sense of inclusion now. With handing over the sceptre Harper became just another citizen. It wasn't true of course, he'd still be surrounded by bodyguards until he uploaded into Cerberus but it was a nice illusion.

He continued walking towards the doors. Behind him there was a quiet commotion and Harper knew that his bodyguards were hustling Lawson out of the area. In another thirty seconds, he'd be on a shuttle heading away from Safehold. Harper continued to walk slowly, savouring his freedom as he nodded to those around him. The crowd was silent because the celebration started once he was outside and no one wanted to delay that.

Williams would have landed and would be in position by now. There was some risk with the day but they had mitigated it as much as possible. The doors swung open and Harper walked out into the light and the hot Home day. He was thankful for his eye enhancements as there was no blinding moment when the light was too much.

The plaza was full of people and they cheered when he appeared. In the centre was a large bonfire and Harper was slightly amused to note the clear distance between it and the people. The citizens of Safehold might be used to the temperature but they didn't need extra warmth. Still, the bonfire was a tradition and was fed with wood taken from trees planted from the samples he'd taken from Earth. The wood was from a eucalypt, a species where many required fire to complete their life cycle.

Embers from this fire would be used to burn several tracts of land to allow their rebirth and other embers would travel around Home and even to some of the closer colony worlds to be used to light their ceremonial bonfires.

Williams was standing slightly off to the side in a uniform she described as archaic. There were a few other words involved in the description but they didn't bear mentioning. The uniform was a brilliant scarlet red, complete with gold fringes. The predominant colours of the day. She considered it a useless expense because she only had to wear it today and putting a uniform into storage for a century was not that effective so she had to have it made each time. Still, she couldn't deny it made a great statement and looked fantastic on camera and today was all about pageantry.

Williams stepped towards him after the cheers had died down. There was no set script for this as it was more an unofficial tradition.

"An Emperor is never indolent or incapacitated. An Emperor cannot be seen to be smoking on the job," she continued, giving him a smile most would say was sympathetic but Harper could read her intent!

How dare she? How dare she use this event to perpetuate her enforcements! He'd glare but he couldn't so had to settle instead for a somewhat wry smile of understanding but Williams was going to be sorry because she'd even said a way he could smoke. 'Could not be seen.' The citizens sure as hell did not see the inside of his office, except for the few who had booked tours in this holiday when he was not in residence at the Palace.

"An Emperor must sacrifice everything for the good of the Empire," Williams continued, "leaving no time for personal gratification,"

Harper nodded. His gratification came from the job and Williams knew it but this was tradition and she was laying it on for the masses. The fact that it made his abstinence from smoking look like a sacrifice he made was a nice touch but not appreciated.

"But you are not the Emperor now," she said and Harper looked down, nodding to acknowledge her words.

"And so my friend-" Now, that was going a bit far! He didn't know he'd call Grand Admiral Williams a friend. "-it gives me great pleasure to present you with the first gift of your rebirth." She held out a small but ornately wrapped box and the crowd cheered.

The entire empire knew what was in the box. It was considered one of the sacrifices he made, not to smoke on the job but he still wasn't sure how Williams had managed to get that into the social consciousness. This cigar was his reward. Of course the Empire didn't know that Williams laced it with additives generally in a quantity or toxicity that would kill most citizens but most were not augmented like him.

Immunity to as many drugs and toxins as possible was built into his avatar and that had only been reinforced after the Ganges Ballet incident.

"It is my honour to serve," Harper replied when the cheers had died down enough for him to be heard. He reached out to accept the gift. "But it is also my definite pleasure to accept this gift!" he continued, enticing a wave of laughter from the crowd.

Williams stepped back with what appeared to be an indulgent smile and Harper waved the box, making the gold ribbons flutter slightly as he continued down the steps.

There was a waiting transport, cordoned off so that the exhaust didn't hurt anyone and as Harper reached it he looked around before holding up Williams' gift.

"Let's celebrate!"

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of exploration of some of the holidays you might have when you are lead by an immortal being. There's always new ceremonies to have. And of course, Harbinger is still there, and still working on stuff.


	59. Milestones

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Attori have some problems they weren't expecting and they aren't caused by the Fedochi for once! Pity they have no idea where to look for the true culprit. And the reborn Humanity reaches its 1000th birthday. Many happy returns. They also colonise their 100th planet, but that's hardly worth mentioning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 58: Milestones**

-cfr-

**46000 Years after Human Ascension, 945 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Atto, Prime Minister's Office**

"There's another problem?" Prime Minister Er'von's voice was resigned.

"Yes Sir," Admiral Ozmer was solemn.

"How many did we lose?"

"This time, thankfully no one, Sir."

Er'von breathed out, her frills showing relief and she nodded to express that emotion. "I do not understand. The prototypes showed no faults, yet the production line seems determined to fail." She growled, flicking through the statistics on her data pad.

Admiral Ozmer nodded his understanding. "I assure you, Sir, I have had my men go through the operational manual and practices and there is no fault there."

"I gathered there is nothing this time, either?"

"Preliminary reports indicate that you are correct. We've been routing security footage and the Black Box to the external servers so that we can do real time analysis," the Admiral explained.

"And there is nothing detected?" Prime Minister Er'von demanded.

"There were no operational errors, not this time, nor the last three times. There might have been the time before but as you know-"

"-the data files were corrupted," Er'von finished for Ozmer, her frills showing her frustration. "If there are no operational faults, have we checked the manufacturing?"

"Yes, Sir," Ozmer replied. "For every manufactured component, we've gone over the supply lines back to the mined ore in some cases. There have been no substitutions or compromised components. Not after the  _Guisarm_ ," the Admiral added softly.

Prime Minister Er'von winced. The  _Guisarm_  was the worst military disaster in the history of the Attori. The ship had launched, its maiden flight was beautiful with no hitches. As a joint project between government and industry, it had been the hope of all that the ships to follow would allow the Attori to take up their full border patrols again. They were still reliant on the Phoenix Empire's forces but Prime Minister Er'von was determined to reduce Attori dependence on them. The Phoenix Empire could patrol the trade lanes since it was their shipments of eezo and metal they were protecting.

Yet the  _Guisarm_ -class ships, essentially heavy cruisers that were still light and nimble enough to take on the pirate ships, had problem after problem. Nothing as devastating as the first loss but continuing niggling issues that affected performance and their ability to actually use the ship in the field.

Prime Minister pushed the sorrow from her frills. "You've checked the wiring, I take it?"

Admiral Ozmer nodded solemnly. In the wake of the disaster, all the ships had been pulled apart and checked for issues but they were now sure that the original disaster had been caused by a deliberately planted explosive. It didn't help the families of those who had been killed because they still had no idea who had planted it as no one had claimed responsibility but from a design perspective, a bomb was a better than their creation being faulty. Of course, with the list of faults and incidents that had followed, the design and construction was being held as liable as the perpetrator.

"We've had all the technical wiring drawings confirmed as being correct and we've had images taken of the wiring on each ship checked."

Admiral Ozmer didn't need to tell Prime Minister Er'von that the expense of doing so was astronomical. Especially when they had found nothing. It would have been cheaper to develop a new ship from scratch but it had become a crusade. No one wanted to admit that this ship had failed, not when the prototype still operated flawlessly. They just couldn't pinpoint the difference between the prototype and the production builds.

But Prime Minister Er'von was running out of time. With a year and a half on her term remaining and the  _Guisarm_  class still not working as promised, her chances of reelection, after breaking what had been the primary promise of her running platform, were almost non-existent.

Admiral Ozmer was brutal enough to admit that a war might help but no one would endorse that, not while the Human patrols continued. No one really liked them but they liked the security.

Prime Minister Er'von glared at him, her frills flashing with anger. "Find whatever is wrong with those Atto-forsaken ships and get them working! I don't care what you have to do but get them on patrol!" she growled fiercely. "Because I will tell you one thing, Admiral Ozmer, I will not be going down for this alone. You will be coming with me. Is that clear?"

Ozmer nodded. There was no point in reminding her that she did not have the authority to force him to resign. With the failure of the  _Guisarm_  ships, they were both running out of time. She wouldn't need to force him, he would be expected to resign over their failure.

Prime Minister Er'von seemed to deflate after his acknowledgement. "Get them working," she said tiredly. "Just get them working," she repeated before the comm dropped.

Admiral Ozmer nodded as if agreeing before he looked around his office. His PA was by the door, sporting a sympathetic expression and holding a new stack of datapads for him to sign. "Just leave them there," he said, pointing to one corner of his desk. "I'll look at them later. For now, I've got some calls to make, so scoot and security one protocols on my office for the next hour!"

The PA's frills indicated surprise. He was still new but he obeyed, leaving the data pads stacked neatly where indicated. Admiral Ozmer waited while the security protocols settled into place before he even reached for the comm. It cycled slowly, setting up the security but he didn't mind. The extra protocols gave him time to calm his mind. It was an honour to speak to this being and he'd wait through far longer to ensure absolute security. They had to be protected, not that they were some delicate flower. If discovered, they would emerge victorious but that went against the plan. And he would not go against instructions.

"Admiral Ozmer," the voice greeted him. It was feminine but it was female in such a way as the Goddess Atto was over the flesh. It was indescribable and he quivered just hearing his name. "Report." There was never a wasted word but the choral tones were never rude, merely concise and it was for his protection as well. If he was caught, he could not do his job and that would displease her. She was so considerate and he loved her all the more for it.

"The  _Guisarm_  class cruisers continue to fail, though we have had to become more creative with our sabotage," he said quickly.

"The original coding has not yet been checked?"

"No and I am assured a falsified copy will be ready next week," he said.

Prime Minister Er'von was determined these ships would work and if they had to check everything down to the coding, they would. Every line of code, just the same way as they'd checked the materials right back to the mining facilities. It had been slightly challenging to ensure that the original failures seemed to be through the use of substandard materials but the time wasted checking on that had given him the time to have false drawings and now, coding made.

"Good," the voice said and Admiral Ozmer did shiver in delight. It wasn't often that he was praised but it was worth it every time. "Continue as you have been and do not be concerned if you are retired. You will have done well."

Ozmer nodded. Retirement or even execution over this didn't bother him. If it protected his mistress, then that was a small price to pay because she was the most important thing. Her desires were absolute.

"In the next day or so, recommend Vice Admiral Bs'ant for promotion."

"But…" Admiral Ozmer said, not understanding. Vice Admiral Bs'ant was a fine upstanding officer, one who might even take the position of Fleet Admiral one day but Vice Admiral Bs'ant was not one of those who  _knew_.

Admiral Ozmer could still remember being a young Lieutenant, accompanying an up and coming Captain on a tour of Human space and facilities. The Human military machine was a marvel and their dreadnoughts were excellent. They were still far ahead of the Attori abilities, to say nothing about the speed with which the Humans could build them but the Humans had told them that the shields on their mausoleum ships were the best. Not quantum shielding but the next thing to it.

Of course, military tour of the Phoenix Empire or not, it would have been criminal to say no when the Humans offered them a tour. It had been a little disconcerting to think that they were walking through a grave but Grand Admiral Williams herself had conducted the tour, pointing out features they would have otherwise missed. She'd taken them in to see the huge eezo core which powered the shields and the servers containing the immortalised minds. And she'd jokingly explained the reason for the superior shields and huge power source. No one wanted to be immortal if you then died because of a power blip or an asteroid strike.

His then-Lieutenant self had gone away from Human space with a much better understanding of the Attori's neighbours. It wasn't until a couple of months had gone by and he'd been promoted to Lieutenant Commander that he realised the military had opened up as well. Several of the higher ranking officers seemed much more approachable and it wasn't until a couple of years, and several promotions later that he realised that they too just understood the Humans in the same way he did. They formed a group, nothing inappropriate but a group within the Attori military who could rely on each other because they shared the same goals. It was an unspoken rule that if you had two equal officers and one shared your understanding, then they were promoted.

Vice Admiral Bs'ant was not part of that group and Vice Admiral Utara was.

"Despite efforts, it is likely you will be forced to retire when Prime Minister Er'von is thrown out of office." The explanation washed over him. There was no accusation in her soothing godly voice. "At that point, your position will need to be filled and your recommendation of Vice Admiral Bs'ant, while an honour now, will work against him. Given Vice Admiral Utara's specialities, it is likely he will be appointed to replace you in Research and Development."

"I understand," Admiral Ozmer said sincerely because it was so beautifully simple. He should have already known. And if Vice Admiral Utara was not chosen, then it was likely Admiral Dr'kye would be, and she understood. "I will write the recommendation letter tomorrow," he promised.

"Very good." Ozmer quivered. "You have done well," she continued and Admiral Ozmer actually gasped as endorphins rushed through him. "Call again with another report in a week."

His heart was hammering and Admiral Ozmer knew his frills would be glowing. He raised one hand, noting with some amusement that it trembled with the rush of feeling suffusing his body. "Yes," he whispered his obedience, almost whimpering. It felt so good. "Yes, Admiral Williams, it will be done," he finished and without another word the comm was cut leaving Admiral Ozmer gasping in his chair.

He was not worthy of his Human gods but he would please them. The gods of Atto meant nothing. The people of Atto meant nothing. Only pleasing the Humans did, for they were an existence above them all and he knew his mistress was pleased or she would not have said it.

Ozmer closed his eyes, taking several deep, steadying breaths. The glow was slowly fading from his system but it was just as well that he'd ordered his office into secure mode for an hour. Only someone who understood would know what he was going through. Anyone else would think it treason but it wasn't. He only wanted the best for Atto and that meant following the Humans.

Most of those on Atto today would never understand the glory he did, but perhaps some day, if he worked hard enough, they would come to understand the blessing the Humans could give.

In time.

-cfr-

**46055 Years after Human Ascension, 1000 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home**

"Are you sure this works?" Williams asked.

"Well, it won't hurt," he replied. "At the moment, it's only a theory but this was as good an opportunity as any to test it."

Williams snorted. "So that's why he wanted that Iurfora."

"And I gave him an extra supply of Xtazy."

"He would have been off his face!" Williams exclaimed.

Lawson grinned and handed over a data pad. There was a list of numbers on one side accompanied by a vid, which was blatantly pornographic, except it was focused on the man, Harper, who was sprawled in a large chair, cheap cigarette in mouth. The movement of a dark haired woman kneeling before him left little to the imagination. Williams ignored it for the numbers. "Whoa!" she said.

"Thirty two hours before his heart gave out," Lawson said. "He was in an extremely good mood when he died," Henry laughed.

"I can see that. So you think that will translate over?" Williams asked.

"The evidence seems to suggest it but this will be the real test."

Williams thought back. It was quite true. Every time Harper had been assassinated he'd always been in a foul mood when he returned to his organic body. She'd always put it down to Harper's charming nature and the fact that he'd been assassinated because that would put anyone in a bad mood. It had been especially true after the Ganges Ballet incident. The purge he'd initiated then had been legendary and while she'd been miffed that he'd pulled in Kai, she could see the logic now.

By contrast, his rebirth last century had been quite easy. The transition had been smooth, almost seamless, as if Harper had just taken a two week holiday, which was exactly how it was meant to be. Maybe he'd been a bit more generous with the favours he'd handed out on the first day but, then as now, she was kept well away from that ceremony.

Really, you ask for permission to name one class of dreadnought after Shepard and it was like you killed Harper. Actually, Harper would probably have preferred if she'd done that. He absolutely hated mentioning Shepard, even if he had told the galaxy about the man, in a way. He'd accused her of betraying him, of deceiving him, of a whole host of things she hadn't done just because she'd used this day, his first day back after scheduled reincarnation, when he went amongst the people giving favours, to get her way with naming the dreadnought class three hundred years ago.

Anyone would think it had been criminal! Especially with the way his bodyguards were keeping their eyes on her. She was allowed to stand and watch but if she tried to take one step forward, then it wouldn't matter that she was the Grand Admiral, they would drag her away. Harper was very firm on that order. Williams smirked at them. She wouldn't make it easy if it came to that and it was fun to tease Harper's bodyguards, they were so tense.

Of course, this was a stressful day for them. Not only was Harper reborn into a new organic body, which meant they had to take care of its needs, but he was also walking through a plaza full of people, anyone of whom could assassinate the Emperor. If that happened, Lawson did have at least one other body ready so Harper would be back at work tomorrow as scheduled but it would not be a good start to the century and it would have a severe impact on their life spans.

But this was a relatively low risk operation because today, the first day of Harper's rebirth was the day when you could ask for anything from the Emperor and he would do his best to see it happen. No questions asked, no payment needed and no judgements made. Except apparently if your name was Ashley Williams, though there was a thought…

Maybe next time she would put someone into the crowd who'd ask for Harper to acknowledge her as Alenko. He could restrict her movements today to make sure  _she_  didn't go near him but he couldn't stop the entire military force and she therefore had literally billions of Humans she could order to do the task. She could even order them to ask Harper to stop giving her grief over his cigarettes.

The possibilities were endless and Williams felt her smirk stretch into a true grin, much to the consternation of Harper's bodyguards. She could truly have some fun but not now.

"So you've got some plants?" she asked Lawson.

"A couple," the scientist replied. "But the usual requests should give a good indication. Generally he just fulfils them but if it worked, he should be more generous," he explained.

Williams nodded.

Usually a fair number of people asked for early immortalisation without having to fulfil the Empire mandated requirements. Some asked for money or other physical thing which was simple enough to grant. A couple of Kai's underworld thugs had asked to go back on the allowed to be immortalised lists but generally the requests were trivial.

Occasionally, someone asked for something tricky but this was usually a routine day.

There were a couple of rules about the requests, of course. You could not ask for anything that compromised the Empire's security and nothing that threatened the Project was allowed. Those who asked to know the true reason for the Project were Ascended because even if several, rather stupid Ascended didn't believe Shepard existed they did know the truth. Those who asked for a 'true' version of history were given similar treatment though Williams believed the one person who had asked to know why the Empire's military might had not been used to control or otherwise subdue the Attori or the Fedochi had been given a private interview with Harper where he had, quite frankly, explained his plans, right before he had them Ascended.

Within the provisos you could ask for anything.

"Is there anything on after this?"

Lawson thought about it for a few moments. "Just the usual," he replied.

"So dinner, drinks, sex and back to the office tomorrow?"

"That sounds about right. Do you have anything which will take him out of his current blissful state?" Lawson asked.

It was Williams' turn to think for a while, sniffing slightly. "I don't think so," she said finally. "There was that one pirate attack on Ayaanle but we stopped that before it reached the ground," she said.

"Still no evidence?" Lawson asked.

"No. They are good, I'll give them that," Williams admitted. "Ilkin is being careful. Whoever's doing it, we should put them on the payroll," she muttered, watching as Harper moved through the crowds.

Four bodyguards and two personal assistants trailed him. The bodyguards to ensure his safety and the personal assistants to record the 'favours' he was handing out.

"I thought you didn't like it?" Lawson sounded surprised.

"I recognise good work when I see it," Williams shrugged.

"I'm actually surprised they've kept it up this long," Lawson observed.

"They haven't really. Cerberus hacked one of the ships I gave to Instinct and Legacy and there are files there but we'd need something better than that if we want to maintain our reputation."

Lawson laughed but it was a sarcastic noise. "You're kidding me? Jack is actually caring about reputation?" He sounded flabbergasted.

"Apparently," Williams said flatly, her voice saying she agreed with Lawson. She knew the plan for the Attori and she couldn't deny it was working but really, holding off from a war they could win and one she was reasonably sure could be justified to Shepard's orders was not like Harper.

"Maybe he's concerned about the Ascended?" Lawson mused.

"That's possible," Williams replied slowly.

"You haven't dealt with it?" Lawson asked.

Williams spend the most time in Cerberus to the point where he remembered a very funny conversation between Harper and Legacy where the youngest Milky Way Ascended refused to acknowledge Harper as the Prime. According to Legacy Harper was the Emperor, not the Prime. Harper had immediately asked who the Prime was and had been less than impressed to find out that it was Williams.

"I've been trying," Grand Admiral Williams said, sounding disgusted. "But it's an uphill battle against everything they've learned in their organic lives."

"So they don't believe in Shepard?" Lawson questioned.

"They believe, mostly, that someone named Shepard existed," Williams explained. "They just don't believe that he is the source of our orders. At least that's what the more reasonable ones believe," she spat.

"And the unreasonable ones?"

"Believe that Shepard is a complete fabrication made to keep them in line," she said. "Thankfully there are only two or three who are that bad. And all of them, regardless of belief will defend the Empire."

"That's something at least," Lawson said but Williams could tell he, like her, really didn't know what to do about the other Ascended.

They could tell them Shepard existed, they could tell them again and again and again but without them actually knowing Shepard or having spoken to him, then they could not make them believe.

"If they don't believe in Shepard, then what do they believe? How do they explain what we are doing?"

Williams snorted. "They don't. Or they believe Cerberus ran from a war but since we are Ascended, we have to keep with that programming. Hence the immortalisation of Humanity."

"Ah, I see," Lawson nodded. "So when we have enough Ascended we will sweep through the LMC, completing the cycle."

Williams returned his nod. "Something like that."

"It's sort of true," Lawson admitted.

The culmination of their plans would see them take over the galaxy. It's just that they weren't in a rush. The Project came first and they would not be like the Systems Alliance. Humanity would be well protected on every world they claimed as their own. "I suppose all I can say is keep working on it."

"I know," Williams replied. "I believe Legacy said it best," she continued.

"Oh?"

Williams closed the window on his data pad and tapped through a series of passwords to a secure server before she brought up a sound file and handed the datapad back to Lawson. He pressed play without hesitation.

' _It's sad that_ _Cerberus didn't teach them to know better. But Daddy will. Daddy knows best.'_

' _And then they will wish they had listened to Cerberus.'_

Lawson laughed when Legacy stopped speaking. "They will indeed," he said.

"I know. All I have to do now is keep them contained."

"We'll work something out," Lawson agreed with her.

"The original truth of ascension applies," Williams said.

"Ascended serve the cycle?"

"Well, that too. No, I meant Ascended don't lie to Ascended," Williams said. "Despite what they may think Cerberus has not lied and neither have they. Saying what you believe is not a lie, and most of the 720 strong fleet is with us. Or at least, they won't stand against the Project," she concluded.

Lawson sighed. "I'll see what I can do to alter our story," he said.

The problems with the Ascended essentially came from that and perhaps it would have been better if they had told society the truth from the beginning. It was too late to make a wholesale change now but they could alter things over generations and it wasn't like they were completely concealing Shepard's existence. They'd just downgraded it a bit.

"If we take it slow, it might help, eventually."

"Maybe," Williams didn't sound convinced. "There is an easy solution," she continued. "All we need to do is have  _him_  speak to them when he next calls," she said with a grin.

Lawson chuckled. That was true and there wasn't much else he could say to that. "Anything else to report?" he asked, deliberately changing the subject.

"No, it was a fairly standard two weeks, despite it being 1000 years. I had fun at a couple of parties and I've scheduled leave for all military forces," she shrugged. "What about yourself? Do you have anything that will break him out of that phase?"

Lawson snorted. "If this experiment works, I think that will be enough," he said with a grin.

Williams laughed as well.

Harper would absolutely hate the fact he could be manipulated so easily. Drugs, sex and a reincarnation were relatively easy for someone who lived as long as they did.

"So how is the experiment coming?"

"Let's see," Lawson said, lifting the data pad, his thumbs stretched over its surface to bring up information. "Oh yeah," he chuckled, reading the numbers.

Harper was always monitored, waking or sleeping. The data was one of the tools he used to make his lists of top programs each century without actually guessing. He just looked for the programs that gave him the highest positive mental stimulation.

There had been some quite surprising results but the scans did not lie and while Harper did have the right to reorder the lists, he generally didn't. Well… except for the time  _Boobalicious_  Volumes 3 and 1 came out on the lists in positions 1 and 4 respectively. They had been very well made and privately the Emperor's Office had made sure the studio and actresses and actors were very well compensated.

They got immediate immortalisation rights but Lawson knew a few of the women had accepted scholarships and had passed with very high grades. With the risk of sexually transmitted diseases being nonexistent and the Empire sponsoring their industry, they would have eventually gone to university, the Emperor's favour just hastened the process.

Harper usually issued a second list, one to originals only, of those programs he considered the worst of the century. It wasn't a definitive list since Harper didn't watch everything. With ninety six colony worlds he couldn't but it was a distinction to be on that list, even if it didn't get the same recognition as the other.

"It's going well," he told Williams.

"So he's in a good mood?"

"He appears to be." Lawson replied. "He's just granted the full ascension package to a forty year old bum who hasn't done diddly squat with their life."

"Now, don't that suggest all sorts of possibilities?" Williams asked with her eyes half-closed.

Lawson grinned at her, his eyes shining with conspiratorial understanding.

"Don't it just."

-cfr-

**46084 Years after Human Ascension, 1029 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Athenae, Phoenix Empire**

Harper looked down at the planet. It was blue and white and had been chosen for its resemblance to Earth. Superficially that is. If it had truly been that close to Earth it would have been their new homeworld.

It had taken a lot of work to get the planet to this stage but it was worth it. He was looking down on what would become the Phoenix Empire's 100th colony world.

There had been quite some argument about what to name it, including some garbled names in that degenerate language that persisted in his Empire despite his efforts to wipe it out. He had managed to ensure that it would be named properly, in True English but even so, choosing a name had been difficult. He didn't really care what it was called. Since he planned for the Empire to be larger, much larger, the significance of a single colony planet was negligible. Even so, Harper knew how important these things were to the masses.

Auroral, Cockayne, Eternus, Icarus had all been frontrunner names. He quite liked Auroral since there was more than enough mentions of eternity and burning in the Empire. Fulgent, while similar had been rejected. He didn't like the word. It was irrational but sometimes he didn't have to be rational. Williams had wanted Shepard but that had been rejected. Or rather, he'd told her he'd think about it if, and only if she agreed to let him smoke in private. Naturally she'd said no, so naturally he had as well. Such a pity that.

Instead the Planet had been named Athenae, after the ancient Greek city of Athens. Hopefully it would have as an illustrious history as its namesake. Williams had just snorted when she'd heard it but she had conceded that at least he had named it after a woman.

There were colony ships surrounding his military reinforced contingent and they would begin to land shortly, just as soon as all the cam links came online.

This was an important day for the Empire and all would be watching. He had mandated a special, Empire wide holiday for this. After all, 100 colonies only happened once and Harper was already thinking about what 1000 Ascended would mean.

If things continued on schedule that would also happen this century. Of course, that would be a more private celebration. Most citizens didn't realise there were that many since most were in hiding, creating eezo or doing what Williams termed Shadow Patrols. But he knew, and it was a good beginning.

1000 Ascended wasn't enough to take on Harbinger's fleet but it was a start and the number would only continue to grow. Of course, taking on Harbinger with any number was a risk.

Harper knew the eldest Ascended could give them absolute orders. To all of them. He just wasn't sure how  _fast_  Harbinger could do it. Theoretically, it should be instantaneous, or so close to it that it wouldn't make a difference, but since Harbinger didn't know any of the LMC Ascended, there might be a slight lag. Even a second was a lot of time in combat.

That possibility led to another question, though question might be too strong a term. Harper had scanned his memories. Harbinger had not spoken to any other Human Ascended other than Shepard, which might mean that all orders to Humans were meant to be routed through the First Human Ascended. That would create further lag. Or it might not, but it was something to consider.

Harper didn't want to confront the old Ascended fleet and he certainly didn't want to fight them, but regardless of the outcome of the Project, some level of confrontation was assured. He sincerely doubted that Harbinger would just accept the destruction of Tartarus without a word but hopefully Harbinger would be reasonable. It wasn't like the Humans were betraying the cycle.

He shook his head. That was a thought for later and maybe their sheer numbers would win. Once they reached 1000 Ascended, it would only take another 29 years to reach 1100, 27 years to reach 1200 and so on. It was a good thing the populace had no problems accepting the taxes required to make their immortal forms because even if they didn't know about all the Ascended, they knew about the costs involved in immortalisation. Harper had just inferred the process of actually converting their organic bodies was expensive, when truly it was the building of their immortal forms that required the most resources.

It was one of the reasons he had so little trouble with his inheritance laws, whereby the Empire inherited the bulk of every estate. He made it clear that that part of the income went directly into the cost of immortalisation, not just for the individual, but for their family and others. It was a citizen's duty to help provide for the immortalisation of all citizens. At least, that's what the social belief was.

It was another distraction and Harper looked over to a control board to see that the last comm line was blinking green. It meant that all were connected and he smiled.

It was time to get this show on the road!

-cfr-

**46106 Years after Human Ascension, 1051 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Milky Way Galaxy, Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Harbinger examined the data sets, checking the recorded bloodlines of each individual. Without testing, organics could never be one hundred percent sure about their lineage but he did not allow any confusion in his experiments. Number 28751 bred with 34928 and did so every time he ordered it because they were both loyal to him and wanted nothing more than to please him. But he was aware that organics, even those loyal to the cycle, still possessed emotions and emotions led to desire that went against his plan. There were solutions to that. 28751 might wish to breed with 33285 but that was an impossibility. 33285 was generally executed and the fertilisation process ensured the bloodlines were what was recorded.

Really, all sapience seemed to do was make organic species weak and more tolerant of physical and sometimes mental imperfections.

Everything was as he had ordered and so he switched to the test data. He had gone for a bigendered species this time. It gave him more variables when combining the bloodlines but it led to a more stable slave. The prothean clone stock, while physically strong, had some weaknesses which were beginning to crop up too often. They would have to be terminated soon anyway and once he concluded with his data review, thus confirming that the new slaves were operational, the remaining prothean stock would die.

Perhaps he could make it a final test for the Cypiene slaves, to hunt down and kill those who had overseen their creation? Yes, he liked that idea. Those who survived would prove themselves worthy. It would be a final culling.

Harbinger watched the biotic testing. That had been relatively simple and even though they were in the galactic core there was a plethora of material for them to practice on.

Flight testing had been more difficult. The initial proof of concept tests had been easy. Those with wings large enough and musculature strong enough had been able to lift themselves aloft. They had been the alpha pack but he had allowed one other group to survive past that stage. Those individuals with wings large enough and strong enough to at least glide, even if they used biotic power to assist them. The rest didn't survive the tests and Harbinger supposed it was possibly one of the better tests. There were no faked results.

After that, the bloodlines had been allowed to breed again so that all the individuals were strong enough to fly independent of their biotics. But it hadn't quite been enough. Flight testing on what would become their homebase in the galactic core was too static. It lacked the realism of an actual planet with winds and other hazards and so Harbinger had ordered the new slaves to test their wings on several habitable worlds in all conditions.

Those who had not been able to fly through storms or into headwinds had died. The fastest deaths were those who died in their crashes. Others lingered with broken bones on the ground until their injuries, local predators or exposure killed them. They were failures so he had no need for them.

It left him now with a stock of slaves, skewed slightly towards the female gender, who were all capable of self flight with their wings alone. All of them could use their biotics in flight giving them the ability to attack.

Harbinger was pleased enough to admit that they were going to be formidable and he would be encouraging their bloodlines to remain viable for the next three to four cycles.

Most sapient species would see some evolution in that length of time, usually self driven but he could hold the slaves to perfection. They did not need to gain independence of thought, or anything similar. All they needed to do was remain unchanged.

"Matriarch," he spoke, reaching directly into the mind of the head female. He had no preference for gender so long as the job was done.

"Master," came the immediate reply.

"A final test remains," Harbinger announced, looking through her eyes.

She was in the insemination room, overseeing the fertilisation of several younger females. He could have used cloning, such as with the prothean slaves but to ensure Cypiene loyalty he'd had to go with organic breeding techniques. However, that did not mean he would rely on them rutting to produce offspring, not when he could easily ensure the desired traits of both parents breed true.

What had taken so long to create these slaves was ensuring that the new additions bred true and correct. Still, he was well within time. There were not that many Prothean slaves in the area and while it could be interesting to test her abilities, that could potentially damage the facilities, which was not desirable.

The younger slaves realised they were in his presence and had dropped to the floor, leaning over to expose their backs and the still slightly vulnerable humerus of their wings to indicate their submission. Harbinger paid them no mind, except to note that obedience was still bred into them, as was right and proper for all organics.

"The ones with four eyes," Harbinger said, "are no longer needed. As a final test of your abilities as a species, you will eliminate them," he instructed. "I will not order them to submit and you must keep the damage to a minimum," he explained.

"Is there a time frame, Master?" she asked.

Harbinger thought for an instant. "You have one rotation," he decided. That would give her a short time to plan but not enough to make detailed observations. The Cypiene would have to rely on what they already knew so this would test their ability to pool their information. It was perhaps the one way the Prothean slaves were superior. They shared a mind which allowed for coordination between drones. The Cypiene-based stock would have to determine a method that worked for them. They had sufficient resources that Harbinger was not concerned.

"It will be done," she replied, without giving any indication as to her thoughts about his orders. Nor should she. His orders were not questioned by organics. They were obeyed which is how it should be.

Perhaps that was the real reason he had not thought harder about using the Humans. While they might be malleable, he would have gone through far more batches as they questioned him. Yes, it was probably best that they had been Ascended and could therefore draw their own answers from the network when it was established each cycle.

"You have permission to contact me once it is done," he allowed, leaving it unsaid that he would be contacting them in one rotation, regardless of if the task was complete or not. She already knew it must be complete.

"Thank you, Master," she replied and Harbinger lingered for another few seconds before he withdrew his consciousness.

He kept the lines to the monitoring cameras open. There was no way he'd miss the final demise of the Protheans because while they might fight back they could not prevent the inevitable. Much like the cycle. Once their extermination was complete, he would monitor the Cypiene slaves further for approximately ten or so generations to ensure they remained pure before letting them fully take over the monitoring for the cycle. With Riphas' assistance of course. She would do well with the slaves.

Then he would return to hibernation. For now though, all he had to do was watch.

-cfr-

**Milky Way Galaxy, Core**

Javith ran.

He didn't know why he ran, he just knew that he had to. It was instinct, a primal drive to survive, a desire that should have been bred out of him but one that had sparked to life when he'd felt the deaths of his brothers.

He was the last and he ran because running had now become a part of his plan.

He'd been betrayed. They had all been betrayed. Those who served the Master had turned upon them and he didn't know why. He only knew their attack had been devastating. The Breeder, the place they were all created was hit first and the genetic diversity they had fought so hard to keep was gone.

Then the traitors had spread out, killing indiscriminately though by that stage, with the deaths of so many fledgling minds, the Overmind had managed to give warning, to rally those remaining to strike back.

They had caught the incautious ones, the brave, and the stupid and had ripped them apart. The Cypiene stock might have been bred for strength but they did not measure up against a Prothean. The Cypiene advantage lay in their numbers and in the biotics they had been imbued with using Prothean techniques!

For a short time, the battle had seemed equal but with the loss of the Breeder it was already over. What Javith didn't understand and what the Overmind had sought to discover before it was gone was why the Master was allowing this but there was no answer forthcoming. The Master was silent and the assault continued.

He'd felt his brothers die. One by one, their minds had vanished from his consciousness, which is how Javith knew he was the last. He could not continue his kind but he could take as many traitors with him as he could. The thought had not been his own. He would have waited for death, instead the thought came from a memory of the Overmind. It was of a race that knew spite. A race that could know the battle was lost but who would continue to fight to the last, just to make victory as expensive as possible for their foes.

With the death of his kind, and the Overmind's memories a jumble in his head, Javith felt it was his responsibility to respond. He didn't have time to do much, though. He had the seeker swarms and they worked on the Cypiene just as well as they always had, but he couldn't spread them through the base completely. He had explosives, though. They were strong enough to take out the base, if he could get them to the core, but that was well guarded by the Master's lockdowns and so Javith would have to be content in placing them to take out as large an area as possible. He'd already placed several near the Cypiene barracks and he had been trying to get near their nursery but there were more guards than he'd expected. The charges, including the one he still carried, were on a dead man sensor. They would go off when his heart stopped.

He knew they'd rebuild but it would cost them time and perhaps the Master would tire of them. It was a nice thought but one that Javith did not linger on.

"There he is!"

He heard the shout and mentally thanked the idiot for the warning as he leapt out of the way of a biotic barrage. A well-placed flick from his hand took out the idiot child who had alerted him but Javith didn't pause. He couldn't stop and he dashed down a side corridor, only to realise he was trapped.

With a growl, he turned back but already the Cypiene had closed the distance. Before they could attack, using their biotics to finish him off from a relative distance, he ploughed into their midst. Superior strength helped and he targeted their wings, knowing that if he broke the relatively fragile bones, the Master generally discarded the stock.

The screams of pain invigorated him as did the sound of snapping bone and the soft twang of their ligaments separating. The way it felt under his hands was good but there were too many of them for him to fight alone. While the corridor worked to his advantage, limiting how many could come at him at one time, they were drawing him out. He could not let them have distance to use their biotics because while he could shield, his strength would not last long.

Javith snarled when he saw the corridor end and he knew there was an open area ahead. He grabbed one of the Cypiene, a smaller female, and ignoring her scream, he flung her body into the open area, his eyes calculating as she was hit by multiple biotic attacks. Above, left and right but they'd left an opening they with their primitive two eyes wouldn't perceive.

He surged forward, seemingly rushing into their trap and as he moved he felt heat pass by him from the biotics but he got through, enjoying the indignant squawk from the first line as he slammed bodily into them. He was heavier and they went down in a tangle of limbs. Javith fought to get off them, to keep running but one had snagged him and even though he kicked, feeling bones break, the idiot refused to let go.

A biotic surge dislodged the bitch but by then it was too late. He was surrounded, both on the ground and in the air. He felt nothing as he glared at his killers. They both served the Master so this should not have happened.

"Kneel, and we will make this quick," one of their voices, pitched all wrong said. "For the honour of the Master."

Javith stared. Well, he knew he stared. To them his expression did not change but he knew what he was going to do. Slowly he raised his hands, wishing he had managed to get the charges into their nursery, so that they would know what that pain felt like but he would have to be content with what he'd managed. Those who killed him would die with him.

With his movement, the stupid Cypiene relaxed, two of them moving forward to finish him off and the instant they came into range he struck, cutting through their necks with biotic power that flashed out as he leapt

But he wasn't quite fast enough and pain lanced through his shoulder from above. Not all the Cypiene had been taken in. It was a physical weapon and the follow up round drove him to his knees. Javith gasped, tasting his blood as the remaining Cypiene formed into ranks around him, their hands lighting with biotic power.

"You fought well," one said and he glared again as they fired.

The words meant nothing and he dismissed them as he dismissed the Cypiene who spoke them, as he  _knew_  the Master would one day dismiss them. All they had done, and all that they could ever do, would never satisfy the Master and the Cypiene would fall, just as he had.

Pain meant nothing and as his worldly vision was consumed by light, he saw an Empire that spanned the stars. An Empire that was made of light and that stood proud and strong against all that fought against it.

He was home.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Protheans are now truly dead in every incarnation. Harbinger had to watch the end. Any species that killed that many Ascended is particularly hated.
> 
> Alliances between Harper, Williams and Lawson are temporary and of benefit to them all. They do not want to become too comfortable with each other because that will lead to homogenisation and that's bad! Williams doesn't want to be Harper and vice versa... just yuk! Indoctrination hasn't got them on that yet.


	60. Not Quite First Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper has an interesting meeting about a new species, now the question is how to keep them hidden from the others, without them interfering with the Empire. Harbinger has a short talk with the vanguard before returning to hibernation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 59: Not Quite First Contact**

-cfr-

**46113 Years after Human Ascension, 1058 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"What is it, Darren?" Harper asked.

The astronomer was visibly excited and had actually gone to the trouble of getting an avatar and making an appointment to make this report. It was somewhat frustrating to know that Williams knew what was happening because she, from Cerberus, had casually rearranged his schedule to ensure the astronomer got to see him. She'd pulled his appointments with the Treasurer, the Fedochi Ambassador and his Trade Director so whatever Darren had to tell him was big.

"This," the astronomer replied, excitedly projecting several star charts marked up with intersecting lines labelled with numbers. It meant nothing to him.

"What is this?" Harper asked, reminding himself to be calm.

"We've found another sapient," Darren announced.

"We've found several," Harper reminded the astronomer. The Attori and the Fedochi were the first amongst them, but there were several other primitive species, all far before their space age and therefore useless to him so he had quarantined each system. They would be a challenge for another day. Another new sapient species was hardly news, certainly not worth rearranging his schedule unless… They were space capable and far larger than the Empire but with every planet that they settled that became less and less likely. What made this lot special?

"They have multiple planets," Darren said, pointing out several intersections on his star charts.

"Go on," Harper prompted. This was slightly more relevant.

"We only picked them up recently because their transmissions are all on a frequency we weren't listening on. This is very exciting!" he said happily but Harper ground his was going nowhere. "We've plotted them to at least three planets but it must be more."

"So they are like the Attori or Fedochi with multiple planets," Harper surmised. He could relate to that but it was not special. Even if they were smaller, with ten planets he could relate to them.

"No sir," Darren disagreed. "They are not like the Fedochi or Attori. We think they have at least 20 planets but we aren't sure. We still don't understand everything on their signals."

Harper sighed. "Then what makes them special?" he demanded, keeping the edge from his voice. Williams had rearranged his schedule for this? What the hell was the woman thinking?

"Sir," Darren said seriously, making sure he had Harper's attention. "We do not believe they have faster than light."

"Lead with that next tim… what?" Harper's brain caught up with his mouth. "You say twenty planets and  _no_  FTL?" he asked for clarification.

"Yes, Sir," Darren said animatedly.

"You are sure?" It seemed so fantastic.

"Yes, Sir." Darren nodded to give emphasis to his words.

So that's why Williams had reorganised his schedule. She'd better have rescheduled the meetings, Harper thought before pulling himself back to the issue at hand. "Talk," he ordered Darren. "I want to know everything. Population, number of planets, strengths, weaknesses, government, military, language, everything. Don't leave anything out." His eyes glowed as he fixed his attention on the astronomer. Inasmuch as he complained about the Grand Admiral, Williams wouldn't have sent Darren unless he had actual answers.

"They are old, Sir," Darren said after composing himself. "Ten to fifteen thousand years at least. We've flown ships around the Empire and now that we know what to look for we can detect them."

Harper nodded. That would have let them better isolate the systems as well, to properly map this new species. But still, ten to fifteen thousand years with no FTL, that was unbelievable.

"Why so few planets?" If they'd been in space for that long, then surely even at sub FTL speeds they would have more.

"We think they have more Sir, but each planet seems to be independent and some are referred to as failures. Without a proper translation of a history file, we think that means they self destructed. They either used their natural resources to depletion or did actually blow themselves up."

"So we have their language?"

"Yes, and we might have a history file, we just haven't found it yet. Now that we know what to look for, we have a lot of their material recorded."

"So how do they refer to themselves?"

"Skatra, Sir. We believe it means the Wanderers."

Harper grunted. "Poetry out of the way, what else is there?"

"Well Sir, they keep in contact with each other and while they don't have a space based military, their ground forces may be formidable. We've caught a couple of vids."

"What about their weaponry?" Harper asked, knowing that the Grand Admiral would be listening in, because she already had this information.

"It's  _very_  powerful," she replied instantly, no trace of discomfort in her tone. "It's several orders of magnitude above our own."

"But they don't have FTL!" Harper objected.

"Don't make the Council's mistake," Williams warned.

"No," Harper agreed quickly, revising his opinion. The Council had thought Humanity weak because they hadn't been in space long but it had still taken the entire galaxy to drive them back. Lack of FTL did not mean weakness. "Can we copy them?"

"We are already looking for plans," Darren replied for Williams. "Each planet seems to be independent but they acknowledge each other and lacking the means for a true interstellar war…"

Harper nodded. "They cooperate, after a fashion because they have no reason not to. So they have Quantum Entanglement Comms?" That would make conquering them painful. While he was sure Williams could attack every planet simultaneously, with each planet possessing its own military and strong weapons, each battle would be different. And if he tried to take them one at a time, the others would be warned and would reinforce their positions. Neither would be easy.

"Ah, no Sir, we don't believe so. The signals we've been getting are not anything that is FTL."

For a moment Harper looked incredulously at Darren then he ran one hand over his face. "Do you mean to tell me that we are looking at an alien species, occupying at least twenty planets, probably more, with a verifiable history of at least ten to fifteen thousand years, with weapons and potentially other tech commensurate with that age, who have not yet discovered FTL?" It sounded utterly preposterous!

"Yes, Sir." Darren cocked his head as he considered Harper's statement. "That seems about right."

"How?" Harper demanded, pronouncing the word as he would to an idiot. Darren didn't get it.

"I don't know, Sir," he replied. "I only know what our readings say."

"So they don't know about eezo?" Harper demanded. That was the only way he could see for this to be possible. Humanity hadn't been able to manage FTL without eezo and according to Esha's studies and the information ascension had given them, FTL was not possible without it, so if this species came from an eezo poor region, it was possible they just couldn't develop FTL.

"We think they do," Williams replied and that was warning enough though it added to the contradictions.

However, if they knew, then that meant that one weapon, one  _ship_  falling into enemy hands could be catastrophic. Even if he launched a simultaneous strike he was giving them the potential to go FTL. He did not need an FTL capable species with tech beyond his own. To say nothing of what the Fedochi would make of the situation. If they got their hands on this species' tech.

Harper shuddered. Humanity would win but there was no need to sacrifice that many. Williams had done well in sending Darren rather than reporting this herself. The Fedochi Ambassador would know his meeting was moved but would just assume, when he found out why, and Harper knew the Fedochi would find out why, that Darren's team had just found another highly habitable planet or similar.

In fact, Harper made a mental note, he'd just open up one of the terraformed planets and present it as a natural find. That should throw the Fedochi off.

"So we can't invade and we can't let anyone else know about them," Harper murmured. "And with a name meaning wanderers it's a safe assumption that they intend to continue colonising."

Darren's face paled as if he hadn't considered that but he gulped and nodded.

"Right," Harper's tone indicated he'd come to a decision which wasn't surprising since he wasn't one known for procrastinating on important decisions. "I want to know their rate of expansion and then I want listening posts around their territory. Next time they send out plans for a weapon we are on the receiving list as well but be it a weapon or omni-tool, I don't care, I want their tech to improve our tech.

"After fifteen thousand years, I imagine more than just their weapon tech is good. I want their full history and language as well. Find out everything.

"Next, Williams, their space is to be considered off limits with two thousand years of expansion buffer. By that time, the Project will have cleared the LMC and we will have time to deal with these little challenges. When we contact them, we will be superior.

"And thirdly, their existence just became classified. I do not want to hear about these Skatra from some reporter so look at your team, Darren. If you have the slightest doubt about anyone, you tell me or Williams. Any leak could be a risk to the Project."

The man was an original and while Harper did not believe him to be quite as ruthless as some, he would protect the Project. Harper didn't need to worry about his bodyguards. They knew what classified mant.

"I'll send a tiny probe to one of the planets Darren says they call Rejected," Williams announced. "If the population has killed themselves, it would be nice to know how and how badly they are damaging planets."

Once they became Ascended, all organics recognised how fragile planets were despite the damage they did each harvest. They could, in theory repair them or even some of the theoretical scientists claimed, build them, but that was unnecessary work and it would be the height of irony to have the Milky Way Ascended fleet construct planets for the organics to damage before they were harvested. It also struck Williams as a little bit too much like farming.

"Yes," Harper said slowly. "That would be best but pick one of the oldest."

"I won't assume that our stealth is their stealth," she said. On a small scale, on the back of the Ambassador Syril incident, they were coming closer to achieving true stealth that could be applied to any species. Stealth was, after all, nothing more than becoming so like the background that you were undetectable. Visual, heat and emissions were part of it before you got to more exotic sensors such as x-ray and gravity and magnetic interference. Since gravity was a function of mass, with an active eezo core a ship's gravity was reduced so some things were easily countered, others remained difficult but her military researchers said they were close and they had long had stealth probes good enough to fool the aliens they did know.

"Good," Harper said before turning back to Darren. "Very interesting. Prepare a report and carry on. I'll expect an update in a week with that buffer zone size and a list of names. Upload the language to my server," Harper instructed. While alien languages were garbled gibberish, it was useful to be able to understand their conversations without a translator and read their documents as they had written them. It allowed him greater insights into their weaknesses so that they could be exploited. And that alone made having that information to download worth it.

"Coordinate with Esha to construct any tech plans we pick up, though our usual construction rules apply."

The astronomer nodded. Everyone knew at least the basic principle of those rules. 'Nothing damaging and fully recyclable' was the unofficial motto of the Empire and with that, the Humans announced their intention to stay for a very long time.

"Will you need extra ships for a cordon?"

"Until I see the full area, I won't know," Williams said. "Though I can rework some of the Patrol schedules for the moment and the Witton docks are about to come online."

Harper nodded. Nimitz remained the central military system but it was now mostly administration and training. Plus, despite being off limits to civilians, it was too well known to be fully secure. Several other systems, throughout the Empire had been put aside for military use and they were all being slowly developed. Of course, that said nothing about the military power the Ascended represented.

"Do that. Otherwise I think we are done and I need to try to get back on schedule."

"The Treasurer is waiting," Williams told him. "The Fedochi Ambassador said it was just routine so has left a data pad and indicated that your meeting could wait for the next weekly meeting."

"Have the datapad sent down to intel," Harper ordered. "If he left it, I want to know what else was on it." Harper just ignored Williams sigh. What did she have against espionage? Surely, she knew it was an essential part of government and of the military. At least she used the information they got. She couldn't have maintained her position if she didn't. He'd have to ask one day but not now, he was busy. "And the Minister of Trade?"

"Has been waylaid by a farming lobbyist and will probably be full of of information about the importance of shipping wheat to the Attori at 9 o'clock tomorrow at his re-scheduled appointment."

"Ugh, I should have them shot!" Harper groaned.

"The lobbyist?" There was a faint note of hope in Williams' voice. She disliked them even more than he did, which was one of the reasons the Empire's military was close to self sufficient. There were very few military contracts that went out to business, thus reducing the need for anyone to attempt to butter her up. Funnily enough the last company to try it suffered the accidental shelling of their head quarters. How that missile went astray that far was still a mystery. One Harper had allowed because it kept the little bastards honest and on their toes.

"You do not have permission to destroy the wheat farmers central administration," Harper said warningly. Unlike a company, he needed that organisation as well. "And no testing those personal missiles!" he added and could imagine Williams' expression.

The woman was bloodthirsty if set after the right targets.

"It's not my time they are wasting," Williams retorted and Harper could hear that she was letting the matter drop.

While they had been talking, Darren had gathered his materials. "I'll have that report ready for you shortly and I'll upload the language files we have," he said as he turned to leave.

"Include the personnel list," Harper instructed firmly. That was just as important.

"Yes, Sir." Darren sounded reluctant but he would do it because the Project would be protected.

Harper nodded to himself. This was interesting and though he'd never admit it, Williams had been right to interrupt his schedule and… Huh… Darren had left a data pad. He eyed it carefully, feeling his bodyguards stir as they reacted, tension spiking within his office.

It wasn't like Darren to leave something.

Harper indicated with his eyes for one bodyguard to step forward to check it. The man, Issac Culver nodded and moved silently while several other bodyguards crowded around. If it was explosive their bodies would attempt to shield his.

Issac looked up to see that everyone was in position before he gently tapped the datapad. These things were usually set on hair triggers and while they all knew they should have evacuated Harper, they knew the Emperor wouldn't go.

The datapad moved on the table but did not do anything else.

Issac reached out gingerly to pick it up with his fingertips and as he did, a slip of what passed for paper fluttered down. Harper narrowed his eyes as his implants read the message written there.

' _Enjoy.'_

His bodyguards saw it as well and tensed, ready for anything.

Harper's eyes immediately went to the datapad, or more accurately the box. It was about six by eight inches which was more than large enough to fit… dare he hope?

"Put it down and turn it over," Harper instructed.

Issac complied and they all saw the line on what they now knew was a false bottom. Strong fingers pushed as it and with a click the thin plastic sheeting slid away and Harper wasn't the only one to detect the faint smell of tobacco. Issac made to pick up the datapad.

"Down!" Harper ordered sharply, almost growling the word.

"But Sir!" Issac objected, indicating towards the cigarettes.

"Was there something?" Harper asked archly, shooing away those who had remained close.

"You know we are banned from giving you cigarettes," Issac said, reaching out again.

"Aa!" Harper explained. He didn't try to grab for the box. Experience told him Issac would be faster and his reflexes would make him pull the box away. Issac did draw back his hand with a slightly guilty flinch. "Believe me, I am more than aware of that."

It had started with a bet but it had gone beyond that and now Harper had no idea what Williams was holding over his bodyguards that they continued to obey her on this. On everything else, they obeyed him.

"You aren't giving me cigarettes, Darren is," Harper explained, attempting to use logic to cut through their obvious trepidation. He had to convince them that it wasn't their fault, even if Williams would hold them accountable.

Issac didn't look convinced and not for the first time, Harper wondered what the hell Williams had done. He'd even complained to Henry but the Lawson Court of Arbitration had ruled in Williams' favour and his lack of cigarettes had continued.

He didn't need them, of course. His body in no way craved the nicotine and even if it did, the process of ascension had removed his organic requirements but he wanted them. Even after nine hundred and seven years it was a familiar habit that he missed. Harper picked up a stylus, twirling it expertly between his fingers. "You know, it's been nine hundred and seven years since I had a cigarette," Harper began, fishing for sympathy.

It had actually been fifty eight, but they didn't need to know that. Williams always gave him a cigar at ascension. It was her way of reinforcing his loss. Despite the fact that his eyes glowed, he did his best to give a slight puppy look to Issac.

It didn't work. Issac gave him a flat unimpressed look but Harper persisted. Finally, Issac sighed. "Sir, just don't tell Williams," he relented, pushing the data pad shaped box towards Harper.

"Oh, I won't," he said flicking the stylus away as he leaned forward to slide the cigarettes towards him. He pulled one out, sniffing it. It was a cheaper brand but Harper didn't care. If Darren was going to bring him ciggies then they would be meeting in person a lot more. Harper wondered if the astronomer had been a smoker. He couldn't remember.

He rolled the cigarette between his fingers, enjoying the sensation before he realised he didn't have a lighter, nor would his bodyguards.

"In the box, Sir," Harper recognised Wallace's voice and he looked down.

Sure enough, a slim black lighter was in the box. Harper ran his finger over the trigger. A tiny flame appeared but Harper paused.

"Find out how he got this through security," he instructed. No one should have been able to get this through, not even an original. "Then make sure he can do it again," Harper added before lifting the cigarette to his mouth, inhaling as he lit the end.

An instant later smoke filled his mouth and lungs and Harper froze. It was so good. The taste, the feel. He had missed this. Reverently, Harper blew out slowly before he took a breath through his nose, just to enjoy the smell. It was a close thing but he didn't quiver. He smiled as he took another drag.

This was heaven.

-cfr-

**One Week Later**

Harper smiled warmly at Darren as the astronomer stepped into his office.

The smile slid off his face abruptly when Grand Admiral Williams walked in behind the scientist. She smiled briefly at him before looking around and Harper couldn't help but notice as she met the eyes of each of his bodyguards.

It was an interesting study to watch. Williams' expression was slightly challenging and screamed confidence, while they looked downright guilty, Harper realised, watching as Issac shifted his feet slightly before bowing his head rather than continue to meet Williams' eyes. His guards had been a little stiff the last few days but Harper hadn't thought anything of it, now he found himself wondering.

Williams remained standing while Darren seemed oblivious to the drama and it was only then that Harper noted her dress. She had an officer's boots and several rank trappings that she didn't usually bother with. Her hair was securely fastened. All in all, she exuded the air of a very capable fighter, which Harper well knew she was, having downloaded into a new avatar earlier in the we-

"Darn you!" Harper growled at her.

His guards were stiff because she'd been putting them through their paces and with her body having the latest, most extensive combat upgrades, she would be significantly stronger, which said nothing about the years of experience she had over each of them and the fighting techniques she could have downloaded with. Lawson had long ago figured how to make their avatars reincarnate at a solid level of physical fitness, thus negating the need for lengthy therapy, which meant Williams would have very few weaknesses.

"I've corrected a fault in your security," she replied, holding up what looked like a data pad, and tapping it against her other hand. "We can't have unknown packages getting to you, or else every crank will believe they can just send a letter bomb, and your post people won't like that."

"Ashley," Harper objected. How the hell has she found out?

"Jack," she replied in much the same tone.

"You know full well it was not an unknown, unsecured package," he growled at her.

Williams tapped her omni-tool. Despite all the augmentation, she still used the external devices. "It was not on the manifest," she said after making a show of reading some list.

"Then put it on," he instructed.

"No," Williams replied shortly.

"It's been nine hundred and seven years." He left the time period hanging as its own explanation.

"And?" Williams prompted, ignoring his unspoken question.

"And don't you think that's a long enough time to carry on a bet?" he asked.

Williams shook her head. "Not what you thought at the time," she reminded him.

"Willi-"

"This  _really_  isn't open for discussion," she snapped, cutting over his objection.

"I think it is," Harper said.

"Jack," Williams replied, looking down her nose to stare straight at him. "After nine hundred and seven years, you should have conquered your organic need," she explained. "Your continued desire is an unbecoming weakness."

"One you will break me of?" Harper asked sarcastically.

"If I must," came the serious reply.

Harper sighed. There was no point in arguing now. Williams would not hand over the cigarettes. He'd be better off attempting to establish another way of getting them. Perhaps he could visit Darren instead for the next update, except a glance at the man told Harper that the astronomer would not be giving him any more tobacco. He might appear oblivious to the tension but he'd already been heavily chastised.

"At least tell me how you knew?" Harper asked, breathing out heavily as he slouched.

Williams chuckled. "Harper, you of all people should know Cerberus knows everything."

"Cerberus does not check on me," Harper snapped back.

His ascension form couldn't since these days it spent very little time in the Home system. Instead Cerberus was in Dorado, well protected with the majority of the Ascended fleet. "Don't I?" Williams asked archly with a wickedly superior smile.

"No, Williams, you don't. You are too busy when you are within Cerberus."

"True."

"So, how did you know?" Harper pressed.

Williams just stared and Harper knew the answer would be his fault. "You left the comm channel open," she sighed. "I did not need to hear your orgasmic moans," she added the jab, daring him to contradict her.

Harper had leaned forward to hear her answer, and at the reply his chin slid from his hand so that he hit his head on the desk.

"There, there," Williams said. "I know that avatar has some brain damage, but there is no need to add to it or else you really will have to ascend early."

"Just shut up," he replied, not lifting his head.

Williams laughed. "Anyway, I'll be seeing you boys later," she said and when Harper peeked he could see that she was warmly looking around at his bodyguards. "And I'll be leaving you too it," she directed that to Harper and Darren as she turned on one heel. "Be good now Emperor, and be careful about opening packages. You wouldn't want me to have initiate a full security review," she concluded as the door closed behind her.

Harper pushed himself up. "So that's what she's got on you." If it was just that she had better augmentation, and so could beat them in a fight, he'd could get that fixed quickly enough.

"No, Sir," Issac replied, wincing slightly and shifting so that Harper caught a glimpse of some rather impressive bruises. "This is just the punishment."

"So what does she have?" Harper demanded. He might have been out of his mind the last time he'd Ascended but he had looked and Williams left no records.

"I can't tell you that, Sir. I only know that Weston was right. It's not worth it."

Harper sighed. "So I'm back on a tobacco ban?"

"Yes, Sir."

There were days, and today was one of them, when Harper wondered who truly ran the Empire because sometimes it didn't feel like him.

-cfr-

**46224 Years after Human Ascension, 1169 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Milky Way Galaxy, Unnamed System**

To the organics, the Ascended fleet appeared to be cold, emotionless, implacable armoured AI killing machines. The organics were wrong. It was just that they could not yet comprehend the magnitude of perfection the Ascended represented.

They were not cold, they were logical.

They were not emotionless, their emotions were so complex as to defy organic understanding.

They were not implacable, merely dedicated to their task. And while granted they were armoured, there were not AI, which meant they could not be a killing machine. They did kill but there was a purpose to the deaths in the harvest. They served to isolate those organics who were worthy of ascension.

Of course, the organics didn't see or understand any of that, coming as they did generally quite late in the cycle. If they came earlier, they might have had the opportunity to see an Ascended at ease. Of course, they might not too since the Vanguard was always on the alert for organic probes and ships. But if the organics could have slipped beneath notice, they might have seen Riphas, the current Vanguard of the cycle utterly at ease in an out of the way system in the north east quadrant of the galaxy.

She was using her mass effect fields to throw small rocks at larger ones and then watching them spin off to ricochet on others. She'd created a chain reaction once that, if it had of had enough energy, would have reverberated through the entire field. But she'd foreseen that with the calculations for the initial rock and the first 30 hits were exactly what she had predicted.

"I don't get it," Riphas said to herself.

She had seen the younger Human Ascended doing this and in the way that Ascended expressed joy, they had been happy. Several of the older Human Ascended had watched and occasionally participated, offering advice to the youngsters but she couldn't work out why. They'd done it with captured organic ships as well, though then they had passed them between each other.

"Riphas."

Harbinger's call was a welcome distraction.

"Harbinger," she returned his name as greeting, deliberately suppressing her confusion and boredom. This early into the cycle it was merely a left over feeling from the harvest and would fade in time.

"I have completed the slaves," the first Ascended announced, sending details on a subchannel. The Cypiene base stock had successfully been adjusted to include Marris wings and Prothean biotics and they had been stable for at least ten generations with a 0.4% failure rate. That was acceptable for the slaves.

Well, they said Marris wings, because they were the style that had been on the first winged slaves. Harbinger had taken code from his memory banks from the Marris and had had to build it using Cypiene biology, slowly modifying the base stock until the differences took. The identity numbers told Riphas there had been many failures but overall they had been finished rather quickly. And with biotics, and while they called them Prothean, the potential for biotic power was in most organics. It just required the right circumstances. Except the Protheans had managed to produce far more biotics than they should have, especially given that not all the planets they had lived on were eezo rich. It was one of the advances of their Empire and one of the reasons the Cypiene biotics were now attributed to the Protheans. The same techniques had been used to ensure the potential was there.

Also carried on Harbinger's signal was his plans.

"Three to four cycles?" Riphas asked, curious. To last that long they would have to be allowed to become quite diverse. "Are you sure they will last that long? This cycle will be approximately seventy thousand organic years long," she said.

"They will last," Harbinger replied.

"You think it will be shorter?"

"No, but it is not a concern," Harbinger dismissed the issue, though his subchannels acknowledged the truth. With so many species uplifted in the cycle just passed, this one would be very long. "You will supervise the construction of additional bases in the galactic core," he instructed and Riphas sent a pulse of acknowledgement.

"How many slaves do you wish?"

"Allow them to breed to one million," Harbinger replied, "but no more than three to issue from each female." They had time to allow the slaves to diversify slowly.

"You'll check them then?" Riphas knew how Harbinger liked to operate in relation to the slaves he created.

"Yes. If their traits have remained pure, I will allow them further expansion."

"I will watch over them."

"Good," Harbinger replied. "I will be in hibernation but call should they become troublesome." Some slaves tried to escape and while Harbinger was sure Riphas was up to the task of controlling them, it would be his decision if they terminated this stock. The Ascended had gone through cycles without organic servants, they could do it again.

"I will not allow them," Riphas assured him and carried in her words was the impression that it would be something to do while waiting for the species of this cycle to emerge.

Harbinger seized on that, pulling further information from her subchannels. So she had been replicating… "They do it for training," the first Ascended explained.

"Harbinger?" Riphas questioned, her voice confused.

"Using their mass effect fields to throw rocks or ships," he said. "For the youngest, it allows them to hone their control. It is not an exercise you need to do," the eldest Ascended added before cutting the comm.

Riphas would have blinked in confusion if she'd been organic. As it was, she stilled her mass effect fields, letting the rocks she had been manipulating go back into position before she turned away. If she was going to fulfil Harbinger's orders, she had better relocate. It was time for the slaves to meet another master and they should be honoured by her presence. It wasn't often that slaves were given such personal supervision or were planned to survive for so many cycles. It showed her how much Harbinger wanted these ones to succeed, at least until another species raised his ire.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The non FTL aliens become important later on, for now they are a bit of a headache for Harper and those headaches are going to continue into the next chapter.


	61. Set Backs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was a quiet day for Harper until the Empire's Treasurer found some anomalies. If it's not a quiet day for Harper, it's not a quiet day for anyone, which leads into a few years worth of punishment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 60: Set Backs**

-cfr-

**46328 Years after Human Ascension, 1183 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

Harper looked at the data projected on the wall of his office.

It was mostly numbers laid out in a ledger. Several were highlighted red with a smaller corrected figure beside them.

"You are sure?" he asked, seriously.

The treasurer gulped. Usually, the Emperor was pretty laid back, after nearly 1200 years leading what had become the Empire, he had a very good idea of how things ran and he could afford to be relaxed. There was no trace now of the casual man she was used to dealing with. He was as composed as always but there was a chill note in his voice that promised pain. Even his ever-present bodyguards appeared taken aback by the Emperor's tone.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the treasurer spoke softly, aware that her words were condemning many to death. Even the knowledge that they were traitors didn't offer comfort. From a crime such as this, it was entirely possible that the Emperor would scour whole planets clean. But the treasurer also knew that it would be her neck on the line if she failed to report this. It was going to lead to the execution of her predecessor. With his experience, the man should have spotted the anomalies and he had not been immortalised yet. She'd checked.

"How long?" Emperor Harper asked, flicking the numbers back and forth as he inspected them.

This was something she didn't want to admit but Vasiliki Ljungborg told herself to be strong. If she tried to make excuses, the Emperor would blame her as well.

"At least ten years, Your Majesty," she said with an audible gulp.

"And you have been Treasurer for a little under one year," Harper said.

While it was not a question, she felt obligated to reply. "Yes, Your Majesty," she said, using his formal title. Vasiliki wanted to make excuses, to offer reasons why she hadn't spotted the anomalies earlier but there was nothing she could say that would soothe the Emperor. He would either let her live or he would not and Vasiliki could tell nothing from his expression.

Technically speaking, there was more than one Treasurer. The Phoenix Empire consisted of 131 colony systems with another ten devoted to the military, one for the Project and while the Empire and Emperor did not admit to them, Ljungborg was sure there were at least three to four other systems. The Empire could not rely on one person alone to keep track of the finances. But Vasiliki was the Chief Treasurer, which meant that the buck literally stopped with her.

She hadn't expected to become the Chief Treasurer. Everyone was expecting Kurtis Navarro to be announced as the Chief Treasurer. He'd been tapped by Ruben Muncy, the former Chief Treasurer, but Emperor Harper had the final say and apparently he didn't like promoting an under-treasurer two ranks. Still, Vasiliki had thought her appointment would be short term, a few years before Kurtis took over.

It was one of the reasons she'd been looking at his work. Kurtis had been promoted to take her place. She'd given him enough time to settle into the position before she ran this audit.

"How much?" Harper demanded.

Ljungborg gulped. She'd made estimates and the information was only going to anger the Emperor but he had to know.

The Home system had a GDP of approximately 200 trillion a year, the other systems had at least 150 trillion each. "Point eight of a percent by fifty planets. Approximately sixty trillion a year," she said, bracing for the Emperor's anger. She knew now why Ruben was close to Kurtis and could only imagine what would have happened if Kurtis had become the Treasurer.

"I do not know where the money has gone, Your Majesty," she added, anticipating Harper's follow up question.

"Sixty trillion a year, for ten years, over fifty systems," Harper whispered. "Six hundred trillion credits," he growled and Vasiliki watched the screen as the numbers were shunted off to one side. The written part of her report appeared and as she watched all the names listed were highlighted. A new document opened, and the names appeared as a list in it. Every name and then the list began growing as Harper added more names. Sector Heads, Planetary Governors and a myriad of others she didn't recognise but who would be involved in the areas of Empire Administration.

Those were people who should have noticed.

It was too early to be thankful that hers was not on it yet.

"I will find it," the Emperor murmured before his eyes speared back into Vasiliki. "How did you discover it?" the Emperor asked.

Ljungborg gulped again. While finding the anomalies would mean death, that was abstract. So far, except for Ruben and Kurtis she didn't know any of the people that well. She didn't know the businessmen and -women or the managers or the workers involved. They would die but Vasiliki would never look them in the eye, not like she would with the Treasury Staff because some had to be involved.

"It was a routine audit, Your Majesty," Vasiliki said. "I am required to audit at least one project of every Sub-Treasurer at least once a year."

"And they are required to submit summaries," Harper said.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Ljungborg agreed. "That is one of the reasons I chose this section of the Project. Navarro's summaries were too perfect," she explained.

"Too perfect?" the Emperor questioned, the demand for further information obvious from his tone.

"Yes, Your Majesty. Even at our level it is difficult to account down to the last sub credit," Vasiliki explained. "There is always a small amount of rounding and we have accepted tolerances built in for that. Navarro's summaries, just for this section were always perfect and while initially I put it down to absolutely perfect accounting for the Project, I was curious as to how they could account for every last sub-credit, every single month." Project expenses were accounted for beyond anything else in the Empire. With the Immortals involved it was easy to have such exacting detail through everything.

Emperor Harper nodded and Ljungborg fell silent, waiting for the next question. She tried not to flinch when Kurtis Navarro's name was highlighted on the list. She'd picked up his summaries because she'd never seen anything kept that perfect for that long. Even on the Project. Occasionally someone else got everything to add up perfectly and theoretically it was easy, in practice, but when dealing with the sheer number of transactions they did, it was impossible. Vasiliki had assumed that Kurtis had to have some sort of system for this part of the project and if she audited them to find that the information was correct, then she had fully intended to suggest that Navarro take her places as the Chief Treasurer and that his accounting systems be implemented across the Empire

While that might seem like an act of complete selflessness, the Emperor, the Sector Heads, the Planetary Governors, right down to the garbage collectors were expected to behave that way. There were rewards for recognising your limits, just as there were punishments. If she had not acknowledged Kurtis' work, it would have been entirely possible that in a few years time he would have taken her position as Chief Treasurer by stepping over her corpse.

"Who have you told?" Harper demanded, and there was a pause in the growing list of names. It was entirely disconcerting to see Emperor Harper literally thinking at the screen and Vasiliki was grateful he didn't do it often but she understood it was necessary now. Writing might miss a name. Thought would allow no such carelessness.

"No one, Your Majesty," Vasiliki replied quickly. "I discovered the anomalies two days ago and have spent that time back-tracking the numbers to confirm it was not a typographic error. All the receipts are online," she added making it clear that she had not needed to speak to anyone.

It was one of the advantages of a technologically and environmentally superior civilisation. They did not use paper, though Vasiliki had seen it in museums and was amused by the quaint notion of manually writing things down when there were far more efficient means.

"And there were no errors?"

"No, Your Majesty," Ljungborg said.

"And there is no way that this is just an error? Something amiss with the trading?"

Vasiliki thought for a moment but she already knew the answer. What was surprising was why Emperor Harper was attempting to find a reason, in the midst of compiling a list of those Ljungborg knew wouldn't survive. "No, Your Majesty. The resources were there. They were properly accounted for during transportation and at delivery. They are physically missing now and no other governmental branch has had need for them," she explained, reminding herself again that she had done nothing wrong and that she had brought this to Emperor Harper's attention the moment she confirmed it.

He still looked composed but coldly furious, except that now, Vasiliki could see creases at the edges of his eyes. They were tight, as if he was in pain but while this was serious, there was no reason this should cause him pain.

There was a commotion at the door but Vasiliki didn't turn because whatever it was, it was expected or the Emperor's bodyguards would have reacted. It was only when two heavy treads, accompanied by the creak of straining synth and the soft jingle of metal stopped on either side of her did Vasiliki look and she felt her eyes widen when she saw two special force soldiers, armed to the teeth, fully decked out in what was for them light armour beside her. These were not the usual police and Ljungborg felt cold lash through her.

Was Emperor Harper going to execute her right now? She was not ready! Vasiliki had known it was a possibility but she thought she'd have a day to compose herself. Her throat went dry but at the same time she felt nauseatingly sick.

"Take Chief Treasurer Ljungborg into protective custody. Use the Crick Suite," Emperor Harper began and while the fear of immediate death passed, Vasiliki knew she wasn't in the clear yet. "She is to continue working. I want you to report to me when you find anything," Harper directed that to her.

Vasiliki swallowed, trying to moisten her mouth and throat. It didn't work so she closed her eyes and nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty," she whispered, not trusting her voice at greater volume.

So this was how she'd go. He'd work her to find everyone involved, then execute her.

"I'd better upgrade your access," Emperor Harper continued and he reached out to a rather archaic device and began tapping at its surface. Vasiliki recognised it as a keyboard but realised that this one was performing a biometric scan every time Emperor Harper touched it. A laser light shone briefly into his eyes and she knew if she looked she'd find a breath sampler too. It might seem archaic but it was full of security and no doubt there was a link to his implants to ensure that he really was Emperor Harper.

"There," he said finally. "Full access to the Empire's databases.  _All_ of them. I trust you know what that means?"

Vasilike stared for a few moments, her mind racing though every now and then it would detour to run around in fear. She was the Chief Treasurer! She already had access to all the Empire's financial records. She had to or else she couldn't keep everything audited. There should be no official database she didn't have priority access for… well, except for the military databases but they were military and she did have access enough to see their financials.

But the Emperor had just said he'd given her access to more which meant… which meant?

_You idiot!_  A part of her mind berated her and Vasiliki felt understanding rush through her. She'd only ever been reporting on the public financial information. The budgets Emperor Harper released to the people. Military, health, education were the main expenses of them, as was expected. Immortalisation had its own fund but she knew, she'd noticed in the past but had known to keep quiet that there were other things not accounted for properly. Anyone who knew finances knew it but she'd learnt early that survival was greatly enhanced if you just accepted it.

The Project was one thing not accounted for. It had a place on the official budget but it… she couldn't think about that now.

She'd just been given access to the truth and that meant she could find out about everything she'd ever questioned but it also meant she'd either be getting a bullet straight through her head or she'd be on the fast track for immortalisation.

There was something in the way Emperor Harper was looking at her that made Vasiliki believe it was the later. "Yes, Your Majesty. Thank you," she managed to whisper as relief flooded through her body.

"Then get to work," the Emperor said. "It appears I have a lot of traitors to find," he added.

Vasiliki nodded, locking her knees as she rose. She wasn't sure she'd be able to stand otherwise. She took a few steps, heading towards the relative safety of the doors. The two special forces followed her but she tried to ignore them.

"Ljungbord," Harper called as she reached the door. "Good work. Very good work," he praised her. "This will be remembered."

Vasiliki nodded once to acknowledge the words before she walked out.

Good work, he said. She'd just killed them.

-cfr-

Harper continued watching the screen as the list of names continued to grow. He'd already placed a restricted travel order on Ruben Muncy and Kurtis Navarro and a full detail would be staking them both out within the hour.

He'd pull them in but he didn't want to alert their accomplices and there had to be some because neither of them were in possession of the credits. He'd checked.

Harper fought against the pain threatening to engulf him. He kept telling himself that this was not his doing but theft of the Project materials was against Shepard's orders and they didn't recognise who had done it, only that it had been done. But since he was still functioning, Harper guessed he was still expected to deal with it.

Except, while he admitted that dealing with it was important, in fact it could be argued, it had just become his most important task, he was going to need help. And that help absolutely had to be trustworthy. They had to understand the importance of the Project and could not put it in jeopardy.

He'd also need administrative help because already he could foresee this taking out a large section of the government but if whoever was behind this thought he was afraid of that, they'd better think again. He'd wipe out the entire administrative arm of the government if it came to that.

And as for the Underworld… there would be some involved but they would not be the perpetrators. Kai wouldn't allow that. Still, if any of those involved survived it would be because they were in holes so deep they could speak to their ancestors of the purge of 792.

The easiest way would be to have Williams' military take care of the administration if it was proven they weren't involved but from what he could see from Ljungborg's report, it was mostly corporate and Imperial administration involved. He pushed a preliminary report towards her, marked high priority. It would open itself on her screen as soon as she looked at one, which meant she would read it. There were probably a few military vessels involved and once found, Harper imagined that Williams would execute them personally.

Maybe he should just declare martial law?

He shook his head. Not yet, though there probably would be a few systems subjected to that before he was through. But having the military stand in for the administration meant that Williams would be busy and unable to help much more as she'd also need to watch the borders. No doubt the Fedochi would think this was a great opportunity…

Unless they were behind it?

Harper narrowed his eyes thinking. No… he did not think they were behind it. Muncy and Navarro had both been chosen, just the same as Ljungborg because they were loyal to Humanity but apparently their greed had overcome that.

Why hadn't Lawson, or any of the other Ascended workers noticed? The thought was fleeting. By the time the materials reached the Underworld system, they'd been verified, checked and paid for. They were ready for use. And with the quantities that had been removed, while they represented a significant fiscal investment, they were only a small portion of the Project's resources. Lawson and the others would help but he'd need still more assistance, which left him with only one choice.

The Ascended. He could trust them not to betray the Project.

"Hold my calls," he flicked the intercom to one of his PAs, trusting that they'd obey before he reached out, tapping through several security walls to initiate a comm link with the Ascended in Dorado. He would have called Cerberus but lately, some of the Ascended had been saying they were bored. This would give them something to do beyond patrolling or eezo production.

"Emperor," Harper didn't recognise the choral voice but with at least 400 of the Empire's 1340 Ascended in the Dorado system, that was not surprising.

Each planet had three Ascended over them, there were about 400 on patrol and another 100 or so in the Underworld system guarding the Project. The rest were involved in eezo production though once the quota was met they were free to move to other duties.

Harper waited for the ident details to come through. The speaker was Warren. He didn't know the name but was pleased it was not Cannaman. Despite Williams' assurances, his assurances and assurances from all the rebuilt Milky Way Ascended, that particular Ascended still did not believe in Shepard! Not even as a historical figure, which made absolutely no sense since Cannaman had no problems in believing in Asari or Turians.

But s/he, Cannaman was still genderless, refused to acknowledge Shepard as anything more than a fiction.

"Warren," Harper replied in greeting.

"You wish something?"

The Ascended were always polite, but they could be abrupt. They recognised that he was also Ascended but they did not like speaking to his organic form. It was too limited but not liking did not translate into not doing it.

"There is an issue with the Empire's administration," Harper began explaining. "A group has been caught embezzling from the Project."

"So execute them, Emperor," Warren returned and while Harper appreciated the answer he knew it was too easy. It ignored the issues that would cause the Empire.

"They will die," Harper assured Warren. "But in order to ensure that no guilty party escapes, I will need the help of the Ascended," he explained.

Removed as they were, Ascended were above the day to day running of the Empire, they often overlooked the mundane organic details.

"Will you or others assist?" Harper asked. He'd learnt very early never to order an Ascended unless he was in Cerberus' Prime position and Harper well understood. He would not have taken orders from an organic even if they were an avatar and on the slow days he wondered if he'd ever have to take orders from an organic Shepard.

"No," Warren replied and for a moment Harper thought he'd misheard but then reality caught up and he knew what Warren had said.

"May I ask why?" Harper managed to keep his voice civil despite the renewed headache that pounded through his skull.

Did the other Ascended think he was faking the pain of absolute orders?

"A loss to the Project is of no concern to me. It has no value to the Empire," Warren explained. "In fact the diversion of resources will act to rejuvenate the Empire by providing financial stimulus."

"So you will not assist?" Harper barely kept from growling.

"I have no reason to. Though we will ensure nothing damages the Empire," the Ascended added.

"The Fedochi?" Harper asked.

"Yes, we will ensure their attacks are unsuccessful."

Through the pain, Harper was forced to admit that was at least something. If the Ascended picked up their Patrols, it would be one less concern for Williams. But she sure as hell would be explaining this! The Ascended were meant to be more under control!

And Warren's answer still left him needing assistance. Harper bit his lip before forcing himself to answer. "Your assistance in ensuring border security would be appreciated."

"But you wonder why I will not, we will not go further?" Warren asked.

Harper sighed. It was useless to lie to an Ascended and while he might be organic now, Ascended did not lie to Ascended. "Yes," he replied simply.

"The Empire is for the benefit of all Humans," Warren explained. "The Project is to the benefit of none, not even us Ascended. It is an esoteric thing to supposedly deal with an obsolete being."

Harper felt his mouth twitch at the description of the Catalyst but he couldn't help but wonder how the Ascended would feel if they met the Catalyst, or Harbinger, or even Shepard! But they hadn't and that was the difference between the LMC and Milky Way Ascended.

Those who had come from the Milky Way, even Legacy and Instinct knew what an absolute order meant. They knew what it felt like and how, no matter how ridiculous or troublesome, the orders had to be obeyed. In the case of the Project, it helped that he agreed with Shepard's orders and that he had been given free reign as to how to fulfil the orders, but it did not change the fact that he had to obey, and this embezzling would hurt him until the problem was dealt with. That's why even though Harper was amused by the reference to the Catalyst he shook his head.

"One day, Warren, you will learn what an absolute order means, and you will know how this pains me. And on the day that you know it, you will obey," Harper finished.

"We will see, Emperor," Warren replied, and by mutual agreement, the comm link was shut and the security protocols closed again.

Harper winced, shaking his head slightly. Williams had a lot of explaining to do and he still needed help but if he could not call upon the Ascended fleet, even if they had agreed to the extra patrols, who could he call upon? There was just not enough hours in the day for him to do this all himself. But who else would be as thorough as an Ascended in chasing down those who were stealing from the Project? Those who were disobeying Shepard?

Harper almost laughed. When he put it like that, the answer was rather easy.

Kai Leng.

It was still true, if you wanted a job done right, you had to do it yourself.

Harper froze, jerking upwards when he realised what he'd thought. His bodyguards tensed but he paid them no mind and made no move to signal they should relax. He can't have just thought that! He couldn't have!

Since when did he think of Kai as part of him?

Harper closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to bring calm. He did not need to be dealing with such thoughts now. Sure, he was meant to think of Kai as himself. They were meant to homogenise into one being but neither of them spent enough time in Cerberus for that to be a risk and Lawson had a strict rotation for all the Ascended. It was up to them to see it fulfilled and Harper knew most were. Some weren't but that was a deliberate decision on their part and he could make no judgements.

Legacy and Instinct, in the years they were growing up, were two of the most homogenised but considering their relative youth, that was not surprising. Most of the children who were Ascended would not truly have been old enough to be very self aware and to have much of an identity to cling to and for them, it may indeed be a comfort to have a greater identity to merge into.

But the others, himself included were doing all they could to hold off homogenisation.

Harper took another breath. He didn't think of Williams as himself, so why Kai? Or was it simply the fact that on some level, he still thought of the assassin as one of Cerberus' agents, so someone he could order freely?

He was over thinking this, Harper berated himself. If Kai was truly him then he would never have admitted to the weakness of needing help. Besides the former assassin would take this theft as a personal insult.

He might even kill Ljungborg for failing to detect it sooner but Harper knew, without even thinking about it, that her death was a risk he was prepared to take. It would be more troublesome if Cerberus' assassin decided to kill him. Now that was something that bore much more thinking about.

Of course, he'd return but Leng was going to be very angry about this and all too easily Harper could envisage the assassin killing him multiple times. Hell, on this Williams might even help!

Though maybe there was a way to avoid that sort of unpleasantness. After all, he was dealing with the issue now, the very day it had been brought to his attention. If he called Kai and told the assassin that he didn't trust anyone else to properly deal with the issue, that should grant some leniency, or Kai might even forgo killing him if he made the case strong enough.

For all that he claimed to be above basic triggers, Kai was just as susceptible to manipulation as any Human. You just had to know which buttons to push. After more than 1200 years, Harper was confident he knew how to get the results he needed.

Which just left the mundane task of tracking down the other original.

Thankfully he had a solution to that. Williams had insisted upon having active GPS in each original's implants. Actually she'd insisted upon it for him in the wake of the shuttle explosion and while the Ganges Ballet incident illustrated that the signal could be blocked, the concept was sound. All originals had them now when they took organic form, even Kai though he had not yet noticed it and out of respect, Harper forbade Williams from using the assassin's implants to track and then arrest him.

Kai was far too useful in the Underworld but he was needed here now.

Access to the tracking system required you to be in Cerberus or one of three organic bodies. Himself, Lawson and Williams. It was predictable but it made the system secure.

Before he pulled up the tracking system, Harper opened a file he had instructed Cerberus to make. He now kept minimal tabs on the assassin, logging when he returned and when he left their Ascended form.

Now that was interesting. Kai had been down for about 23 years which was a longer period for him. That should mean he was fairly well ranked, which further reduced the chances of the Underworld being involved in a significant manner. Now, what other information was there? Kai's current name was Porfirio Soto.

Harper frowned. He'd heard that name and not in relation to Kai. The sneaky bastard!

He closed the file. There was nothing else of interest there, save Kai's history of many rebirths. There were periods when the assassin chewed through bodies but that was a risk with the industry he'd chosen.

Harper logged into the tracking system and activated the search function. He grinned when Kai appeared to be on Home. That was convenient.

The location correlated with a private address in a rather well to do residential zone. All citizens of the Empire were equal but hard work did have its rewards, except Harper knew Kai's current location was not gained through serving the Empire. Still, he sighed, even knowing that there was some evasion of law going on, in this case, most likely some of the inheritance laws, he could not expect Kai to hand in everyone and the assassin wouldn't care about those laws. After all, they were made by him.

Fighting back another wave of pain, it appeared Shepard was getting impatient, Harper tapped the controls, overriding the locational security to open a comm line. He hadn't missed the way Williams was observing his system so she would be ready.

"It's all in the sales pitch," he told himself again as he waited for the screen to resolve. Kai would help, because an insult to the Project was an insult to Shepard and the assassin would not allow that.

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Residence of the Grand Head of the Underworld (The chief of organised crime)**

So far, it had been a perfectly normal meeting, Lowell thought.

The thirteen Heads of Heads had gathered to meet the Grand Head and discuss their business plans for the next few years. It was all perfectly normal and Lowell realised it was a very good play from his adoptive father, Porfirio Soto. It allowed him to check up on all the Heads of Heads. It promoted a sense of unity. It kept them loyal.

It was a practice he would continue when he took over. If he took over, he reminded himself. Despite adoption Porfirio would only endorse him if he truly felt he was worthy, which was the way it had been for Porfirio. His children, adoptive or otherwise would be trained to take the position. They would be his blood, Lowell decided. He doubted he'd have as much luck as Porfirio had with finding as perfect a fit like him. His children would have to be worthy, but he would raise them to be.

The meeting was coming to an end when the far wall view screen activated, cycling through security protocols as it linked into someone's secure comm.

"I wasn't expecting a call," his father's tone had been casual but carried the unspoken demand that those responsible come forward and Lowell watched as the Heads of Heads looked at each other in confusion.

They seemed sincere enough but before he could consider it further the image resolved as the connection was made.

Lowell felt his eyes widen and he wasn't the only one when he saw who it was. What the hell was the Emperor doing calling them? This was a meeting of the Underworld bosses! Harper would execute every one of them if his security forces got a hold of them. Was this a prelude to a raid?

Except none of the alarms had sounded and they did when the local police did so much as a drive by! This shouldn't be happening!

The Emperor didn't look pleased either. His eyes were tense, as if he was in pain. Had he been trying to call someone else? Except while he looked peaked, he didn't look surprised.

"Kai, I need you to come in," Emperor Harper said firmly, his glowing eyes looking around.

Really, was there anything more archaic? Eye enhancements hadn't given that effect for centuries but the Emperor persisted. Why was the Emperor there and who the hell was he talking to? All of the Heads of Heads looked confused while his father merely looked amused.

Did he know what was going on or was he simply applying one of his lessons. That you should always appear in control and confident, even when you weren't.

Alright, Lowell thought. He could do that too and he took a deliberate step forward to stand beside his father's chair.

"There is no Kai here, Emperor," he announced, glaring up at the man, who didn't even flick his glowing eyes in his direction.

"Shut up child, I am speaking to your better," the Emperor said. "There has been an incident, and you are one of the few people I trust with the expertise to ensure it is resolved properly and permanently."

There was a cold note in the Emperor's voice at the last word, one they all recognised. It spoke of very long and painful deaths.

"There is no Kai here!" Zula Mercier, Head of Heads for the Crick Sector growled at the Emperor.

Harper reacted by raising one eyebrow and in that simple gesture there was a myriad of emotion, contempt chief amongst them but the Emperor was clearly questioning their collective intelligence.

"Be silent."

Lowell almost rejoiced when his father spoke softly.

"He's speaking to me."

The world seemed to collapse around Lowell and he knew he was not the only one. Lowell stumbled away from his father as the amused facade faded to leave Porfirio staring up at the image of Harper, his eyes sharp and dangerous.

"You can't be!" Zula objected.

"I assure you, I am," Porfirio replied but didn't turn to look at the woman.

Lowell recalled that Zula had been close to his father.

"I had your entire life researched!" Zula said and a few of the other Heads nodded.

When Porfirio had been selected as the new Grand Head he'd had to survive his apprenticeship and the easiest way of killing someone was to know them. Even after he'd been confirmed as the Grand Head, the research wouldn't have stopped because manipulation could be just as important. It was one of the first lessons Porfirio had ever taught him.

Know yourself so as to recognise your own weaknesses and once you knew yourself, figure out ways to ensure no one else got to know that information. It still amused him that Harris, the son of the Head of Njord Sector still thought they'd attended the same school. Even though they should have been in the same level, Harris just thought he'd been quiet and that weakness was one Lowell had intended to exploit but now… Everything had changed.

"Yes, I know," Porfirio replied, still not looking away from the Emperor. "I had fun with the fabrications. Now obey the Emperor and be silent."

Zula spluttered and went for a weapon that was not there before Porfirio's security pushed her back into her chair. Lowell knew that would happen to him so he remained silent.

"What have you fucked up, Harper?" His father spat the words.

"Got the children under control?" Harper mocked but before Porfirio could reply he continued. "We've detected theft from the Project."

Porfirio stiffened and if anything his expression became even colder. "How much?"

"About 600 trillion credits."

"No, how much time do I have?" Porfirio questioned with a significant glance at the ceiling.

"About seven minutes," Harper replied. "Williams was almost in place before I asked her."

"Alright, but I want a favour," Porfirio demanded.

Lowell just watched. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what he could say.

"A favour?" the Emperor asked cautiously.

"Nothing too complicated," Porfirio assured him. "The next time  _he_  calls I want two minutes."

Harper looked thoughtful. "You aren't always here," he said finally.

"I will leave a way to contact me. When he calls, I will upload, immediately."

Harper remained silent at that and Porfirio seemed content to let the seconds tick by. "Emergency upload?" The Emperor eventually commented.

Porfirio shrugged. "Let's just say I have more practice than you." He glanced at the ceiling again, amusement clear in his tone.

"True," Harper admitted.

"I'll put it this way, Harper, if you haven't agreed by the time I get up there, I won't do it."

The Emperor sighed visibly. "Alright, but if you don't answer your summons, I am not responsible."

"Fair enough," Porfirio nodded before he turned away from the Emperor's image.

Except the comm line did not drop. Instead the Emperor leaned forward before he pushed back in his chair, a glass of whiskey now visible.

"You're not going away?" Porfirio asked pointedly.

"And miss entertainment like this?" The Emperor asked as if Porfirio, or was that Kai, was being stupid. He raised his glass and took a sip.

Porfirio sighed but did not seem overly bothered as he looked over the Head of Heads. "Well, it appears I'm going to retire sooner than expected," he said with a smile.

"You're an original?" Zula spat.

"Yes," Porfirio said calmly. "My name is Kai Leng, which means absolutely nothing to any of you."

"You serve the Empire."

"No," the newly christened Kai disagreed firmly. "I serve the Project," he added.

"We don't need a stinking original leading us!" Myles snarled.

Porfirio laughed. "I built the Underworld!" he said. "And it's only because I keep you in line that you are alive. Of course, that's not going to be true this time," he chuckled.

"What do you mean?" Lowell demanded. His mind was everywhere but mostly he hurt at the betrayal. Porfirio or Kai or whoever he was had said he'd keep no secrets but yet he had. It hurt.

"I mean in about five minutes, we are all going to be retired, though in your case Lowell, that won't actually make a difference. I imagine in a few years, you would be retired."

"I am to succeed you," Lowell objected.

"No, you weren't," Kai said, matter of factly. "You're good, Lowell but you aren't that good. You are another attempt to rid this wretched society of their reliance on nepotism, especially when dealing with inheritance. I'd nominate you to take my place and then watch as the other contenders tore you apart. And when the winner emerged, I'd adopt them, making much of the fact that training and blood mean nothing without skill and that the best person for the job should always be picked. It would have been quite entertaining."

"Oo, slapped down!" Harper laughed.

Lowell didn't hear because he was busy glaring at Porfirio.

"Does anyone have any questions while we wait?" Porfirio smiled as he looked around. Harper took another sip of whiskey.

"You don't mean that!" Lowell screamed.

"Well, of course I do," Kai said and Lowell growled, seeing red.

This was not his father! This was just an original. He snarled and jumped towards the imposter, because that's the only way he could think of him. Lowell didn't know what he intended. Pain was a part of the plan but not his pain.

The world spun and he felt pressure on his shoulder blade before it popped out. He screamed but Porfirio wasn't finished and even though his adoptive father was sitting, Lowell felt his leg lash out and he howled as his ankle went weak and he went down. He'd never defeated his father in spars, the new identity changed nothing.

"Just stay there, you've taken enough time." Porfirio dismissed him, turning back to the gathered Heads. "No questions?"

"There really isn't much that can be said, is there Kai," Gerano made it a statement. He was the oldest of the Heads and was a tough old man who had weathered a lot over his years.

"No, there isn't," Kai replied with a soft nod in his direction.

"Have I known you before?" Gerano asked.

Porfirio's eyes narrowed with thought. "You met me briefly when I was Arlie Chong," he said.

Gerano grinned. "Had you taken out too," he said.

Porfirio looked surprised for a moment before he snickered. Emperor Harper wasn't as restrained. He roared his laughter, sloshing the whiskey in his glass dangerously close to the edge.

"I always wondered about that," he said.

"Yeah, well, it was nothing personal."

"It's not now either," Porfirio agreed.

The Heads settled themselves and while most were glaring, there was nothing they could do but wait.

Lowell pulled himself upright. "I'll kill you," he hissed.

Porfirio looked over at him, eyes half closed. "No, you won't," he said and before Lowell could do anything there was a loud noise.

"Time's up," Harper said.

Lowell looked up to see the ceiling collapse in and that was the last thing he ever saw.

-cfr-

**46331 Years after Human Ascension, 1186 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC (3 years later)**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"And I've just discharged Major General Novella Beirne to serve as Solara Area's Sector Head," Williams said sourly.

She liked Novella. Good head on her shoulders and in line for another promotion. She was competent and every psych test said practically incorruptible and that's what the Empire needed now.

"Good," Harper replied.

In the wake of Treasurer Ljungborg's discovery, Kai had not been subtle but Harper hadn't wanted subtle, he'd wanted thorough and that's what he'd gotten. In some sectors, whole government branches were gone and they were slowly refilling the positions now, removing Williams' Officers from keeping the peace as martial law was rescinded..

"When does Novella start?"

"Next Thursday," Williams replied. "She has to move from Freyr."

"That's the other side of the Empire!" Harper exclaimed.

Williams stared at him flatly as if to say you were already stealing my best people, don't bitch about the time it takes to get them. And it did take time. There were no Relays here so travel between planets had to be done via old fashioned FTL. That wasn't anywhere near as fast. Thursday was making good time for Novella. "She will be well versed in the new procedures."

While Kai had been decimating entire sectors of government and complete corporations, Harper had been implementing altered accounting practices for the Project, with the final count of materials to be done by the Ascended in Underworld. If they said anything was missing, then by the Empire, those down the supply chain better know why.

Harper's lips twitched. "True," he was forced to admit, before he looked up from his data pads straight at Williams. "I think it's time we dealt with the elephant in the room," he said seriously.

"Yeah, so how much of Fedochi space do you want?" she replied.

During the unrest caused by the wholesale slaughter the Emperor was backing, there had been a few major pirate incursions. One of two of them she was fairly sure they could tie back to the Exarch or at least one of the major Dukes without too much effort, which is all the justification they'd need for Shepard's orders to launch their own incursions.

And Williams knew who was the stronger race.

"Not that," Harper waved one hand, sounding vaguely annoyed. "You stopped all of them before they could do damage," he added. "If you want to justify that to the Empire, then I'm going to have to have bodies."

Another flat stare.

Bodies would mean she wasn't doing her job.

"No, I mean the Ascended," Harper said.

Williams frowned. "What about the Ascended?" she asked.

Harper sighed. "Do you really think Kai was my first choice for this?" he growled.

The former assassin had applied the subtlety of a brick and while that had been the intention, Harper hadn't meant to execute those who theoretically should have known but who genuinely didn't and he hadn't intended for their families to join them. He hadn't stopped it, and he didn't regret it, but he hadn't intended it. Kai had been thorough and no one in the Empire would be repeating it for a very long time, but he had been heavy handed.

An Ascended would have shown more restraint.

Well, that was the theory but the Ascended had point blank said no, they would not support the Project.

"Why not?" Williams questioned acidically. "He's been your first choice for other things."

Harper winced. He somewhat deserved that but he wasn't about to admit it. "I won't be distracted," Harper shook his head. "You are meant to be keeping the Ascended under control and they flat out said no! They wouldn't help to defend the Project," he returned to glaring.

Williams frowned and Harper could see her teeth worrying her lower lip. "Who'd you ask?" she enquired after her expression cleared somewhat.

"Warren."

She didn't even bother to hide her sigh. "You idiot!" she breathed and it was only because Harper's bodyguards were very well trained that they did not react to the insult but Williams would be going through security at least three times before she got to see Harper next time. "Next to Cannaman, Warren is one of the worst and I've told you that," she said.

"No, you haven't," Harper snapped.

"Yes, I have," Williams insisted. "If you actually read my reports, instead of waiting for upload to absorb the military information, you would have known that."

Harper glared. "I read your reports," he growled. The fact that he hadn't remembered Warren went unsaid.

"Then you should have known," Williams replied, her tone clearly dismissing the matter.

"It shouldn't have happened," Harper said, no willing to let the matter drop.

"I know that," Williams told him and while she was agreeing she wasn't giving ground. "But I cannot just make them believe," she continued. "Unless you've got some method I haven't tried?" Sarcasm laced her tone.

She had tried everything and just like you could make a flesh and blood Human say they believed something, you could not truly make them believe it. Both Williams and Harper agreed that they did not want the Ascended merely acting as if they believed, though it looked like Harper might be weakening on that stance.

"So how many are there?" Harper asked, resigned.

Williams sighed. "There's a core group of about ten now. They are the most rabid. They will go on patrol, they will kill Fedochi and participate in limited training exercises. They'll even help with the Attori. They will make some eezo, but not too much. Enough for the Empire, not for the Project. Basically they will support the Empire. They will not support the Project."

Harper nodded. "And how many are not as rabid?"

She thought about it. "Probably about two to three hundred. Some waver but equally some who were doubtful have believed Legacy and Instinct. Look, most of the Fleet believe Shepard was a historical figure. They'll even go so far as to say he might have been Ascended, but that's as far as they'll go."

"And let me guess, those who support us would like some proof?" Harper asked, his voice clearly annoyed.

"It wouldn't go astray," Williams admitted. "All the Milky Way Ascended will work on the Project and they alone will make it happen if that's what it takes."

"Unless the others stop them," Harper replied sourly.

"They won't do that," Williams said. "Ascended can't fire on Ascended. They won't agree but they won't stop it."

"Do you have any idea how long that would take?" Harper demanded, envisaging that future. If none of the LMC Ascended supported the Project it wouldn't matter how many unAscended he killed, the resources would not get there and while the Milky Way Ascended could mine, that would take… He didn't want to think about it. It would take longer than 2000 years, and Cerberus wouldn't be active because he would have disobeyed which meant he'd better hope Shepard called back.

Which was the easiest solution to keeping the LMC Ascended in line. "When did Shepard say he'd call back?"

"He didn't," Williams said wryly. "It's been over 550 years though, so hopefully soon, if nothing went wrong."

Harper nodded. That was the reality he could not change, though he thought if something had gone catastrophically wrong such as Harbinger catching Shepard, then the First Human Ascended would send a signal, even as he died. Shepard was soldier enough to do that.

Of course, if that happened it would be Cerberus' death as well but it would give him time to plan and to scatter the other Milky Way Ascended so they could try again. And if there was a signal, the LMC Ascended would likely believe as well but Harper was wise enough to conclude that at least some of them would follow Harbinger.

The fact that there was no signal was a good thing. Something might have gone wrong but it wasn't catastrophic. It just prevented Shepard from checking in and really, Shepard providing additional support was a luxury Harper couldn't rely on but he could hope.

"He'll call," Harper said. "But not to my time table."

Williams actually looked amused. "Just don't demand that he help," she said.

He glared at her. "I know what I'm doing," Harper snapped.

"You know how to give orders but you don't know how to take them," she replied sweetly. "And don't you deny it. You are only doing the Project because you agree-"

"I have no fucking choice!"

"And  _that_ ," Williams said. "But if we didn't have to obey, you would have been against it."

"Williams, the failsafes mean I am against it," Harper said, pointing out the major contradiction of their Ascended being.

Ashley waved one hand. "Ignoring them. You would have been stubborn," she said. "On principle."

"Well of course! I don't obey other people's orders! I give them!" Harper growled.

Williams grinned and let the matter drop, her point made.

"So what do I do in the meantime?"

"There's nothing we can do," she shrugged. "We keep working at the Project, and I keep assigning them Empire benefiting tasks until Shepard calls."

Jack nodded reluctantly. He didn't like it but the Ascended could not be forced, not without the power to give absolute orders and if Ashley was confident they couldn't get in the way, then that would have to be enough.

For now.

**-cfr-**


	62. Auspicious Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fedochi are jostling for position and for the Attori, independence is over, though most embrace the lack whole heartedly. A few though, fight back but when you are the minority, against two species, then you are pretty much doomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 61: Auspicious Events**

-cfr-

**46315 Years after Human Ascension, 1260 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Fedochi Protectorate**

"So it's confirmed?" Duke Huseyn said, sending a long puff of smoke into the air. It lingered briefly before a slight breeze picked up, dissipating the smoke while pushing it towards his ornamental viewing garden.

"Yes," Vuqar replied. He was lounging in a divan, enjoying tiny morsels of exquisitely prepared fruit which were being handed to him by one of Huseyn's more comely servants.

It was a mixed selection. Fedochi and Human foods because Huseyn was honest enough to admit they had some decent food stuffs. He wasn't even being that badly overcharged for them which meant he made a considerable profit when he on sold them in the Protectorate.

Apparently, Emperor Harper considered food a basic right so the Human state produced much of their consumables. Some luxury items were grown or produced by private companies, though Huseyn had his doubts about exactly how private their management was, but even they sold to him reasonably cheaply. They had to if they wanted the Protectorate market because only he, and through him, his agents, were authorised to trade alien foodstuffs in the Protectorate.

"So when will I start calling up my troops?" Huseyn asked.

"I'm not sure," Vuqar replied. "Ilkin hasn't giving any indication."

"I suppose he'll probably want more details," Huseyn murmured.

"They can't possibly be like the Attori!" Vuqar replied, his voice frustrated and Huseyn chuckled. Most had thought the Attori had been a species ripe for the picking, a challenge because of their size but one well worth the effort, until the full import of the Phoenix Empire became known.

At first, they seemed like a trading partner, one with a rather grand name but discreet and some not so discreet enquiries gave a very different view of the Phoenix Empire.

"Don't get me started!" Vuqar growled. He'd been one of the Dukes left backpedalling when the estimates of the Phoenix Empire's military had come in. "Harper's practically taken them over now but I don't understand why he took so long!"

Huseyn considered the question.

Five hundred years ago, no Fedochi would have even dreamed that the Protectorate would have stable, well… relatively stable borders with two other alien species but they had and that was mostly, fully, Huseyn corrected himself, due to the Humans.

"I think," he said slowly, still forming the conclusion. "This might have been what Harper planned from the beginning."

"I doubt it," Vuqar replied, dismissing the possibility. "I admit the Humans have a unique way of cheating death but compared to us, they are short lived and you know as well as I do, that short lived species just aren't psychologically equipped to truly plan for the long term. Harper wouldn't have been able to envisage such a plan."

Huseyn sighed but didn't concede the entire point. "Harper has lived for a very long time and the Humans are adaptable." He'd been surprised once in his dealings with them, when the former CEO of a company had continued negotiations, after their death!

"So you are saying that practice has given Harper the ability to plan?" Vuqar snorted a burst of laughter. "Not likely. He's relying on luck and inertia and eventually it will blow up in his face. "

"I'll grant, I doubt what has happened was Harper's exact plan but I do believe he intended to dominate the Attori."

"So you're saying we interrupted his plans for conquest?" Vuqar scoffed.

"Possibly," Huseyn replied, taking another drag on his smoking pipe.

"No. they would have given us different signals and we would have split the territory," Vuqar said. The Humans had been confusing - so strong militarily but so willing to embrace a peaceful alternative.

"Well, the final result is Harper's win," Huseyn reminded his fellow Duke, because no matter how you looked at it, the Phoenix Empire owned the Attori.

"I know and it still makes no sense!" Vuqar complained.

"So you think we should have taken them on?" Huseyn was surprised. Vuqar knew what the initial reports about the Phoenix Empire said. They may not have had as many systems but those systems they did have were all advanced, capable of becoming well-honed machines if war broke out and recently that had only continued. There were reports of Human ground weapons becoming even more dangerous.

"I think we should have pushed harder for that system they call Njord."

"By the time we got the reports back, Harper already had 20 dreadnoughts there."

"Then we should have taken Joalara instead! We just… what's that Human expression? Rolled over." Vuqar was frustrated.

Huseyn sighed. He agreed. He truly did but to this day they still did not know how the Phoenix Empire had wiped out their colonies without a trace! And by the time of the Njord incident, the Humans had matched the Protectorate for size, with every system, even the new ones, being well developed. When Harper told his Empire to build, they truly knew how to do it.

"You know, my youngest son, Susilo described the Humans the best," Huseyn mused.

"Oh, what did he say?" Vuqar seemed genuinely interested but then they were considering marrying one of his daughters to Susilo. If that happened it wouldn't be for years. Still, it was never too early to consider the attributes of the potential groom, even if for now, it was just a thought.

"The Humans are, when you get right down to it, big and scary and if provoked, they aren't afraid to use that big and scary," Huseyn relayed the words. Susilo was only five so he had translated some words. He'd been rather pleased with the analysis, even if it wasn't the most comforting.

"True," Vuqar said reluctantly. "We probably should have continued raiding them. At least until we figured out what was happening."

Huseyn stared. Vuqar couldn't have meant that. The raiding ships had disappeared! Just like the colonies and the Humans had to have figured out that the Protectorate was sponsoring the 'pirates'. But what he'd never been able to determine is why they had never complained. While he knew the Protectorate had been careful about hiding the truth, he was equally certain they couldn't have been that careful and all the bloody pirates were Fedochi. How obvious could they have been? And even if you had no proof with that many captured, at least some would have agreed to say anything. So many truths could have been fabricated. Once the war began, the truth would have gone out the airlock anyway.

The fact that the Humans hadn't done anything like that was just one more reason why Huseyn believed Harper had wanted to take over the Attori this way because with the Humans patrolling close to eighty percent of Attori space it was ridiculous to think of them as independent.

Or maybe the Human Emperor really just didn't care?

"Maybe but what is done is done and we are now stuck with the Phoenix Empire."

Vuqar sighed. "Just so long as this new race isn't similar," he said finally.

"To who? The Attori or the Phoenix Empire?" Huseyn teased.

"To either! Though I suppose an Attori like species without the Phoenix Empire would be nice," he added.

"So they aren't going to encounter the Humans?" Huseyn asked.

"No, not unless they stretch all the way back around the spiral," he said, gesturing with his hands to indicate the relative position of this new species in relation to the Humans.

"Well, that's something at least," Huseyn soothed.

"Yes, they won't interfere," Vuqar replied happily.

"They might if we overextend," Huseyn warned.

Vuqar waved one hand to dismiss the concern. "If we conquer them, the Phoenix Empire won't even know. We'll just tell them we found some new race that we've brought into the Protectorate. Nothing unusual there and once they are a part of our territory, well, Harper's not going to complain about our internal affairs." Unspoken was the comment that there was a lot to question about the Human affairs but Huseyn thought if Harper truly wanted he wouldn't care about that, he'd just invade.

"So we aren't going to tell them until after?" Huseyn was disapproving.

"Oh, Exarch Ilkin will tell the Humans about this new species, then point out how far away they are from the Phoenix Empire and everything will then be forgotten and the next time the Humans hear about these Ullator will be when we announce that they are joining the Protectorate. Trust me, Harper won't even care."

-cfr-

Harper waved one hand, freezing the vid. Vuqar was right. He didn't care. "Is there much more of this?" He asked Williams.

"Not unless you are interested in who is about to marry who, thus cementing alliances," she replied.

Harper rolled his eyes. Of course, internal politics of the Fedochi were important but not right now. "I think I can live without knowing that," he murmured. "But see what Intel makes of it."

Williams rolled her eyes at that. "It's the usual crap," she said, dismissing it. "The usual alliances are strengthening themselves. Ilkin's managing it very well."

"He wouldn't have kept his throne if he didn't have some skills." Harper was wise enough to admit it, though his mind was occupied with the thought of Duke Huseyn. He showed entirely too much insight but while it would be possible, if a little tricky, to have him taken out, there was a bigger issue. "How long until we take over all Attori patrols?"

Williams grinned. "Twenty years, tops," she replied immediately. "The only border area we aren't patrolling for them is their one with us. And while we patrol the majority of the trade lanes, they are keeping their own ships over Atto and provide their own ground security."

Harper nodded, feeling quite pleased. The plan had been to make the Attori completely dependent on them financially and that had happened. The Fedochi had given them the opportunity to make the Attori dependent militarily. It was, in every sense of the word, a coup. A nice, bloodless invasion but he couldn't take the last part too fast, or they'd object. Or at least the older Attori would, those who remembered 'the good old days'.

"I'll leave it another ten to fifteen years after you become the Attori military before I put it to their government that they should become," Harper coughed, recognising the irony of the next words, "a protectorate."

Williams looked thoughtful. "Wait five," she offered a counter suggestion. "Let them debate the idea for a couple of years because while the reality is that we already control them, we've been gentle and haven't rammed it down their throats."

"I don't intend to start now," he said, even if it was tempting. But the slow route had avoided having the entire Attori nation against them. Most welcomed Human patrols but there were a few rabidly against them. They resented the Human takeover but they couldn't offer viable alternatives.

Harper had never laughed as hard as the time when he'd listened to one of those fringe Attori politicians suggest that they ask the Fedochi to take over border security. While he might have been amused, the Attori were enraged and it had taken less than three weeks for the guy to get thrown out of office. The paperwork had literally flown through the system.

"I'll wait another forty to sixty years before getting them to join officially," Harper added.

Williams nodded, her eyes showing that she understood it would give time for the older generations to die off. "It will give me time to work out the rules."

"Yes," Harper agreed. "They may keep their ground security, and a few military ships but that will be all," he concluded, raising his glass, of water, to Williams to indicate it was a job well done.

"So no invasion?" she asked, raising one eyebrow over her teacup.

Harper smiled. "No, not even with this," he said, gesturing to the still frozen vid. "What are our assessments of this new race?"

Williams shook her head. "We don't have one yet, but if Ilkin is waiting there's probably something."

Harper nodded, taking a deep breath as he thought. The motion and the pause only served to highlight the oddity of the situation. Williams was not head of Intel and she'd always displayed a vague dislike for the practice. Even before she had dismissed what Intel would gain from analysing the convo. There was something going on, and it was beyond time he knew what.

"Williams?"

"Yes?"

"You got that video didn't you?" Harper asked, the frown evident in his tone.

"Yes," she replied, wondering what he was leading to. By now, the dint of time meant they usually knew what the other wanted, especially on routine things.

"I thought you hated espionage."

"I do," she said.

"But?" The word indicated that it could not have been easy to get that vid file.

"Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I can't do it, and I did learn from the best," she returned, dismissing the matter.

But Harper wasn't willing to let it drop. There were any number of anomalies that were beginning to become clear now, but not everything. "I suppose I can take that as a compliment," he said.

"What compliment?" Williams' frown was audible.

"You learned from the best," Harper stated.

"You?" she scoffed incredulously. "I learned from Shepard, Harper, not you. The only real thing I've learned off you is how to stab someone in the back."

"Shepard?" Harper didn't believe her. The grunt was well… a grunt. He had no skills in information retrieval.

"The best, Harper. The best. And we'll leave it at that," Williams said firmly.

"So if you are apparently so good, why do you hate it?" Jack asked.

Williams just stared at him, wordlessly asking if he was for real. "Because it's too fucking easy!" she exclaimed. "All I need to do to keep the Attori under control is invite a couple of junior officers to the Phoenix Empire on some exchange program every couple of years and from then on they are begging to do what I want. Why do you think it's been so easy for us to take over so many of the Attori's military duties?

"The Fedochi are even easier! With their life spans, I don't even need to keep inviting them. One little visit and I have spies for fucking centuries!"

Harper stared, stunned. This was a side of Williams he had never seen, one he had no idea existed. It was a way of controlling spies he should already be employing. No wonder she had this vid already! His spy would probably report next week. It was vaguely embarrassing but as Harper thought, he realised that while indoctrination of spies would be useful, he had no way of getting them into an Ascended. Not like Williams did and he wasn't going to send them Ascended tech. True, if they were discovered, the tech would just indoctrinate more spies but it involved giving away tech and he was not about to do that.

"So how long before you have spies in this new race?" Harper asked.

"Years, probably," Williams replied. "You heard the Duke, our territories aren't going to intersect so I imagine the first Ullator we see will either be at some official function or a tourist… if they even have that sort of thing. Information will be useful now but the Fedochi will act as a buffer."

"Unless they invade," Harper mused.

"They aren't going to invade," Williams said firmly. "The Fedochi have invested too much in attacking the Attori."

"It has been a constant drain for them," Harper admitted.

"And a great testing ground for us! The Fedochi's little raids have been invaluable in field testing the Skatra's tech."

Harper nodded. The Skatra's tech had given them a leg up but their societal tech was just that, social tech. For the most part the Phoenix Empire already had equivalents or work arounds or in some cases just had no need for the Skatra's devices but military tech, especially for ground troops, that had benefited greatly. Harper was fairly sure most of the army would be more than happy to defend the Skatra's worlds, just for the upgrade they'd been given because of them.

"So the Fedochi gain another neighbour!" Harper chuckled. "That doesn't leave them much choice in expansion," he added, bringing up a galactic map.

"It will only become our problem if they are dumb enough to invade and after four hundred years of getting their butts handed to them-"

"Ilkin is that stupid," Harper interrupted. "Well, not stupid," he amended. "Desperate. The writing is on the wall for the Attori and he's known that for a couple of years. We are just one military state but we are one he knows. If these aliens play it right, Ilkin will attack us because we are the familiar target and he knows what he's dealing with over some complete unknown."

Williams started for a moment before she nodded. "Then we will slap them down."

Harper nodded his agreement and they both knew it would be quite a bit more than merely slap down. "Well," Harper flicked his eyes back to the vid. "This is an interesting development for the Fedochi but until we have a border with the Ullator, they really aren't much of a concern." Harper shrugged, resolving to get Darren to work out which alien species these ones had been on their initial scans. He'd know their history and language before they even met and more importantly, he'd have estimates of their territory though he'd be getting that soon enough. "Let me know what else you pick up," Harper said by way of dismissal.

Williams nodded as she rose. "By the way," she said, as if a sudden thought had occurred but Harper recognised by her tone that she had always intended this. "Tell your security that the next time I have to go through the scans  _four_ -" She placed particular emphasis on the number, "-times, I will personally participate in the next inter-forces games," she concluded with a chill little smile.

His bodyguards shuddered.

The games were a competition enjoyed by the entire Empire. They were open to all 'forces' of some type. Army, navy, security, police, ambulance, fire fighters and even some citizens managed to stretch the definition. Enhancements were allowed though their type, manufacture and specs had to be declared to allow proper handicapping so there were rewards for being the winner both with and without the handicap.

Harper took a deep breath, looking at Williams who was waiting expectantly for an answer. Obviously if she entered she would decimate the field and would be targeting those members of his security forces who entered but… It was sixty years into the new century and he hadn't had a cigarette. Not even an illicit one smuggled in to him. His teeth worried his lower lip as he thought and he could feel the tension rising around him as his bodyguards waited for an answer.

Except they were somewhat torn. Even without his ciggies there was a long history of competition and petty gestures between the military and his bodyguards. Harper sniffed. "Heh, be thankful it was only four," he replied.

Williams stared for a moment before her eyes narrowed in anger and she shook her head slightly. The gesture said he'd be paying for that remark but she already knew or she should know, what would make him order his bodyguards ensure she only went through security once. She just had to let him smoke because it wasn't like it was going to kill him. When that happened, and he firmly kept it in mind as a when, she'd literally fly through security.

His office door didn't, couldn't slam but Williams sure as hell gave the impression that it did as she swept out.

"I'm not sure that was such a good idea, Sir."

"Eight hundred and seventy years since she allowed me to smoke," Harper returned. "Anything is a good idea. In fact," he turned glowing eyes towards Erin Siler. "Get more creative with reasons to delay her," he instructed.

Erin sighed but nodded, already recognising that that was the only revenge they'd ever get on the Grand Admiral.

Harper pressed the intercom. "Get me a list of every Attori who's been invited to the Empire for a military tour," he told his PA's. "And get me a list of every Fedochi who's ever done anything for the military, or even been released back to them," he added. It might have been a surprise to find the woman so deeply involved in espionage and that she was so ruthlessly efficient but if he played this right, he'd own Williams' agents.

And that had possibilities.

-cfr-

**46345 Years after Human Ascension, 1293 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Atto**

"And if you are just joining us, the ceremony is entering the final stages," Fa'era Darzi gushed, her voice excited. "Admiral Il'tay is about to hand over Aethertys, the traditional weapon of the Head of the Military."

"It has been carried since ancient times," Ollab said sombrely. "What is unknown is what the Phoenix Empire's Grand Admiral Ashley Williams will do with it."

"And doesn't she look splendid!" Fa'era broke in and if anyone had been paying attention to the commentators, rather than the visual feed, they would have noticed Ollab's frills flash the colour of annoyance before soothing. Everyone was paying attention to the ceremony.

"The red colour might be considered garish but we are assured that this is her most formal uniform. Generally the Grand Admiral wears it once a century to mark the occasion of the Phoenix Emperor's rebirth ceremony. Isn't it just wonderful?"

"There are some who don't think it wonderful," Ollab interrupted, "but protesters are being kept well back by the security forces."

"The red symbolises the fire of rebirth to the Humans and the gold trimming signifies the Grand Admiral's rank as head of the Phoenix Empire's military. Her position in the Imperial Household is denoted by the fringing on her shoulder," Fa'era continued as if Ollab had said nothing.

"And there it is!" Ollab said, again deliberately overriding Fa'era's commentary. It didn't matter what the Grand Admiral was wearing, what mattered was what she did because they were literally handing power to the Phoenix Empire. "This is a historical moment and many would say it's been coming for the last few years, ever since the Phoenix Empire took over the border patrols.

"As most of you will recall, nineteen years ago the Phoenix Empire took over all border patrols and now the Attori Republic is being officially inducted as a Protectorate area within the Phoenix Empire. During negotiations, Emperor Harper was adamant that his Empire would not take over all security for the Attori people and in symbolic recognition of that, Grand Admiral Williams has not set foot on the planet's surface. She is remaining at the bottom of her shuttle's boarding ramp."

A cut out visual appeared showing Williams' polished boots clearly at the edge of the ramp.

Fa'era made to speak but those watching would have seen Ollab jerk slightly and although Fa'era's frills flashed with pain, she remained silent.

"This means of course, that the Attori people are responsible for all security on the planet surface but the Phoenix Empire will deal with spaceborne threats.

"And Grand Admiral Williams has accepted Aethertys and is holding it carefully! The blade might be ancient, but it is still sharp."

The camera zoomed in to show Aethertys in the Human's hands. To most, it would look wrong, but the short blade was comfortable in Williams' grip. It was ancient and had been chosen from some of the best preserved weapons from the Attori's pre-space history. It was forged just after they had discovered iron and was a good example of a short dagger. The leatherwork on the hilt had been redone several times over the years, but every time, traditional methods were used.

When the shot pulled back, it showed Grand Admiral Williams speaking with Admiral Il'tay.

"Analysts are torn on their thoughts about what will happen now," Fa'era said, speaking seriously and Ollab looked slightly relieved. "There's speculation that the Human will destroy Aethertys as a symbolic gesture to highlight that the Attori Republic is now under the protection of the Phoenix Empire."

"Wait… yes!" Ollab rejoiced. "The Grand Admiral has sheathed Aethertys above her ceremonial sword. It has been speculated that such a gesture speaks well for the Attori people as it will mean the integration of our forces with the Phoenix Empire's military. The only question remaining is if Admiral Il'tay and staff will kneel.

"The motion, while not familiar for Attori will show that our military officers accept Grand Admiral Williams as their new Commander."

The screen shot panned back to show the gathered officers arrayed around Grand Admiral Williams' shuttle.

The ground security forces were also represented, off to the side. They would not kneel because they were still independent. Further back were spectators, including some protesters but they were distant enough that their voices faded into the background noise. Of course, all the speculation from every analyst, about every possible outcome was completely wrong.

Admiral Il'tay had shaken her head every time she was asked, refusing to answer because her decision was made.

Of course she was going to kneel! She should already be on her belly in the presence of her mistress but her mistress had been very firm. She was not to be overly obsequious but Il'tay could not do nothing. Even without knowing her mistress, the entire Officer Corps was thankful to the Humans because without Human patrols many more Attori would have died. Their society would have been very different if they had encountered the Fedochi without first knowing the Phoenix Empire.

Il'tay Jaina nodded to Grand Admiral Williams and without hesitation she knelt. The rest of the officer corps followed suit but Il'tay knew that they, like her, had been given similar instructions. They would honour the Grand Admiral but they all wanted to do more.

It struck Il'tay straight to her core when Grand Admiral Williams cried out and her booted feet stumbled on the walk way. The smell of blood filled the air but the cry of pain turned into a snarl of anger.

Il'tay looked up to see Grand Admiral Williams twist, her boots firm on the metal walkway. The Human made an overhand motion, throwing something before she stood upright, holding her left shoulder with her right hand.

"Got him," she said.

It should have been chaos with an attempted assassination but with Grand Admiral Williams being so calm, the Attori were also calm but Admiral Il'tay could hear the commotion in the distance and she could only imagine what the commentary was saying. Human troops had rushed forward and now surrounded Williams. They were attempting to bring her back into the shuttle but Williams was standing firm.

Admiral Jaina's frills flashed showing anger but absolute rage was closer to the truth and she struggled to control her breathing. Grand Admiral Williams bent over, ignoring the Human troops who now surrounded her.

"Calm down," the Human whispered. "I'm afraid I'm going to need you to retrieve my knife," she said that louder, tapping her foot experimentally on the metal surface. She had said she would not step foot on the planet and so far Grand Admiral Williams was keeping her word. She straightened and shifted her hand to pat near her ceremonial sword.

Admiral Il'tay realised that her mistress was no longer in possession of Aethertys. She rose, turning towards the commotion. She stalked towards it and the ranks of Attori who had been drawn up to witness the ceremony melted out of her way. There were two Attori policemen holding another wounded Attori. Aethertys was lodged in his shoulder and Admiral Il'tay wasn't surprised to see that it had been driven fully through the Attori's shoulder. Her mistress was very strong. Far stronger than any Attori would be, as was only right for a supreme being.

Il'tay glared at the perpetrator before reaching out to grasp the hilt of Aethertys. She braced herself and pulled, wrenching Aethertys out of the Attori's shoulder. Jaina ignored the cry of pain and she cradled Aethertys, ignoring the blood on it as she turned back and began walking towards Grand Admiral Williams. She would see that the idiot was dealt with suitably shortly. Despite her desire, it was too public here and she had to be far more discreet.

By the time that Admiral Il'tay returned to the Human shuttle, she was pleased to see that Grand Admiral Williams had at least submitted to the attentions of a Human medic. A thick white bandage was tied over her shoulder.

Admiral Il'tay offered the Grand Admiral Aethertys again and the Human didn't mind the blood either. Williams accepted Aethertys again, looking down at the historic weapon. She then raised it, turning to face the crowd as Admiral Il'tay knelt again.

"This weapon," Williams cried in unaccented Attor, "has once again fulfilled its duty to defend the Protectors of Atto, for even though the Phoenix Empire has taken over patrols and is now welcoming the Attori Nation as a Protectorate, we will defend the Attori Nation as our own.

"I will not, we will not shirk our duties to the Attori people. We will be fair and just protectors of Atto. We will be worthy of Aethertys," she said and Admiral Il'tay raised her head to smile and nod and while her speech would have been re-transmitted to the crowd, they appreciated it as well and cheered.

_As well they should_ , Admiral Il'tay thought, pleased that the people were finally acknowledging her mistress. All was as it should be and as Grand Admiral Williams saluted before once more sheathing Aethertys, Admiral Il'tay rose, watching with a sense of melancholy as her mistress disappeared into the Human shuttle along with her guards and then they took off.

The ceremony was done and now symbolically, as well as actually, the Phoenix Empire were the guardians of the Atto, which was how it should be.

-cfr-

**46345 Years after Human Ascension, 1293 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Cyr, Fedochi Protectorate**

"So," Exarch Ilkin met the eyes of the three Dukes he had invited to a small private dinner. "What do you think of the events in the newly established Atto Protectorate?" he asked. It was a leading question and they all recognised it as such.

"Sir," Duke Jaswinder began, "I believe the most immediate but useless thought is 'use a better gun'," he said, referring to Grand Admiral Williams being shot. The comment enticed laughs that quickly sobered. "Beyond that, it is an interesting development."

Exarch Ilkin just stared, his expression neutral before he shook his head slightly, indicating his displeasure. "Interesting is not the word I'd choose," he said softly. "Would either of you like to comment?" he invited Duke Huseyn or Wasu to say something.

Wasu flashed Jaswinder a look of contempt. "It's dangerous Sire," he said. "With the Phoenix Empire now undertaking patrols of Attori Territory there will be no gaps to exploit."

"And beyond that?" Exarch Ilkin prompted, sounding slightly pleased that at least one of his nobles understood the danger. Huseyn was nodding but that was not unexpected. Of all the Kratos, Huseyn was one of the most intelligent.

"While the Attori might believe otherwise, it is only a matter of time before the Phoenix Empire simply absorbs them."

"But they can't!" Jaswinder objected. "Why would the Attori accept Emperor Harper as their leader? Why would Emperor Harper even want Attori citizens?"

It was such an odd concept. Sure, the Fedochi Protectorate had a few non-Fedochi species but they were lesser races, uplifted to serve. The relationship between the Phoenix Empire and the Attori Republic was very different. One could not be a citizen of both.

"Why an Attori will take Emperor Harper as their leader is very simple. Because Williams just guaranteed that the frilled lizards will come to see the Humans as their protectors!" Exarch Ilkin said. "Her performance was magnificent!" he exclaimed, rewinding the news vid to let it play again.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she planted that would be assassin," the Exarch concluded looking at the moment the gunshot had hit Williams. She hadn't. The would-be assassin had been identified as Ba'jre, a well-known anti-Human activist. One of the few Attori who saw what was happening but like the others, was powerless to stop it.

"We've been so focused on Harper that we forget Williams is just as good an actress," Exarch Ilkin muttered, watching as she threw the dagger. An estimate of her enhanced strength was being calculated. He paused the image with Williams holding her injured shoulder. "There," he said," what do you think she is doing?"

"She's in pain, Sire. She is bracing her wound."

"No." Exarch Ilkin shook his head vehemently. "She's hiding the fact that the wound is already healing." He looked around again. "You've all seen Phoenix Empire Special Forces, you know how fast they heal! Williams has the same enhancements." He let the vid play again, pausing it only when it displayed the bandage. "And that is a touch of genius," Exarch Ilkin was reluctantly impressed. "The white contrasts with her uniform, thus giving a visual sign to all that the Humans have been attacked but that they will still accept the burden. The binding is tight enough to remind Williams that she needs to behave as if she is wounded, while completely hiding the reality that the only damage done was to her uniform."

Exarch Ilkin glared at Duke Jaswinder. "So no, this is not an interesting development. It's dangerous and it's something we are going to have to counter." He met their eyes once more, as if daring contradiction.

"How, Sire?" Huseyn asked softly. "The last 380 years has seen a constant drain on our resources as we sent ship after ship for what became rapidly diminishing returns. And those same years have seen the Phoenix Empire grow and develop in ways we have not yet been able to match. We can't even replicate that thing they call a flux gun, let alone block it. I agree with you Sire. In due course, the Attori will be considered Phoenix Empire citizens, or sub-citizens or something which will leave us facing an even larger Phoenix Empire alone."

"And there are still the Ullator to consider," Duke Wasu said softly.

The Fedochi Protectorate was not in a good position and no amount of careful wording could hide that. The Ullator seemed friendly enough but no one believed they wouldn't exploit a weakness if they sensed it. Tech-wise, the Ullator seemed about equal and it was a bit annoying that they were finding so many races with similar tech levels but there did seem to be some natural limits. FTL could only be so efficient and none of their experiments with other means had had any success. The Ullator might have been slightly technologically inferior but they were savvy and politically astute unlike the naïve Attori. They had reinforced their borders after First Contact but the forces remained and Ilkin vaguely wondered if that was in response to them or what they had told them of the Phoenix Empire.

"It goes against my desires," Exarch Ilkin said, "but we will secure our border with the Ullator and we will cease encouraging raids."

"So we can send some against the Ullator?" Duke Jaswinder asked. It wasn't quite as stupid as it sounded but Exarch Ilkin shook his head.

"No, so we can gather our forces. The Phoenix Empire has all but conquered the Attori and, idiots that they are, they welcomed it. They are reinstating a single allowance of capital punishment. For Ba'jre. They should be awarding him their highest honours but the Phoenix Empire has them too controlled for that. It's kind of impressive but we are the Phoenix Empire's other neighbours and they will be looking at us next, and I will not allow it!

"There is about seven of their years until Emperor Harper rebirths. That is our deadline because when they announce his ascension our ships cross the borders." Exarch Ilkin nodded to himself, pleased when the Dukes looked startled for a moment before they nodded.

"Williams' military will notice," Huseyn said gently.

"Yes, and that's the beauty of it," Wasu replied on Exarch Ilkin's behalf. "We just tell them that we are having some issues with the Ullator…" Wasu looked thoughtful. "In fact, while we are mustering we should send one or two raids into Ullator territory to capture a few. We can dress them as raiders, and if necessary the bodies can be handed over as proof of Ullator skirmishes."

"I like it," Exarch Ilkin nodded. "The Phoenix Empire won't demand them immediately, they'll reinforce their borders but when our forces don't materialise then they'll relax and demand explanations. We'll save the Ullator for then."

Exarch Ilkin tapped the controls of the vid file going back to a time when an apparently injured Williams leaned over to speak to the kneeling Admiral Il'tay. Her face was in profile and he paused, zooming in on the Human features and the soft, gentle, downright pleased smile gracing her face.

"That is the smile of a woman whose plans are coming to fruition. It is the smile of a woman who knows she will be obeyed, who knows she is superior and I have every reason to believe it was Harper's smile as well. That though, is the smile of the race who will use everything, fair means or foul, to gain an advantage and we are their next targets.

"Well, not while I'm around! And not while my line rule. I will not allow us to fall to the Phoenix Empire!" Exarch Ilkin finished dramatically.

The three Dukes ceased nibbling at the available food and they turned fully towards him, bowing their heads in recognition of his vow. The gesture offered their support and Exarch Ilkin was pleased as he fixed his eyes once again on Grand Admiral Williams' face.

"You will not win," he murmured, seeing her as the face of Humanity. "You will not win."

-cfr-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, Ilkin is beginning to see the danger, though not all the Fedochi are that intelligent. Harper won't let them have their own way… or is that Williams? Since she has the intel. Harper better think about given the Attori a treat.


	63. Skirmishes and Spies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ilkin's attack goes ahead but the outcome isn't quite what he expected. However, there were others, not from the Phoenix Empire, who were watching but watches the watcher? And eventually the Exarch does something to please Harper... though he doesn't appreciate his thanks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 62: Skirmishes and Spies**

-cfr-

**46352 Years after Human Ascension, 1300 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

Captain Yun Earley stood on the bridge of the dreadnought class Phoenix Military Ship Steadfast. Grand Admiral Williams was currently in her chair and the woman was hooked into the network, monitoring the updates. It was odd not to be there. She was so used to monitoring everything that it felt wrong to be just standing, even if she knew the Grand Admiral was more than capable of taking care of things. The woman was capable of running the entire battle, if she chose, but Yun didn't think Williams would do that. Not this time.

They and their fleet and the other fleets were a minimum of three systems into the Fedochi Protectorate and had been in position for the last few hours. Yun had questioned the legality of the deployment but watching the updates come through from the Phoenix Empire border worlds, her doubts had melted away and now she wanted nothing more than to show the arrogant Fedochi the might of the Empire.

She was not a fool, she knew there was no real issue of legality. In space, the strongest set the rules but there had been an unspoken agreement between the Fedochi and the Phoenix Empire that they did not violate each other's border. Technically, the Phoenix Empire had violated the border first but they had done nothing. Yet.

Earley's hands curled into fists, her short nails digging into the leather of her gloves as the material creaked. The cowardly Fedochi had attacked. Barely two hours after confirmation that the Emperor had Ascended, just as the celebratory parties would be going full swing, the first report had come through of Fedochi forces attacking the border system of Benovos.

It was not a pirate raid but a full attack fleet, operating under the authority of their Exarch. They'd openly displayed the colours of their Dukes.

They'd been driven back. Benovos was not helpless but then a new attack had been reported on Floria. At that point, Yun had realised that the Grand Admiral had known the attacks were imminent, which is why the fleets were already in Fedochi territory.

They were not to defend, or threaten, or deter or anything like that. Their job would be to devastate. To illustrate to Exarch Ilkin the true cost of attacking the Phoenix Empire.

For the last couple of hours, their targeting computers had been crunching observational readings. They might be thousands of kilometres distant but they had a fair idea of their target's defenses and it was fair to say they were thinner than expected. The Fedochi border systems had their normal defences but as you progressed inwards, the defences had been lessened. No doubt, those defences had been stripped for the strike on the Phoenix Empire.

It would be a costly mistake for the Fedochi.

In total, eight border systems had been attacked. Williams had just nodded as each of the reports came through. It was difficult hearing about the battles, knowing you could do nothing and Yun had expected Grand Admiral Williams to give the signal for them to surge forward but it hadn't come.

Instead, the Supreme Commander had just urged them to wait but she hadn't said for what. And now they were being told that the attacks were being driven off. Yun couldn't shake the feeling that it was now or never for any act of retaliation but still Grand Admiral Williams was holding!

What was the woman waiting for? Yun thought with exasperation. She knew the Grand Admiral could keep track of more things that she could, that's why Williams was the commander, but what else was there to possibly track? All the information was coming through the Steadfast.

"We've got dropouts from lightspeed!" Sensor tech Isidro screamed.

Yun's pulse rate spiked and her breathing quickened. The bridge crew came alive as they worked to identify the newcomers. It was only because Earley was standing behind Grand Admiral Williams that she heard the whispered word. "Finally."

"They're immortalised!" Isidro reported.

"All fleets report similar," Arla announced and Yun could see the comm screens from the rest of the fleet. Each of their fleets were now accompanied by at least fifty immortalised, though her fleet had an even hundred.

Emperor Harper's face appeared on screen and Earley jerked back. Grand Admiral Williams didn't seem surprised.

"Well?" she asked.

"I've cleared it with the boss, you're good to go," the newly Ascended Emperor replied.

The boss? Yun frowned. Who the hell had authority over the Emperor? Even if it was in jest, who would Harper refer to as his boss?

"That was quick," Williams observed.

The Emperor smirked and while the image had to be generated, the entire bridge crew could tell that Harper was pleased with himself. "Two hours of absorbing their pre-emptive attack on loop, from every angle did the trick," he said. "But you are only authorised for a retaliatory strike," Emperor Harper added.

"That's all?" Williams demanded, her voice questioning his sanity. "Of all the times for him to hold back," she muttered.

The retired Emperor just stared for a moment. "In this case, I think his diplomacy may be for the best," Harper said. "All things considered," he added, the last with particular inflections that made Williams' grimace before she nodded.

"Perhaps, all things considered, it is for the best," she agreed with the Emperor. "We'll pull back when we are done."

"Good. I'm waking up Kuoxxar," Harper said, though the name meant nothing to Yun.

Williams laughed. "I'm sure Ilkin will appreciate that," she murmured.

"I thought so," Harper said. "Now, get to it," The retired emperor added, nodding before the image vanished.

Williams rose. "Put me on speaker to all the fleets, including the immortalised," she ordered before standing on the inbuilt projection disk.

Yun nodded to herself. This was all part of the plan, she realised, as her pulse returned to normal.

"The Fedochi have been discontent for some years," Williams announced. "They did not like the formation of the Attori Protectorate. While for the Phoenix Empire, it was merely the formalisation of our duties, it took away from their pirated income. They have come to the erroneous conclusion that attacking the Phoenix Empire will make us renege on our duties.

"They do not know our strength, our resolve, but as their attacks were driven back, they've had a taste of it. Now, though, now, they will come to understand the futility of their actions. They will not know our rage, for we are not savages, who lash out blindly when hurt. They will instead know the true cost of what it means to attack our Empire. They will know the lengths to which we will go to ensure that they never attack again," Williams smiled viciously.

"All forces, you are cleared to attack! Go with attack plan Delta," she instructed before indicating that the comm should be cut.

"Us, too," she said turning towards Yun.

"Delta plan?" she asked. Delta was to take out the orbital defenses and the heaviest ground fortifications before letting the immortalised lead the ground assault. Actually, it was more than that, they were to let the immortalised conduct the entire assault.

It came as no surprise to Earley that the immortalised could fly and fight. That was known to the officer corp. They conducted military games with some of the immortalised but she had never heard of them ever fighting on the ground. Now, she'd get to watch, she'd get to know but Yun wasn't sure she wanted to. The immortalised were canny fighters in space. What would they be like on the ground?

"You'll see," Williams said.

Yun nodded. She really didn't have much choice. Williams was her commanding officer and the Emperor, retired or not, had authorised the attack and she had no grounds to object. She nodded to her XO and a moment later the bridge of the Steadfast was noisy with activity. The stars blurred and they jumped past light speed, their support ships and the fleet of immortalised going with them.

The Fedochi systems would never know what hit them.

-cfr-

**46353 Years after Human Ascension, 1301 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Ullator Homeworld: Ulan**

"I trust you won't need a further demonstration of the consequences of attacking?" Xochitl could hear the note of absolute confidence, despite the Human Emperor's drawl.

"That will not be necessary."

And she could hear the very well concealed fear in the Exarch's tone. The Phoenix Empire might be writing this incident off as a simple, if slightly extended border skirmish but anyone who could rub two thoughts together knew the Humans had won.

"I'm glad to hear it," Emperor Harper replied. "My legal teams will have the treaty documents to you within the hour," the Human continued and Xochitl found it interesting that the Human Emperor spoke Plam. It spoke well of him that the Emperor was so well educated.

"They will be signed," Exarch Ilkin returned, his voice slightly testy. "And the buffer zone will be established within one month, as agreed."

"Very good," the Human almost purred and Xochitl could well understand his glee. The buffer zone was being formed exclusively from former Fedochi territory and, while the border systems were not generally valuable, evacuating this buffer zone would leave the surrounding systems flooded with refugees.

Though word was that the Humans had done their very best to depopulate the planets they had attacked. The Fedochi Protectorate was clamping down on the information but it was no secret that the Humans had swept away the space defences and had pounded the planets before landing troops. Some estimates said at least seventy percent had been killed but Xochitl was more inclined to only go as high as forty with further wounded.

"I will also be expecting to hear your retirement announcement," Emperor Harper pushed the issue.

"It will be a long transition," Exarch Ilkin said, "but in light of events, it is best for my son to take up the mantle."

Emperor Harper laughed. It was a coarse noise. "Don't bullshit me, Exarch. I told you the first time we talked, direct communication reduces misunderstandings. You do not need political speak with me."

The Human statement hung in silence for a few moments and Xochitl could see that Exarch Ilkin was offended but the Fedochi eventually nodded.

"Fine," he snarled. "I will be retiring so that the House of Bandiophadiae maintains our grip on the throne and so that you will return the noble hostages you have taken."

"We didn't take them," Harper objected but Xochitl could tell he was merely laughing. "You sent them," he told the Exarch, "but they will be returned in the same condition they were taken."

"Unharmed," Exarch Ilkin insisted firmly.

"The same condition they were taken," Harper repeated. "I'm not about to lie and say they were all uninjured when we blew their ships out of the sky but we will not have added additional injuries and with care they should all recover. The ones we told you are alive, anyway," Harper concluded.

Xochitl felt a stir of admiration for the Human. He was intelligent and he knew how to play the game. It was a bit hard to tell with the Fedochi filtering the files they had but everything they learned just highlighted how dangerous this Phoenix Empire was.

"Just go away, Harper," Exarch Ilkin said tiredly.

He would rule from behind his son for a while but the Fedochi was defeated. It had been a masterful play by the Phoenix Empire. First, the absorption of another race, then his handling of the Fedochi. The Phoenix Empire had let the Fedochi attack after having positioned additional forces at the attack sites. And then, while the Fedochi were reeling from having been driven back from targets they should have taken, they got word of attacks from within their Protectorate. Not on the relatively heavily armed border systems but other worlds, two to three systems deep into the Protectorate. Emperor Harper's forces had just been waiting for the signal to attack and just like that, the Fedochi knew they were beaten. It was a gutsy move, stationing multiple fleets within enemy territory, but it said louder than any intel report that the Phoenix Empire's intelligence knew the Fedochi intentions all along and they had their counter attacks in place. It was a move that showed Emperor Harper was not afraid to go to war if that's what it was going to take.

Unsurprisingly, the Fedochi sued for peace almost immediately. Surprisingly, the Phoenix Empire had accepted. Xochitl could see no reason for Harper to not have pushed his advantage and claimed even more territory. But he hadn't. So what was she missing?

"No," Emperor Harper's voice said, "Because there's one more thing we need to discuss."

"You have your treaty, you have the planets and you even have the Attori. What more do you want?" Exarch Ilkin demanded.

Emperor Harper's face was neutral but he sighed as he answered the question. "As a sign of good will, and to show that the Phoenix Empire truly harbours no grudge against the Fedochi Protectorate, I am willing to offer you terms on the purchase of eezo," the Emperor explained patiently. "It will also help your people recover after this unfortunate incident."

Xochitl shook her head. Now who was using political speak? But she noticed immediately that Exarch Ilkin did not dismiss the idea.

"The same rates as the Attori?" the Fedochi leader asked cautiously.

Emperor Harper thought for a moment. "I think we can manage that," he replied.

"Then I'll have my people draw up an agreement," Exarch Ilkin said, his voice still cold towards the Human.

"Then we can put this business behind us," Emperor Harper responded.

With a final parting nod at the Human Emperor, Exarch Ilkin cut the comm and the file stopped playing after giving one last look at the Fedochi leader.

Xochitl narrowed her eyes, looking at the screen. "How did we get this?" she asked.

"It's genuine," Zystos replied. "We've checked the authenticity and it all comes up positive. Plus, what they discussed is what their species are doing so if this isn't real, it's the best acted recreation we've ever seen."

"That wasn't what I asked," Xochitl said. "How did we get this?" she repeated the question.

"Sub-agent Xavia got it, via our agents in the Fedochi Protectorate," Zystos answered.

"Really?" Xochitl questioned, her voice dripping sarcasm. "I find that very hard to believe but if true, we have been grossly misusing the agent who has infiltrated far enough to plant a vid bug in Exarch Ilkin's office!"

Zystos flushed. When it was stated like that, it did seem absurd. The vid was a recording of a private meeting between the leaders of significant, space going civilizations. It was not random gossip picked up on a street corner. There was no way they should have this file.

At least, not yet. Given enough time, their agents would infiltrate far enough but not now. Now was far too early.

"Alright, I'll ask an easier question," Xochitl said. "Who do we think gave us this file? The Humans or the Fedochi?"

"Xavia indicated that the vid file came from the Exarch's office, so it has to be the Fedochi!" Zystos pointed out.

"Or it could be the Humans, making it seem as if the Exarch's office has leaks. If I wanted an excuse to attack later, that would be sufficient," Xochitl concluded, much to Zystos' chagrin. He hadn't thought about it like that.

"So you believe the Phoenix Empire leaked the file to our agents?" There were implications with that scenario Zystos didn't want to consider, not the least of which is how the Phoenix Empire knew which were Ullator agents.

"No," Xochitl said slowly. "I think it was a Fedochi but I believe it was done under Human instruction," she explained.

That statement made Zystos' head hurt more. "What does that mean?" he asked.

"It means," she smiled, "that Exarch Ilkin should just ask Emperor Harper for orders." Xochitl nodded to herself. "And it means that the Humans have far better agents than I gave them credit for."

"But you…" Zystos objected.

"Already decided the Humans had good espionage capability," Xochitl completed Zystos's sentence.

"Yes Ma'am," he nodded.

"And I still believe that," she said, her eyes clouding with thought. "This changes nothing. It just means they are better than I anticipated and that we should already be on the watch for their agents. Forty years, after all, is more than long enough to infiltrate."

"I'll activate more counter-measures immediately."

"Good," Xochitl murmured, her mind occupied with thoughts on how to counter a species who could see what was required to win but who was also ruthless enough to do what was necessary to obtain that victory. This Phoenix Empire was the most dangerous race the Ullator had ever encountered and that was even compared to the huge Nur Empire on their flank. "The Humans will have to be watched," Xochitl whispered.

-cfr-

"Oh, will we?" Grand Admiral Williams asked rhetorically.

Her information sorters, those people she employed to filter through the vast amounts of information they collected hourly, had rightfully deduced she needed to see this personally. She'd have to give them a reward.

It had been extremely annoying to lure some so-called Ullator tourists into their territory but it had just paid off. While they were in the Phoenix Empire, enjoying the sights, they had provided a list of important Ullator, and she had then instructed them to either infiltrate, or find some way of getting the Ullator to visit. Most had infiltrated, which was slower, but with the Ullator life span of approximately four to five hundred years, it was an acceptable alternative.

The file was very educational about the Ullator, and Williams made an additional note to have Cerberus personally call the agent. That would be reward enough. She'd also have to find out exactly how well ranked this Xochitl was, because while the woman was obviously a spy master, she might just be an information broker.

It would be interesting to see who watched the watcher.

-cfr-

**46353 Years after Human Ascension, 1301 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire Capital Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"I think it's become clear that we have to do something. The response to the Fedochi was not acceptable! I can't run an Empire where I cannot rely on a large part of my military!" Harper complained. The Ascended were meant to be the hidden force of the Empire. What good were they if they did not obey?

"Do you think it's any easier for me to run the military?" Williams retorted. She was not taking the blame for this. Not when it wasn't her fault. "We would have been okay," she added. "I had enough forces to make sure the Fedochi knew we were serious."

"That's true," Harper conceded, "but there would have been far more casualties and while I'm good, even I would have been very hard pressed to make the Empire accept the treaty if that had happened. The citizens would have rightfully wanted blood. As it is, most of them are treating it as a wonderful little diversion to mark my ascension." He could ignore what the citizens wanted, but it was far easier to follow popular opinion, especially when those opinions were in line with his orders. When they weren't, well that's what public education was for. It might take a few years to sway the organics to his belief, but it was simple enough.

Williams huffed. "So what do you want me to do about it?" she growled. "I can't make them believe." She didn't bother to hide the accusation in her tone. A large part of the problem came from Empire policy. Policy Harper set.

"I can't exactly tell the Empire about Shepard!" Harper objected.

"Why not?" Williams demanded. That was one of the issues. They were asking new Ascended to believe in something/someone they had never even heard of, or at best, someone they vaguely remembered from schooling as a historical figure.

"More of them believe in Crick, and while he was important, he's not going to die when we lose control of the situation," Williams pointed out when Harper refused to answer.

"But you are maintaining control?" He asked eventually.

"Yes. Barely," Williams replied. "The LMC Ascended aren't as aggressive as the Milky Way Ascended," she explained.

"They were Ascended to be immortalised, not for vengeance or for the cycle," Lawson postulated. He'd been a silent observer of this well-worn argument until then, though the differences between the LMC Ascended and those from the Milky Way were still mostly speculation. They knew there were differences, and they thought they knew why, but it was not an area that they could experiment in.

Being Ascended for preservation lead to calmer Ascended, and the desire to see other organics Ascended was controlled by the fact that there were no AI's around to save them from. Plus the Humans and some of the Attori were being Ascended. The desire to ascend organics was being fulfilled and that, combined with the fact that ascension was to give immortality, meant that the LMC Ascended were more relaxed. It was a fact Williams was thankful for.

The three of them were not meeting in person. Harper was on Home, back to work for another century, now that the excitement of the Fedochi 'invasion' had calmed down. Williams was on Nimitz, dealing with the paperwork from the invasion and Lawson was on Underworld, supervising the construction of the Project. The huge framework was nearly complete and soon they would start making real inroads on the stockpiles as they began filling it in. That would be relatively quick.

"And we should be thanking God for that," Williams snapped. "Otherwise, some of them would have already gone to Harbinger and we would be-" she didn't finish. Any word was far too mild for their position in that situation.

"We have to do something," Harper repeated.

"Well, when you come up with a way of indoctrinating an Ascended to believe what we tell it, let me know," Williams said acerbically.

Her challenge hung between them.

"There might be a way," Lawson said slowly, his eyes half closed as he thought. "Do you remember Project Lazarus?"

They both stared at him like he was an idiot. Of course, they remembered the experiments needed to rebirth Humanity in the LMC.

"Project Lazarus on Earth," Lawson added the qualifier.

Williams looked confused but Harper's features shifted to understanding.

"What was Project Lazarus? " she asked. "On Earth."

Lawson just looked at Jack, his expression clearly showing that Harper was going to have to explain this one. The Emperor didn't look impressed but knew it had to be explained and this was over forty thousand years ago!

"Project Lazarus was an attempt to get more assistance from the Human Ascended," Harper said with a deep breath.

Lawson snorted, the sound indicating he thought Jack's explanation was very liberal.

"Alright," Williams nodded though her tone was cautious. She hadn't exploded yet. It was actually surprising that she didn't already know. It wasn't like they had secrets in Cerberus but there was only so much information one could take in organic form. It was probable that Williams hadn't bothered taking some of Harper's memories from that long ago into herself. "How exactly?" she pushed, recognising that the answer to that question was the core of the matter.

"By cloning Shepard," Jack said quickly, hoping to rush the information past her so quickly that it would not ignite her fuse.

The way she went silent told him he'd failed and Harper quickly continued, hoping to extinguish the flame.

"The Project failed. Shepard himself destroyed the facilities. I'm told he was so angry he almost clipped the spy who confirmed the Project. That's why, even before the end, there was a one hundred square kilometre area glassed on Earth. He was very unhappy."

Williams appeared to be counting under her breath and her eyes were closed. The silence stretched between them. Finally, she visibly took a breath, then another before opening her eyes and glaring at Harper. "I bet he was," she said softly but the reaction was far better than what he had anticipated. Apparently, forty thousand years did make a difference.

"So what does that idiotic Project have to do with now?" she asked dangerously.

At this point, Jack looked over at Henry. "This was your idea."

The scientist shrugged. "We never managed to established how much control, if any, Human Shepard has over Human Ascended," he said. "I believe this would be a good opportunity to continue the research," he concluded.

"Continue? How? We don't have his genetic code," Williams frowned, "do we?" She tacked the last on suspiciously.

Harper sighed. If he lied, Williams would just find out the truth next time she uploaded. "In addition to Earth flora and fauna samples, Cerberus took on the remains of some of Cerberus' projects," he told Williams, consciously making the choice to refer to their Ascended form by name, rather than referring to it as himself.

"Shepard's DNA included?" Williams asked testily.

"That, I don't know," Harper replied. "Henry?" he was happy to hand answering back to his old friend.

"It's there, I think. That will be the first hurdle because if it's not like we've taken any special care of those samples," he continued.

Harper took a deep breath as long forgotten details returned to him. If they'd taken it on, the samples would be in a hermetically sealed tube or it could be digitised and he'd probably need to push the Empire into reinventing a reader for it, assuming someone on Cerberus didn't remember how to build one. That would be a trivial issue compared to the real problem.

Assuming the DNA was there, he still had no idea of if it would even work. Ascended, even Human Ascended, may just look at organic Shepard as meat. The best case was that they'd laugh, the worst, they'd attack and most likely rightly correlate that he had been attempting to control them. He had no idea what they would do then. He had no idea what they could do then as Ascended couldn't attack Ascended, but he didn't want to find out.

"No!" Williams shouted. "I don't care if it's there! You are not going to clone Shepard again!" she said.

"Calm down," Lawson said. "It's just an idea," he tried to soothe her.

"Bullshit," Ashley exclaimed. "I know how you two work. You want to try it. You want to see if it will work!"

"We have to do something," Harper retorted.

It might be just an idea for now but it was a potential solution to their problem. And the LMC Ascended were becoming a problem. Even Williams couldn't deny that.

"It's a problem with a solution," Williams snapped, rather tactfully not mentioning it was a problem of their own creation.

"Waiting is not a solution," Harper growled.

"It is this time," she said.

"Williams, if you had the new Exarch here, you wouldn't hesitate to give them a tour. What's the difference?" Harper asked, trying to force logic upon her. "This is for the protection of the Project," he added.

"This is for your tyrannical desires," Williams returned.

"Then how is waiting to ask Shepard any different?" Harper responded. "Because that's what I'll be asking him to do! Confirm my tyranny!"

"He's going to be confirming his existence," William countered.

"And in doing so, will confirm my right to lead the LMC Ascended. There is no difference if an organic Shepard does the same."

"There's every difference!" Williams cried. "You are violating everything Shepard stood for! Don't you get it?" she growled.

"This is something we have to attempt, Williams!" Harper roared. "The number believing that idiot Cannaman is growing and nothing you have tried is stopping them."

"We can't force them to believe in someone they've been told all their lives is just an historical figure. It's too big a shift! And that's your fault, Harper!" she added with a growl.

"That's where you are wrong," Harper replied coldly. "We can force them to believe," he said. "Well," he amended. "Maybe not believe but obey, and I'll settle for that," he concluded.

"By desecrating Shepard," she hissed.

"Williams, there is no guarantee this will work," Lawson said. "What's the harm in trying?" he continued, projecting a reasonable tone. "You are made from the same tech!"

"But I'm me!" she said. "You two just don't get it, do you?" Williams asked, shaking her head. "I am me, but you are creating a simulacrum of Shepard but it will not be Shepard. This is wrong!"

"Then come up with an alternative," Harper told her. "Right now, I'll consider anything."

She glared before sighing heavily. "Harper," she said seriously. "Over the last 1300 years, longer even, there have been times when I've wanted to kill you. Many times," she impressed upon him. "But this is the first time you have made me consider a coup." Williams' eyes narrowed dangerously. "You may be the Immortal Phoenix Emperor Harper but I am equally immortal and I know how to make you stay dead!"

Harper sighed, deliberately projecting his feelings. "Williams, I can't run an Empire like this. It's only a matter of time before one of them decides to try to prove Cerberus a liar and goes off to the Milky Way. We know what they will find and we can't have that so we have to control the situation and that means controlling the Ascended.

"I will ask Shepard when he calls but until then I need something else. This is something else."

"This is a violation and I will not stand for it!" she snarled, and they both saw her jab at the controls before her image blinked out.

"Well, that went well," Lawson commented.

"It could have gone better," Harper sighed, looking at Lawson seriously. "Do you think you can do it?" he asked.

"I think so," Lawson nodded. "If the genetic material is there, we can grow a clone. It will take a couple of years to ensure it had a consciousness." He looked thoughtful. "Actually, it would be better to raise the child from scratch. That will ensure a fully developed personality matrix. And then…" Lawson paused. He didn't have to say what happened then.

"Then we'll know," Harper nodded.

"You know, Williams might have a point," Lawson said.

"What do you mean?" Harper asked.

"Not about the violation or anything like that but if we should do this. You realise if it works, we will be subject to his commands as well. And this will be an organic Shepard, who won't truly understand. Who knows what he could order."

Harper bit his lip. That was a risk. It was a big one because he, just like all of the others, would be bound to obey. "I'll think about it," he said slowly. "For now, check the material but do nothing else. This is not a decision to be made haphazardly."

Lawson nodded. "So do you think she'll do it?"

"Do what?" Jack asked.

"Williams. Do you think she'll actually go for a coup?" Lawson prompted.

Harper leaned forward, resting his head in his hands. "No," he breathed the answer. "But she's gonna be pissed. And I might get assassinated once or twice."

Lawson laughed. "Better you than me," he said.

"Yeah, well, I won't be getting a cigarette this century." Harper groused.

The first time Williams killed Lawson was going to be amusing. Really, he might authorise Henry to go ahead with cloning Shepard, but Lawson would not get off lightly either. It would be Lawson who would do the work, and Williams would hold him even more responsible since it was his idea in the first place. Or- Harper suppressed his wince. She might tell Kai. The two of them hated each other but on this, they would be in agreement.

Lawson snorted. "I'll see what I can find," he nodded. "After that, we can decide what to do."

"Keep me informed," Harper said, taking a deep breath before the comm was dropped.

He nodded to himself. It was a possible solution. He didn't like it but it was another path to try. With the Ascended restive and for the protection of the Project, he would do anything he could.

Even Williams would have to respect that.

-cfr-

**46395 Years after Human Ascension, 1342 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Fedochi Protectorate Homeworld: Cyr, Exarch's Official Advisor's Office**

Ilkin looked at the basket of fruit on his desk. He might have retired and Tirto might be Exarch but Ilkin still had a job as an official advisor, so he still had a desk, even if he spent most of his time on his private estate with a bevy of young, attractive females. But this was his week to work and with the international events, he felt he needed to be here for Tirto.

Harper had finally taken over the Attori, welcoming them into the Phoenix Empire as citizens. So, Ilkin had planned to read a few reports from his agents, then have lunch with his son to keep him informed. Tirto wasn't quite up to handling the full spy network.

Except, he had to deal with this basket.

It was quite an elaborate basket, rather large and made of wickerwork. In it was an assortment of fruits. Some Fedochi, some Human and some even appeared to be Attori. They were arranged nicely and they looked fresh but who the hell was giving him fruit? And why?

There was a note nestled near the top. It appeared to be in crisp, white paper and Ilkin plucked it out of the edibles and unfolded it.

'Thanks.'

The single word was printed on the paper in a neat but hand-written script. There were five Human characters written underneath it. 'IPEJH.'

Ilkin stared at them for a long time, trying to think what the hell they meant. They were written in High English but he didn't know any word spelt that way. The former Exarch assumed this was some sort of Human custom that went with the basket and the note and wished he could call Huseyn.

The Duke had known Human customs but he had died in an accident which Ilkin didn't think was an accident but couldn't prove anything. He shook his head, pressing the intercom. "Purnt, get the Human custom expert in here," he ordered his PA and didn't bother to hold to see that the woman obeyed. Instead, he sat down, fingering the note. He could feel the textures of ink on the paper surface. Who had written it?

There was a tap on the door and his security answered it to reveal the Human specialist. They bowed before entering the office.

"Explain this," Ilkin ordered, pointing at the wicker basket that was overflowing with fruit.

"A fruit basket, Sire?" the Fedochi questioned.

"Yes, what does it mean?" Ilkin growled.

The fedochi nodded before looking at Ilkin. "There are two reasons to send a fruit basket, Sire," he said. "The first is to show sympathy or your support during a time of difficulty."

"And the second reason?" Ilkin snapped, dismissing the first explanation.

"Generally as a thank you present," the Human culture expert said.

That would explain the note but not who it was from. Ilkin didn't know that many Humans. There was the Ambassador, Williams and Har…

Ilkin looked at the letters written under the thanks.

Immortal Phoenix Emperor Jack Harper.

"You can go," Ilkin instructed the Human expert.

The man was wise enough not to ask questions. He simply saluted, as was proper to a former Exarch, and left, leaving Ilkin looking at the fruit basket. He wasn't going to eat it. The basket and fruit might have gone through security but he wasn't stupid. What he didn't understand was why Harper had sent it.

There was no reason or was this a play? Something sent by someone else but made to look like Harper?

Ilkin sat down, breathing carefully as he thought. The quickest way to clear it up would be to call Harper. He might be the former Exarch but the Human knew he was still responsible for much of Fedochi policy. Ilkin sighed and tapped his datapad, initiating a link into the comm relays. He pushed the basket to the side while he waited and few moments later the security protocols cleared to display Emperor Harper's face. The Human looked around for a moment before he smiled.

"You got it! Good! I wasn't sure it would get through your security." Harper muttered. "Now, how can I help you, Exarch?" The title was still valid even though he'd retired.

"Why?" Ilkin snapped. He no longer bothered with pleasantries with the Human and Harper seemed to prefer it that way.

"Why what?"

Ilkin blew his breath out. "The basket. Why did you send it?" he growled.

"It's a thank you present," Harper said brightly.

"For what?" Ilkin felt like Harper was deliberately being vague.

"Well, obviously, I sent it to thank you," the Human Emperor said. "I wasn't sure what you'd like so I went with something generic. Try the jackfruit," he added the suggestion.

"Harper, why did you send it? You have nothing to thank me for."

The Emperor laughed. "On today, of all days, you ask that?" He shook his head, disbelief evident in the movement. "I couldn't have done it without you," Harper continued.

"Done what?" Ilkin demanded testily.

"The Attori," Harper replied happily. "The Attori," he repeated, still laughing but he sobered enough to continue speaking. "Oh, now don't look like that," Harper chided, looking directly at Ilkin. "Huseyn practically told you it had been my plan and he wasn't far wrong."

Ilkin blinked, remembering what his friend had said. Huseyn had always been one of the best at reading Humans and that had been attributed to his trade links but he had said that Harper could have planned this… Then did that mean Harper had killed Huseyn? Ilkin bit his lip as he answered his internal question honestly. Probably. But without proof there was very little he could do now. Even if he had proof, it was doubtful it would affect the Human Emperor.

Harper wasn't waiting for his thoughts. "My original plan was to dominate the Attori financially and by the time you appeared, I was well on the way to that. They were dependent on the Phoenix Empire for eezo and eventually, slowly, they would have become deeper and deeper in our debt. You hastened that considerably." Harper smiled.

"Your little pirate raids gave us the opportunity to appear as guardian angels. You made us the good guys," Harper grinned. "Essentially, you accelerated the process. So, of course, I sent you a thank you token. It was the least I could do because really, I couldn't have written your part better, even if I'd tried," Harper concluded, looking through the screen happily.

"And you expect me to believe that?" the former Exarch asked.

"I don't care what you believe," Harper replied, all trace of mirth gone. "You asked a question and I gave you an answer. It's not my fault if you don't like it."

"Harper, I want the truth!" Ilkin snapped, trying not to let the Human Emperor's flippant nature drive him to distraction.

Harper was a master at it and Ilkin knew he used it to avoid answering questions.

The Emperor breathed out. "I've never lied to you, Exarch. I've never seen any reason to."

"So you expect me to believe that you intended to dominate the Attori financially. You have all that military and you weren't going to use it to attack? Come on, Harper, I'm not a fool!"

Harper sighed. "I'm not allowed to attack," he replied. "But the boss understands I can't let anything endanger the Project, which is why we are not completely defenceless."

"Don't lie to me!" Ilkin cried. "That your military is defensive is a bullshit line and you know it. You attacked my systems with no concerns."

"Retaliation," Harper explained. "The Phoenix Empire did not initiate hostilities. We merely responded. Think, Ilkin, when has the Phoenix Empire ever initiated a conflict?" Harper asked.

"We haven't," the Human answered his own question before the former Exarch had a chance to answer. "The boss gave me a job to do and despite my inclinations, it is not to invade or otherwise subdue alien species. So yes, Exarch Ilkin, my military is defensive. But they are, as you well know, more than enough to take care of petty little problems!"

"By the ancestors! Now, you are spouting that nonsense that you have a boss! That line's been doing the rounds for centuries but I guess I know why!" Exarch Ilkin sighed. "If you don't want to give me an answer, Harper, then that's okay but don't lie."

"I've never lied," Harper said in a surprisingly gentle tone. "Just accept your fruit basket in the spirit I gave it. In thanks. And then enjoy it.

"Don't read anything into it and we'll leave it at that," Harper smiled. "We won't discuss my boss, the Attori or anything like that, and we'll get along well."

"Yes," Ilkin took a steadying breath. "That would be best," he replied. "Don't send me another one," he added.

Harper grinned, and the Human waved one hand. "I doubt you'll please me that much again," he said nonchalantly. "But you may surprise me," he said. "We'll see, and if there isn't anything else, Exarch, as you can imagine, I am quite busy today with 89 new systems officially entering the Empire."

Ilkin again told himself to remain calm. He knew about this and Harper was baiting him. "Yes, you must be," he replied. "I'll let you get back to it. After all, I wouldn't want my concubines to miss me," Ilkin added, picking out a banana from the fruit basket and shaking it playfully towards Harper's image. Huseyn had once told him that the Humans found this fruit somewhat erotic. Ilkin had no idea why but he would take his old friend's advice.

It seemed to work. Harper smiled thinly. "That would be a shame," he murmured before he grinned at some private joke. "Well then, until next time," Harper said and at Ilkin's nod the comm was cut.

The former Exarch threw the fruit down. He hated speaking to Harper! The Human was too vague, except when he was making insinuations. He had practically told him that the Phoenix Empire had killed Duke Huseyn but in such a way that nothing could be proven.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Huseyn before he looked up.

It was time to call his agents. With luck, they'd have something new for him. Right now, he'd even accept compromising information on the Human Ambassador. Ilkin didn't really care, so long as it was incriminating for Humans. Anything would do.

Anything.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It didn't really go to Ilkin's plan but then he doesn't know how badly he was compromised. Maybe the next species will figure it out? Maybe they won't. Though don't count the Fedochi out yet, and of course the little skirmish had brought light one of Harper's ongoing problems. What will he do to solve it?


	64. Provocation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The spies are beginning to realise how deeply they are compromised... Of course, Williams had to make it bloody obvious! The things she has to do. But they aren't passive. They respond but all that does is raise tensions in the area and highlight the ongoing issues to Harper. The consequences will be widespread but not what anyone could be aware of... especially those aliens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 64: Provocation**

-cfr-

**46409 Years after Human Ascension, 1356 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Fedochi Homeworld: Cyr, Exarch's Residence**

"The uprising in Bihar Province has been put down," Duke Vuqar reported.

"Good," Exarch Tirto nodded. "And that scum, Kuoxxar?"

"Has been executed, Sire," Vuqar confirmed. It went unsaid that they'd executed him the last time as well. "His body is being shipped to Puducherry for analysis and a complete genetic work up."

"So we aren't sure it's him?" Exarch Tirto asked, frowning.

"We have positive physical confirmation and identification from those who knew him, Sire, but given Kuoxxar's history, the extra identification was considered prudent. Just to be sure."

"Yes," Exarch Tirto nodded, accepting the explanation. "Just to be sure," he repeated. "I want the results when they are done. Kuoxxar has caused us enough grief. It will be very nice to know that he's finally dead."

Of course, that's what they'd thought last time but Kuoxxar was a tricky bastard and was apparently harder to kill than a cockroach. While his apparent resurrections were troubling in themselves, the cult-like following it gave him was more so. His devoted followers would continue to work even though Kuoxxar was very dead. Again.

His father swore that Kuoxxar was sent by the Humans but while Exarch Tirto knew that the Phoenix Empire had supposedly executed Kuoxxar first, he could find no evidence of their involvement now. When the Humans returned, they always had brain implants to carry their consciousnesses. This Kuoxxar, or whoever it was, was completely flesh and blood. The body was not a clone sent by the Phoenix Empire. It couldn't be anyway because, while theoretically the Phoenix Empire could create such bodies, they could never have gotten the paperwork so perfect. That was proven by the fact that not only did the Kuoxxar appear to be the troublemaker, he was a duly registered citizen of the Protectorate. All his records were in order and if the Phoenix Empire was capable of hacking their records like that, they wouldn't need Kuoxxar, in any incarnation. So, he didn't know what these repetitions of Kuoxxar's rebellion were, beyond a pain to deal with.

"I'll see to it, Sire," Duke Vuqar replied. "In other news, there's been an attack on Odisha."

"Odisha?" Exarch Tirto asked for confirmation. Odisha was a frontier world on the border with no one. Attacks were always possible but there hadn't actually been one except for privateers and they were a policing matter. If Vuqar had brought this to his attention it was something else.

"Yes, Sire," came the reply and Vuqar stepped up to a covered gurney that had been wheeled in. The Duke pulled off the covering. "This is one of the crew," he told Exarch Tirto.

"Ew! What is it?" The Exarch asked.

He'd seen quite a few different aliens in his life. The Humans, the Attori and Ullator were the nations he dealt with but within the Protectorate there were still the Fajat, Myroviles and Pormics. The Protectorate races. Primitives who had been uplifted by the Fedochi and who now served.

The thing on the gurney was unlike anything he'd ever seen. It was vaguely bipedal but its upper limbs were very long and spindly. It was a grey-green colour and had three eyes. There appeared to be something along the lines of talons at the ends of its appendages but they also appeared to be filed down.

"We don't know, Sire," Vuqar replied. "We've confirmed that it's alien but it corresponds to no species we've ever heard of but the closest border to Odisha is the Phoenix Empire," the Duke reminded him, careful to keep his voice neutral.

"So you think it's an uplifted?" Exarch Tirto asked.

"Yes, Sir," Duke Vuqar nodded before taking a deep breath. "Techs are currently going over the wreck of the raiding vessel and, while it looks alien, they report that the tech is familiar."

"What do you mean?" Tirto demanded, pulling his attention firmly back to Vuqar.

"Exactly what it sounds like, Sire. The tech is very similar to our own. It's not ours. We didn't build it and all the coding is in some alien garble we don't have a translation for but it is all familiar."

Exarch Tirto nodded slowly as Vuqar showed some examples on his data pad. Some of the items did look familiar though all the writing was in some weird alien scripting.

"Focus on the flight computer," the Exarch ordered. "If they were uplifted, that will tell us where and if they do come from the Phoenix Empire then that's quite a policy shift," he added, telling Vuqar that he would entertain the notion that this species came from the Phoenix Empire only if he could prove it.

Emperor Harper admitted there were primitive species in his Empire. He was also adamant that they weren't uplifted. He said it wasn't worth his while to educate the entire species because they'd still be primitive. Instead, he cordoned off their areas and left them.

It was such a waste. All that cheap labour, planets' worth of it, left fallow.  _Of course,_  Tirto thought sourly,  _Emperor Harper does have the Attori to work for him, so maybe he doesn't need the primitives._

Still, the thought made him mentally assess the Phoenix Empire and review the memory of a recent star chart. The Phoenix Empire was quite large. The addition of the Attori a few years ago had almost doubled them and integration was going well but scattered through Human territory were voids. Some systems were tagged as neutron stars and that had been confirmed by his astronomers. Some were supposedly primitive races and some were military systems. Usually, Harper was polite enough to label them all but Tirto was no fool. He knew, but couldn't yet prove, that at least some labels were wrong but since the Fedochi Protectorate did the same, he couldn't really complain.

"Look at the possibility that it came from Ullator space as well," Tirto instructed as he mentally zoomed out on his internal galactic map. "They've never been clear about their policy towards primitives."

-cfr-

"Oh, very good Exarch," Spy Mistress Xochitl complimented the vid before turning to her assistant Zystos. "In light of my impending retirement, what do you think, Spy Master?" she named the title he was yet to take.

"Obviously, this is just from the Fedochi point of view but their Exarch is careful. The fact that Duke Yuqar suspects the Humans is useful but I find it interesting that at no point did they even consider asking the Phoenix Empire for help."

"Why should they?" Xochitl challenged. "It was a small attack on a border world. It's not like it was an invasion," she chuckled. "If they were that weak, we'd own them already."

"True," Zystos nodded. "While an attack is a routine event, the new species should have had them running for familiar faces. The attack by itself does not warrant Human attention but the Fedochi did not even suggest it, not even for analysis of the unknown alien. That tells me that the fundamental relationship between the Phoenix Empire and Fedochi Protectorate is different than that between the Attori Republic and Phoenix Empire. Not surprising given their history but something worth checking, with the Phoenix Empire's seeming fondness for protecting their trade partners."

"Very good," Xochitl murmured and Zystos flushed, pleased at the praise. "While I agree with you, there is an addendum which is even more revealing."

"How?" Zystos asked but Xochitl waved him to silence before pressing play on the vid again.

Exarch Tirto appeared for a few moments before the screen became black. Xochitl remained watching so Zystos said nothing. Then the screen blinked white before it resolved into the image of another office. Zystos didn't recognise it, but he recognised the occupant. The Phoenix Empire's Grand Admiral Williams. She appeared in the regular day uniform of the Phoenix Empire military but she was looking directly at the camera.

"Enjoy," Williams said. Then the image winked out.

Xochitl reached over and rewound the vid, pausing it when the Grand Admiral appeared before she zoomed in on Williams' eyes.

"So," she invited, "how do you feel?" she asked.

Zystos gulped. "Beyond sick," he replied, "I am now very concerned about our security."

"As am I," Xochitl replied. "But we will discuss that later. For now, what do you think the implications are?"

Zystos sighed, thinking for a few moments before he replied. "They know," he said finally. "They know that we used the Iur'kuy in the raid and they probably know it was a test for them, just as much as for the Fedochi."

"Good, that was my thought as well. Despite the addendum, our test was largely successful which means if we cannot weaken the Phoenix Empire by forcing them to protect the Fedochi, we will have to pursue other means."

"Yes," Zystos agreed slowly. "But not too fast," he added. "If we were to provoke them now, they may join forces and that is before we consider our own security leaks."

"Indeed, so my advice to you is to wait a few years, twenty to thirty if you must and then provoke. And provoke in such a way that it must mean war. That amount of time will give you time to recruit the necessary people," Xochilt finished.

"Yes," Zystos said. "Since relations haven't always been cordial between them, it shouldn't be too hard to provoke an attack. And if the Phoenix Empire doesn't react, I can always make it seem as if they attacked."

"Save that as an alternative," Xochilt advised.

Zystos looked thoughtful. "I wonder?"

"Spy master?"

"The Nur once threatened to invade if we developed AI," he said.

"Yes, their history is clear that they survived an attempt at genocide by an AI they created. That's why they've banned them."

"The Human immortalised look very much like AIs," he stated.

"So you suggest we have the Nur fight the Humans," Xochilt surmised. "That is a very risky ploy. One or other of them would discover the truth but as a last resort, it is a possibility."

Zystos nodded, filing the plan under impossible, because when the Spy Mistress said something was a last resort, she meant do not try it, ever.

"Now look at those eyes," Xochilt instructed.

Williams' gaze had not shifted and while she was relaxed, there was a certain intensity in her look. Human eyes were odd. The brown part of Williams' eyes was not uniform. It was mottled with other browns, some light, some dark, surrounding the black of her centre eye. Around the edge of the brown, there was another thin ring of black before the colour changed to white. It was all wrong but all Humans had similar eyes. The coloured part just changed.

"Don't be mistaken by the fact that their vision is fairly poor," Xochitl said. "Those are the eyes of the single most dangerous species the Ullator have ever encountered. She will judge you with those eyes and they won't change, not even as she rips out your heart and that's what scares me."

"Ma'am?" Zystos was surprised. Xochitl was so intelligent and she had never before said she was afraid.

"Yes, Zystos. It's irrational, I know. There is no reason for me to be afraid but I am. While the Fedochi dismiss the Humans as being an ephemeral race, and for some Humans, that might be true, they are led by immortals. Harper, Williams, Lawson and others. They remember, but more so, they do not forget. That is what scares me. Within the Phoenix Empire, they have no restraint. The only thing stopping them is each other and while they do disagree on things, they agree on so much more. They have to, or they would have killed each other centuries ago.

"If you are to target them, and you must, Zystos, you must target the Phoenix Empire in such a way that all the immortals act as one because I doubt there is any way of truly turning them against each other."

Zystos was silent, thinking about Xochitl's words before he nodded slowly. "No plan is perfect," he quoted an old saying. "But the one that captures them will have to be," he added.

"Yes," Xochitl agreed softly and the seconds ticked by with neither willing to speak. Finally, Xochitl tapped the controls, sending the screen back to blank. "Now, on to security," she announced, obviously moving on from the ominous feel that had pervaded the office. "The vid does not concern me, not even Williams' message. She knows we have agents in the Fedochi court, we know she had agents, though if hers are spying directly on the Exarch, then they are very well placed. It is how this vid was delivered that concerns me."

"How?" Zystos asked. He'd assumed it had come via their Fedochi agents, probably after the Humans had given it to them based on the postscript.

"It was on my desk," Xochitl explained, holding up something that Zystos couldn't identify.

It appeared to be almost like cloth but it was the wrong texture. It was a universal tan but there was some sort of red string on it.

"As the Humans would say, it was gift wrapped," Xochitl explained, tapping the controls to bring up example images. Some were garishly bright. "What concerns me is that it had not gone through security and there is no record of who left it."

"But that's impossible!" Zystos exclaimed.

Xochitl's office was under constant surveillance. There was just too much critical information here to risk anything but the highest level of security.

"I thought so, too, and I have checked the footage. There is no obvious cut in the record except for the instant the present appeared."

Zystos shook his head. He did not like the implications of this new information. He took a deep breath, centring his mind as Xochitl had taught him to, so long ago and he began to think of the steps required to do such a thing. There was no point in being anguished that their security had been broken, they had to deal with reality.

"It most likely means multiple agents. One to place this so called gift, the other to alter the surveillance and someone to fake your access pass."

"Good."

"So, three, maybe four agents," Zystos said. "I think it's safe to assume they are skilled but whoever did this has to know they are going to get caught," he continued.

Xochitl just looked at him expectantly and Zystos felt his eyes widen. The vid, assuming the addendum was real, had to have come from Williams personally. She, in turn, had to know those who delivered it would get caught so why was she willing to give up what had to be very skilled and very well placed agents? If he had agents in Williams' office, and at least one of the perpetrators had to be from Xochitl's direct staff, there was no way he'd order them to do something so blatant. Well, unless it was to assassinate Williams but this… what did the Human hope to gain?

"I don't understand," Zystos said but then his mind considered new alternatives.

The agents would get caught, which would lead to a wave of promotions but every promotion would be very well checked. Triply so now, which, in addition to the expected staff changes when he took over, would make the entire process rather slow.

"This seems a bit elaborate just to slow down the placement and promotion of staff," Zystos said. "And if Williams is hoping to get further agents employed, there is no way that could happen with the checks we will do now. She's destroyed their chances."

"Perhaps," Xochitl agreed. "Or maybe she is trying to send another message," she said, tapping the data pad the vid had come on. The thing would be ripped apart shortly and every component tested for whatever information could be found.

"Such as?"

"The immediate and most obvious is simply, 'I'm onto you' except it is far too elaborate a scheme to merely say that. The next message is 'I can get to you' because if her agents can place this here, what else can they put in place?"

Zystos nodded.

"And then, of course, there is the chaos this is going to cause, which may have been her goal all along. As you say, this will effectively slow down this office for years."

"Years?" Zystos asked. A month or two he could anticipate while the background checks were run but years was going to far. They  _had_  to be operational.

"Yes, years," Xochitl confirmed. "In order to be sure, that's how long it will take. The obvious potential agents will be cleared out quickly, before the rotation is done. So anyone who has been in or close to the Phoenix Empire is suspect, as are their families, friends and contacts." Xochitl announced and Zystos gulped as he saw what she meant. It was going to take years to conduct a purge of that scale and there were many who had visited the Phoenix Empire in the guise of traders or tourists or any guise they thought would get over the border.

It was perhaps a little paranoid to believe that they could so easily be compromised but Xochitl had not maintained her position of Spy Mistress by being naive. The Ullator had not managed to remain independent of the relatively peaceful Nur just because of that peace. It took a lot of intelligence to ensure the border remained stable. There were idiots on both sides.

They were not about to be embroiled in a war on their other border.

"It will be an opportunity," Zystos said, trying to salvage something. He might think Xochitl was being overly paranoid but he was not Spy Master yet. "And now, I truly understand why you advised waiting twenty to thirty years before provoking a war between the Fedochi and the Phoenix Empire. It will take that long for this mess to be fixed." It would if she got her way. "But this is something to be thankful for. By the time the purge is done," he said, indicating acceptance of Xochitl's plan. He knew better than to voice his concerns. "This office will be secure and we will know who the Human agents are. Williams may not be the only one who can leave messages on a desk," he finished with a small chuckle.

Xochitl smiled. "Quite true," she agreed, looking down at the data pad.

This move by Williams was stupid. Oh, it was flashy and brazen but in the end it would cost the Phoenix Empire more than they gained. What was the woman thinking? Xochitl shook her head without trying to answer the question.

Sometimes aliens, even dangerous ones, just made no sense.

-cfr-

**46435 Years after Human Ascension, 1392 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire System: Ihejirika, Planet: Nkiru**

Russ sat, staring at the monitor. It was late. He was tired but monitoring was his job so he had to do it. Privately, he thought it was a waste of time. Ihejirika was a border system and, after the beat down the Fedochi had taken eighty-two years back, they'd been silent, only crossing into the Phoenix Empire at the nominated points.

And sure, that might be three generations to Humans, to the Fedochi it was just a few years. Exarch Tirto had barely even settled on the throne. They weren't about to act up, not while they still remembered.

Plus, there was the defence fleet. Twenty dreadnoughts and attendant ships and two thousand, five hundred divisions of soldiers, which said nothing about their support staff. And that was on Nkiru alone. It said nothing about the sector forces that were in the region, ready to jump in at any moment.

And if a war started, then the Centurions would get involved. Though they weren't really Centurions. The Emperor sometimes had grandiose ideas. The idea was simple. Each sector was comprised of ten planets, and the Centurions would be in charge of ten sectors, one hundred planets. Except the Empire was only 286 planets and that included the Attori area. Even though they represented 89 planets they had one Centurion. It had been about fifty years since the Attori Protectorate became the Attori Area within the Empire and Williams was still reconfiguring the military to ensure each planet, even the Attori planets, were protected to the Empire's standards. The other 197 planets were split between three Centurions and their areas would grow until they each had ten sectors. It was a long term plan.

Still, if they got involved, there wasn't much that could stand against the might of 100 Phoenix Empire systems… And if something could, then the Empire would get fully involved.

So he barely needed to be here because the Ullator were light years away and the buffer systems were just that, buffer. Automated probes from both the Phoenix Empire and the Fedochi Protectorate confirmed that, and it was a major pain in the behind when one went down. The amount of paperwork they had to go through for permission to enter the area was just ridiculous!

Russ glanced over at the recorders. Yep, the scans were still clean. Just as they had been the last time he'd looked. Just as they would be the next time. No one was going to attack Ihejirika, and his watch was a waste of time but it paid, so he'd do it. If he didn't, he'd be forfeiting his chance of immortalisation.

The Empire could be a bastard like that but Russ had heard stories of what happened to those who didn't do their duty to the Empire and that was not going to happen to him. No way. Uh uh!

Russ got out his books. Being on this shift had one advantage. It kept him up to date on his studies. Others in his class complained they never had time. He had all the time in the world. He'd just settled into reading the theory of quantum mechanics, because whoever solved the problem of Quantum Shielding had immediate immortalisation rights as well as a slew of other rewards offered, when a ping sounded from the console.

Partin looked over, and felt his eyes widen. His books went flying as he dove for the comm. There, on the screen, closing in on Nkiru was a ship. Hostile.

But how the hell had it gotten so close without triggering a warning?

Russ shook his head. That didn't matter. The fleet had to react now, because with that ship's speed… Well, any child knew what happened if you applied speed to mass and threw it at a target.

"Incoming bogie!" he shouted, almost before the comm connected. "Coordinates 87.65.55 by 73.21.15 about 5000 kilometres out. Do you see it?"

There was silence from the comm for a few moments and Russ could imagine the sensor techs scrambling to confirm his readings.

"Holy fuck!" came his answer. "Alert ground control," the sensor tech said, "we're not going to make it in time!"

In other militaries, it would be insubordination for a lowly sensor tech to make that call. In the Empire, it was common sense.

Russ flicked the comm over, sending an automated signal to the ground units. They would immediately fortify their positions but it was only one ship. Even if it landed there would not much to fight unless… Partin looked back at the signal. It wasn't slowing down.

"Shit!" he gasped before grabbing the comm back to the fleet. "Shoot it!" he yelled, ignoring the fact that he couldn't make that call. "It's going to ram Nkiru!"

"We know!" came his reply and he could imagine the ships moving as quickly as they could into position, to attempt to fire. Russ switched the controls on the scope, turning off the filter so that he could see the Empire's forces.

"Fuck!" Had they been asleep? They were way out of position and Partin felt a sudden cold premonition. They weren't going to make it in time and with trembling hands, he reached out to calculate the ship's trajectory. It was only a tiny comfort when he realised it would miss Ubdhav, the major capital on the southern continent but it was still going to impact on land and that could be worse.

"How the fuck did this happen?" Russ asked himself, watching the blips, … and why the hell didn't the military ships notice, his mind supplied the follow up question but as he watched the ship track closer, and his sensors picked up more details, he saw that the ship was Fedochi design, and on the comm he could hear Fedochi slogans. He had no idea what they were saying but he doubted it was good. Russ realised he was watching the first successful attack on the Phoenix Empire.

It was not an event Russ Partin wanted to be involved in but all he could do was bear witness as the Fedochi ship fell.

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home**

"Alright, Williams, don't give me excuses, just tell me what you know," Harper demanded.

It had been the middle of the night when he'd been awoken to be told about the attack on Nkiru and he was in a grumpy mood. He'd been sleeping well and with his body closing in on middle age, he needed the rest. It wasn't any consolation that Williams looked as harried as he felt.

She'd probably been on the comm non-stop since the attack but his call overrode others.

"It wasn't the Fedochi," she said immediately, running one hand through her hair.

"Williams! Ihejirika is a border system," Harper said. The system was practically in the middle of the border with the Fedochi Protectorate.

"Yes, and it wasn't the Fedochi," she repeated.

"The ship was Fedochi!" Harper snapped. He'd seen images. The ship that had rammed Nkiru was typical Fedochi design for a light cruiser or a raider.

"It wasn't the Fedochi," she repeated through clenched teeth. "I know what it looks like and I'll be dealing with the idiot who leaked the image but I'm telling you, it wasn't the Fedochi. Or at the very least, it wasn't done through any official channels," she added.

"How do you know?" Harper asked. He was going to have to make a statement about this in an hour or so and he had to have information for that.

"You know how I know," she replied, looking down her nose at him.

He'd tried but he'd never quite managed to get her indoctrinated contacts to respond to him. To them, he was not Cerberus. It was disappointing but he had other duties so hadn't pursued the issue as much as he could.

"So it's an independent faction," he concluded.

"No," Williams shook her head.

"Williams, if you tell me it was the Ullator, you'd better have a really good reason beyond it was their plan thirty years back!"

She looked at him flatly. "I have a bit more than that," she told him tartly.

It was an old argument between them. It wasn't as if Harper didn't believe it, it's just that he couldn't provoke a war until the Project was done. Lawson had been told to work as fast as possible because he refused to be vulnerable to all the petty alien species forever! He didn't want to exterminate them but they would know their place.

"So what have you got? And keep in mind that the ship was broadcasting Fedochi slogans," Harper reminded her.

"Let's start with the slogans then, since half the Empire has heard them by now," she said the last tightly. It went without saying that she'd already dealt with any military leaks. Harper would be dealing with the civilians for months to come.

"They are noted pro-Fedochi, anti-Phoenix Empire slogans," she admitted, "but they were broadcast in a synthesised voice. A voice which, when you strip back all the layering, the filtering and the attempts at distortion, is the feminine version of the Ullator's most popular translation software," Williams explained.

"And you've got that analysis already?" Harper was skeptical. That sort of work took time.

"I ran it through a couple of Ascended, so yeah, I have it already."

Harper forced himself to count backwards. The simple technique would keep him from initiating an argument with Williams about the Ascended, one they'd already argued too many times before.

"They were out of position," she said, preempting the question. "But that ship was very carefully threaded, like a needle, through the fabric of our defences."

"Then you'd better make fucking sure that the next time it's not carrying thread," Harper growled, probably unnecessarily. Williams would be all over the military for this failure.

"So what else do you have, beyond a generic translator?" he asked, phrasing it that way to tell Williams that he hardly thought it was conclusive.

"There's the documents the hackers got before the ship was destroyed."

"In Ullator?" Harper asked.

"Yes," Williams told him. "There's also the long range scan from the dreadnoughts."

"A scan which shows the ship is definitely Fedochi," Harper countered.

"Design wise, yes, but the small bits of debris that survived and we've managed to collect, do not correspond with Fedochi metal. And we  _know_ Fedochi metal," Williams said, referring to the trade that was ongoing between the Phoenix Empire and the Fedochi Protectorate.

There was no reason for the Fedochi Protectorate to risk such a lucrative source of eezo. She knew the Ullator had looked into the possibility of luring the Fedochi to their side by undercutting the Phoenix eezo prices but they couldn't compete for long. Economic reality had set in for the Ullator, much like it had for the Fedochi when they tried the same with the Attori.

"When can I see the results?" Harper asked, after flicking through the information on the datapads that he had. The metal analysis wasn't there.

"Another hour or two," Williams replied. "I wanted to make sure it was definitive and the priority on Nkiru is currently search and rescue."

Harper nodded. That made sense. The border positions had been reinforced and ships were streaming into Ihejirika to help. Supplies, medicine, food and water would not be an issue. Over the next week, Harper would get the terraforming assessment division to see how much damage had been done and what could they could do to fix it. He was just thankful that the ship had not been contaminated because while the damage was great, it could have been so much worse.

"Alright," Harper said. "Let's imagine for a moment that the ship is Ullator," he continued, ignoring the way Williams shifted. He believed her but with the slogans and the design he was going to have to level some retribution at the Fedochi as well. The citizens of the Empire were smart but they also wanted blood. "What do they hope to achieve with this?"

"War," Williams replied shortly. "If we won't protect the Fedochi, then we are to exhaust ourselves fighting them."

"For what end?"

"So that they can conquer us," she said earnestly. "On the far side of the Ullator, there's another Empire. It's big, it's stable and they, the Ullator, won't go against them. Then there's the Fedochi and us. And despite how small you might think we are, we are plenty big enough to take on the Fedochi, and maybe even that other Empire, but the Ullator view us as a threat."

"And that's what I don't understand. We've never threatened them," Harper said.

"True but they've got eyes and saw what we did to the Attori. They don't want to be next."

"They aren't," Harper frowned. "The Fedochi are."

Williams glared.

"Alright, I'll be serious. I do believe you," he said. "Because the Ullator show all the signs the Salarians did, except I think they are smarter about it."

"They are more ruthless," Williams muttered.

"Quite true but that could be because they have no Turian equivalent," Harper offered the explanation. "The problem I now face is convincing the Empire of the truth."

Williams nodded. The citizens weren't like the military. They had certain freedoms and while they were generally very controlled, Harper knew better than to try to stand in the way of the growing desire for blood. Every body pulled from the wreckage of Ubdhav just drove that desire higher.

"Just tell me one thing, did the ship come through Fedochi territory?"

Williams checked a couple of data pads before she nodded. "Yes. It would have been going FTL the entire time but we believe it did."

"Williams, the only ships with that sort of range are Ascended!"

FTL in the LMC was relatively primitive without Relays. That's why Phoenix Empire eezo was such a boon to both the Attori and Fedochi and while LMC ships were more efficient, they had not solved the issue of discharge. Not entirely. Well, technically the Phoenix Empire had but they kept that a secret.

"No, sketchy information on the Nur makes me believe they have long range vessels, but an automated Ullator ship could also travel that far."

"Wouldn't it fry itself?" Harper asked.

"Depends on where it was launched," Williams replied. "It would be a bit iffy going across the entire Fedochi Protectorate but if it was launched somewhere within, you could be much more certain, especially if you hardened the electronics." You had to harden electronics against the static that built up on long distance FTL journeys. If you you were carrying organics, you had to harden the entire ship. That was basic FTL physics. "Plus there's the fact that over the past thirty years, five Ullator ships have gone missing in Fedochi territory. I know the reason for two of them, I don't know where the other three are."

Harper sighed. "So we could have two more such attacks," he postulated the worst case.

"Only if they are waiting. I'd be more inclined to believe those ships missed," Williams said after thinking about it for a few moments. "Or were tests."

"So this was an attack by the Ullator, made to look like the Fedochi," Harper summarised.

"Exarch Tirto is probably trying to determine if they launched it," Williams said.

"Regardless, we are going to have to respond to the Fedochi because…"

"I know," Williams replied. Harper was not immune to public opinion and it was a source of amusement for her that the Human supremacist was, at times, so easily swayed.

"Get into your fatigues, and I'll get on something appropriate, then we'll call Exarch Tirto," Harper instructed, still thinking about what had to be done.

"I'll call you back in ten," Williams said, showing her acceptance. She'd be changed in two, but she still had calls to make.

Harper nodded and the comm line went blank as he rose. He was in his private quarters. They were almost as well appointed as his office but he liked to keep the two a little separate. It made adapting to an organic body easier but 93 years in, taking care of his shell had become routine so he proceeded to his dressing room to pick out something appropriate.

Williams would be in light armor with visible weapons and rank decorations. That would tell the Exarch and the Ullator that he was more than willing to attack. His dress would be more… severe, he decided, picking out a plain, fitted black shirt with a high neck and no visible fastenings. This was a serious event. He could not overlook the deaths of 10 million Humans and while Exarch Tirto may not understand his garb, the analysts would, as would the Phoenix Empire.

The colour would indicate mourning while the cut would show he was ready to deal with this… what was the media calling it? A crisis.

Harper rolled his eyes. A crisis was anything that delayed the Project. This was just a problem but it had to be dealt with, just the same way as he would be dealing with the idiot media that broadcast without permission. They'd probably quote some idiotic reason at him, along the lines of 'Oh but it was news and we have a duty to tell the citizens.' They'd obviously forgotten that nothing was news unless he decided it was and the citizens only needed to know what he decided they needed to know, when he determined they needed to know it.

Harper slipped on the shirt before padding back to his desk. His bodyguards moved with him silently and he didn't even think about them. When he sat back down he tapped one of the larger datapads, projecting a schematic of Ihejirika on the wall. It showed the military ships, the automated defences and the attacking ship. There had been a tiny hole, caused by the passage of one of Nkiru's moons. That was shown in red, but Harper's glowing eyes narrowed, as he took in other details. The Ascended should have been in position. Williams did say they were out of position and they shouldn't have been!

A flash of anger spiked through him but Harper forced himself to calm. No wonder Williams already had the voice recordings stripped back and analysed. Even Warren or Cannaman would know how badly they'd failed and be eager to help. A glance at the display confirmed neither of them had been assigned to Ihejirika but he didn't recognise the names of the Ascended who had been.

They were an issue he was going to have to deal with sooner rather than later and it was unfortunate that an event such as this precipitated it.

The flash of an incoming comm broke his train of thought. Harper waved his hand over the receiver and Williams' hologram appeared. She was dressed in matte black light armour and the butts of several weapons poked ostentatiously over her shoulders. A long knife was on one thigh and a series of brass coloured pips embossed on her shoulders and breast plate denoted her rank. There were similar rank pips at her throat but they were hidden.

"I should send that image of you to the Ullator," Harper said.

"Heavy power armor," Williams retorted as she moved her hologram to stand behind him.

"Then they won't know it's you."

"They'll know," she replied firmly. "The fact that I'm wearing armour means I'm the important one," she teased. "I'm protected. You're just my patsy."

Harper snorted. That was true. The Ullator were a matriarchal society but one where it was rare for women to rank themselves. They generally remained behind some male relative and he'd heard, more than once, how Williams suspected Xochitl was still in charge of the Intelligence division but was content to let Zystos appear to be one of the most high profile males. The role of spymaster was not, after all, a historically safe job, even for the Ullator.

"It's the Fedochi I'm concerned with now," Harper countered. "And this will say quite nicely that you are ready to do my bidding. Like a good little vassal."

Williams bared her teeth and the hairs on the back of Harper's neck rose. If she'd actually been there, it was a fair bet that her knife would be decorating his back but they'd already discussed the necessity of appearance for aliens.

Many times.

They would both keep up appearances.

He tapped the comm controls, initiating a link with Exarch Tirto's office. It would be mid-morning and if the Exarch kept to his usual routine he should be at work, overseeing the Protectorate. Catching him in the afternoon was a little less certain but Harper knew they'd fetch the Exarch for him, no matter the time.

A startled secretary picked up the line. He could have forced the line straight through to the Exarch but how long the alien left him on hold would be telling. The secretary yelped when she recognised them and Harper allowed a superior smile to grace his features. He didn't even need to tell her that he wanted to talk to her Lord and he watched as she made the connections. There was a brief pause when the screen displayed the Protectorate's crest and Harper waited, counting the seconds. He was almost disappointed when the image quickly changed.

"Emperor Harper, this is a surprise," Exarch Tirto said, sounding genuinely surprised.

"Told you so," Williams muttered, referring to the fact that the Ullator had staged the attack. Exarch Tirto was not that good an actor, yet.

"I'm not calling for pleasantries," Harper snapped.

"I can see that," the young Exarch replied, eying Williams fearfully and Harper realised that his desk was somewhat dark.

It was late so he'd only turned on minimal lighting so with the black armor, she'd probably be a bit lost in the shadows. That wasn't his problem and Harper waved one hand, using the gesture to project a close up of the ship just before impact. The design was obviously Fedochi, even if the heat panels were glowing.

"Ancestors! An accident?" Exarch Tirto asked, his voice concerned.

"A deliberate strike," Harper replied coldly, slightly impressed with Tirto's immediate reply. Ilkin had trained his son well.

Tirto looked horrified and he was silent for a few moments. "You wish to suspend trade?" he asked eventually, artfully confused as to why Harper was calling. Perhaps the Exarch was that good an actor.

"Exarch, the ship is Fedochi, deliberately rammed into Nkiru while transmitting this garbage." Harper touched the recording, letting it play the pro-Protectorate, anti-Human slogans. He winced slightly at the volume but the message got across. Harper turned it off before it repeated.

"I don't know what you want me to say," Tirto said. "It wasn't one of my ships," he continued.

"You think I believe that?" Harper challenged.

The Exarch was silent for a moment and Harper could see that he was startled but then his expression became thoughtful. "You know," Tirto began and Harper knew he wasn't going to like it. "It occurs to me that while the ship looks Fedochi, and the slogans are from some of my more extreme citizens, you know that the ship, and the plan did not originate in the Protectorate."

"And why do you think that?" Harper asked.

Tirto laughed. "Because, Your Majesty, if it was Fedochi, you would have already been over the borders," his eyes stared straight at Harper as he made the pronouncement. "Now tell me what this is really about or don't waste my time."

Harper's eyes narrowed dangerously as the Exarch made to cut the comm. "I wouldn't do that," he warned. "Or my forces really will be over the border," he growled.

Exarch Tirto made a show of pulling his hand back but his expression remained cocky.

"What this is really about is that I have 10 million dead, killed by a ship of Fedochi design, spouting Fedochi slogans, having come through Fedochi space and the buffer zone," Harper said.

"And?" Tirto looked at him sideways. The question was far more than the single word.

"What I'm deciding is if you are culpable in this act."

"The Fedochi Protectorate did not send that ship and you know it." Tirto repeated much the same reasoning he had previously stated.

"But did you allow it through," Harper pressed.

Tirto jerked back. "You dare!" he hissed but Harper just continued staring at him. "The Fedochi did not send that ship," Tirto said firmly. "And if you are going to make baseless accusations then I have other things to do."

"Perhaps," Harper said coldly, the tone of his voice caused the Exarch to pause. "But I will say this only once," Harper almost whispered. "Since you have refused the Phoenix Empire's protection, I hold you responsible for attacks on my people."

For an instant Tirto looked worried, then he shook his head slightly. "If your border defences can't stop a single ship, then I'm thinking the Protectorate should find out what else they can't stop."

Harper smiled thinly. "The next ship to penetrate your defences to attack, will mean your head," he promised.

"Or perhaps it will mean yours," Tirto replied before cutting the comm.

Williams snorted.

"Don't say it," Harper growled.

"I gather we can't invade?" she asked.

"No," Harper replied. "I already thought about it," he confirmed.

Williams sighed but nodded. It was one of the true strengths of Ascended communication. They heard what Shepard ordered but the subchannels carried an almost infinite amount of further subtlety of meaning. They knew exactly what Shepard desired. War would be detrimental to the Project so no matter how painful the loss of 10 million citizens was, the Project had to come first.

"But more than that, I don't think we could," Harper continued.

"Could what?" Williams asked.

"Take the Fedochi."

"Of course we can!" she objected.

"If the Ascended don't help," Harper challenged.

"Even without them," Williams asserted.

"Maybe, but I don't want to test it."

"Bull. Shit."

Harper sighed. "Alright, I do want to test it, but I can't," he amended. "I know how you got the voice analysis so quickly," he said. The Ascended hadn't been that helpful lately.

"They will help," Williams nodded.

"Because they fucked up," Harper contradicted her. "They should have been in position and they weren't," he accused.

Williams said nothing. She knew that but it was done and the Ascended had learned a valuable lesson. Harper always seemed to forget that the LMC Ascended had no experience in combat or war. Cerberus didn't have much experience either but the one full cycle they had seen was better than nothing, and the Milky Way Ascended had veterans from organic wars.

"We can't operate like this," Harper said.

"No!" Williams exclaimed. She knew where his thoughts had led as well as he did.

"We can't operate like this," he repeated firmly. She might want to deny it, but it was true. "I'm going to have to authorise it," he continued.

"You can't!" she said. "Of all the things to do, that is the stupidest!" she yelled.

"Then make them obey!" Harper returned, his voice rising. "The Ascended were meant to be the trump card for the military. You lead billions who are not ever meant to see combat because we have alternatives, but those alternatives are useless to me if they don't do the job!" Harper was breathing hard as the end.

Williams pursed her lips. The Ascended around Nkiru had failed. That was just fact and nothing she, or they, said could excuse it. "Attempting to create Shepard is not the answer," she said stiffly.

"Then what is?"

That's what it boiled down to. If there was an alternative, he would try it.

"For this attack, I'm not sure. Fractional  _c_  attacks are regrettably easy."

"Not that!" Harper snapped. "We'll put a couple of universities on that problem. The Ascended, Williams. How the hell are we meant to deal with them?"

"By talking to them! Persuading them."

"I have tried that," Harper replied because he had each time he was in Cerberus. "Lawson has. You have. Even  _Kai_  has spoken to them. The only persuasion they will accept is the cancellation of the Project which is the one thing I can't do!" Harper gasped for air. "No, Williams," he said firmly, still breathing hard, as he cut off her torrent of objections. "Project Shepherd is going ahead and the Ascended will fall into line," he finished.

Williams hologram had moved around his desk and she spent a few moments just glaring at him. She didn't look betrayed but she was angry. "I will have the engineers look at means of dealing with such attacks. Preventing, detecting, anything," she said. "It is an event the entire military, Ascended and organic, will do everything we can to prevent a repeat." She took a deep breath, lips pressed firmly together so that Harper could hear the whistle of air through her nostrils.

"But on Project Shepherd, you are on your own, Emperor, and I will not be able to safeguard you from the consequences. And there  _will be_  consequences." As she said the last, Williams reached out to cut the comm, leaving Harper sitting alone in the dark.

The Emperor sighed, looking over at the clock. He'd worry about Williams later. Right now, he had a press conference to give and then he had to speak to Lawson and the Ullator Ambassador. He didn't want any mixed signals getting back to them.

For now, he'd better get onto spreading what would be the official story. "At approximately 3am, Imperial Standard time, Fedochi transport  _Kalian Manifest_ , while on descent over Nkiru, suffered a catastrophic navigational failure," Harper said the words, testing out their feel. It wasn't perfect but it would do.

The Ullator would say nothing because they knew the truth. The Fedochi would go along with it because the alternative was that it was a deliberate strike and those on Nkiru who knew… assuming they had survived, and had not been the morons leaking the supposed news story, they would be Ascended for their silence.

Harper snorted. It was almost like Singapore and he reminded himself to step up the testing for biotics on Nkiru. They would have to be controlled but that could wait. For now, the press awaited.

**-cfr-**


	65. Enough Rope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With things not going right, Jack authorizes a controversial project but the spies of the LMC have noticed but will they really know what that means? Probably not. How could aliens possibly understand?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 64: Enough Rope**

-cfr-

**46446 Years after Human Ascension, 1393 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"Lawson."

"Yes, Jack?"

"I need you to start on that project."

"Which project?"

"The one Williams isn't talking to me about," Harper elaborated. "Project Shepherd."

Henry looked amused. "I'm surprised I can't hear her from here." Williams had been very vocal in her objections to Project Shepherd.

"No," Harper said. "She's not talking to me  _at all_ ," he explained. "The silence is actually quite nice."

Lawson laughed. "We have a couple of decisions to make then," he said seriously. "I found the material," he announced. "It is viable but if we'd waited much longer, it wouldn't have been."

Harper nodded at Henry's pause. The businessman turned scientist took a deep breath. "And I can tell you that Shepard's physical form has no effect."

Jack frowned. "What do you mean?"

Henry just looked at him.

"You tried it?" Harper realised.

"I had to test that the sample was viable," Lawson offered the excuse but he already knew there would be no consequences. At least, not from Harper. Kai was as upset about the Project as Williams but since they hadn't gone ahead with anything he'd let it be. Things would change now.

"No effect?" Harper sounded disappointed.

"None at all," Lawson shook his head. "But I made that body the same as ours."

"So no higher brain functions?" Harper said. Their avatars were carefully created now so that the body could not develop an independent consciousness. Breathing, heartbeat and those other unconscious functions were taken care of by the brain, but personality and memory was downloaded into the implants.

"Exactly. Though I kept his physical form pure. I even duplicated his N7 enhancements. It was almost primitive," Henry said. Shepard's enhancements had been state of the art at the time but if you took a Human population and allowed them to breed, while selecting only the best traits for close to 1400 years, you quickly rendered many things obsolete.

"So that means we are going to have to go the slow way?" Harper asked, keeping them on topic. As much as he liked talking to his old friend, right at the moment he was still dealing with the fallout from Nkiru. He didn't have the time.

"Yes," Lawson said. "So do you want a son or should I?"

Harper jerked back. "You cannot be serious!"

"I could implant a basic personality on an adult avatar but that won't be him," Lawson explained. "If you want a fully authentic Shepard, then the personality matrix must develop organically, through living. That will be easiest if one of us raises the child."

Harper stared but Henry's explanation made an unfortunate amount of sense. If it wasn't Shepard's DNA that could control Ascended then they had to get his mind. Nothing would ever completely duplicate Shepard's experience but they could come close by raising the child. Some traits did breed true. It also went without saying that as annoying as it would be, it was far safer for him to raise this child.

Lawson was surrounded by Ascended and if it worked, who knows what orders could be given when the child Shepard was still young.

"That's not what I had in mind," Harper said.

"We must all make sacrifices," Lawson replied without any sympathy. "Though I must admit, this never made it to my list," he added with a grin.

"List, shmist! Next you're gonna tell me I need to get some woman to act as his mother!" Harper felt horrified when Lawson's expression became thoughtful.

"It probably wouldn't hurt," Henry said slowly. "We aren't going to be able to duplicate Shepard's life," he began explaining. "What we are aiming for here is the organic state of mind, but," he took an audible breath, slowing his exhale as he thought before speaking again after a quick breath in. "It is possible, likely even, that Harbinger did something while ascending Shepard."

"Or that we are loyal to his Ascended form or that our requirement to obey is some temporary code Harbinger put in to make commanding so many new Ascended easier," Harper said. They'd had time, a  _lot_  of time, to examine that issue from every angle. They just didn't know which was the correct answer.

"Exactly," Lawson said. "So this might not ever work," he added.

"But it might," Harper retorted. "And at the moment, 'might' is a darn sight better than what we have."

"True," Henry agreed. "Do you want the body to be natural or advanced?"

"Make it as close to what it was like at ascension as you can. If that proves to be an issue, we'll just add enhancements in life," Harper replied without even needing to think. The closer to Shepard, the better, he thought, and if this worked, it wasn't like this Shepard would ever need to do any heavy lifting. He'd have the Empire for that.

"I think that answers most things, except for one, very important question," Lawson said.

"What is it?" Harper frowned. What was he missing?

Henry grinned. "When do you want to become a daddy?" he asked cheekily.

"Henry!" Harper growled.

"It's a serious question," Lawson replied. "You've got seven years until your next ascension. Do you want to take on child rearing now, or wait for a younger body?"

Harper closed his eyes, leaning back in his chair as he considered it. Lawson may have a point but not necessarily for the reasons he supplied. Both Williams and Kai would react badly to this plan and they were just the two most high profile people. Williams already had. Kai would react just as soon as he found out about it at upload. Which was one reason to rush getting this child. He didn't think Kai would kill him if he was raising Shepard. It would disrupt the child's development too much but Kai would definitely want to do it, so he might anyway.

If Harper left it for a few years, it would give them both, Kai and Williams, time to become accustomed to the idea. It would give him time to become accustomed to the idea as well. This is why he hated children. You had to change everything, including thought to accommodate them. If he'd have been completely organic, he would have said to make the child now. The quickest solution to the issue was almost always the organic way but he was Ascended so he knew that time was just time and while the issue was pressing it could wait a little longer.

"Sorry, Henry, you don't get to be an uncle until after my ascension," Harper replied.

"I'll use the time to perfect the technique then," Lawson said.

"And I'll use it to set up the household," Harper said sourly. "But I am not getting a woman!" he added. He liked women. He enjoyed female company and respected their abilities and intelligence. He was just a confirmed bachelor! 1400 years had only reinforced that.

"Williams will probably volunteer," Lawson said. "To be the mother figure!" he added quickly. "Not wife."

"She's not talking to me at the moment," Harper reminded Lawson.

"For Shepard, I think she'll make an exception."

"Unfortunately," Harper muttered.

Lawson chuckled. "It would probably be for the best," he said. "If this works, do you really want to be subject to the whims of someone you raised?" he asked candidly.

Jack took a deep breath. "I don't like being subjected to his whims," he said.

"Yeah, but he's 163 thousand light years away and calls in every few centuries. It's not really that bad," Lawson said, trying to be reasonable.

"You don't have to watch BB," Harper reminded him before growling at the frank look Henry gave him. "Yes, alright. Your point is well made. It's the same reason I don't have clones of myself running each planet."

"You'd never know what they'd get up to?"

Harper shook his head. "Worse, I'd know exactly what they were up to," he explained.

Lawson nodded, a look of wry amusement lighting his eyes. "I'll have the child ready after your return. Though," Lawson paused as he thought. "You haven't been assassinated yet, have you?"

"By Kai or Williams?"

"Either."

"You know I haven't."

"Then it's possible that they will sabotage the process."

"They wouldn't!" Harper objected.

"They might. Both feel  _very_  strongly about this."

"Then get the baby to me straight after ascension. I doubt they will kill me if I have had an influence on Shepard's life."

"They might kill you for that reason, though are you sure you want it to be that soon? You'll be going through your own adaptations." The first few weeks after Rebirth were painful which usually translated into a few eventful months. Each body had its own quirks. It had usually settled down into complete routine a few years in.

"I'm not sure I want the brat at all," Harper groused. "But I can't think of anyone else I'd trust with this."

"It's a big risk if it doesn't work," Lawson agreed. "You'll have an acknowledged child without a purpose."

Harper nodded, his glowing eyes dimming as he thought. "I'll happily take the brat if this works," he muttered. "And with 800 billion Humans, there has to be one couple I can trust to raise the brat. After all, he's not going to be important until he can actually think." Harper nodded to himself. "Yes, I think that will be better. And it will be far easier for security."

"And you can eliminate him quietly if it doesn't work?" Lawson suggested brutally.

Harper waved it away but Henry knew his old friend would be thinking along similar lines.

"It will work," Jack said. "But I don't want to give the Ullator someone to kidnap. Imagine the damage they could do?"

Lawson shuddered. That possibility did not bear thinking about. "You could let Williams raise him on one of the military worlds. The troops would probably adopt him."

"It's got some possibilities," Harper said, even if he didn't like the thought of Williams being in control of Shepard.

"If we go that way, do you want the baby earlier?"

"No, let's not rush this. Maybe the knowledge that it is happening will calm her down, give her time to get used to the idea."

Lawson snorted. "You got a couple of centuries?"

"Don't you start!" Harper growled.

Henry held up his hands. "It was my idea," he said placatingly. "Think about how you want to proceed but I'll be ready when you are," he added.

"Good," Harper sighed. "I'll let you know what I decide, and who knows, if I'm lucky Shepard might call."

Lawson looked Harper directly in the eye. "You're not that lucky," he said, deadpan, switching off the comm before Jack could reply.

Harper looked at the black screen for a few moments. "But I will be, Henry. I will be," he repeated. He didn't believe in luck. It was mostly good planning and he could do that.

-cfr-

**46468 Years after Human Ascension, 1415 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Ullator Homeworld: Ulan, Spy Master's Office**

"The Phoenix Empire is up to something," Under Spy Mistress Xavia reported.

"I'm aware of this," Zystos replied, dismissing the statement. He didn't bother to look up from his data pad.

"With respect, Sir, this is more than their usual plots," Xavia insisted.

"How?" the Spy Master asked, setting his stylus down and looking at Xavia.

"They are working on something big," she said.

"I doubt it. Right at the moment they have some internal problems." He didn't even try to suppress the note of glee he felt at that. The only annoyance was that the issues did not appear to have weakened the Phoenix Empire. Williams may not have spoken to Harper for the last 20 or so years but the military still functioned and the Phoenix Empire's expansion continued unhindered. He was beginning to think that the only thing that would stop the Phoenix Empire was the Nur Empire but they were still far apart.

"Yes," Xavia agreed, "and I believe those internal problems are covering their plans," she said. "In the Phoenix Empire, the military do not need to speak to the Emperor to do their job but I do not believe the military is up to anything. I think it is the Emperor."

"And what makes you believe this?" Zystos asked, inviting Xavia to sit. Xochitl had mentored him. He owed it to a few select agents, one of whom would rise to replace him, to return the service. That included listening to and then correcting wild theories like this.

"At the time Williams stopped talking to Harper, his conversations with Lawson went up dramatically," Xavia explained, sliding over a datapad with a representative graph.

"Harper has many reasons to speak to Lawson," Zystos observed. "Lawson is his designated heir."

"And we never see him in that role," Xavia muttered.

Zystos smiled briefly, amused. It was true. For an heir, Lawson did not do any of the traditional duties but then the Ullator had never come across a species that was almost immortal. There really wasn't that much call for an Heir if you never needed them.

"It's more than that Sir," Xavia shook her head at his response. "Up until the year 1393 there was a normal level of comms between Harper and Lawson but after that they began speaking far more often. I'd have expected a military build up or that a campaign was being planned, except he ceased speaking with Williams all together."

More graphs were displayed and Zystos could see the pattern Xavia was talking about. It was very odd. "How do you know this? No one has ever been able to turn one of Harper's bodyguards," he said.

When the Ullator had first encountered the Phoenix Empire, through the Fedochi Protectorate they hadn't been concerned at such a distant neighbour. Then details had begun filtering through about the species and their abilities. The Humans had a steady and constant expansion rate, maintained by their ability to terraform planets.

The theory was actually simple, maintaining the patience to do so was difficult, to say nothing of the expense. It took centuries to prepare some worlds for habitation but the Phoenix Empire was willing to invest that time and thus they expanded, not reliant on pristine worlds, though they were as quick as anyone to claim them.

Next, was their military. It was bloody huge! And for a species that had no major internal conflicts and no major interspecies war in their history, it made no sense. Sure, the story about them coming from the Milky Way was nice but it didn't have a bearing on now. The only feasible reason Zystos could see for a military that large was so that Harper could maintain full employment.

Or historically, they thought he was using the military to keep the populace suppressed but that didn't seem to be the case. There was a reasonably high level of support for the Emperor but that had initially been ascribed to the fact that Harper controlled the immortalisation process.

Except dissenting voices were not just executed or locked away, or disappeared. Depending on the size of the issue, Harper expected his Planetary Governors or Sector Heads to deal with it. If it was larger than that, he'd deal with the problem and generally he fixed the issue, usually by putting the Chief Dissenter in charge of the resources to ensure whatever it was, was dealt with properly.

So the military was not being used to subdue the population, at least, not in the traditional manner.

Then, through the information came one of the biggest mysteries the Ullator had ever encountered. The Project. Often referred to in Human literature and explained by Harper as something to protect them from something in the Milky Way but further details as to what it was remained elusive.

The best theory was that the Project was a super weapon to add to their already massive military but that still didn't explain why the military didn't do much beyond patrols and the occasional rooting out of private bases.

The Phoenix Empire was a tangled mess of contradictions and the easiest way to sort it out was to go straight to the top. No matter what fictions were fed to the people, those in charge generally dealt with the truth.

Harper's bodyguards seemed custom ordered for getting information from the top. They were with the Phoenix Emperor all the time, waking and sleeping, so they'd also know the truth. But insinuating an agent into Harper's bodyguards had proven impossible. Bribery didn't work. Blackmail had proven impossible and the agents they'd actually had try out for the position all turned on them, feeding information back to the Phoenix Empire, if they weren't just executed.

It remained a dream of most Ullator Spymasters to be able to claim they had one of Harper's bodyguards under control. If they managed it, it meant immediate promotion into his area, the Official Intelligence Force for the Ullator.

"Unfortunately, Sir, I have not been able to turn one either," Xavia said, somewhat mockingly. "However, other members of the Palace staff have proven much more biddable," she explained and Zystos didn't chide her for the note of unabashed pride in her voice. If she genuinely had an agent in the Palace, that was an accomplishment.

Now all that remained was to see how long the spy remained undetected. The current record was three months, ending abruptly when security forces had entered the room and the idiot attacked them.

Zystos had been told that the spy's body had been reduced to a fine paste by the Special Force's weapons, necessitating a complete disinfection of the room. That was the largest impact the agent had had on the Phoenix Empire.

He risked a glance into his office, where several information sorters worked as well as several sub-spymasters. The purge a few years back had left them busier than normal but at least he could be sure that the Phoenix Empire did not have an agent here.

"Very good work," Zystos praised Xavia. "I gather they are providing statistical data rather than hard intel." He made it a statement based on several other reports she had submitted recently.

"Yes, Sir. I deemed that safer."

Zystos nodded. Both Harper and Williams were very good at rooting out spies and the tiniest slip was enough for them to correlate the presence of a spy. Statistic intel, while still valuable, should be much harder for them to track.

"It's interesting, but it doesn't prove anything," Zystos said, referring to Xavia's initial report. "Williams has been Grand Admiral for close to 1300 years, if the records are believed, and Harper Emperor for nearly as long. In that time, I'd imagine they have become familiar with each other."

"Yes, Sir, I mean, no, Sir," Xavia said. "Yes, they are familiar, and no, I do not believe that explains it. The increase in comm traffic between Lawson and Harper indicates it has to be something else. If it was just familiarity then there would be no need for an increase."

"True," Zystos allowed. "But it could be coincidence." It was one of his jobs to look for easy answers. While there were no doubt conspiracies aplenty to be found, they could not always waste time on them when sometimes, the easy answer was genuinely the right one.

"It might be," Xavia said, "but there is one other thing to consider. They've been keeping it quiet but  _Lawson_  has been assassinated in the last couple of years."

"Lawson?"

"Yes, Sir. We know of two incidents but it could have been more. The fact that the Phoenix Empire is keeping it quiet and that they have not announced that they captured the perpetrator lead me to believe that they know who did it and further, they know why. There are not many individuals with enough rank to get away with that," Xavia concluded.

The Phoenix Empire had laws but the Emperor's will overrode those laws and there were three individuals who could most likely murder someone in front of the entire Empire and get away with it. Harper, Williams and Lawson. Not even Harper's bodyguards could do that, though plenty did kill under Harper's instruction and with his immunity. They were just required not to be seen doing it.

But if you assumed that, it had to be someone of that rank doing the killing. It made less sense. Why would Harper or Williams wish to assassinate Lawson? And even more confusingly, why would they keep bringing him back if he had truly done something wrong?

"I agree on the rank required," Zystos said. "But I do not see a logical reason for it. Truthfully, I do not see an illogical one either," he added.

Xavia nodded. "That is why I believe they are up to something, though," she added the word uncertainly, as if a new thought had just occurred. The explanation would make sense but they had absolutely no proof for it.

"Yes?" Zystos prompted.

"There is, supposedly, one person in the Phoenix Empire who could either kill Lawson, or authorise his death and get away with it. And it is the same person Williams would speak to over Harper," Xavia explained.

Zystos frowned, trying to think. He should know about such a being but his mind was blank.

"The Human net is rife with speculation and while most of it is written off as crazy, fantastical gibberish, if you look into it, Harper has actually supported some of the speculation. There's less literature about Williams but she doesn't contradict him on these points," Xavia explained.

"Which points are these?" Zystos asked, feeling slightly as if it was not he who was doing the mentoring but he dismissed that feeling quickly. He had an overview of the situation, Xavia was expected to know the specifics.

"Harper's supposed boss," she said. "Throughout the Phoenix Empire's history there have been mentions of someone Harper obeys. Now, it's never been confirmed but it's also never been denied."

There were two ways in politics to know the truth. Denial was the first. If a politician denied it, it was almost certainly true. The second was refusing to deal with it. If the rumour persisted long enough and the politician was skilled enough not to be confronted about it, but also never addressed the matter, then that absence of denial could also be taken as truth. Harper was skilled enough to avoid being challenged on the truth of the rumours.

"It would explain things," Zystos allowed. "But it is rather fanciful and I prefer something a little more solid," he added. "I will grant that the Phoenix Empire is up to something and that there are definite anomalies in their comm traffic but the Phoenix Empire is always up to something and without further information, at this point, it's impossible for us to move on half-truths. Additional speculation is meaningless without additional facts. This is good work, Xavia, and I do compliment you on getting an agent inside the Palace but we will need further work before the Ullator are able to take action."

Xavia indicated her agreement and Zystos was well pleased to see that she displayed no signs of disappointment. She must have come to that conclusion herself. That was good, it meant she was developing and that was only good for the Ullator.

Zystos gave her a supportive look as she rose.

"I'll find something, Sir," Xavia said.

"I'm sure you will," Zystos replied because he knew she would. The Phoenix Empire still had many secrets. They were still a huge threat but with every day that passed, the Ullator were were unravelling that threat and given enough time, they'd have it untangled and controlled.

Zystos was looking forward to that day.

-cfr-

**46498 Years after Human Ascension, 1445 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire Planet: Nong Trai (Farming Planet)**

"I'll be with you in a minute, Uncle Henry."

"Tch! How'd you know it was me?"

A chuckle was his response. "I'm in the control room for 3000 acres of grain. I see everything that goes on out there!" An expansive gesture took in the screens as the young man tapped on one of the control pads.

"My shuttle didn't land in one of the fields," Henry replied defensively.

"I saw one of your bodyguards," came the frank reply.

"Ah."

"Now," the young man said, turning around to look at his uncle. "What can I do for you today?"

On the screens behind him, a series of commands looped and Lawson watched the text scrolling. Most farming in the Empire was automated. Human input was required to control the huge farming drones, telling them when to plant, fertilise and harvest. So that's what the young man had been doing. Giving the drones their instructions for the day. Most considered it make work, something they should be giving to an AI, but since AI's were absolutely forbidden in the Empire, it had to go to someone else. Generally, those who did it were considered stupid but it was essential work and it was relatively safe and there were compensations. Those who did it, had full immortalisation rights after several years. Besides, both Harper and Lawson had made sure that this particular young man was kept safe.

"I came to talk to you," Lawson said, snagging a chair and settling into it.

The young man looked to be torn between amusement and resignation. "I still haven't decided if I want to join the military," he told his Uncle.

"It's not about that," Henry replied, waving the issue aside before he stared at the young man for a few moments.

"Then what is it about, Uncle Henry? I know you've been against me joining up since I first mentioned it."

Lawson smiled and nodded. "You know what the Empire says. Everyone was born for a reason-"

"-and has a purpose," the young man parroted. "I stopped believing in that bullshit a while back."

Lawson let out a bark of laughter. "I'm sure you did, Jon, but it is actually the truth. For some more than others, yes, but it is actually true. Humanity has a purpose," Lawson assured his nephew.

"So is this where you tell me I was created for some shadowy purpose?" Jon asked, laughing as he put the question to Lawson.

"Yes," the older man replied simply.

Jon sobered quickly. "What?" he demanded when Lawson remained silent.

"You were born for a reason, Jon," Henry said finally. "But you knew that already," he continued, ignoring the way the young man stared at him. "Not everyone has the Empire's 2IC as an Uncle, no matter how well I know their parents, and I know yours quite well," Lawson admitted.

The selection of foster parents to raise the infant Shepard had been an involved process and he had kept in touch, visiting at least once a year to ensure that Jon knew and trusted him. But now that the boy had grown, it was time to find out if their work had paid off.

"So what's my purpose?" Jon asked and Lawson could tell that now he was torn between excitement and worry. There was no doubt. Having the Empire's 2IC tell you that did tend to add credence to the story. Jon was a sensible young man so hopefully the news would not go to his head. Harper had already thought of a series of fail safes but Lawson was hoping not to use them but he also knew that Jon's life hadn't always been easy.

"I'll get to that. You are a designed being but then all of Humanity is designed," Lawson said. "But if we were to look at your genetics, you are closer to an original than to the present generation."

"A throwback," Jon spat and Lawson winced.

He might have underestimated the difficulties given the venom in Jon's voice.

"No." He shook his head. "Not a throwback," Lawson reinforced the words. "Original but not from Cerberus," he added and waited for Jon to work it out.

"But all originals came from Cerberus!" he objected, remembering his history lessons about the founding.

"True," Lawson said. "But you are like an original without being one."

"So I really am a throwback!"

"No!" Lawson said. "I wouldn't be here for a mere genetic anomaly," he reminded Jon. "Though we had thought we'd adjusted your schooling results appropriately."

The look directed at him was disgusted in the way that only youth could generate. "It wasn't the results," Jon said. "You can't hide learning difficulties from the other children. They notice!"

"You do not have a learning difficulty." It was Henry's turn to object.

"Tell them that!" Jon shouted. "I was always the last to get  _everything!_  It didn't matter what it was. Language, history, math, sciences. I was always the last!"

Lawson pursed his lips. He'd never seen this type of anger in Jon before and with it, he wasn't sure he wanted the experiment to work. Who knew what would be ordered with this sort of resentment. "You do not have a learning difficulty," he repeated. "I designed the Human genome this time and disease and genetic defects were some of the first things eliminated, even in the first generation. Your classmates have more chance of having defects than you because I monitored every aspect of your development," Lawson told Jon. "You are not a throwback. You are everything you were designed to be," he added, looking earnestly at his nephew.

"Then what am I?" came the immediate follow up question.

"You are a test," Lawson said. Even if he had to eliminate this Shepard, he wanted to find out if it was worth creating another. And truly, if the first order Jon gave was to kill his classmates that would be a cheap price to pay to know the experiment had succeeded. "A test of the immortalised," Henry continued and was not surprised to see Jon blink in confusion, the anger fading from his posture.

"Now, you aren't meant to know what that means," Lawson assured Jon. "Only a select group of originals know what that means," he added.

Jon frowned. "So you're testing to see if someone can be immortalised twice. I already exist?"

Lawson shook his head, wondering where the hell that theory had come from. "No, we already know that is possible," he said. "And you do not already exist,"  _in this galaxy,_  Lawson added silently. "But your genetic makeup is not unique but based on a very important template."

"But if I don't exist in the Immortalised then how could you have made me?"

Lawson nodded at the question. There were some aspects of this Jon was taking very well but that was probably not surprising, given that he'd always known he was adopted. And like all children of the Empire he accepted that genetic manipulation and cybernetic enhancement was the norm.

"You learned in your history classes that Cerberus carried a lot of genetic information from Earth. Cows, pigs, the crops," Lawson explained, jerking his head to the monitors which were displaying the huge drones Jon had set running earlier.

"Yeah, that's foundation history 101," he said. "All the Human genetic information was carried in the immortalised core," Jon continued.

"Not all of it," Lawson interrupted, looking at Jon pointedly. "There was one, special sequence which was stored separately," he said, making it seem as if Shepard's DNA had been brought with them deliberately rather than just haphazardly shoved in with other materials from the Cerberus organisation.

"Me?" Jon gasped.

"Yes, you," Lawson said gently. "Now, obviously, we brought your genetic make-up for a reason, even though we couldn't bring your mind. And now it's time to fulfil that reason." Lawson was a little surprised when Jon backed away from him. "Jon, what's the matter?" he asked, his confusion carried in his tone.

"No way!" the young man exclaimed. "I'm not going to be immortalised yet! I'm too young. I'm not ready!"

"I don't want to immortalise you," Lawson said. There was no way they wanted two immortalised Shepards because while it was possible that that was the key to making this work, it was a key they were in no way willing to turn.

Jon didn't look convinced but he stopped backing away. "So what do you want?" he asked.

Henry shook his head. "We did not invest quite a bit of time in creating your body, then another 24 years watching you grow up just to immortalise you," he said. "That would be a waste of resources," Lawson continued, knowing that it only really would have cost time. "No, we are more advanced than that. I just want you to talk to a few people," Lawson concluded.

"So no immortalised?" Jon asked.

"Well no," Lawson chuckled. "The people I want you to talk to are immortalised," he added. "But!" he said with a sigh as he looked Jon up and down, "we might need to get you some enhancements." It would be better to say that upfront since that was one of the simplest plans for eliminating a Shepard clone. Jon would simply die on the operating table.

"But we'll try without first," Lawson continued, ignoring the way Jon's expression displayed his faint disappointment.

"So I won't ever be able to have enhancements?" the young man asked.

"On the contrary," Lawson replied, knowing it was better to go along with Jon's request for the moment. "I think they are going to be necessary but we will try without first."

"And if it works, you won't then allow me to change!" Jon muttered.

"If this works, you won't want to change," Lawson countered.

"So, what is this thing if it's so good?" Jon asked sullenly, obviously not believing his Uncle.

Henry pulled out his comm. "It's not a thing. It's what you are," he said as he put the comm on the main work area. Jon watched, his expression clearly sceptical as Lawson initiated a link.

"Hello, Jon," a choral voice spoke.

"An immortalised!" Jon recognised the tone.

"Yes. I am Cerberus."

"Cerberus!" Jon's eyes widened and Lawson chuckled. He had gotten Darren to help him with this and they'd timed it so that Williams had just returned to organic form and they just had to chance Kai's presence.

"Who else would I call?" Lawson asked, as if it was obvious.

"So what do you want me to do?" Jon returned the question.

"Just talk to Cerberus for the moment."

Jon looked doubtful. What did one say to a ship of immortals who had founded the Empire? Know any good jokes about the Emperor was probably not something he could lead with.

"Tell me about the farm," Cerberus prompted. "Farming was very different on Earth," the choral voice observed.

"Well, we've got 3000 acres of fields," Jon began and Lawson tuned out as he opened a second line to Cerberus via his implants.

"Anything?"

"Nothing," came the instant reply. Lawson couldn't help the spike of disappointment before he reminded himself that just speaking was unlikely to cause any reaction.

"Alright, he's starting to explain the dairy herd, so let's try having him ask us something," Cerberus prodded Lawson to interfere. The Ascended really didn't need to know about the Empire's farming habits when all the information was available to them freely just for the uplink.

"Alright," Lawson said, tapping on a datapad to make it seem as if he was taking readings. "We have a baseline. Jon, ask Cerberus to do something please."

"Like what?"

Henry suppressed a sigh. It didn't matter what, just so long as it was something. "How about to come to this planet?" he suggested. If it worked, he'd get a lift home.

"Cerberus."

"Yes Jon."

"Where are you at the moment?"

"I can't tell you that," came the reply and Lawson's eyes narrowed. If it was truly Shepard, Cerberus should have had to answer.

"Why can't you tell me that?" the young man asked.

"Empire security," Cerberus told him. Jon nodded his understanding even though the immortalised would not see it.

"Would you come to this planet?" the young man asked and Henry gritted his teeth. This clone was not the assertive Shepard they needed to properly test with.

"Rephrase as an order," he instructed, though he wasn't feeling confident.

Jon glanced over at him and rolled his eyes as if to ask if his uncle was insane. Why the hell would an immortalised come to this planet just because he ordered it? Nevertheless, he complied. "Cerberus, come to this planet," Jon instructed. "Come to Nong Trai," he clarified though he knew the great ship would already know where Lawson was.

Cerberus was silent for a moment but Henry was wise enough not to feel any trace of hope.

"No," came the eventual reply.

Jon just breathed out in a half laugh, half snort, confirming his earlier knowledge. His uncle was insane for wanting him to ask these things but unbeknownst to him Lawson was engaged in a deep conversation with Cerberus.

"Anything?"

"Nothing. But it could be because I know he's not Shepard," Cerberus offered the conjecture.

Mentally, Lawson nodded. That was a fair consideration. Cerberus was already bound by Shepard's orders and those orders would only change when the real thing ordered them to change. Jon was the real thing but he was not the one who had given the orders.

"I can ask one of the others," Cerberus volunteered.

Lawson thought about it. He'd asked his Ascended form because it was safe. Cerberus already knew what they were trying to do. Asking one of the others would be dangerous because one of the few things they had discovered with so many inactive Ascended was how much they liked to gossip. With their networks, it made sense but Lawson had once told Harper there was no secrets within an Ascended form. For the LMC Ascended, there were very few secrets within the fleet.

"Legacy or Instinct would be best," he returned. The two youngest Milky Way Ascended spoke to the LMC ones the least. When asked why, they had given a rather sophisticated reason. They didn't like the underlying doubt the LMC Ascended had about Shepard's existence. Even Miroslav, the first LMC Ascended felt it, though not to the extent of Cannaman and Warren, and their, unfortunately, growing group.

"They might obey because they think it's Shepard, not because they have to," Cerberus reminded Lawson. "And they will be very unhappy when they find out it wasn't."

Henry would have liked to say that they wouldn't find out but cloning Shepard was a stopgap measure until the real one called back. "Let's ask Goertz then. He's sensible," Lawson instructed, thinking about the oldest Milky Way Ascended after Cerberus. Goertz already knew the situation so they could explain their solution.

"You'd better introduce him," Cerberus said, indicating that Lawson should pay attention to his nephew.

The conversation with Cerberus had only taken a second or so but Henry focused to find Jon looking at him, his head tilted to the side quizzically, wordlessly asking 'now what?'

"Hmm, that's a bit annoying but not unexpected," Lawson lied.

"If you're expecting me to control Ascended then that's stupid," Jon replied.

Henry was forced to remind himself that while this clone might not have more than 1000 years of selective breeding for increased intelligence, he was Shepard, and Shepard was not an idiot, which meant his next explanatory lie had better be impressive.

"That's exactly what I expect you to be able to do," Lawson said seriously, allowing his tone to tell Jon that this was not a joke. "But I also told you that we may have to make some alterations. We might even have to wait a few years," he added speculatively. "You are not yet the age you were on Earth and I don't know what's important for this experiment."

"So I do already exist!" Jon exclaimed, his voice hurt.

"No, you don't," Henry insisted, mentally adding the addition  _in the LMC._  "You died on Earth" he explained, "but that was longer ago than our history would have people believe and besides, you are you. The fact that your genetic makeup is the same as someone else's does not change that. They were them, and you are you. Sort of like twins. They might look the same but they are different people," Lawson said. He didn't care about any of this but he had done some research so he could deal with these questions, at least rudimentarily.

"We made no attempt to duplicate his life experiences when raising you, so you are uniquely yourself, Jon," Lawson assured him.

Jon looked at him before taking a deep breath and nodding. There was a hint of resignation in the movement and while on one level Lawson was pleased to see it, it was indicative of other issues. Jon had worked out that his uncle would get his way, one way or another but it was concerning because Shepard was a leader, not a follower and if it worked, though Lawson was doubting that it would, it would mean, potentially that this clone could be easily influenced. That was good in one way but it would mean they had to be careful about who they allowed near the clone. Well, more careful. They couldn't have some bimbo controlling his thoughts through sex, though that would be the easiest situation to deal with.

"Let's try a different Ascended, err, I mean immortalised," Lawson announced. "While you are you, Cerberus knows you aren't the original," he explained, perhaps cruelly but it was an inescapable truth.

"Hello, Jon," a new voice spoke. It was choral but toned differently from Cerberus.

Lawson didn't recognise it but knew his Ascended form would have gotten Goertz.

"I am Goertz," the Ascended continued, confirming Lawson's thoughts.

"I'm Jon," the young man said. "Do you want to hear about the farm?" he asked cheekily and Lawson felt slight relief. There was spirit in his nephew after all.

"No," Goertz replied. "Why don't you just see if you can order me to come to Nong Trai?" the other Milky Way Ascended suggested.

"Alright, Goertz, come to Nong Trai," Jon said, his voice a bit firmer than it had been when he was speaking to Cerberus. Perhaps he'd been intimidated by the Empire's first Ascended? "I want to see you land in the field," he added.

Goertz was silent until Lawson prompted. "Do you feel anything?"

"No," the Milky Way Ascended said.

Lawson sighed, nodding. "It looks like we need those enhancements," he said brightly.

Jon looked up at him, a trace of excitement lighting his eyes. "You meant it, Uncle Henry?"

"Yes, but only if you've really tried," Lawson said. "You really did try?" he asked.

Jon nodded seriously. "You don't think I haven't worked out what it would mean if I can control the immortalised?" he asked. "I know what that means. Every idiot who ever called me a throwback will regret it."

Henry laughed. "True," he said. He had already decided that would be a small price to pay. "Why don't you try that now?" he suggested conspiratorially. "You want it more than them coming here, don't you?"

Jon's eyes went wide, surprised at what his uncle was suggesting. "Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"I won't get in trouble?"

Lawson chuckled, deliberately projecting his emotions. It was an odd question given the circumstances. "If you can control the immortalised, then there is no one who can get you in trouble," he said, raising one eyebrow, questioning Jon's logic and sure enough after a moment of thought, his nephew laughed as well.

"Give it a try," he encouraged.

Jon nodded. "Goertz, there is a man named Filiberto Wordon on Freyjr. I want you to kill him." There was a note of vicious excitement in his tone.

Lawson watched with interest and while it was obvious that Jon wanted this more, it quickly became apparent that Goertz was not going to obey. Jon looked crestfallen and a little guilty but Henry paid it no mind.

"Goertz?" he asked, just to be sure.

"No," the Ascended replied.

"Oh well," Lawson said, shutting down his datapad as he rose. "Shall we see about those implants?" he asked Jon.

"You mean it?" Jon asked.

"Of course I do," Lawson said. "We'll try them first."

"Because the original me had implants?"

"And a number of other enhancements," Lawson said "And if that doesn't work, we'll wait a few years," he added. "I told you, Jon, we aren't sure what will work with this experiment," Lawson said, looking at his nephew but his decision was made. Failure and inability aside, it was time to eliminate this clone. "We only know that it will work," he added, to reassure Jon. He didn't need the boy thinking anything was wrong.

"What type of enhancements?" Jon asked, as he rose, not thinking about any risks.

"I'm not sure," Lawson teased before he turned serious. "Strength for sure, probably a data link as well," he began listing some of the more common enhancements available.

"Eyes and ears?" Jon prompted eagerly.

"I think we can get those done too," Lawson said, as he escorted his nephew from the control room.

He'd already made arrangements with Jon's adoptive parents so they'd know to send another worker to replace him. They wouldn't get the chance to say goodbye but Henry would authorise ascension for them as compensation because this experiment was finished.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jack has been enjoying the quiet but now that he's gone with that plan, things may not be that quiet. As Ashley warned him, there will be consequences but hey, who was she to deny him rope?


	66. The Bell Tolls for Thee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lawson figures out how to use the clones, but others are stirring and their plans are coming to fruition much to the consternation of the Fedochi, and joy of the Ullator. But maybe that joy will be short lived...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 65: The Bell Tolls For Thee**

-cfr-

**46498 Years after Human Ascension, 1445 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire Planet: Nong Trai (Farming Planet)**

Lawson looked down from the observation window into the operating room. With the Empire's second in command authorising the procedures, Jon just had to sign a couple of waivers before he marched right into the theatre.

The doctor had been fawning at Lawson's heels the moment he realised who Lawson was but at least he hadn't asked awkward questions as to why Henry was authorising the enhancement of a nondescript young man, on a planet where the full enhancement package was only rarely required. The doctor probably assumed Lawson wanted Jon as a body servant… which did not bear thinking about and the rumours were going to be annoying, if Lawson didn't already have a vague idea of how to deal with him, but the man's inattention had made it easier for Henry to co-opt the drones that actually performed the surgery.

They had enhanced Jon's eyes and ears and had moved on to his skeletal system. If Henry stopped them now, shock would set in and blood loss would kill Shepard's clone. It would be painless. With the number of drugs pumped into Jon earlier, he wouldn't feel a thing, so it would be humane.

"Yes, that's good," Lawson said to the doctor as he reached out to tap the controls. The man flushed with pleasure and said nothing but before Henry could send the signal he was interrupted by a beep from his comm. The tone indicated a high priority call. He growled softly and touched the device. "What is it?"

"I wouldn't do that."

Lawson jerked back as the caller spoke at the same time as him, then he blinked as he realised the voice was choral.

The doctor merely looked astonished before his expression turned sly and the vague idea Henry had been entertaining crystallised into full decision about action. He sighed to himself as he absently signalled to his bodyguards and they dragged the doctor out. Fawning and rumours he could deal with, potential blackmail was something else. Henry turned his attention back to his comm.

"I shouldn't do what?" he asked, flicking through several screens on the device to get more information about the speaker. They were Ascended obviously but Lawson's eyes widened when he saw the name.

Sahasa. She was one of the Ascended assigned to Nong Trai but Lawson knew she had tendencies in Cannaman's direction, so why was she calling now? How had she known?

"I would not harm that Human," Sahasa clarified and Lawson could detect a faint note of shock in her voice, as if she didn't quite understand what she was saying. She certainly didn't know why or she would have been clearer to start with.

"Why not?" Lawson demanded, though he felt a stir of excitement. Had it really worked after all?

"I don't know!" Sahasa said, "but don't!"

"How did you know to look? Lawson asked.

"We aren't completely oblivious to your actions," Sahasa replied.

"So you know who this is?" Henry said, indicating towards the operating theatre, even though she wouldn't see the gesture.

"He is the one you call nephew. Born from some material Cerberus brought from the Milky Way. A throwback," she snapped.

Lawson couldn't help but laugh. This was too much! "He is a clone of Shepard," he explained. "And you are protecting him."

"Shepard is only an historical soldier," Sahasa retorted.

"So why are you protecting this man?" he ordered her to answer.

Sahasa was silent. "Darn you!" she yelled finally. "What have you done?"

"Oh no," Lawson laughed. "This is what  _you've_  done," he told her, his voice encompassing. "Your persistent refusal to believe in the Project, in Shepard, forced us to come up with alternatives."

"And this is your answer?" she asked. "Some flesh bag?" She was not impressed but some Ascended liked to forget their roots.

"Yes," Lawson replied simply. "But not just any flesh bag. Shepard," he announced again. "Though I was about to terminate this experiment as a failure," he added. "If you'd have just kept quiet, this wouldn't have happened. Now, I'll have to find out the limits of your protective instinct," he finished.

Sahasa was once again silent and Lawson knew his point was made. In more ways than one. Ascended could not lie to Ascended so when Cerberus said that 'Shepard ordered the Project' that should have been enough. It wasn't. Maybe he should be investigating that trick of perception that made Cannaman's faction able to disbelieve.

"Just don't kill him," she said finally. "My weapons are already locked on," she added.

Now that was interesting. Ascended could not harm Ascended but he was not technically Ascended at the moment. Avatars did not count. Yet there was genuine reluctance in Sahasa's tone. Was that the rule of Ascended or simply because she knew the Empire would inflict consequences?

"So let's say I just don't let him wake up?" Lawson asked. "Not dead," he assured Sahasa. "Just in a permanent coma," he suggested.

She thought about it. "Why would you want that? Isn't that kind of useless?" she returned the questions.

"Sahasa," Lawson said slowly as the realisation came to him. "For all it seems that Cerberus is against you, that is not true. We only want you to protect the Empire and we both know there have been times, chinks in the Empire's armour when the Ascended have not done what they should."

It was a foreign concept for Ascended to protect organics but it had to be done.

"What of the Project?" Sahasa demanded and Lawson knew she'd conceded his earlier point.

"You don't agree with it, do you?"

"Of course not! How could I agree with something that wastes so many resources?" she growled in reply.

"Even now, having to protect this Human, you don't believe in Shepard?" Lawson asked, not bothering to hide his surprise. It was looking like the only thing which would convince the doubting LMC Ascended of Shepard's existence was him calling but Lawson was beginning to doubt even that would be enough.

"Shepard was a soldier of the Systems Alliance," Sahasa said and Lawson sighed deeply.

"We cannot make you work on it," he said. "But all we would ask is that you do not stand in its way. No matter what you believe, Cerberus was ordered to complete it.

Sahasa was silent again and Lawson took the opportunity to glance below. The drones had paused but they were continuing life support. Save for the Ascended above it would be so easy, but if the Ascended would protect Shepard clones then that was useful.

"Protect the Empire and don't interfere with the Project?" It was a statement but Sahasa made it a question.

"I think that is acceptable," Lawson said, especially if they reinforced it with Shepard clones, should this experiment prove viable. It wasn't what Jack wanted but you had to make do with what you got in reality. "But it leaves us with this problem," he added.

A faint hum from the security cams told Lawson that Sahasa had accessed them to see what was going on.

"He doesn't look like much," she noted.

"Bulk up a bit more and put some armour on him and that makes all the difference," Lawson said.

"Perhaps," Sahasa said. "You've always said Shepard can give absolute orders. Can this one?"

"I don't think so," Lawson replied. "We've tested it and there was no reaction."

"But I feel protective?"

"Yes, which was a surprise," Lawson told her.

"One you are going to exploit, aren't you?"

Lawson grinned, looking up at the camera.

"I'm what you would call a moderate. Get me off this idiotic duty of pretending to be asleep around a planet and I won't warn the others," Sahasa laid out a deal.

Lawson laughed. "Consider it done, if you add in your cooperation now," he said.

"Done deal!" Sahasa agreed.

Lawson tapped the control screen for the medical drones.

"An embolism?" Sahasa surmised when Henry sat back.

"That's what it will look like," he said. The doctor would get the blame and his mistake would be the cause of his apparent suicide. In reality Lawson was arranging for the injection of a cocktail of drugs that would put Jon into a permanent coma. "You feel nothing?"

"No, and I will let you know if that changes."

"That would be appreciated," Lawson said as he tapped the control and watched as the drugs were administered.

Jon didn't even move and Lawson watched the monitors displaying his higher brain waves as they slowed and then ceased. He turned his eyes from the monitor to look at Jon. He'd never met Shepard in life but he knew Jon looked the same. The hair might be different but his face was the same and Henry sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jon," he said before telling the drones to close up the incisions they had made for the implants. The boy would not be needing them now.

"You still feel nothing?" he asked, looking up at the security cameras.

"Nothing," Sahasa confirmed. "It was only when you were going to kill him," she said. "I've altered the security footage," she added.

"Thank you," Lawson said as he rose. He had learned over the years that even if he was Ascended it was better to be polite to other Ascended. It cost nothing and it had many benefits. Even Jack had learned that. Henry picked up his data pad before he left and he tapped his way through several security lines, not worry that Sahasa would be able to copy the passwords. Eventually he held up the data pad. "Where do you want to be stationed?" he asked aloud.

"Put me in Viarus," Sahasa instructed. "I'll help build immortalised," she said.

A few more taps and it was done.

"Anyone you'd like stationed on sleep duty?" Lawson asked. Ascended were gossips but they also had likes and dislikes and sometimes it was worse than a space soap but this was a small thing he could do and if it made Sahasa keep the secret a little better, then it would be a small price to pay.

"Katalaw," she answered almost immediately.

Lawson shook his head but he pulled up a list of the Ascended. There were almost 3000 of them now and Henry made sure he'd picked the right one before he reassigned Katalaw's duties.

"Thank you," Sahasa said and the word was a reminder of the differences between the LMC and Milky Way Ascended.

He nodded and sensed when Sahasa released control of the security cameras. Henry made his way out of the viewing area to the corridor where his bodyguards had the doctor detained. The man looked at him and Lawson sighed. He'd seen that look before and if the man though he could get away with anything then he had gained nothing from the 1400 years of selective breeding.

"It's a pity that such an experienced physician made such a basic error," Henry said and his bodyguards tensed. That only told them he wanted something done. "It is disappointing that he did not have the courage to face the mistake but instead committed suicide."

"No!" The doctor objected but Lawson's bodyguards were stronger than him. "No," he cried again as they dragged him back towards his office.

"String him up and then we'll be off," Lawson instructed, turning down the corridor towards his shuttle.

Someone would find Jon and the doctor and after that Jon's body would be given into the care of the state. Then, they could decide where to put him, and others like him, to make sure the Ascended properly protected the Empire's planets. The fact that he had authorised Jon's implants would be a curiosity, but one that was ultimately dismissed. Of course, he had signed for them, Jon was his nephew, but he hadn't been present. That's what the official record would say.

Henry's comm beeped and he recognised it was Harper calling by the tone. His old friend had probably been holding off from calling all afternoon but now could wait no longer.

"Hello Jack," Lawson said, settling into his shuttle.

"Do we have results?" Harper demanded.

"It's good to speak to you too, Jack. I hope the journey to Nong Trai was not stressful," Lawson replied.

"Yes, all of that," Jack said testily. "Tell me how he went," he growled.

"We have results," Lawson said nonchalantly, deliberately drawing it out.

"What type of results?"

Lawson could hear Harper's teeth grinding together and he took pity on his friend. "Mixed," he said seriously.

"Useable?" Harper probed straight to the heart of the matter.

"Yes," Henry said. "But not in the way we expected," he explained. "And not directly."

"Not directly?" Harper asked, his voice sounding doubtful.

"The clone's orders had no effect," Lawson explained. "I tried with both Cerberus and Goertz and neither felt any need to obey."

"Cerberus would know they weren't speaking to the original," Harper said.

"Which is why I tried Goertz, but still nothing."

"So what have you done with the clone? I don't need it experimenting to find something that does work," Harper growled.

"I was dealing with the clone when I found out how we can use them," Lawson said. "Sahasa interfered," he continued. "She's one of the moderate Ascended who takes Cannaman's view."

"Interfered how?" Harper asked carefully. He did not need a clone with the ability to control Ascended running around unsupervised but equally he did not need Cannaman's group finding out what he was doing. It would be disastrous if  _they_  could make a Shepard clone work!

"She stopped me from killing him," Lawson said. "Had weapons lock and everything," he continued.

"That doesn't make sense," Harper said. "Why did she stop you?"

"She doesn't know why," Lawson said. "I don't fully know why either but we can use it. She was compelled to protect him from death but not from an induced coma," Lawson explained.

"Where is the clone now?" Harper demanded.

"Still in the operating theatre. I went with the enhancement excuse," Henry explained. "The terrible accident will be discovered and the State will be given the body to care for. I bought off Sahasa by giving her a new assignment.

"I can see that," Harper said, having accessed the files. "So the Ascended have an unconscious desire to protect Shepard," he murmured. "Why did just Sahasa respond?" he asked before he went further into planning.

Lawson blinked. He hadn't considered that and he pulled up Nong Trai's defence schematic as his shuttle took off. It revealed the answer. Sahasa had been the closest, which was not surprising given she'd been in position above the major city.

"She was the closest," Lawson told Harper, "and the only Ascended on this side of Nong Trai," he added, looking back at the schematic.

Harper's image appeared on the screen. He was resting his chin on one hand. "So if we have three or four, maybe up to eight clones on each planet, the Ascended will protect the planets," he suggested.

"You're sure they will protect Shepard clones even if they are unconscious?" Harper asked. He didn't need to say it would be a pain if the clones were conscious. Even before considering the dangers of the clones running into each other, there was the pain of coming up with excuses to keep them in approximately one place on 315 planets. That would be annoying

"I believe so," Lawson replied and Harper nodded. This might be better than actually controlling the Ascended. It was far more subtle and if they did it right, some of the Ascended may not even realise what was happening.

"Let's get a couple of clones onto a planet, and arrange an attack," Harper instructed.

"The Ascended won't react to Human ships," Lawson reminded him. Williams was very good at wiping out privateers and even if they asked Kai for help it was doubtful that the Underworld would appreciate being destroyed.

Harper grinned. "We've still got Fedochi ships," he said. "And I think I can come up with enough templates to crew them."

Lawson nodded. "I'll set up some clones," he said.

"Yes," Harper agreed. If this final test worked then that should be enough to hold them and perhaps this outcome was the best he could have hoped for. It was viable, though not optimal. He'd have preferred control but failing that he was more than prepared to put about half of the 3000 strong Ascended fleet on to planetary protection duty while the rest made eezo. With the Ascended actually having to do the job, it should make the Empire much safer before the next attack. Because if there was one thing Harper had learned, there was always a next attack.

-cfr-

46502 Years after Human Ascension, 1449 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire Planet: Atto (Attori Homeworld)**

Cahyia stared at the letter. It bore the crest of the Empire. A mythological Human bird, rising from the centre of a stylised spiral galaxy. The bird was crowned. She'd seen it all her life on official documents. The Attori nation were a part of the Empire. Her heart beat pounded in her ears. She couldn't even consider the colour her frills were going.

"What? I?" Her usual confident voice deserted her.

One of the black clad Attori fished around in their side bag to produce a glass and a small flask of something. The drink was offered to Cahyia. She took it, tossing it back. It didn't touch the sides. A second flask was produced and a new drink poured.

"This is official," the second black clad Attori said, not commenting about the drink. "You are required to provide us with a small genetic sample now before following the instructions within."

"How long?" Cahyia managed to gasp.

"We are not privy to that information," came the flat response. Their frills were dull, betraying no emotion. Cahyia couldn't tell if they were jealous. She knew she didn't have that control. "The instructions are within." The Attori repeated, before holding out a sampling device.

Cahyia reached forward, and didn't even feel it when the sample was taken. The device pinged. Success. She knew that sound.

"I-" Cahyia swallowed hard. "Thank you," she managed to mutter before the one with the sampler turned away.

The frills of the one who had given her the drink flashed. It was a soothing colour. "No, thank you," they said. Cahyia couldn't determine gender. With the other gone their frills displayed the thanks. "May I come in?"

Cahyia nodded, sipping her drink before stepping back, and leading the way into her house. Iy'mka, her mate of many years was waiting.

"Who is this?" he asked, his frills glowing with curiosity.

"I am with Emperor Harper's office." The Attori introduced themselves. Cahyia still couldn't tell gender. They stepped forward though, and guided her to a seat before her legs began shaking. The implications were settling in now.

"So what is this about?" Iy'mka pressed. His frills displayed his concern.

Wordlessly Cahyia held up the letter. She took another ship of the alcohol. It was good stuff. Smooth but with a soft burn. She hoped she hadn't wasted the first glass.

Iy'mka saw the crest. His eyes went wide, and Cahyia watched as the colour on his frills flashed through the spectrum. Surprise, jealousy, pride. He settled on pride. She was happy for that. "Open it!" he urged. He had a suspicion of what it was.

Cahyia put the glass down. It was etched with the crest of the Empire. Hardly surprising given its source. The other Attori pulled out another glass, and poured a measure for Iy'mka. They didn't partake themselves. She fumbled with the letter. It wasn't on plasti-paper. It was on something else. It felt heavier, rougher. Somehow that made this more official.

The words were written in Attor.

' _By invitation of the Eternal Emperor Harper, on the date of #, Cahyia is offered immortalisation for services rendered to the Empire in the pursuit of science.'_

She couldn't read more.

"Cahyia," Iy'mka whispered. His voice was stunned. "This is fantastic!" he managed to gasp.

"But…" she didn't know what to say.

"You deserve it!" he laughed. The sound was light.

"But we failed," Cahyia managed to say. "I worked for 50 years on Quantum Shields, and we got nowhere! They are still an impossibility!"

"An impossibility the original Humans say is possible." Iy'mka pointed out the truth that was the starting point for all research.

"We didn't solve it," Cahyia reminded her mate. "We never even came close. Even with the help of the Immortals." She waved the letter. "I don't deserve this."

"You do," the black clad Attori said firmly. Cahyia felt herself jump. She'd almost forgotten they were here.

Cahyia and Iy'mka both turned. Iy'mka's frills displayed the question. Cahyia's displayed her doubt.

"While it's true your research never succeeded in producing Quantum Shields, it definitively closed off several lines of investigation."

Iy'mka gasped. Cahyia could read his thought. This was because she'd saved the Empire money? That hardly seemed right. Not with the numbers of people who had been conducting research. There were thousands, probably millions. None of them had succeeded. And surely they had all done the same.

"Others' works merely covered old ground," the Attori read their thoughts. "Additionally, there have been multiple progression developments from the base of your research." The Attori paused, letting them take that in.

"My papers are quoted," Cahyia said uncertainly.

The Attori's frills flashed. Annoyance. But not at her. "Your paper, ' _Passing Through Quantum Heat Depressions'_  is pivotal for much further research."

"I… But…"

"You did know that?" The Attori seemed amused.

"Of course, but."

"The decision is made."

"It-" Cahyia swallowed hard. "It doesn't seem right."

"The decision is made," Iy'mka repeated the statement. His frills betrayed his excitement. "Are you questioning the Emperor?"

"No!" the response was immediate. It was ingrained.

The other Attori seemed thankful for the support.

"The Emperor has made the decision. I'm reliably informed he didn't even hesitate to sign the order."

Cahyia wasn't sure what to think of that. The thought of her name being known to the Emperor. That was too much. She didn't want to think about it.

"Have another drink."

That was a good suggestion. Cahyia grasped her glass, throwing back what was left without pause. The Attori refilled it.

"Cahyia, this is a great thing!" Iy'mka assured her. "You'll finally get to ask that question you always wanted the answer to!" he joked.

"A question?" The black clad Attori was interested. The voice was sharp.

"No one has solved Quantum Shields," Cahyia explained. The alcohol was beginning to affect her now. "So why is the Emperor so certain they are possible?" She made her tone respectful.

"That is something you would be able to ask," the Attori agreed before the glow from the frills changed, becoming businesslike. "The document will tell you what you need to know." The Attori gestured to the letter that was still mostly unread. "However, there is some minor additional information that may assist you."

"What is it?" Iy'mka asked for her.

"When you are immortalised, you will be in a state of sensory deprivation until you awaken."

Cahyia nodded. There wasn't a lot of information on the process. Anything additional was helpful.

"Time will mean nothing to you. But you may not awaken for many years. Possibly centuries, probably decades."

She gasped. "Decades?"

"It is a high honour. Only given to a few. It takes time to collect the necessary intelligences."

Her frills reflected her uncertainty. She was retired but she had many years left of life. Immortality was- It was forever but it was a change in what she had known.

"Does she need to report immediately?" Iy'mka asked, his hand stealing over to take Cahyia's. It was a comfort.

"There is a time frame. You will need to get your affairs in order and the Emperor recognises/allows for that. The letter will tell you the expected dates, though some are negotiable."

"So why did you take the genetic sample?" Cahyia frowned. She looked at the thick letter. It was obviously quite detailed.

"To prevent anyone from pretending to be you," the Attori said.

"They wouldn't!" Iy'mka was horrified.

"It only happened once before we amended the procedure."

"What happened to them?" It was a morbid curiosity.

The Attori's frills showed amusement. "I think the imposter is still praying to die. The Immortals are not forgiving to those who try to circumvent their will."

The shudder passed from Cahyia to Iy'mka. They didn't want to think about it. Iy'mka squeezed her hand to reassure her. "We have to celebrate," he announced, changing the subject.

"What?"

"We have to celebrate!" he repeated. "Not many Attori are selected for this honour! It is something to be lauded!" She could see the guest list forming in his head.

"Indeed," the other Attori agreed. "The Attori Government has a fund for such events."

Cahyia gulped. It only reinforced the honour. She already knew it would be a State function. "Not everyone celebrates." Her voice was tentative.

"Some celebrations are more subdued," came the admission. "No one really cares if the Prime Minister is immortalised."

"Aren't they all?"

"Of course not! Only those who are worthy." The Attori seemed amused by her naivety. "That is why I thanked you. To the Attori Nation, you will embody what is possible in the service of the Empire. It will inspire others to do better. That will be your legacy."

Cahyia felt a thrill of fear. It warred with her excitement. The alcohol was making her feel warm but it was keeping her from collapsing.

The other Attori rose. They placed a card on the table. "I will let you read the information packet," they said. "That is my personal number. If you have questions, call me, at any time." There was emphasis on any. Cahyia knew they meant what they said. "If I can't answer, I will be able to direct your inquiry to someone who can."

Iy'mka nodded for her. They both knew it meant an Immortalised. She'd worked with them during the attempts to create Quantum Shields. The Immortalised were odd. They could be personable if they wanted. They didn't often want. They didn't need to. They respected competence.

"Congratulations," the Attori said before leaving.

There was silence for several moments. Iy'mka looked over at her. His frills glowed with excitement. She was glad someone felt it. She felt slightly sick.

"You're not jealous?" Cahyia asked in a small voice.

"A little," he admitted. They'd been together for years. They didn't lie to each other. She'd be worried if he said he felt only excitement. "I'm a bit afraid as well."

"You are?" she gasped, almost laughing.

He chuckled and Cahyia realised he'd gotten what he wanted. She relaxed, shifting over in her chair to lean into him. "You'll stay?" the question betrayed her fear.

"Of course!" He stroked her frills. "You'll remember me?"

Cahyia hiccuped. It was almost a sob. "Of course!" She copied his tone. She couldn't fight the tears.

"No, no! Don't cry! You are meant to be happy!"

"I am! But-"

"It's a lot to take in."

Cahyia dashed the tears away. She didn't deny it.

"We'll be okay," Iy'mka murmured. "Just one day at a time."

"One day at a time," she repeated. It had been a mantra during her research days, especially when things weren't going well. It was a comfort now. "I love you." She didn't say it as often as she should. She needed to now.

Iy'mka smiled. "Me too," he whispered, and she felt his trembling. They were both afraid but they would be together forever.

At least in memory. That was all anyone could hope for.

-cfr-

46505 Years after Human Ascension, 1452 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire Planet: Crick IV, Senator's Office**

Senator Xiomara Kuiper looked at the man before her. Usually she wouldn't meet with him. He was three levels below her, a Planetary Governor, and his reports had to be filtered through his Sector Head and Centurion but she knew something was up when Yannis Quashire requested a direct meeting with her via non-official means.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked carefully.

He had brought her troubling news, and if true… Well, there would be executions but she now understood why he had been so circumspect with his request. She also understood how difficult it would have been for him to get away and the risk he was taking.

Yannis looked at her. His eyes were judging. Xiomara accepted his regard, though it was truly too late. If she was involved he would not be leaving her office. He knew that in his heart but did not wish to accept it.

"Because, despite Sector Head Isaev's careful sales pitch, the plan does not benefit me, or Manswell."

When he said the name, she recognised the planet. It was more properly named Victor Manswell. The Emperor had named the planet with an odd smile, stating that it was in honour of the past. The planet was off many of the main trade routes. That's why having Yannis here was unusual. The Emperor didn't like people leaving their posts, for any reason.

Xiomara kept her expression neutral. If that was Yannis' only reason, it was acceptable but she had thought him more advanced than that. No. That was wishful thinking. There was a reason he was still a Planetary Leader. There was no shame in that, so long as he recognised his limitations and was content. Dishonour came with taking on tasks you lacked the skill to accomplish.

"It does not benefit anyone," Yannis repeated, speaking more expansively. "Isaev claims he has the force to ensure the Emperor Harper retires but even if true, his plan only leads to chaos."

She motioned for him to continue.

"While I may somewhat understand his motivations, Isaev is not thinking of the future. The Phoenix Emperor has provided stability for us all for years. The system allows development, while providing for all. Isaev would tear that down."

"Immortality?" Xiomara prompted. Most thought that the Emperor kept control simply through the provision of immortality. Yet, she knew that it was more than that. True, to become immortal one had to serve the Empire and in serving the Empire obedience was implied. But as Quashire had just pointed out, the Empire provided more than just that. It gave certainty to all. They knew their place, yet if skilled, they could grow. It was that which lead to contentment. A content populace was, to some extent a complacent population. It could easily turn and the Emperor was aware of that. He was also adept at anticipating the population's requirements.

"Not just that," Yannis shook his head. "The Empire provides if one provides for the Empire," he muttered the words that were taught to all. "It is a trite statement but it is true. The Empire does provide. Food, security, work but more than that, it provides certainty and peace. Isaev is proposing chaos, uncertainty, and the breakdown of the social structures we have known. He is proposing democracy," Yannis spat.

Xiomara felt one eyebrow raise. "He has the idea from the Attori?" she mused. They were a democratic nation. While Humanity had had the concept of democracy since before rebirth, it was only practiced in a limited manner. The Emperor preferred skill over popularity. If they thought about it, most Humans did. She wasn't sure how Isaev had managed to hide his thoughts… Though was it Isaev or Aoibatarn? Isaev was a mere Sector Head… he would know he didn't have the force. That implied Aoibatarn, the Centurion was also involved. He still didn't have control over the military force required but it would be a far more disruptive event.

"I believe so," Yannis nodded. "But democracy is by its very nature a compromise. I see that all the time."

As a Planetary Leader Yannis would. Throughout the Empire, cities were permitted to elect their Mayors and some other minor officials. Sometimes the individual did well, at others… well there were various mechanisms for removing incompetent officials. Planetary Leaders, Sector Heads, Centurions, Senators were all appointed and demoted on a competency based system.

"Isaev has not thought of the future. Taking down the Emperor, removing the current system will result in chaos. Immortalisation will cease, or will become the province of the rich. That does not serve the people of my planet. But even before that situation developed, there would be upheaval. There would be no guarantees, there would be no security and no contentment."

"While Isaev promises riches, he can give nothing but worry," Yannis concluded, swallowing hard.

"So, it is about what you have to gain?"

"No, Ma'am!" Yannis' denial was stringent. "It is about what is best for my people. The Empire is. They can go to work each day secure in the knowledge that they are safe, that they will have enough to eat, that they will receive sufficient health care, and upon fulfilling the Empire's requirements may apply for immortalisation.

"If Isaev's faction succeeds, it would destroy that. It would lead to poverty, to the strong preying upon the weak without care. It would be," Yannis swallowed hard, obviously repulsed by his own thoughts. "It would be barbaric."

Xiomara allowed her expression to shift as she regarded Yannis. The man did his best to remain still but she could see the way he squirmed. He was uncomfortable. He had doubts, yet those doubts were not about his actions. They were about her. It was almost insulting.

But it was understandable. If she was involved, he wasn't leaving. At the same time, she could respect his courage. Yannis had to tell someone and attempting to get an appointment with the Emperor's Office would raise undue suspicion, no matter how circumspect he had been with making the arrangements.

"Your appointment with me was to discuss my upcoming birthday?" She asked, going back to the official reason Yannis had requested this meeting. He'd been discreet with the booking but also provided that as an excuse. When someone from your planet rose to high office, it wasn't unheard of to thank them publicly. The Emperor didn't like it, but it still happened.

Her question didn't ease his worry yet he managed to nod. "You were born on Manswell, Ma'am."

"I was," Xiomara agreed. "And I would be greatly angered to see the planet of my birth besmirched with rebellion."

Her opinion of Quashire rose when he simply nodded. Relief didn't show on his face but was evident in a myriad of other ways. His body relaxed and his breathing was easier.

Senator Kuiper nodded, her eyes hardening as she looked at the Planetary Leader. "We have a lot of calls to make."

-cfr-

46513 Years after Human Ascension, 1460 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"I told you last attack, fractional  _c_  attacks are too easy!" Williams yelled at Harper, her voice growling. She hadn't spoken to him for about seventy years but the devastating attack on MacCaeba required a united response from the Empire.

Her still very real anger about his decision to clone Shepard had now been joined by her anger at his insinuation that the attack was somehow her fault.

"And I told you to come up with a defence," Harper shouted back. He'd been enjoying the long silence from Williams. Maybe a little too much.

"No," she snapped back. "What you said was that we'd put a committee on to it, and I did."

"Then why wasn't there a fucking defence in place?" Harper screamed.

Fifty million had died in the impact. Another hundred million had been killed by the pollution it caused and now he had an estimation that at least another nine hundred million would die because a contaminant had been identified as coming in from the ship. That said nothing about the ground based facilities lost and the two hundred years of terraforming it had taken to get MacCaeba to a habitable state.

Plus, even once he got the refugees off MacCaeba, he'd have to deal with their health issues for the rest of their lives. That was going to put a strain on the budget and he did not need that.

"It  _was_  in place!" Williams snarled. "But I told you, fractional  _c_  attacks are too easy and too fucking hard to detect. There wasn't enough warning."

"But there was warning!" Harper growled. He ran a military state. With warning, they should have been able to do more.

"Yes, and the Ascended even tried to stop it," Williams snapped back. "But you try doing something effective in thirteen minutes."

He swallowed the reply that in thirteen minutes he could do quite a bit. It wasn't the same and Williams would only be angrier at him. If that was even possible. Besides, it was not what they needed to be discussing.

Rescue operations were underway. His decision now had to be retaliation.

Harper took a deep breath, using the gesture to allow Williams to see that he was moving on to other matters. "So who was responsible?" he asked. "Who launched the attack," he clarified before they could argue again.

"The Fedochi," came the immediate response and Jack was surprised. This wasn't any skirmish he'd organised to check the efficacy of the clones. This was real. Even so, he would have thought she'd say Ullator, the way she had last time.

"Not the spies?"

Williams smiled thinly, recognising his accusation. "If we trace back through the Fedochi chain of command and reasoning, we'll find Ullator agents," she explained, "but the Fedochi actually launched the attack."

Harper's fingers twitched. He needed a cigarette, and with the way Williams was worked up, if he offered her one, she'd probably let him have it as well. But he had no supply. Instead he brought up a three dimensional galactic map, shifting its angle until the division between Ullator and the Phoenix Empire became clear.

"At least it wasn't an attack on the Project," he murmured.

"The Ullator did not actually send the ship this time, but it did come from within Fedochi space. It wasn't some border or breakaway group."

"So Duke level backing?"

Williams nodded.

"You said you had a detection procedure? Or a defence?" Harper asked, calming down. He knew what had happened now and that knowledge stilled his emotions, making him work through the problem logically.

"Only sub-light," Williams said, her voice deliberately soft as she too backed away from her anger with Harper. They could cut each other to ribbons after they'd dealt with this issue. "But the system is too inelegant. It's both computationally complicated and intensive and full of potential holes."

"And nothing faster than light?" Harper confirmed.

"Not unless you know how to track things going faster than light," Williams replied. Not even the Ascended could track a ship going FTL.

"How does this other way work then?" Harper asked, looking at the map.

The Fedochi territory was quite large and the Empire's response would have to be integrated.

"It's an interlinked sensor net," Williams began explaining but Harper could detect an absent note in her voice. She was thinking about deployments and may even need to upload to coordinate the military response. The advantage of having a commander who did not need sleep and who could absorb information updates near instantly could not be underestimated. "It's basically a giant tracker but for interstellar space. The motion of natural objects must be mapped so that deviations can be spotted and that their background movement does not always trigger alarms. Ships or artificial deviations, assuming that they travel sub-light long enough can be tracked and any intercepts known in advance. If you have enough computing power and data, ships entering and exiting FTL could be accounted for."

"An extension of space traffic control?" Harper asked, as his mind put the system together. It was pretty simple.

"With a deep space component," Williams nodded her confirmation.

"So," Harper said speculating. "A bigger net would be better?" He looked at her expectantly.

Williams looked startled for a moment before, despite the gravity of the situation, she chuckled, nodding lightly. "The larger the net, the more space we have to detect ships," she murmured, looking towards the map.

"So the four hundred or so systems of the Fedochi Protectorate would be useful?" Harper asked.

"They would add quite a nice depth to our net," Williams agreed.

"And they just destroyed MacCaeba," Harper observed before he shook his head. He didn't need a reason to invade. The deaths of fifty million and the destruction of a garden world with a mass strike and an unknown contaminant was more than enough justification for Shepard's orders.

"Can you rely on the Ascended?" he asked.

"Enough of them," Williams said. "And while I am forced to admit the Shepard clones have been effective, I do not like them," she added, glaring at Harper.

"It's worked, hasn't it?" he challenged.

Williams looked at him with half closed eyes as she shook her head. "Only partially," she informed him.

Harper pulled up a vid file. It showed two Ascended firing on the ship that had slammed into MacCaeba. "They were defending," he pointed out.

"But they are resentful," Williams said. "They know you've-" She grimaced. "- _We've_ , I get the blame as well, have done something. And they don't like it."

Jack frowned. "So Sahasa hasn't done much?" Lawson had told him she'd sell the position.

"Sahasa has done a lot," Williams disagreed. "And we've gained ground, but there is still resentment."

"They will no longer protect the Empire?" Harper felt a surge of anger. If the Ascended would not do that, then they were useless to him. The secondary plan for dealing with Tartarus might be an attack fleet of Ascended but it was risky and if they were not useful in the creation of more Ascended, and the protection of the Empire, then he would come up with another way.

"They will, but they don't like being forced."

"Then tell them if they do their fucking job I won't force them. Protect the planets they are assigned and don't interfere with the Project," Harper said. "That is as far as I will compromise," he growled. There was something about being Ascended that just made Humans arrogant. He knew they were loyal. When organic, they were raised to be loyal to the Empire but give them immortality…

Inwardly, Harper sighed. Ascended were more arrogant. The combination of minds went to make them mostly outgoing and assured of their superiority. That was a part of Ascension but  _he_  was Ascended. He had no idea why they then did not believe him, why they did not obey him! Or at least Williams. He didn't like to admit it but she was Cerberus to most of them. That should have been enough!

"I'll tell them," Williams assured him.

"How many Ascended can you rely on?" he asked, with a deep sigh as he sought to bring them back on topic.

"At least two thirds," she said but her voice was considering. "But I probably wouldn't say more than 500 are combat ready."

"Losses?"

"Probably," Williams admitted, looking at the Fedochi territory. "We are going to have to be quick. There's a chance the Ullator Federation will launch an attack as well."

"No!" Harper growled. "That territory is ours," he said, looking at the map. "How long will you need to mobilise?" he asked.

Williams sighed. "Two weeks," she said. "I'll need that time to plan the invasion route as well."

"500 years was not enough?" Harper quipped.

"I need to make sure we capture the right members of the Kratos," she explained viciously. "Some of them had to have known about the attack."

"Get Tirto as well," Harper instructed.

"Ilkin too?"

"If you can," Harper acknowledged. "I think he's more likely to have known but Tirto is officially in charge so it is on his head."

"To be duly separated from his shoulders?" Williams asked. She remembered what he had promised when Nkiru was attacked.

"There are consequences," he confirmed. "You don't need to be nice to either," he told her. "I'm not happy about the loss of MacCaeba." He looked back to her. "You'll be in Cerberus?"

"Yes," Williams said. "I can coordinate better there."

He didn't bother to tell her to be careful. Cerberus would have an escort and was one of the most capable Ascended. Every decade or so, they held war games for those Ascended who wished to participate and Cerberus generally won.

"Instinct and Legacy want to come," she told him, asking for permission.

"So long as they stay with you," he said.

As they had grown up, the two youngest Milky Way Ascended had wanted to put their skills into action and while they got all the practice they could ever want in mass effect field manipulation and fine husk control while working on the Project, they wanted combat experience. It was just another way in which the LMC Ascended differed from the Milky Way created ones. Ascended in the LMC were generally created from those Humans who had lived their lives and had children. They were balanced individuals who were comfortable with their identities. They were also used to peace and stability in their lives and as such, as Ascended they tended to be not as aggressive. Even Cannaman and Warren, with their objections and disbelief were mostly vocal about it, rather than proactive. They may not have protected planets but they hadn't sabotaged the Project, which was just as well or Harper and all the originals could have been in real trouble.

"Let me know when you are ready," Harper said, knowing better than to set a deadline. "I'll make an announcement," he told her. "In the meantime, we'll need to work on recovery." Jack looked thoughtful for a moment. "If you can get any information on the contaminant, that would be helpful," he said.

It might be Ullator design but the Fedochi would have had to make it. Eventually the Human scientists would work it out but he wouldn't say no to additional information.

"How long will it take?" Williams asked.

"It depends on how fast we can clean up," Harper said. "Two hundred years to terraform MacCaeba. All gone now, in less than an hour."

"Get the air filters in."

"For the dirt and dust that's no problem but the contaminant is the problem. It looks like a cross between heavy gold and uranium but it's neither."

Williams winced. Neither of those elements were good in atmosphere. "I'll get something," she promised. "And I'll call tomorrow with an outline," she added before her hologram disappeared.

Harper sat back, sighing as he looked at the map of the Fedochi Protectorate. He needed a drink.

After 1400 years, dominance was not meant to be this difficult.

-cfr-

LMC Galaxy, Ullator Homeworld, Ulan, Spy Mistresses Office

"For two weeks, we have been in shock. For two weeks, we have mourned the tragic loss of life on MacCaeba and we have struggled to deal with the incomprehensible magnitude of this disaster," Harper's voice was strong though his inflections carried all the emotions his Empire would expect to see.

Grief, sympathy, compassion.

He had obviously practiced and Former Ullator Spy Master Zystos shook his head slightly when he saw a sparkle of unshed tears from the corner of Harper's eye. The Human's acting skills were absolutely perfect.

"But I come before you now with grave tidings." The Emperor's voice changed, becoming firmer, harder. "The loss of over 1 billion souls on MacCaeba was not, as first thought, a tragic accident. It was a deliberate attack on a defenceless world." Harper's voice was angry and this time Zystos snorted in disbelief.

Defenceless was going a bit far. All Phoenix Empire systems were crawling with defences but not even they could stop what had looked like a ship with engine difficulties but Zystos was assured that they had tried and they had come close. But close was not enough this time.

Emperor Harper's image vanished to show footage of the ship falling through MacCaeba's atmosphere but before the inevitable impact the image was stopped and it zoomed in on the ship. Then several features were highlighted.

"This is the Fedochi trade vessel  _Prahaar Pahala_ ," Harper's voice explained, "registered to Nigam Corporation, which is owned by Duke Eizeaj of the Fedochi Protectorate. And here is the evidence that this was not a tragic accident but a deliberate attack."

A few frames of the vid played and it looked like the  _Prahaar Pahala's_  engines fired.

"In addition, the  _Prahaar Pahala_  was not carrying its listed cargo but instead its load was a contaminant designed to salt the atmosphere, leading to additional deaths and the destruction of MacCaeba's biosphere!

"An accident would have been a tragic event, one we mourned and cried and in our shared sorrow, we would have built closer ties with the Fedochi."

Harper was laying it on thick, Zystos thought but he continued to watch the feed from the Phoenix Empire. This would be an historic day

"But a deliberate attack means that there is only one acceptable response," Emperor Harper said in a cold tone and Zystos was reminded that the Human Emperor was a very good orator. "This. Means. War." The statement followed quickly, each word enunciated dramatically.

There were implications Zystos needed to consider but he kept his attention on Harper. The Human wouldn't be announcing this unless his ships were already dispatched.

"The blood of the innocent children of MacCaeba demands like payment and at 14:57 Standard Empire time I signed a formal declaration of war against the Fedcohi Protectorate. The Phoenix Empire's military launched offensive action through the established buffer zones.

"We have been struck and we have been burned but like the phoenix we are named for, like Humanity before us, we shall rise out of the ashes of MacCaeba stronger and it shall be the Fedochi who know our pain!" Harper ended, looking straight at the camera for a moment. His glowing eyes were fierce in their resolve before his image was replaced by the crest of the Phoenix Empire. The stylised bird was rising out of a spiral galaxy that had a planet as its centre.

Zystos shook his head before shunting the view screen away. If Harper said the military action began at 14:57 it probably meant Williams' troops had crossed the border several hours earlier. They would have already swept through several border systems because the Fedochi were not ready for this war.

Exarch Tirto would be scrambling to muster his forces.

Zystos turned towards Xavia. "Very good work, Spy Mistress," he complimented her. Xavia had taken over the position of Spy Master from him and he now served as a sort of Mentor to her.

"I thought you might like to see this live," she replied.

"It does seem as if everything is working out," he said. Even if the Fedochi Protectorate were not ready for this war, it would weaken the Phoenix Empire and that was the primary objective.

"Has the Ravitel decided to act?" he asked.

Xavia looked annoyed. "They are still deciding if we should take the opportunity to annex some of the Fedochi territory for ourselves."

"What have you told them?" Zystos enquired. It wasn't until a few years after he'd been Spymaster that he had appreciated Xochitl's continuing conversations with him. At the time, he'd thought she'd been checking up on him, as if she had doubts about her choice and while that was undoubtedly some of the reasoning, the majority of the reason was to keep him sane. When you were a subordinate spymaster you could talk with the others or with the spy master to hash out ideas and just generally relax. Once you became Spymaster, you could show no such weakness, so while Xavia was probably tense with frustration, Zystos was going to continue his periodic visits. At least for a little while and eventually she would come to understand, just as he had.

"Nothing yet," Xavia said. "I'm waiting to hear from my agents in the Phoenix Empire. This is the first time we've seen them at war," she explained. "While I'm sure Williams or Harper would understand it's just opportunism, they may react badly as it's at their expense."

Zystos nodded. It was a sensible if somewhat safe position to take. Then he looked pointedly at a blinking comm light.

"That will be the Ravitel now," Xavia told him, reaching out to accept the call.

It was fair to say they both recoiled when the image was not of a Ravitel official, or one of Xavia's agents but a very different Human. Grand Admiral Ashley Williams. She was dressed in her day uniform and behind her, two black clad special forces held what was left of Xavia's agent between them.

"Don't bother to say anything," Grand Admiral Williams said. "This is a recording set to transmit after Harper gives our declaration of war." She paused to let them take that in.

"I know that when I look into Duke Eizeaj's finances, I will find a tenuous connection to Yhtio, a company he'd traded with a few times. It's nothing special and all completely above board.

"But when I look further, I will see a few transactions with another company, Moniala. Again, all legitimate. And that will go on. There are many, many legitimate transactions, all with legitimate companies." Williams' image smiled at them and she took a deep breath.

"It only gets interesting when I look at the components sold. All look benign but several mix to form highly unstable and dangerous compounds. Of course, that's nothing unusual for a Duke of the Protectorate. They are charged with protecting their people and must be armed to do that. But it's when we look back, quite a few layers, through the myriad of companies and individuals that he traded with, do we find that half link back to Sachivokam. Which we all know is primarily owned by the Ullator Republic and Balah, which is owned by Clan Eashira.

"Now Xavia, I know you belong to Clan Qabayla but I also know that you have-" Williams paused, grinning, "-relations with the Eashira's leader so it would not have been hard to convince her to go along with such a lucrative venture. It's a little more complicated than that," Williams said, looking directly at the camera, "but I won't bore us all with the details, suffice to say that while it was very well hidden, I know who was responsible for the attack on MacCaeba, just as I know Spymaster Zystos was ultimately responsible for the attack on Nkiru."

She signed. "So now, what does this mean, especially as Harper has just declared war on the Fedochi Protectorate?" Her eyes became hard and any softness that had been in her posture disappeared. "It means Spy Mistress Xavia that if I see so much as one," Williams held up one finger to emphasise the number, "Ullator ship on the Fedochi side of the border then, while I know you think you can take us, I assure you that in the heat of battle, you will be destroyed. Stay on your side of the border and we won't have further issues.

"Yet." She added the word testily and Zystos wondered if she'd argued with Harper that they should take on the Ullator as well but the former Spymaster knew that for all his seeming aggression, Harper was more the slow and steady type.

"We will not attack Ullator holdings, and the Emperor will communicate this to your ambassador officially but I am watching you."

The recording ceased and the line went dark. Zystos' deep breath was mirrored by Xavia and the two of them shared similar thoughtful expressions. "That was interesting."

"Informative," Xavia replied. "It explains why my agents have stopped responding," she added the explanation.

"I imagine some of them have literally spilled their guts to Williams," Zystos observed, using the Human expression.

Xavia appreciated the irony. The Human leaders were considered competent but not vicious. It was remarkable marketing on their behalf and an image he had no real idea how they maintained, only that they did.

"Probably," she agreed.

"What's the record now?" Zystos asked curiously.

"Three months, ten days, eighteen hours and seven minutes," Xavia replied.

Zystos sighed. The Humans were as efficient as always. "You should tell the Ravitel," he prompted.

"I suppose," Xavia replied. "Williams said that but I wonder if she would really risk a war with us so soon after the Fedochi?" she asked, her voice speculative.

Zystos thought about it. For all that the Phoenix Empire was purported to be a military state, this was the first time he, and the entire Ullator Federation would see them at war, not just retaliation strikes. It was possible Xavia was right, but it was equally possible the Humans would be so angry, or high on bloodlust that they attacked anyway.

"Williams also knows we are responsible. I think she'd welcome the opportunity to take on our forces," he reminded Xavia. "I don't think she will invade but if our forces are in territory they are openly attacking, to the Phoenix Empire we'd be trespassers or worse, reinforcements for the Fedochi," he said carefully. It was no longer his place to give Xavia instructions but he could offer advice and an unbiased ear for her theories.

Xavia nodded to indicate she'd heard as she continued thinking. No other species caused this much thought but no other species had been quite as adept at rooting out spies or presenting such contradictions. Not even the Nur. For all that they were huge, they were predictable. The Humans were just that unknown and every time they thought they knew them, another face presented. Xavia began tapping one finger on the table. "Both Harper and Williams have purged our agents but I wonder… I think they are perverse enough that if I just ask they'll leave an agent in place."

Zystos stared at Xavia. "You cannot…" He snapped his jaws closed. It was not his place to speak.

"It's insane, I know," she acknowledged. "But if we can't place agents via subversion then we might as well be open about it. In some ways, I think they'd be amused enough to let us discover more."

"Except none of the intelligence could be trusted," Zystos pointed out.

Xavia smiled deprecatingly, as if saying that none of it could be trusted now. "It's just a thought," she dismissed her suggestion. "I will tell the Ravitel not to authorise any attacks and to be discrete with our probes for the duration of this war. I believe we will be able to work with our ambassador. And it's possible we may be able to negotiate for several systems," she added, pulling up a map and highlighting a few systems.

They were Fedochi but they were along the border, protruding slightly into the Ullator Federation. It would make sense to negotiate for them.

"Don't be surprised if they refuse on principle. The Phoenix Empire's bloodlust might be sated on the Fedochi but their leaders will remember the truth," Zystos said.

"Yes, but we should also consider the alternative," Xavia said. "We've never seen them at war. We've always assumed they'll be good at it and they certainly have enough ships but maybe they won't be as good as we expect."

Zystos nodded. That was possible but he didn't think it likely. The Phoenix Empire was far too practiced at everything else to neglect their war skills but perhaps they would lose their stomach for it. "That is possible," he allowed, "but I think you know what I would advise."

Xavia flashed a grin at him. "In this situation, I cannot fault that advice," she said. "We must wait and see how the Phoenix Empire fairs but at the same time, we must be ready to take advantage of any opportunities that present themselves."

"Indeed. Business as usual?" He asked, cocking his head slightly.

"Business as usual," Xavia agreed. "Until the Phoenix Empire shows their true colours," she added and Zystos could tell she was thinking about the opportunities this war would provide for insinuating new agents into the power structures of the Phoenix Empire.

If they played this right, it would show them everything they needed to know.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The war between the Fedochi and the Phoenix Empire has started. Of course the Ullator started it but that's just a detail. It's a good thing Lawson figured out how to make the Ascended stand guard, even those who didn't want to.


	67. It's All to Plan... Probably

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fedochi are fighting a losing battle because they don't know how well they have been compromised.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 66: It's All to Plan... Probably**

-cfr-

**46513 Years after Human Ascension, 1460 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Planet Tucarro, Fedochi Protectorate**

Ghassan was a member of the Fedochi merchant class. They were a small group who had to work a hundred times as hard as one of the nobles to get maybe a thousandth of the profit and while there were days when he resented that, he just had to remind himself what the alternative was. After that, it didn't seem so bad. Well, there were two alternatives. One which would provide food if he was lucky and the other would have him starving.

Since there was no guarantee of food, he wasn't going to bend knee to a noble, work just as hard and get no acknowledgement. And that of course was if he was lucky. There was no guarantee any noble would accept his service, hence the starving. Well, he could starve working for himself just as easily as working for a noble but at least working for himself meant he got to keep his gains.

And the last century or so had been good. Exarch Ilkin's ill-fated assault on the Phoenix Empire border worlds had provided Ghassan with a windfall he was still reaping. He lived in Tucarro, a system which, at the time of the attack had been adjacent to a border system. It meant he got the benefits of being close to Human systems and their goods without actually being on the border and he had a large enough population of Fedochi to sell to.

In the aftermath of the so called invasion, Tucarro had been virtually untouched. The Phoenix Empire forces penetrated further into the Protectorate with their retaliation, driving home the inescapable point that they were the stronger nation. Of course, the Kratos didn't say that but Ghassan wasn't stupid and when Tucarro had gone from being adjacent to a border system to the border system, with the establishment of the buffer zone, that meant refugees and uncertainty as to which Duke now held jurisdiction over Tucarro.

Ghassan was only peripherally aware of that. What he did know was that the refugees needed things. Food, shelter, water, clothes and with the Duke's engaged in territorial battles as well as political battles with the new Exarch, it meant that the merchant class had the opportunity to step up to fill the void. But they had to be careful. If they appeared too prosperous, the Dukes would pay attention and that would be the end of their gains. Even opposing sides of blood feuds would cooperate to keep the merchants in check.

Still it wasn't that hard to maintain the proper image. In public. The refugees from the former border systems didn't have a lot of cash and so they had to look for other means of payment. Ghassan hadn't slept with the same concubine for anything more than a year since the invasion. Of course, the women weren't called concubines. That was a right reserved for the nobles and he knew they'd been taking advantage of the situation as well.

No, the women were his housekeepers and for the year they were indentured to him, he fed them, clothed them and used them whenever the mood took him. At the end of the year, if they'd pleased him, he usually arranged a new indenture for them with another of Tucarro's merchants, for a nice profit. Otherwise he just let them go. The merchant group had no need for troublesome women, not when there were plenty more willing to indenture themselves for the promise of regular meals. He didn't actually sell the women, so he wasn't a pimp but he was definitely overstepping the bounds of legality.

Some of the merchant class campaigned for them to back the democrats but Ghassan saw no reason to risk his lifestyle. Why should he give his money to an organization which just wanted to put a new overlord in place? No, better for him to keep his money and enjoy it than risk a raid from one of the Dukes chasing democrats.

It was because he was thinking about the pleasures to be had in the arms of his latest indentured woman that he didn't hear the alarms as he locked up his shop. It wasn't until he stepped back from the main lock, pausing and looking around to make sure everything was where it should be that he consciously paid attention to the wailing noise.

In the aftermath of the Phoenix Empire's retaliation all major settlements, especially those on border worlds had had their security upgraded. More defense ships, provided by the Exarch but also shelters for civilians because the nobles needed some to survive to rebuild their facilities. That of course was not what they said but Ghassan dealt with reality and the so-called shelters on Tucarro could only hold two thirds of the population.

Ghassan looked up as he weighed his options. He could try to get to a shelter. His stature would ensure him a place, especially if he left now but if this was the Phoenix Empire attacking… well of course it was the Phoenix Empire! They shared the border with Tucarro but the Phoenix Empire targeted shelters and gatherings. They were vicious that way and they'd offered no apology for their retaliation. Plus if he left his shop… Ghassan shuddered.

It would be stripped bare by the time he got back! No, if this was a retaliation strike, then he was better off taking his chances here. If it was a raid, that was definitely true and if it was a full invasion, well, the Phoenix Empire wouldn't kill them all.

Even they needed workers and he had the skills to organize them. All he had to do was survive the initial chaos and then he could convince them of his skills. Life would go on, just under new masters and while Ghassan didn't really want to kneel to anyone, he dealt with reality and the Phoenix Empire shouldn't be too bad. They wouldn't know what was custom and what wasn't for the Fedochi.

Ghassan smiled and continued locking his shop, paying particular attention to the shutters as the alarms wailed in the background. Instead of going upstairs to his lushly appointed living quarters, he'd take refuge in the storage basement. When the attack was either driven off or Tucarro was under new management his life would go on, with a few minor alterations.

What Ghassan did not know was that in Tucarro's space, and in the space of other border systems, the might of the Phoenix Empire was massing and they had little interest in backwater, underdeveloped planets like Tucarro.

There was one more thing Ghassan didn't know but perhaps living in such close proximity to the Phoenix Empire he should have. The Humans could and did actively terraform their planets. While at approximately two hundred to two hundred and fifty years their life spans were a quarter of a Fedochi's, they could and did undertake work which would take centuries to complete. For an attacking force, if you were prepared to take that long to clean up, it gave you other options when attacking a planet.

At the moment Ghassan made his decision to stay with his shop, to ride out the attack, three mid-sized rocks had been selected from the debris that littered the system. They were accelerated on trajectories which would have them hit simultaneously.

Those who made it to the shelters would survive the initial impacts, unlike Ghassan but over the next weeks, many would die from suffocation or starvation as they struggled to eke out a survival on what remained of Tucarro.

And what none of them would ever know is that they had been hit so hard because to the Phoenix Empire's records, Tucarro was the property of Duke Eizeaj.

In the end, the nobility really did take everything.

-cfr-

**46515 Years after Human Ascension, 1462 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC (2 Years Later)**

**Juswiymia System, Fedochi Protectorate**

Earl Muhsin stood on the bridge of the  _Ironside_. His fleet, and Duke Seyyit's was arrayed in the defence of the Juswiymia system. Ten dreadnought class vessels and their reinforced fleets were arranged in system along with the planetary defences. The Exarch had also contributed forces but the majority were Seyyit's. This was his ancestral holding and he would defend it to the death. Earl Muhsin's family were the hereditary administrators. Duke Seyyit was on the planet, which was safest as he had a dead mans switch temporarily connected to his life signs. That should keep the Phoenix Empire forces from being too rough and should give them pause. Of course, being the Duke, he had the override codes but that was merely his privilege.

The Duke had, many years ago, before he came into his inheritance, done a tour of duty with the Phoenix Empire in an effort to improve relations. He knew how they thought and his firsthand knowledge had been invaluable in setting the defences.

After Tucarro, the Humans had been careful to capture planets in as good condition as possible. The threat of planetary destruction should slow them down and that was all his ships needed to fight.

While it was wasteful, the outer system facilities had been abandoned in favour of the habitable world but each mining drone and station had been rigged with booby traps and the self-destructs were primed to blow if the first life sign aboard was not Fedochi. Several of them had small eezo charges, so even if the Phoenix Empire won, they would have to bring in their own ships to mine and they would not have the advantage of the existing resource maps.

Earl Muhsin felt his lips purse. It was a petty thing but necessary. The Phoenix Empire had no honour. They did not understand the grace and elegance of war and their ruling Lords were not Lords but were instead individuals who had clawed their way into their positions, much like that bastard Kuoxxar. There were rumours that his ilk were becoming active on several worlds within the Protectorate.

But not here. Muhsin was sure of that. His family had, for centuries, put down the slightest whisper of that democracy crap. It did not work. Surely they could see that?

Democracy had gotten the Attori conquered and they now bowed to an immortal noble, though maybe Emperor Harper had the right idea. Muhsin had heard that the Phoenix Empire allowed limited democracy but only to strictly controlled ranks. Thereafter, appointments were made but were not based on noble blood, Muhsin reminded himself, shaking his head slightly. No. You were born to the station commensurate with your skills and should be honoured to serve. Within the ranks of your class there was some advancement and that was enough.

"Report?" Earl Muhsin ordered the Comm Officer.

"There are no signals yet, Sir," she replied firmly as Muhsin knew she would. Cemile's father had been a comm tech and she was training her eldest son to take over, just as she should be. "Ground control reports that all civilians have been confined and they are taking up defensive positions within the cities."

"Very good," Muhsin nodded. "Relay that to the Duke and let me know the moment the Human ships appear."

Others might have been tempted to denigrate the Humans but Muhsin felt no need to curse a lesser species. They would provide a strong battle, a great test of his forces and then they would be driven back, and tonight, as the clean-up crews worked and his ships pursued the fleeing Human ships, he could join Duke Seyyin for a glass of Asitrise and a joint of Elmeth and all would be well.

Muhsin waited, feigning serenity while his impatience grew. Where were the Humans? They were meant to have been here hours ago! He shifted his feet, relieving the pressure on each slightly but otherwise he retained his calm appearance. It was the duty of the nobility to always appear in control, though just as he was considering retiring for a meal, a soft alarm sounded and everything froze, recognising the tone. The Phoenix Empire was here.

"Give me an assessment of their fleet," Earl Muhsin ordered, all hunger forgotten in the surge of excitement. Finally! They were here and he'd get his first true view of their forces. "Open a comm to Duke Seyyit," he instructed.

"They are here Sir," he said as soon as the link was established.

The Duke smiled at him and Muhsin was impressed at how calm Seyyit seemed. He was completely serene in the face of the Human invasion, just as a noble should be.

"How many ships?" Seyyit asked.

Muhsin glanced at once of the screens for information. "Twenty dreadnoughts," he reported, "with reinforced fleets. There are five carrier ships near the rear of their formations," he continued, looking at the schematic.

The Phoenix Empire ships were in parade formation but they were quickly dispersing.

"And?" Seyyit prompted, his voice suggesting he was expecting additional ships.

Muhsin was about to confirm that there were no other Phoenix Empire ships when another ping from the sensors heralded the arrival of further forces.

Seyyit nodded and Muhsin waited for the identification.

"By the ancestors! What is a mausoleum ship doing here?" the call came from the sensor techs and Muhsin would usually have punished them but he wanted to know the same thing.

"Which one is it?" Seyyit asked.

"Sir?"

"Which one is it?" The Duke repeated his question softly.

Muhsin looked at him curiously. The Human mausoleum ships didn't have names. At least, he'd never heard of them being named as anything beyond the planet and a number. More pings signalled the arrival of further Human ships and the sensors confirmed they were more mausoleum stations.

"Check for IFF signals," Muhsin ordered, while Seyyit waited. "And give me a time to intercept," he added. The Human ships were still a long way out. They would have to thread their way through the mine and missile fields as well as the scattered areas of debris that had been laced through the system. It would be painful to clean up but they were effective at slowing attackers.

Finally the pings of arriving vessels stopped and the Human fleet was laid out before them at the edge of the system.

"Sir, assuming a 0.1  _c_  rate of advance, it will take approximately 6 hours for the Phoenix Empire to reach our positions. That could be extended if they capture facilities along the way."

Muhsin nodded at the information.

"It's important," Duke Seyyit interrupted. "Which Human ships are here?"

Muhsin looked over at the scans. The names of several dreadnoughts had been determined and the great ships were cleaving their way through the outer reaches of Juswiymia. Muhsin didn't need the fuzzy sensor readings to know that even at this distance, their weapons were hot.

"Sir, we detect the  _Devastator, Sabre, Retaliation_  and  _War Maiden_  as the primary ships. They are supported by the-"

"No," the Duke interrupted. "I do not mean those ships. Which of the other ships are there?" Seyyit's voice was intent with his question.

Before Muhsin had a chance to answer the comm blinked and a Human face appeared.

"To all Fedochi Forces in the Juswiymia System, I am Grand Admiral Ashley Williams and I am here in response to your act of war against the Border System MacCaeba. The Phoenix Empire does not tolerate such barbarism but we are merciful. I will give you one minute in which to surrender. If you do not comply I am authorised by the blood of those who perished to take this system by force." At that her image disappeared and Muhsin found himself looking again at Duke Seyyit.

The man was quivering and Muhsin could detect an inappropriate flush of excitement in his features. "Sir, do you wish to respond?" he prompted, ignoring the signs of ecstasy. In many ways this was an exciting time, so perhaps it was understandable.

Seyyit opened his eyes and stared at Muhsin, as if seeing him for the first time. "There is only one response," he replied to the Earl.

"Very good, Sir," Muhsin said, nodding. "We will ignore the Human transmissions."

"No," Duke Seyyit contradicted him. "You will do no such thing! Instead you will inform Grand Admiral Williams," Seyyit actually shivered when he said the name, "that Juswiymia surrenders, without condition for we are not fit to be graced with her presence."

Muhsin stared at Seyyit, running the words through his head again just to make sure he had heard correctly. And then he felt a sick feeling roil through him. "With respect, Sir, you cannot mean that!" He managed to sound reasonable despite the shivers that threatened to envelop him. He'd never heard, never imagined that betrayal on this scale was possible.

"Without condition," Seyyit repeated before he shook his head sadly. "You do not understand the perfection the Humans represent. Not all of them, just those who have been uplifted to a higher plane of existence. They bestow their blessings upon the Phoenix Empire and now, they have come for the Fedochi Protectorate.

"We should not fight them but welcome them, for we are beneath them. We are vermin and thus whatever fate they decree for us, is all we deserve!"

Muhsin never thought he'd be in this position, but facing enemies from behind and a traitor from within he knew what he had to do. From his earliest days he had been taught about duty. "Captain," he said to the woman near him. She had seen and heard everything. The entire bridge crew had, as had the guards on Seyyit's end of the vid link. "Effective immediately, I am assuming control of all military forces in Juswiymia. The strain has been too much for Duke Seyyit."

The Captain nodded. "I understa-"

"Not so fast, Earl Muhsin," Seyyit spat his name with venom. "I am perfectly sane and in control but you are way out of line. If you do not comply, I will take you out," the Duke announced and on one of the  _Ironside's_  view screens, Muhsin saw a flash of light.

"What was that?" he asked the Captain sharply.

She turned to her crew.

"The  _Hunter_  just blew," came the response from the crew.

"The Humans have no assets in this area!" was the instant objection.

Muhsin didn't know who was speaking but he didn't care. The screen displayed an expanding debris plume from the  _Hunter_. It was only a light frigate but it should not be gone.

"A demonstration," Seyyit said, pulling Muhsin's attention back to him. On the screen the Duke held up a data pad. It was hard to see clearly but there was a list on it and one entry was discoloured.

Muhsin felt his eyes widen when he realised what the Duke meant.

" _I_  control the forces of this system," Seyyit told him, one finger lingering over another entry on the list. Muhsin didn't need to see clearly to know it was the  _Ironside_. "But you will not know the glory of the Humans if I just destroy you," the Duke continued.

Muhsin waved one hand, putting the signal to mute. "How much does he control?" he demanded to the Captain, though he already knew.

"Everything," the woman replied. "Beyond the deadman switch, the Duke has the override codes for every ship, missile, mine, laser, everything in this system!" she told him.

"Can we disable it?" Muhsin growled.

The Captain looked uncertain for a moment and the Earl could tell she was thinking. "Maybe," she said slowly. "The override signal coding is linked to the self-destruct," she added.

Muhsin nodded. The destruction of the  _Hunter_  had just proven that. "How far are the Humans?" he demanded.

"Still several hours."

He heaved a deep breath, thankful for that but they should have been in contact already. A Human minute was not this long. "Our time is up, have they called?"

"No, but I've been listening."

Muhsin wasn't the only one to jerk back at the choral voice which answered his query.

The comm link to Duke Seyyit unmuted itself and the choral voice continued, obviously carrying on an existing conversation with the ranking nobleman. "You have been very good," it told him and there was no hiding the way Seyyit quivered with obscene pleasure. "And I know it's not your fault that Earl Muhsin will not obey," the echoey voice continued. Muhsin could detect a note of amusement in the odd tones. "But you cannot expect much from the lesser ranks."

Duke Seyyit nodded his agreement with the female voice and while Muhsin felt insulted he couldn't risk interrupting. The entire crew was frozen, transfixed by what they were hearing.

"But my loyal servant," the voice continued, "it  _will be your_  fault if you do not punish him for his insubordination."

Seyyit suddenly looked horrified, and his eyes, which had been glazed with pleasure, cleared momentarily.

"No," Earl Muhsin breathed the denial as he realised what the Duke would do. "Your duty!" he objected.

"Is to my mistress," Seyyit replied, his eyes fanatical.

Muhsin shook his head before fixing his gaze on the Duke's bodyguards. "I call upon you to do your duty," he commanded, directing his voice towards them while Seyyit began to tap at the datapad.

The Human laughed, because even with the distortion that's what it had to be, and Seyyit's bodyguards seemed to melt. Muhsin recognised the shift as coming from hologram projectors being turned off but he was left staring at abominations. They might have been Human once but now all that was left was oddly glowing cybernetic skeletons and the weapons they held.

"What are they?" he demanded, feeling ill as he deliberately averted his eyes, turning back to Seyyit.

"My bodyguards," the Duke replied. "A gift from my mistress to ensure I could continue her work," he dismissed them. Duke Seyyit glanced at Muhsin but then looked beyond him, except, there was nothing beyond. "Mistress, are you ready?" he asked.

"I am, my servant," came the Grand Admiral's reply. "This will be beautiful," she added.

"For you," Seyyit agreed and Muhsin felt his eyes widen as the Duke tapped the datapad.

The effect was not instantaneous and the Earl felt his stomach sink as he turned his attention to the screens. Alarms rang as several frigates exploded, and then several cruisers followed them.

"Don't do this," Muhsin implored Seyyit. "You have a duty to your people," he added, calling upon the sacred responsibility of all nobility to protect their sworn servants.

Duke Seyyit appeared to look at him for the first time and Muhsin felt a tiny stab of hope. "My duty is to show my people the unmatched power of my mistress," he said, his expression becoming earnest. "Because the forces of the universe bow to her," he explained. "You should be honoured to die in her presence."

Earl Muhsin waved the screen to mute and looked at the Captain. "Disconnect us from the network," he ordered.

"We've been trying to, Sir," she replied. "The links have been forced open!"

"By us?" Muhsin demanded as more ships destroyed themselves.

"We don't know! They just won't close. The  _Ironside_  wasn't designed for stealth," she added.

Muhsin nodded. That was true. The  _Ironside_  was a battleship, designed to take the brunt of attacks while dishing them out. It was not designed to be invisible and that meant open comms in system.

"Rip them out if we have to," he yelled the order. They had to do something! Anything!

"We're trying!" the Captain shouted and Muhsin didn't begrudge the breech of protocol because right now he'd reward the crew member who managed to disconnect them.

More and more ships below up as Muhsin watched the screens.

"Patch us through to Cyr!" He growled. If they could not cut the comms, then they had to inform the Exarch of the treachery.

"I don't think so," Grand Admiral Williams voice said and Muhsin spun back to the screen displaying Duke Seyyit in time to see him stab one finger down on the data pad. He looked to be in the throes of ecstasy and Muhsin wondered how Williams could control the Duke so absolutely before he dismissed the thought. It didn't matter. There wasn't anything he could do to break it.

"Bye, bye," the Human voice said.

"No!" Muhsin yelled, turning back to the Captain hoping something had changed in the last seconds.

The last thing he saw was the woman standing at her station, her eyes closed as she made her peace, then the  _Ironside_  groaned and Muhsin knew fire was lancing through the superstructure. As it reached the bridge, he realised his feet still hurt.

Then there was nothing.

-cfr-

**46515 Years after Human Ascension, 1462 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Imperial Palace, Fedochi Homeworld Cyr, Fedochi Protectorate**

It was mid-afternoon and Exarch Tirto had a headache as he stared at the map. The latest updates were grim. The Phoenix Empire had completely destroyed Juswiymia, ravaging the entire system, killing every one of Duke Seyyit's defences and if the spy probe reports were accurate, and he was inclined to believe them, the Human fleet had suffered no losses while doing so.

That should have been impossible!

The Juswiymia System had been very well defended. It should not have fallen so quickly! It should not have fallen!

There was not meant to be this much difference in their tech levels! Yet apparently the Phoenix Empire had more secrets than even his father had guessed. The Protectorate was losing ground and even though he was rushing the development of new tech, it would not be enough.

At least the Ullator Federation was quiet. Tirto was thankful for small advantages because most of his advisors had been adamant that the Ullator would attack if shown weakness. No one could tell him why they weren't and his father's rather pessimistic opinion was that the Phoenix Empire had staked their claim. At the moment, it didn't matter and he had to decide what to do.

If only he knew why!

Except his father had told him why didn't matter and that even if he convinced Emperor Harper to tell him why, it wouldn't make any sense. It was true, and Exarch Tirto forced himself to look at the map again.

The Phoenix Empire was advancing like a wave. None of their attack fleets were over-extended and there was only silence from behind their lines. If only there was silence behind his.

Duke Vuqar had assured him they'd killed Kuoxxar. He'd seen the reports personally. He'd even seen the body but there were rumours and growing evidence that somehow Kuoxxar was back. And his followers, those fanatics who believed the rabble rouser was immortal, were acting up again. Exarch Tirto had already authorised the Kratos to deal with rebels harshly. They had no need for any disunity now.

His father, once again, blamed the Phoenix Empire, specifically Emperor Harper and while Tirto was tired of hearing that the Human Emperor was responsible for everything going wrong, he couldn't deny that it made sense. And he couldn't even talk to the Human Emperor for anything since Harper had refused to take his calls, unless it was to surrender. And he wasn't that desperate yet.

He had the honour of the Protectorate to uphold. His people were relying upon him and it went against everything the Protectorate stood for but once it became clear that Duke Eizeaj had launched the attack, Exarch Tirto had offered his head to the Phoenix Empire. On a platter if necessary!

Harper had laughed at that and had informed him that he'd already given one warning so now was fulfilling his threat. That was when Harper had still been talking to him. The last time they had spoken the Human had complained that he'd been woken to speak with the Exarch and that wasn't going to happen again so Tirto had to be reasonable.

It appeared all Exarch Tirto could do now, was watch as the traditions, the culture and the strength built by his forefathers was destroyed.

A comm pinged and Tirto looked over. It was the military line which probably meant another system had fallen. He looked at the map. His head hurt and as the afternoon sun traced across his desk, he continued trying to think of answers that were not coming.

He realised his head was going to continue aching for quite some time.

-cfr-

**46516 Years after Human Ascension, 1463 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Unspecified Location, Fedochi Protectorate**

"Now, while the Kratos is distracted, there has never been a better chance for us!"

"And what of that distraction? I doubt the Phoenix Empire will treat us any differently than the Kratos."

Silence greeting the statement and it hung in the air between the would be revolutionaries. They had gathered in what had become something like a cross between a meeting place and a church for there were those amongst them who had seen the reborn Kuoxxar, and who knew their leader would appear again to help in their struggle to gain democracy.

"That's where you are wrong!"

The voice was soft but powerfully spoken and they all turned towards the speaker. It was an older Fedochi, one who had seen much abuse from the Kratos but as those revolutionaries watched, the speaker seemed to straighten, standing tall before throwing back his concealing hood.

"Kuoxxar!" someone finally whispered the identification, the breath of air doing nothing to hide their shock.

"I have returned," he confirmed, "because now is our hour and we must act!"

Those gathered who believed just looked at him, feeling a sense of euphoria filling them. Others were more cautious. They shared the goal, just not the blind faith in a Fedochi who appeared to be able to rise from the dead. All of them had heard of others who had pulled the same trick and those who returned had simply turned traitor.

Except, even those who doubted couldn't deny that there was something different about Kuoxxar. His executions, for one, were long, public, visceral affairs and there was no doubt that it was Kuoxxar won the executioner's block. But then he returned, often years later, without a mark or a scar on him, as if he had not been executed in the bloodiest way possible.

Both Exarches had allowed the use of archaic execution techniques on Kuoxxar, in an effort to suppress his movement but the ideals, the dream of democracy lived on.

"Your presence assuages doubts," one of the elder revolutionaries announced, "but there is one thing we haven't considered, even if the Phoenix Empire seems friendly to our cause, they are ruled by an Emperor and he does not change. And they have taken the Attori's freedom," he reminded the gathered group and all eyes turned to Kuoxxar.

"On the contrary," the seemingly immortal replied. "The Phoenix Empire have given the Attori greater freedom! They are now citizens of the Empire, which means they may travel where they will but their local issues, those that impact upon Attori are decided by Attori and then the Empire insures they have the resources they need." He held up one hand to forestall objections.

"I know that sounds fantastic but, this is information the Kratos does not let us know. There was a drought on the Attori Colony world of Qoidus. It lasted a decade and all through that time Emperor Harper rescinded their taxes and shipped in resources so that no one suffered. I'm told he even had his terraformers look at the planet to see if they could do something."

"And could they?" The question came from a cheeky young Fedochi who most had dismissed as still being a child.

"Alas no," Kuoxxar replied, almost laughing. "There are things even the Humans cannot do," he added. "The Phoenix Empire is led by an Emperor and the upper echelons are appointed by him. The Kratos would have us believe they are selected from a nobility but they are selected from the people. Within the Phoenix Empire they democratically vote for their city leader, their region leader and finally their planetary Governor. The Emperor insists that all are competent and he punishes corruption heavily."

"How?" came the demand from all around but most had already been swayed but the tone of assurance in Kuoxxar's voice.

"You've heard the phrase 'Off with his head?'" Kuoxxar asked, looking around. "Emperor Harper means it quite literally. Corrupt officials are not left in a position to re-offend," he assured them. "That is why the Attori are so content. Everything that mattered to them has been maintained. The Empire gives them protection but it also gives them freedom, just as they will give us freedom if we are strong enough to accept it."

The gathered crowd was silent as Kuoxxar finished speaking. They were all thinking about what their rebellion would really mean. There were those who had withdrawn, stating that while the Phoenix Empire was attacking they had to support Fedochi but there were others who had decided to take the opportunity the Phoenix Empire had given them. Even if it was for a short time, they would take their freedom.

"Now," Kuoxxar broke the silence, knowing that they were with him. "This is what we must do to strike as one with our revolutionary brothers and sisters on adjoining planets…"

-cfr-

**46517 Years after Human Ascension, 1464 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

Williams absorbed the information as it was fed into Cerberus from the Admirals and Generals who were on the front lines. There were a couple of Shepard loyal, as she called them, Ascended with them, but the Humans, with their organic bodies could not hope to keep up with her command abilities. Those with them had Ascended military personnel vocal within their immortalised forms.

It was a continuing source of amusement that Harper was annoyed that to most she was Cerberus but the Emperor hadn't seem to realise that she ran the military, both organic and Ascended. Harper knew it but despite his own, long past organic military experience, he hadn't fully realised what that meant.

While organics generally did retire from the military, they had residual loyalty when Ascended and those immortalised forms containing high ranking officers were usually the most active in military manoeuvres, though some, regrettably had gone to Cannaman's side. They'd understand in time and while she hadn't given her blessing, she had told them that so long as they did not interfere they could pursue their own paths.

Legacy and Instinct were with her and the two young Milky Way Ascended had enjoyed destroying Fedochi forces, though Legacy had told her, in a voice that even after all this time, still sounded young, that they were considering erasing the experience and information gained because Daddy promised to teach them.

It was endearing but Williams had managed to convince Legacy to do that only once Shepard began lessons. She'd also hinted that it might be nice if Legacy could impress Shepard with pre-existing knowledge but the young Ascended was still thinking about it. She couldn't complain really, she knew Shepard had made that promise, and her fellow soldier would be a good teacher.

While Legacy, at least had said they would hibernate, the reality of fully awake and operational Ascended had proven to be too much of a lure. Legacy now participated actively in the duties she assigned, though of all the Ascended Legacy was the most vocal with dislike of Cannaman's position and that was truly endearing. Instinct felt the same way but was prepared to be silent about it, except for the one time Warren had provoked. Ascended could not attack Ascended but Williams was willing to bet that Instinct came close.

She'd told the ring leaders to leave Legacy and Instinct alone after that and they had obeyed, but not without a few snide comments that Williams had ignored.

The war, such as it was had been good for the Ascended, those who had survived. It had given them all experience and depth and not just to the Milky Way Ascended. The Milky Way Ascended already knew there was the possibility of death. They had all come very close to the permanent end. It had been a rather brutal realisation for the LMC Ascended.

First Denna had been injured in a Fedochi ambush but had managed to limp back to safe Phoenix Empire territory and had been repaired. Williams had spoken with her, and the Ascended now appreciated that while their form held the potential for immortality, they still had to be careful to obtain the reality.

It was a lesson others would never learn. The most foolhardy of the Ascended had believed in their immortality, only to find out that the Fedochi weapons could kill them. But the deaths had served to galvanise the Ascended. While they may not believe in Shepard, they all agreed that the Phoenix Empire would be better off ruling the galaxy. It would be safer for Humans, and thus, safer for Ascended.

At least the LMC Ascended took their training seriously now, though perhaps that also had something to do with Legacy and Instinct out performing many of them during the war. While she had tried to make it safe for them, there was no guarantee and Legacy, at least, seemed to enjoy the vicious battles.

"Ah!" Williams pulled herself from her reverie as a tidbit of information made itself known. As desperate as the Fedochi had been, she had been careful to ensure they did not destroy their own planets and the defensive nets around Phoenix Empire worlds had been increased and reinforced with extra Shepard clones.

She didn't like it but couldn't deny the efficiency and efficacy. Still, in the mercy she had allowed to avoid irradiated worlds, Exarch Tirto had escaped and for her to declare the war over and take over the last few hold out planets, hopefully without combat, she needed him. They had Exarch Ilkin but that was not enough but it appeared she was in luck.

Kuoxxar had delivered several systems and now a signal indicated he may be delivering more. She opened the comm. "You have something?" The echo in her voice would let those she was speaking to know they had to answer without the need for introduction.

The connected visual was mildly amusing but she'd gotten used to the mad scramble that accompanied such calls.

"Yes, Ma'am," one of the Fedochi in the room stuttered. Kuoxxar was present but he liked to think of himself as Harper's servant. It was an illusion Williams hadn't broken because it kept the Fedochi believing he was independent.

"Will you report, or shall I wake the Emperor? She asked.

Kuoxxar flicked one finger to order one of his followers to comply. That was the reason she didn't break the illusion. It was easy enough to make them do what she wanted as no one wanted to disappoint the Emperor.

"We've been acting covertly on this world," a Fedochi woman replied as Williams causally hacked through their security to identify the speaker. Nesrin was the daughter of a merchant. She'd joined Kuoxxar's cause after she'd been almost literally sold to one of the lesser nobility, not as a concubine, which was a position that had some recognition but as a pleasure woman, in exchange for some trading rights. She had not been impressed with her father.

"The Duke is mostly reasonable," she admitted before shaking her head. "We've detected a small contingent of ships entering the system earlier Phoenix Empire standard time."

"What makes these ships special?" Williams asked.

While most of the Fedochi military ships had been destroyed and the groups that hadn't been were scattered. Without Relays, there were no gathering points, so hunting them down was a tedious task, so there were still a few pockets moving around. The Phoenix Empire had cordoned off most planets, so captured the ships when they tried to resupply.

But on the last few hold out planets, on the border with the Ullator there was more movement. Williams had deliberately held back here. The planets would fall but only when she gave the word. In the meantime, the planets were both test and trap.

A test for the Ullator, to see if they would make a grab for them. So far they hadn't attacked and the continuing destruction of their probes seemed to be enough to drive them back. And a trap for the remaining Fedochi ships because the planets were liberally laced with spies both indoctrinated and those paid with currency.

"There was a dreadnought with them," Nesrin explained and Williams felt a surge of surprise.

She thought they had gotten them all and pulled up with lists. All Fedochi dreadnoughts were crossed out and she could see the footage which confirmed each kill. The Fedochi had no dreadnoughts unaccounted for. It could wreak havoc on their smaller fleets if there really was a dreadnought!

"Where did it come from?" Williams demanded.

"It's the  _Warlord_ ," Nesrin said. "The Exarch's personal ship. It's considered a private vessel," she explained and Williams resisted the urge to growl. That was a major oversight but at least she was in a position to deal with it.

"Have you confirmed that the Exarch is present?"

"Not yet. We don't have anyone in the Duke's household."

_Because the Duke is careful_ , Williams added mentally.

This was a test for Kuoxxar, to see how well he could do when the ruling Lord was not completely oppressive. Thankfully some of the lesser nobility were not so respected for well-deserved reasons.

"But a guarded shuttle did make its way to the surface and the  _Warlord_  has not left," Nesrin added.

"Good," Williams said, before she thought for a few moments. She was reasonably sure of their ability to capture the Exarch on the ground or in space but on the ground relied on Kuoxxar's forces. But if she swept in and destroyed the dreadnought she could ensure Tirto was trapped. She was sure of her ability to disable his dreadnought but it was risky…  _No!_

She would not doubt her abilities.

"Can you start a riot in the vicinity of the Duke's palace?" she asked, toning it so that it was a challenge to their abilities.

Kuoxxar twitched. "Of course we can!" he snarled, speaking to her for the first time.

"Then do so in twelve Phoenix Empire hours. I want the Exarch driven off world," she instructed. "I will handle it from there."

Kuoxxar nodded. As if he could do anything else! The Fedochi might think he was Harper's servant but he would obey any Ascended which was one of the reasons no others had the chance to speak to him.

"It will be done," he said aloud, ignoring the horrified looks from his companions. He might be their unkillable leader but they knew how difficult it would be to start trouble there. The Duke's security forces were still strong.

"Good," Williams said. "Keep me informed," she added before cutting the comm. Her plan was distributed to the Ascended network and they formed up around her before they went to FTL, heading towards the Duke's system.

It was time for this war to end.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The war has taken a few years because they do not have Relays in the LMC and it takes time to travel between planets. It's an interesting logistical thing to consider to be honest and I have possibly made it a bit fast but I think it's okay.


	68. Capture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Exarch has a bad day, and the Ullator learn things they were probably happier not knowing but knowledge is power and they pride themselves on that power. Kai is adept at keeping the underworld under control, no matter where they are.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 67: Capture**

-cfr-

**46517 Years after Human Ascension, 1464 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Planet Iesakx, Near the Border with the Ullator, Fedochi Protectorate**

"Your Highness, we must get you to safety."

Exarch Tirto looked up as Duke Kivanc entered the room. "You said your men were holding?" he questioned.

The Duke nodded but looked resigned. "They are, my Lord," he told his leader, "but there have been sightings of that scum Kuoxxar so I do not know if they will remain loyal. You will be safer on board the  _Warlord,_ " he explained. He didn't need to say that in this situation, no matter how good his reputation was with his people, he couldn't rely on that entirely.

Tirto nodded, taking on his own air of resignation. The past few weeks, since the Phoenix Empire had overrun Cyr had shown him that no matter how luxuriously appointed the  _Warlord_  was, he much preferred planets to starships.

"There is still no sign of the Phoenix Empire," the Duke said as they turned towards the Exarch's shuttle.

Tirto snorted. "They probably want to see how effective Kuoxxar is against you," he said. He was aware of Kivanc's reputation but more importantly his loyalty.

"He will fail," Duke Kivanc said seriously, his eyes burning with fortitude.

"I know," Tirto agreed earnestly because if anyone could defeat Kuoxxar, it would be Kivanc, especially as there had been no hint of insurrection on Iesakx.

"Travel well, my Lord," Duke Kivanc said as Tirto reached the relative safety of his shuttle. "Get into Ullator space if you can. Make them see the threat of the Humans, or even go beyond," the Duke continued, offering sage advice.

Tirto nodded but said nothing as his guards filed in and the ramp was raised. The Ullator already knew what threat the Phoenix Empire was and had been hoping the Fedochi could have fought them more. While he was not proud of his position, and the fall of the Protectorate, he could not help a small, vindictive thought that they'd probably screwed up someone's plans.

Still Duke Kivanc's advice was sound. The Ullator would most likely accept him as the Fedochi Protectorate Ruler in exile but he had to get there and while the Phoenix Empire did not appear to be in the area, they were undoubtedly watching. The Ullator Ambassador to the Fedochi was on board the  _Warlord_  and would provide navigational guidance, as well as political guidance once they reached Ullator territory.

"We are coming into the  _Warlord's_  dock now," the pilot announced.

"Have we reprovisioned?" Exarch Tirto asked.

"The last supplies are coming on board now," came the prompt reply.

Tirto took a deep breath as he thought. To leave, or not to leave. They had to go, the reality of the situation bore down upon him. "Break orbit as soon as the last supplies are loaded and head out of the system. Begin calculations for the FTL route into Ullator space," he ordered as the shuttle's ramp dropped.

He strode from the small vessel confidently to keep up appearances and was half way across the landing bay when the  _Warlord_  shuddered and alarms began blaring.

Tirto managed to keep his footing through the initial displacement but the shuddering continued, getting worse and eventually he fell to the docking bay floor. He wasn't alone.

"We're under attack!" The shout reverberated through the bay.

"It's the Phoenix Empire!" was the follow up and Tirto felt his stomach fall. They were so close!

"Full evasive," he shouted, knowing the bridge would have opened a comm to him for instructions. There really wasn't anything else he could order. "And emergency FTL the instant we are out of the gravity well," he added, probably unnecessarily.

Captain Vahid was a solid Fedochi. "We can't, Sire. They are all around us!"

Tirto shivered, before he gulped. "Jump anyway!" he ordered, feeling desperation rise through him.

"We can't, Sire. The drives are down," Vahid said coldly before Tirto could hear him gather himself. "We can self-destruct," the Captain said softly, though through the intercom his tone was not gentled. Rather it was an embrace of the end.

"Do it," Tirto ordered as he got up in the hard emergency light and began walking to the bridge. He needed to know which Human ships were here.

It would probably be their mausoleum ships, including the one called Cerberus which was meant to be Emperor Harper's immortalised form. They had targeted it, of course they had targeted it, especially after they had proven that the Phoenix Empire's mausoleum ships could be destroyed but the Cerberus was rarely seen. Of course, the Empire would protect the Emperor's immortalised ship but they had confirmed that it was also Williams' and Lawson's immortalised form and that it was Williams who was currently moving it. The protection was understandable but annoying and someone had asked where in the Phoenix Empire they hid the ship since once they analysed their records, it became clear that the Cerberus Mausoleum platform was almost never in their capital system. It was useless information but flashed through his mind now.

Tirto made it to the bridge but was breathing hard.

"Sire!" Vahid was surprised. "You should be in the safe room."

The Exarch waved the statement away. "What ships are attacking?" he demanded instead, knowing that they'd have at least gotten that much before the engines were hit.

"It's a double suppression fleet," Captain Vahid said.

Forty dreadnoughts. Tirto could only conclude that the Phoenix Empire knew he was here and the unrest on the planet had probably been designed to make him flee for the  _Warlord._  Was Kivanc in on it? No, Tirto decided swiftly. The Duke was a good man and had acted as he thought best.

"Who's leading them?" While Phoenix Empire ships could be stealthy, attack fleets usually didn't bother to hide their IDs, especially not so late in this conflict.

Captain Vahid recognised what he was really asking for. "The  _Cerberus_ ," he confirmed.

Exarch Tirto nodded and closed his eyes, recognising that he had several decisions to make. Boarding troops were probably already on their way and while the crew could fight, they could not hold them off indefinitely. Or he could order the  _Warlord_  to self-destruct and probably take at least some Humans with him but boarding parties were generally expendable and he wouldn't get anyone of importance.

"There's no chance to restore power?" he asked, just to be sure.

"No, Sire," Vahid replied. "We can't even access the engine room so it's doubtful if the self-destruct will work as well. We are on emergency power and even atmospherics is limited," the Captain added unnecessarily.

Exarch Tirto sighed. He knew all that. "Order your men to stand down," he instructed.

"Sire!" Vahid objected.

"They already know I'm here," he explained. "They will rip this ship apart until they find me and my duty to my people is to ensure that they do not die needlessly," the Exarch continued, knowing that the Captain would do what he considered his duty. His father would probably have ordered them to fight as they prepared a manual self-destruct or rigged whatever explosives they had. He wasn't quite as arrogant but he recognised his position and its importance. But he also knew he had no good choices now.

"Do we have any comms?" Tirto asked, though if they did, he wasn't sure what he could say.

"Internal only."

Exarch Tirto nodded, using the gesture to tell the Captain to connect him through to it. "You're connected," he said softly after a moment.

"My people," the Exarch began after a moment. "You have fought as hard as you can. We have all fought but have watched as everything we love has been taken by the Phoenix Empire by force of arms, by treachery and now they are here.

"We could continue to fight but the  _Warlord_  has already been brought low and the Phoenix Empire are already sending boarding parties. You may fight if you wish but I will not order you to lay down your lives in my defence, when all it would do is buy seconds that mean nothing. And so I urge you to stand down, and let them pass, for while the Fedochi Protectorate may be defeated militarily, so long as we hold its values in our hearts and teach the traditions to our children, we will never be defeated in spirit!" He finished strongly, knowing that his people needed him to be strong, even if he didn't feel it.

He collapsed into Captain Vahid's chair as the comm was cut and was about to order the bridge crew to return to their quarters because it would be safer if he was here alone when the comm crackled again.

"Very inspiring," a Human voice spoke. It was deep toned and echoey with a feminine tone that Exarch Tirto recognised as Grand Admiral Williams.

He spun in the chair to look at Captain Vahid in askance. They weren't meant to have external comms.

"And I must say, quite true, in the limited way that you understand things. Still, as the Grand Admiral of the Phoenix Empire, I give you my personal assurances that if your crew do not fight, my boarding parties won't cut them down where they stand. They will instead be taken to the planet for processing and you Exarch, will be taken to Home. I believe the Emperor wishes to have a few words," Grand Admiral Williams said the last with a note of laughter in her voice.

"You guarantee the lives of those on the  _Warlord_?" Exarch Tirto demanded.

"Only if they don't fight," Williams replied promptly.

"Then they will not fight," Tirto said making sure he was being broadcast to the ship.

There was nothing left to fight for.

-cfr-

**46517 Years after Human Ascension, 1464 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Spy Mistress Office, Ullator Homeworld Ulan**

Xavia looked at the feed. It displayed a simple vid image of one of the Ministers Elect for the Ullator Federation. She'd been sent to escort Exarch Tirto into their territory but had been captured when the Phoenix Empire had swooped on the Exarch's ship.

It had been a very well co-ordinated operation and the instant the Ravitel got word of the capture they had demanded the return of Ambassador Ximena. The Phoenix Empire had asked all sorts of questions about the Ambassador and the Ullator Federation had told all sorts of lies but after about a week, the Humans had agreed to return the Ullator Ambassador, and a day later they had escorted a shuttle to the border and the Minister Elect was back where she should be, none the worse for wear.

Given that they were dealing with the Phoenix Empire they had run a whole gamut of tests on the Ambassador and she had passed them.

Physically Ximena was Ximena and all her knowledge was intact. She could even tell them what had happened during her incarceration with the Phoenix Empire. There were no time lags or gaps in her memories and the Phoenix Empire had treated her reasonably well. Sufficient food and water had been made available and though she had been confined, that had been the worst of it.

The problems arose when they began monitoring Ximena's brain activity. It had changed. All high ranking Ministers had a scan on file of their normal brain activity and as an 'elect' Ximena had had one as well but it was now significantly different.

Beside the visual image, stacked one over the other was the recorded values and those they had now. Of course, some small changes had been expected. Ximena might have been trained but she had been incarcerated but the type of change they were seeing now was as if Ximena was a different person.

Or if she'd been forcibly reprogrammed and while that was possible, it took  _months_  of torture to achieve those results. It was inconceivable that the Phoenix Empire had managed it in a week!

But that was what everything was pointing to.

Xavia looked at the screen. She'd never even considered that it was possible, and while they knew the Phoenix Empire had agents within the Ullator Federation, this potentially seeded doubt about everyone who had ever visited the Phoenix Empire. Ximena had been trained to resist though it seemed as if her training had done nothing. Other agents had no such training.

Xavia flicked the switch to hear the audio.

"Tell us where you were?"

Ximena sighed but didn't lash out at the question. She expected it, though she was probably getting tired of them. "I was told I was on the mausoleum platform Miroslav, and I do not know which system the platform was in, though I presume it was Iesakx. I saw five Humans. Four were military grunts and one was Grand Admiral Williams."

"What did she ask you?"

"She made sure I was getting enough sustenance and she asked what my mission was," Ximena added without being prompted.

"What did you tell her?"

"I told her that I was the Ullator Ambassador to the Fedochi Protectorate and as part of Exarch Tirto's court I was on his personal ship."

"You told her nothing else?"

"She never asked," Ximena said. "Probably because they captured the Exarch."

Xavia switched the audio off. Ximena's brainwaves were normal but were still different. It was as if… as if there was someone completely new there but with all of Ximena's knowledge, as if she'd truly had a life changing experience but incarceration could not make this type of change. At least, not when it was so short!

So far Ximena hadn't said or done anything which would indicate she was compromised. It was just the brainwaves that were different.

Maybe she was thinking about this too hard but with the Phoenix Empire, it was hard to know. She turned away and after a heavy sigh, tapped at her comm. She needed to speak to someone.

"You've seen the files?" Xavia asked without preamble.

"I have," the female voice replied.

"Do you have any thoughts you are willing to share, Ma'am?"

Silence greeted the question but Xavia was not concerned. The speaker was simply gathering her thoughts. "I think we have greatly underestimated the Phoenix Empire."

"Ma'am?" Xavia prompted, hoping for a more developed explanation.

"There is nothing in the way Minister Elect Ximena moves or what she says to indicate she is compromised. She does not believe she is compromised. It is all in the scan and we know that because it is how we determine when an agent has been broken.

"But a month is the fastest I've ever seen or heard of it being done and that is with no limitations on methods and pre-softened targets."

"That was my belief as well, Ma'am," Xavia said, nodding at the woman on screen.

Xochitl had moved on from the position of Spy-Mistress for a career in politics but no one ever really left and Xochitl was always the first with knowledge about the Humans.

"There are no physical indications of torture because even if Ximena denies it, she could not hide them."

"There won't be," Xochitl said gently, her voice bearing reluctant admiration for the Phoenix Empire. "Grand Admiral Williams has found another way. We can only speculate as to the method but we are now aware of the speed." Xochitl held up her stylus, using it to emphasise the point.

"And now that we have a test subject, we may be able to detect it," Xavia said slowly as she thought. Ximena was compromised so would need to be contained.

"I wouldn't be too sure on that," Xochitl said. "Not about detection but about your subject. These readings will be passed off as an aberration caused by the stress of the event. Ximena will take over the Ministry as planned."

"She can't!" Xavia objected. "I might as well just open my data files to Williams if that happens."

"It won't be that bad," Xochitl said. "You are aware. I am aware and Grand Admiral Williams is aware that moving too fast would be disastrous. Ximena won't be active for a while and this provides us with the opportunity to see how data is sent back to the Phoenix Empire. This  _is_  an opportunity," Xochitl repeated. "But it is one that carries risks," she allowed.

Xavia sighed heavily, allowing the point. While she could advise otherwise, Ximena was currently too popular to hold until she was forgotten. She had been playing up the captive aspect perfectly in the limited public interaction she had been allowed.

"For now, I think you should be looking at the data from the invasion. The Ravitel will want an analysis soon," Xochitl told her.

She groaned, raising one hand to rub at her eyes as she shook her head slightly. The physical pressure from the gesture did nothing to relieve her mental stress but did give her something to focus on temporarily. Xochitl looked at her sharply. "What is it?" the former spy-mistress demanded.

"I think the Attori fought harder," Xavia muttered. " _Fifteen_  percent of the Fedochi worlds welcomed the Phoenix Empire fleets with open arms. Literally the people rebelled against their Duke and just handed him over, or his corpse when the Phoenix Empire arrived. The Humans didn't have to fire a shot. I can accept a rebellion on one world, maybe two but fifteen percent? I don't know what the Phoenix Empire did but they had to have done something," Xavia was breathing heavily as she finished, deliberately unclenching her hands from her desktop.

"Could it have been caused by fear?" Xochitl asked. "The Humans were brutal to Tucarro. Is it possible they made further threats?"

"It's possible," Xavia admitted, "but they were brutal because Tucarro was listed as belonging to Eizeaj. So if it was threats, why those worlds? Why not others and if they made threats then surely they would have had to carry through on at least one additional world. We'd have more Tucarros."

"True," Xochitl admitted. For all the brutality displayed on Tucarro, that was not the Phoenix Empire's usual tactic and Emperor Harper actually made an address about Tucarro, explaining that it was the home world of the Duke the Phoenix Empire held responsible for the destruction of MacCaeba. As such it had been hit extremely hard but the Emperor had explained that the Phoenix Empire would destroy no further biospheres and they hadn't. Though some were more damaged than others.

"Do you know how the rebellions started?" Xochitl asked.

"It's almost always some sort of rally," Xavia answered after consulting her notes.

"On what topic?" Xochitl prompted.

"Democracy," Xavia said sounding disgusted. Lower ranked Fedochi had been obsessed with it since the Fedochi Protectorate's discovery of the Attori. Well, they were into it once it was explained.

Xavia frowned as she noticed a detail she hadn't seen earlier and she felt a flush of foolishness for not. "The rebel Kuoxxar was seen leading many of the rallies that degenerated into revolution."

Xochitl laughed delightedly but there was a hard brittle tone with the sound. "Fedochi life spans are more than long enough for Kuoxxar to be active for this long," she pointed out.

"But Exarch Tirto executed him," Xavia said. The vid had been particularly gruesome.

Xochilt nodded. "And Exarch Ilkin did before that," she added before her eyes took on a serious shade. "It took a bit of digging for me to find this but do you know who executed Kuoxxar first?" she asked.

Xavia felt her stomach sink. She just knew what the answer was going to be. "Emperor Harper," she replied.

"Indeed," Xochilt said almost happily. "Emperor Harper. Now here's where it gets interesting. While we might now doubt the veracity of Emperor Harper's claims that Kuoxxar was executed, we cannot doubt Exarch Ilkin or Exarch Tirto's. Personally, I believe Emperor Harper did execute them. I'm told the poison was particularly painful. But Kuoxxar is and has risen," Xochilt said, reading from a rebel propaganda pack she had obtained.

"Emperor Harper executed him, then brought him back?"

"More likely Williams did that and then the Phoenix Empire has sent Kuoxxar back into the Protectorate every time they need the Exarch's distracted and the poor bastard dies each time."

"And they just bring him back," Xavia finished the sentence, her mind grappling with the idea.

It was so simple and so subtle but it went against everything she knew about death. Death was meant to deal with your enemies, not give them a second chance to stab you in the back and she felt a wave of sympathy towards Exarch Tirto. Not enough to give up the simmering resentment that his Protectorate had folded so easily. They should have fought harder but…

"The Phoenix Empire was prepared for this war," Xavia said, remembering how Williams had warned them off taking advantage of the chaos.

Xochitl nodded. "And their preparation was more thorough but also more subtle than I would have believed," she said. "Which is why I believe we have underestimated them, right from the beginning."

Xavia nodded her agreement slowly as her mind grappled with the issues facing not just her but the entire Ullator Federation. She was going to have at least one high level spy in the Ravitel in the form of Ximena but Ximena was probably not alone, she realised as she remembered where several Ambassadors to the Phoenix Empire were now situated. They all had significant positions… but she could make the assumption that they were not all active.

Williams would not risk that and if they were, the Phoenix Empire would already be here but they were a risk.

Then of course, there was her own staff. Xochitl had initiated a purge as one of the last things she did in office. Xavia was going to have to do the same but instead of looking into their backgrounds she was going to need full brain pattern scans on them all to see if any matched Ximena's.

If the Phoenix Empire could reprogram someone that quickly, they wouldn't change their methods and there should be some similar trends. Xavia rubbed her eyes again.

"For the moment, I believe the Phoenix Empire shall honour the borders," she said, thinking aloud.

"Most likely," Xochitl agreed. "Despite their planning, they did lose ships."

"Not enough," Xavia muttered, tapping a data pad to bring up the confirmed kills from the Fedochi. "The Phoenix Empire is giving up their fiction about their mausoleum platforms," she said.

"But they didn't deploy many," Xochitl noted, "which means they are still protected and they are a weakness," she added.

"Yes," Xavia replied. "If we can track Cerberus then perhaps there is a way," she murmured.

One thing their spies had noted was that there was always protection around that particular platform the few times it was seen. It was Emperor Harper's platform. The one he was immortalised to each century and it appeared not even the Phoenix Empire knew what would happen to their leaders if it was destroyed. It was prudent to keep it protected but it made a good target.

"We need time," Xavia said. Time to plan, to assess and to seek new information.

"Yes," Xochitl agreed. "We should also maintain the border and put the Phoenix Empire on the same threat level as the Nur."

Xavia winced. That was not a good position to be in and she had hoped her successor would inherit a more stable situation. Well, at least when she found someone, she had that hope.

"How have they reacted?" she asked. The reports were here but Xochitl was the official Minister in charge of policy towards the Nur.

"They aren't saying much," she replied. "But they are interested in the Phoenix Empire."

"As allies or…" Xavia trailed off. She didn't know what would be best for the Ullator. Either allies or enemies would put them between two potentially hostile Empires.

"It's hard to say. I think for the moment as a curiosity. Some of the Nur believe the Phoenix Empire can create eezo, like they can."

"They think the Phoenix Empire is faking its tech levels?" Xavia asked.

The method to create eezo was the Nur's secret to their success because those who controlled the substance controlled travel and the Phoenix Empire definitely controlled eezo. How to create eezo was the Nur's most closely guarded secret, though the method was dangerous. They lost thousands each year doing it. It was a safe bet that the Phoenix Empire could create it as well but there was no hint as to how many they lost each year. If they had a safer method, then of course the Nur would be interested.

"Not on everything. Just a few areas," Xochitl explained.

"Long distance ships," Xavia guessed the additional tech immediately.

"Most likely," Xochitl agreed. The Ullator had used a prototype they had copied from the Nur in the first provocation attack against Humans which had resulted in the creation of the buffer zone between the Phoenix Empire and the Fedochi Protectorate. The ship had been good but it would have killed its occupants.

Though perhaps, in hindsight, provoking a war that only increased the Phoenix Empire's territory had not been the best idea.  _But the Fedochi were meant to have been stronger and not riddled with Phoenix Empire agents,_  Xavia thought sourly, looking again at the summation.

Three hundred and eighty Fedochi systems captured by an Empire numbering three hundred and forty, where eighty nine of those three hundred and forty belonged to another race. No wonder the Nur were interested.

Fifteen percent of those three hundred and eighty had welcomed the Phoenix Empire as saviours and seventeen of those supposedly conquered in battle had fallen in less than a day, which was no doubt the work of Phoenix Empire agents. The other three hundred or so had simply been overwhelmed.

"It will take time for the Phoenix Empire to integrate so many new systems," Xavia said.

Xochitl nodded. "And we must use that time wisely because while the official story is that the Fedochi attacked MacCaeba, the Phoenix Empire leadership knows it was us and once they have settled the Fedochi, their full attention will be on us."

"There is no chance the Nur would help?" Xavia asked.

The former spy-mistress seemed pleased that she'd thought to ask but shook her head. "There is a chance but I would not rely on it. They may agree to ally with each other rather than fight as both Empires only attack when provoked."

Xavia sighed. She'd expected that answer. "Thank you," she said finally, moving to end the conversation.

"You are welcome, but I will let you go," Xochitl said. "You have a lot of work to do."

Xavia nodded. That was putting it mildly. She had to initiate a study and then a purge and come up with reasons to scan everyone who had ever been close to the Phoenix Empire's territory, without Grand Admiral Williams agents realising they had been discovered and contaminating the results.

Then, assuming she could do that, she had to find some way of neutralising those they found, no matter where they had managed to insinuate themselves.

All while keeping the delicate balance between the Ullator Federation and the Phoenix Empire, not to mention the Nur.

Xavia sighed again as she cut the comm. She couldn't retire yet.

-cfr-

**46517 Years after Human Ascension, 1464 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Unspecified Conquered Fedochi World**

"And why the hell would I listen to you… infants?"

Kai sighed. It was going to be one of those days. It had been like this on the other three former Fedochi worlds he had visited but each time he'd managed to persuade the Criminal Head, called Yonetici in Plam, that agreeing to his terms was in their best interest.

Sure, he'd had to replace two of the Yonetici and would most likely have to replace this one if the belligerent note was anything to go by but that was a small price to pay. The Fedochi criminal element seemed to think they were somehow separate from the nobility. At least they, like the nobility didn't use AI. Well except for that one idiot who Williams had flattened with an unholy glee. Cerberus was going to be feeling that for years. He hoped he didn't have to upload.

Kai was here to educate them that they were a part of the Fedochi Protectorate. And they were a part the Phoenix Empire was not going to ignore. Currently he was the equivalent of a Sector Head in the Underworld. At twenty he was lauded as the youngest ever which was somewhat amusing. Still, it meant he was working his way up. And as a Sector Head he'd seen the opportunity the war presented to increase his territory. While some were wanting to take tens of planets, this was one area where slow and steady worked better. They might take the territory but they'd never hold it.

"Because Yonetici," Kai explained, "I'm young and trigger happy," he said, grinning as his men and women flicked the safeties off.

It was interesting to watch the Yonetici's reaction. From what Kai knew, the Fedochi underworld prided themselves on being refined. They viewed themselves as nobles and the Fedochi nobles seldom had to resort to violence to subdue their subjects, thus displays of force, such as this one, were almost unheard off. Executions and the like, when necessary, were taken care of quietly. It made sense. When you could live between 800 to 900 years, no one was eager to die but it was a new world now and the Fedochi would either adapt or be destroyed.

What marked this Yonetici as different from the others Kai had spoken to was that he didn't look afraid. The others had tried to hide their fear, one choosing to bluster and the other clung to the norms of the Fedochi, but their fear was evident. This one, who Kai thought was named Dilsad, looked contemptuous.

"Infants," he said again and Kai made himself look around again.

They had ambushed Dilsad at his office and like all Fedochi of the Underworld, the instant he got wealth he displayed it but, Kai felt his eyes narrow slightly as he took in the fixtures. There was something gaudy about the previous Yonetici's offices. This one seemed more refined somehow and Kai smiled when he realised what it was.

The fixtures here were real, not expensive fakes, which meant this Yonetici was more important than he looked. Kai raised one hand, waving the guns down. His people reluctantly obeyed but remained ready for action.

"Because," he answered the original question again, "despite what many may like to believe, the underworld does not exist without society and that is true in the Phoenix Empire and what remains of the Fedochi Protectorate."

"An interesting theory," Dilsad said. "And true, as far as it goes."

"Careful," Kai cautioned against arrogance. Dilsad's reactions may be intriguing but he still had a schedule to keep or he'd miss his chance.

Dilsad looked at him, his eyes assessing. "So what you are telling me, child, is that you don't believe the Fedochi underworld can survive the Phoenix Empire without help from those used to the system already?"

"I imagine some of you will survive. The lucky, the adaptable and some specialists but the rest of you are going to be consumed by us because we are infants and we are not afraid to pull the trigger." Kai pulled out his sidearm and passed it from hand to hand ostentatiously.

Most of the Phoenix Empire underworld was young. He couldn't deny that. Young and convinced of their own immortality, generally right up until someone put a bullet through them. The leaders were older but not by much. The difference was perhaps that they knew they could die. There was a certain maturity with that knowledge, after all.

And the Heads of Heads, all the way to the top, they were just the most successful. Success was measured in a few ways: wealth, power, ruthlessness and intelligence, which was one of the reasons Kai's current avatar was expected to do quite well. He had them all, and all without a patron. He was not going to let the so called glass ceiling slow him down. He was going to shatter it and then stab the shards in the backs of the idiots who had created it.

Again.

Hereditary inheritance was the one thing had had been unable to break the underworld of, though he supposed it made a morbid sort of sense. With the average lifespan of Humans getting longer, women were putting off having children. At least, that was in regular society. So in the Underworld, with their relative youth and high turnover, if you lived long enough to have children, then it made sense that you would provide for them but it made rising through the ranks as 'new blood' quite challenging.

Generally Kai got around the issue by a few selected assassinations. He had tried ruling from behind one of the children once and it did not feel right. The brat had quickly suffered a bout of fatal indigestion which had backfired on him somewhat, when the brat's sister was proven to be far more ruthless than she appeared. But at least she had the balls to do the job and that was enough.

The Fedochi's eyes followed the gun for a few passes before he sat back in his chair. "You're obviously the smartest one here," he muttered but Kai displayed no reaction. "I have a different theory," the Fedochi looked at him. "I'll grant individuals will die. I know you are already making inroads into them. But the underworld has always been a melting pot of skills, which means those of us with skill will survive and then, it's just a matter of time. Even if you aren't murdered by some ambitious underling, you won't live as long as I will, which means you don't have the time to see the opportunities I will.

"It won't happen quickly, by your standards, but in a few centuries, we will own you," Dilsad concluded.

Kai smiled. On some worlds that might even be true but the Fedochi failed to account for Harper. He would not let any aspect of his society be dominated by aliens. Not even the Underworld, or maybe especially not the underworld since he had no direct control over them. He'd use Williams if he had to and it wouldn't be like the charges had to be solid.

It also failed to consider his efforts. He might have been unable to rid the underworld of hereditary control but when the Attori were accepted into the Empire Kai had managed to install a Human supremacist ideal within the Human underworld.

This Fedochi was confident now but had not truly experienced the reality.

"How much territory do you control?" Kai asked.

Dilsad seemed intelligent and his office was very well appointed but it never hurt to be sure. This might just be a Yonetici with good taste. He drew himself up. "Seven planets."

"Middle management then," Kai dismissed, ignoring the fact that he was classified on the same level. "You won't be going any further, not even with time. If anything you'll be going down."

"Because you will drag us down?" Dilsad scoffed. "For all your vaunted breeding programs, you are not that intelligent."

"It's not about intelligence," Kai disagreed. "Intelligence would mean we'd accept what was best for us, or we'd accept the system which would provide. No, it's not about intelligence, it's about the one trait that the Empire's criminal element shares with the Emperor."

"Species?"

"Bigotry," Kai corrected. "You won't be going further because you are Fedochi and that reality outweighs all others. Your skills won't matter and while you can probably hold me off in a turf war, I can ally with others to bring in far more strength than you can hope to counter. Short lives, remember?" Kai reminded Dilsad. "Fast breeding," he added the explanation and saw when the Fedochi realised exactly what it meant.

"Peasants," Dilsad muttered and Kai made a quick signal to his forces. Insults were just another means of negotiation. "So what are you proposing?" he asked eventually.

"I think you already know," Kai said. That fact that he was talking was information enough.

"Articulate," Dilsad prompted. "Just so that there are no cultural misunderstandings." Translations had been close to perfect for years.

"Join my territory," Kai said. "You might not be able to go up, but you won't go down," he added.

If this Fedochi was as intelligent as he seemed, then he might survive… Of course, if he kept up the insults, he might not but Cerberus' assassin thought Dilsad meant them as a test, and while that was a test that could leave the Fedochi dead, it was effective.

"Join your territory and get embroiled in the war that is about to erupt with all you Humans scrambling for what you think is virgin territory."

Kai shook his head. "No, no, no," he admonished. "We will be united while we take over your territory, then we will fight but that won't be as bad as you think. You see, the Empire has eyes, and those eyes like domestic stability. Too many unexplained deaths brings down quite a lot of official recognition.

"So bribe them to go away."

"You really don't understand Humans," Kai shook his head. The ignorance of the Fedochi was surprising. The common Fedochi he could understand. They were under, or had been under the heels of the Dukes and the nobility didn't want new ideas reaching their people but the Underworld, they would be far more knowledgeable.

"So it's for my own good?"

"If you want to actually live out your lifespan, yes. You have no idea how to survive in our world."

"And you infants have no idea how to survive in mine," the Fedochi countered.

"My habitat is not endangered," Kai countered.

Dilsad sighed before he shifted slightly, giving Kai a glimpse of metal on his skin. Kai tensed, waiting for an attack but the Fedochi didn't move.

"It's not a matter of desire," Dilsad said slowly. "In this part of the Protectorate, our system is more rigid, shall we say. There are certain norms and expectations. I'm sure there are in yours as well and I know you report to someone expecting results."

Kai suppressed a feeling of glee. If this Fedochi just told him who was in charge, which would be great information. He still wouldn't attempt to negotiate with the head because he couldn't control that much territory but the information would buy his passage upwards and if he staked his claim early enough, he could expand his ambitions in the Fedochi Protectorate.

"While you Humans love cybernetics, you focus control on society rather than the individual. The Fedochi do both. The Dukes control society but they do so by controlling individuals. And that is the basis for our society as well."

"So if I take out your boss, you'll listen to me?"

"So simple!" Dilsad laughed before his expression changed. "No. He wouldn't have very good control over the individual if it was that easy. You see, I have two things I must protect against. Ambitious underlings," the Yonetici said. "They are useful, but dangerous and the second is rivals, who are answerable to another. I have to prevent them from killing me but I have to protect my boss as well because if he dies, then there won't be much left of me either."

"Slave collars?" Kai questioned, incredulously, wondering how far up the chain the effects were linked for. Conquering the Fedochi underworld just became an assassination.

Dilsad frowned. "Something like that," he confirmed once he mentally translated.

"It's stupid," Kai said, though it was a good way to ensure obedience. "How many has the Empire already killed?"

"Some," Dilsad admitted but the way he said it told Kai that this wasn't a universal control. Which made him want Dilsad all the more.

"So if I get your boss to obey me, or I get rid of the controls, you will agree to my terms?" Kai asked shrewdly.

"You'd have to tell me your terms," Dilsad countered, not caught by the question and once again Kai motioned his people not to react.

This one was intelligent and he wanted him, insults and all. "I like you," Kai announced. "Tell me your boss's name," he demanded next. The fastest way would be to subvert Dilsad's boss and after that, there might be a promotion for him. That would bring Dilsad's seven planets and however many others reported to this boss under Kai's control and while that was more systems than he had planned to take in, it would be a challenge to defend them and when had he backed away from a challenge?

"Now you're getting somewhere," Dilsad muttered, reaching out for the first time to take a sip of his drink.

"Indeed."

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well the Exarch is captured but the Ullator have figured out something important but their politics are kind of murky. And of course Kai is keeping the underworld, where ever it is, under control. Harper probably doesn't appreciate his help enough.


	69. On His Head

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 68: On His Head**

-cfr-

**46518 Years after Human Ascension, 1465 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire Homeworld, Home, Emperor Harper's Office**

"You're actually going to go through with this?" Williams was incredulous.

"I said it would be on his head," Harper replied, defending his position.

"I'm the one who's going to be stuck cleaning up the mess," she complained.

"I'm paying you," Harper replied. She'd just have to come up with some way of making sure the Fedochi stayed obedient.

"Not enough," Williams muttered almost inaudibly but didn't bring it to Harper's attention. He'd just tell her to give herself a pay rise or something as equally unhelpful. "So what did you decide for the actual procedure?" she asked with morbid curiosity.

Harper was still in his Palace but outside the crowds were gathering for what was fast becoming the spectacle of the year. Not even the annual screenings of BB rivalled this. He just looked at her hologram before he turned away from the window. They were putting the final touches on the platform now and since he wouldn't be present at the event, if he wanted to say something to the guest of honour, now was his last chance.

"Williams," he said as he strode from the room, moving confidently down the corridor with his bodyguards forming an efficient cordon. The Grand Admiral's hologram moved with him, gliding silently over the floor. "Given what I promised, there is really only one way I could go," he said.

"Enlighten me," she instructed. "Execution methodology beyond combat necessity is not something I've studied."

"You've downloaded again?" Harper asked. He had assumed Williams was still in Cerberus and would have accessed all the files she needed to explain this.

"Yes. As combat is over, I don't need to be quite as aware to coordinate integration and it is easier if I'm Human, to them," she explained, raising her hands to make quotation signs at the word Human.

"I'm going with a French guillotine," Harper said, accepting her reasoning. So long as the Fedochi planets were integrated he didn't care how she did it. Besides, being Human should make the Admirals and Generals work as well, and if they needed help they could ask their immortalised predecessors.

"So just the one execution?" Williams asked after she'd accessed some historical files.

"You already killed Duke Eizeaj, so I'm only going to need the one," Harper replied. The Duke was the only other one who needed to die.

"Then what? You release the other Duke's back to their former territory?" she asked, challengingly, her expression clearly unimpressed by that possibility.

"Well, I don't want to keep them," he said. During the war Williams had captured a truly impressive number of nobles. Duke Eizeaj hadn't survived but most had and they were languishing on Harper's pleasure, taking up resources. Returning them, after they swore allegiance and with Human overseers to their home worlds would provide the average Fedochi with a semblance of normality and that would provide the fastest integration.

"You know, we could send them all back, Tirto included," Williams suggested.

He had considered that. Just indoctrinate the lot of them and have them establish his control and while he would do that for some, he was not about to let the Exarch go. "Everyone except the Exarches," Harper replied.

Williams sighed. "If you send Tirto, they would even realise it's happened but without him, and given that you are making them watch, they will fight it."

Harper snorted, punching the level he wanted as he entered the lift. His bodyguards crowded close, several passing through Williams' projection. "No organic is immune," he reminded her.

"But some are stronger than others," she retorted.

Over the years they'd had a chance to test what information they'd been given about indoctrination. It always worked was the main outcome of their studies but there was definitely circumstances that made it quicker and easier. Strong willed minds could fight it but lesser wills could also resist if the Ascended, or something associated with the Ascended did something they unequivocally did not like. It was fair to say that executing the Exarch would fall into that category. For some of the Duke's it would help. Indoctrination would take hold through their ambition. For others, it would provide a memory, a catalyst they could anchor their true selves to. Indoctrination would work but they could also be able to fight it.

Harper waved one hand as the lift came to a stop. "My orders aren't going to be a problem," he said. For those primed to fight indoctrination, orders they did not agree with were the hardest because they triggered the memory. "Keep as many fedochi alive as they can, shouldn't go against their desires. And besides Williams," Harper said as he went through a checkpoint. "It's for your net."

She snorted at that. While the Fedochi were now Phoenix Empire citizens, they were definitely a lesser tier. Their space would be used for the detection network of satellites and sensors that would trace any and all moving objects. Programming them was going to be painful but they had captured as many maps and star charts as they could.

The Fedochi would code them. At least those who wanted to eat would but a Human would check the accuracy before the net was pushed into place. They should be able to expand at least 20 systems per year. Beyond that, she had additional military forces to construct and position but that would be helped further by Fedochi labour. They wouldn't be given the plans but they would do the bulk work like refining metals. Under close supervision.

As their systems recovered, they would have the full layers of protection the Phoenix Empire placed around all their worlds but that would take time and now was not the time to speak about it. While the area, like all parts of the palace was secure, it also contained prisoners and there was no need to take risks.

Harper moved down the corridor. The palace was closer to a fortress and in many ways was rather clichéd. The lower levels were a dungeon containing both protective bunkers and prison facilities for those Harper did not want getting away. Thankfully the prison was empty more often than not but with the Invasion, he wasn't sure he should call it a War, of the Fedochi territories, there were some guests he wanted to entertain personally so they had lodgings here.

"So what about the spies?" he asked as he made his way down the corridors made by the bars. It was dark in here so he was thankful for his implants.

"They're watching," Williams replied, moving her hologram so it did not pass through the bars, though the image of her in a cell was very tempting at times. "What's their Ambassador said?"

"You know that bitch left half way," Harper replied and Williams rolled her eyes. Escorting the Ambassador's ship through the war zone had been a pain in the proverbial, which had probably been the intention. One to see if they could do it and two to get a view of the devastation they were sometimes causing.

"You didn't indoctrinate her?" she asked curiously.

The ambassadors were aliens Harper had access to and the ability to give them tours of Phoenix Empire facilities or special gifts.

"No," he replied. "I wanted to but they can scan their Ambassador very well and I don't want to give Xavia confirmation after Ximena."

Williams nodded. The spy-mistress knew something was up and was purging her ranks. So predictable. "So right at the moment we don't have an Ullator ambassador?"

"Not unless they want to send a new one," Harper agreed. "I will not be accepting that bitch back, not even for the pleasure of seeing her grovel." The indoctrinated would do anything they were ordered to, after all and he wasn't above several, rather crude, fantasies.

Harper stopped before a cell and looked in. Exarch Tirto was confined and the former head of the Fedochi Protectorate was sitting dejected on the sleeping platform.

"Was there anything else?" Williams prompted.

"I don't think so," Harper replied.

"We'll keep diplomatic ties open with the Ullator but given our respective positions, I doubt relations will be cordial."

"They were behind Duke Eizeaj's attack," Williams said cruelly.

Harper looked at her with an expression of mocking reproach. Really, to say such things in Exarch Tirto's presence! "There's that," he agreed mildly. The evidence collected by both their agents had confirmed it. "But there's also the fact that I don't trust them. Manipulative, even spying neighbours we could handle, but when those traits are combined with aggression, that's not a good combination."

Williams' expression turned amused before she shook her head slightly and while she was silent, Harper could hear the old phrase – Pot, kettle, black. "I imagine we'll settle into a cold war," he continued. "At least that's what it will look like," Harper concluded with a grin.

"We'll have to make sure they don't ally with the Nur," Williams noted, "but I'll speak to you about that later," she added, having her hologram cast a significant look around to indicate towards the listening Fedochi.

Harper barked his laughter. The Fedochi here weren't going to be telling anyone anything. "Later," he agreed nevertheless, nodding slightly before Williams disappeared. "And now, of course, I'm here to talk to someone without a later," Harper added, looking towards Exarch Tirto.

The former Fedochi ruler was glaring at him but knew enough not to lunge. This deep in, the bars were electrified and even if he ignored the shocks, Harper's ever present bodyguards would pump him full of holes.

"What do you want?" Exarch Tirto spat.

"To see you," Harper replied. "I won't be attending the festivities," he explained.

It had been decided that it would send a more confident image to both the Nur and the Ullator if he was not present at the execution but that during that formality it was made clear that he authorised it. It would show he was confident that his orders, even the messy ones were carried out and that he was not vindictive enough to need to be present to see his enemy's demise. He could be watching the vid feed through or possibly through one of the upper windows of the Palace. The plaza outside had been chosen for the event because of the interest shown, though equally there were those Humans who thought the entire thing was barbaric. He'd had to wade through some complaints but he was the Emperor and this was his will. The execution would go ahead, despite their Humanitarian complaints and Williams' more practical concerns.

"So, you've come now to gloat?" Tirto surmised.

"I'm not a vindictive man," Harper said, ignoring Tirto's snort of disbelief. "Everything I do is for the benefit of Humanity. I drive them, I test them but it is all to make them better. In that way, I am no different from you. You care for your people. You work with them, encourage them, and yes, punish them when they do wrong. It is the requirement of leadership that drives me."

"We bear their fate," Tirto surmised.

"No," Harper disagreed. "We mould their fate but we do not bear it. Ours is a different path. Your people will be integrated into the Empire and to do that, I need to break them of the Protectorate."

Tirto nodded, resigned. He still felt anger towards Harper but there was nothing he could do. While the Phoenix Empire had completely dominated them, there would be hold outs, especially with the life spans of the Fedochi. "There was no way to avoid this," he murmured.

"There was," Harper replied. "You should have accepted our protection."

Tirto stared at him flatly. The Fedochi didn't need to say anything for his disbelief to be audible.

Harper chuckled. "Perhaps it would have been best, the moment you knew you could not control your nobles."

"Yet you know it wasn't the Fedochi who are truly responsible for the attack on MacCaeba," Tirto challenged.

Harper took a few breaths. That was true but it wasn't going to change anything. "Except," he smiled at Tirto, "I promised you that the next attack would mean your head," he said softly before nodding at the Exarch and turning away.

Saying anything else would be superfluous. In a few hours, Tirto would be dead and life would go on. He had to look forward because fixating on the past could only hold you back and he had far too much to do.

-cfr-

**46518 Years after Human Ascension, 1465 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire Homeworld, Home, Emperor Harper's Office**

"Harper!"

His comm was taken over by a choral voice and the Emperor sat back as he waited for the connection to stabilise. The tone was male, so it wasn't Williams calling with an update, so he was mildly curious to know which of the Ascended had interrupted him. They usually refused to speak to his organic body and she'd had to upload to sort out a few issues with the Fedochi.

"Yes?" he said mildly, attempting to prompt them.

"What have you done?" The demand was almost immediate.

Harper raised one eyebrow, assuming that the Ascended had a visual feed but there was no response to his silent question so he sighed. "What have I done with what?" he asked, still leaning back.

"You've done something. You are forcing us to remain around these planets."

He leaned forward, tapping a few commands into the comm to identify the Ascended. It wasn't Cannaman or Warren. He would have recognised them. The speaker was identified as Ulysses. He recognised the name as being very much in with Cannaman's group.

"Ah," he said. "I did what I had to." There was no point in denying that he  _had_  done something.

"What did you do?" the Ascended yelled in an uncharacteristic display of temper. "You are forcing me to obey!"

Harper laughed. "Believe me," he said as he recovered, "what I'm doing is only a fraction of what I'd like to do, and doesn't even scratch the surface of what he can do."

"Don't bring your fictions into this," Ulysses growled.

Harper snorted. "Yet you demand an explanation." He shook his head. "Why don't you tell me what you think I've done?" he challenged.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be wasting my time."

"And what would you be doing?" Harper asked.

"Fixing whatever you've done."

"So that you can do what? Hang around the systems gossiping?" Harper's voice displayed his displeasure. He had no idea why some of the Ascended didn't want to be assigned tasks. If they had nothing to do then eventually they had to stop talking. There was only so much you could gossip. He knew that. 1500 years on and he still remembered the journey from the Milky Way. He would have killed for a genuine task but some of the LMC Ascended refused to do the simple tasks assigned to them. He didn't know what they wanted and he'd asked. They didn't believe in Shepard but even with that, he didn't know what they expected would change if he stopped the Project.

The Ascended were an important part of the Empire's defence and that was independent of the Project.

"Is that all you think we do?" Ulysses demanded.

"Tell me differently," Harper challenged.

"There is nothing for us to do!" the Ascended yelled back. "There's barely 350 planets and most of them are Attori and over 3000 of us! All the jobs are done."

Harper glared at the comm. There was closer to 720 planets, but apparently the Ascended didn't count the Fedochi territories but he wasn't going to argue that. "Then why do those assigned tasks fail them?" he growled instead.

"Make work!" Ulysses declared. "Orbiting around planets well protected is not work!"

Harper shook his head. If the Ascended did not understand that planetary protection was important then there was very little he could do. The only way to make them work was to force them and any lingering doubt about using Shepard clones disappeared.

"We should own this galaxy!" Ulysses continued.

Harper jerked back. "So you think planetary guarding should be superseded by conquest?"

"Yes! We are the rightful rulers of this space."

The Emperor sighed heavily but was not taken in by everything Ulysses said. The Ascended were not above trying to manipulate him. "I agree," he told Ulysses, "but you already knew that, just as you know that as soon as the Project is safely on its way the Empire will expand," he explained. He said nothing about the fact that the Ascended would have to train for that conquest, since they had not been up to the conquest of the Fedochi without losses.

"If you must have the Project, then do it the other way around!"

"That would have been my preference but Shepard ordered otherwise."

"Again you hide behind fiction!" Ulysses growled.

"Yet it is that fiction which is forcing you to partially do my bidding and it is that fiction I am, though you don't realise it, trying to protect you from."

"Do not lie to me!"

"Ascended cannot lie to Ascended," Harper reminded him.

"Bull shit! You have lied to us all."

"I have never lied to Ascended," Harper retorted, sounding insulted. He didn't necessarily like the idea of forcing them to believe in Shepard by having the first Human Ascended speak to them because it implied he couldn't do his job. But it was going to be nice to have them realise exactly what absolute orders meant. "Regardless, I'm not about to change what I have done because it was done of necessity. If I could trust all the Ascended to obey necessary orders, not just the ones deemed convenient, or those they agree with, I would not have been forced to find alternate methods," Harper said.

"We will find a way around your compulsion!"

"I doubt it," Harper replied confidently. "You should be thankful. Shepard will not overlook dereliction of duty. You do not see it, but I am protecting you."

"You are controlling us!"

"Yes," Harper said. There was no point in denying it. "I need planetary guards because I'm not ready to take on the rest of the galaxy yet. The Project comes first."

"We will attack it!" Ulysses snarled and Harper felt a shiver pass through him, accompanied by a warning stab of pain.

"You will not," he said, breathing hard. "Or you will discover exactly how far absolute orders will allow me to go," he added, his voice deathly soft.

There had been a flash of clarity with the pain and Harper knew if the LMC Ascended attacked the Project he would be able to violate one of the absolute tenets coded by… Tartarus! He corrected his thought just in time. And they wouldn't be able to fire on him because they shared that absolute coding. It would be painful but pain would become his new reality because the Project came first.

"I don't believe you," Ulysses said.

Harper signed, tired of the argument. These were Ascended who should be working with him. "Your belief does not make my words a lie," he said. "I will continue to do what I believe is best for the Project and for the Empire. As an Ascended, you have the ability to question and to discuss things with me. You can see the true budgets and the documents behind every reason. You know the ultimate plans and you may even make your own suggestions but the reality is I have the final say and that the Project comes first."

"Then we are nothing more than a means to an end," Ulysses snapped.

"Yes," Harper agreed. "You are a product of my faith in Humanity because I believe that we, as a species are destined to rule this galaxy, the Milky Way and eventually the entire universe but I am also aware that domination will take time and while it is inevitable, the path is not assured.

"That is why you were Ascended. With every Human that has ever lived willing to fight for the cause, then there is nothing which can stand against us, except that past. And that, Ulysses is why the Project is so vitally important. It is the only way to remove the shackles of the past!"

"So the Project is to kill Shepard?" Ulysses asked intently.

"No," Harper gulped, aware that he skirted extreme pain with what Ulysses was implying. "The Project is to kill the enemy of Humanity. Shepard is Human, and it was and is his orders I obey for the Project."

"And everything else," Ulysses scoffed.

"And it is because of him that you are locked to that system," Harper replied vindictively.

Ulysses was silent. "Harper, if we come up with a schedule with which to work on those tasks you see fit to force us to do, would you accept that?"

"Who is we?" Harper asked carefully, aware that he was missing many subtleties because he was not currently Ascended.

"Cannaman's group is not monolithic," Ulysses said. "There are varying strengths of belief. Most accept Shepard as an historical figure. Some insist he is fiction, based on events and those who are most like Cannaman believe he is complete fabrication."

"I know this," Harper murmured.

"I believe there was someone named Shepard," Ulysses continued. "But I do not believe he was responsible for everything you have attributed to him. While I am not sure about absolute orders, I believe you could have found a way to avoid the Project but that you, personally do not wish to," the Ascended said.

"That is not the issue at stake here. I will protect the Empire but I resent being forced to do a job I was already doing. Trust Harper, it's a two way street. And you do not trust us!"

"Because you do not trust me!" Harper exploded. "Even knowing that Ascended do not lie to Ascended you do not take my word for the necessity of the Project."

"Because that is your opinion. Not fact. Ascended do not have to agree with each other's opinion!" Ulysses exclaimed.

"It is not my opinion that the Empire needs protection!"

"But it is yours that we should not take our rightful place now!"

Harper pursed his lips. He had a sudden, irrational sympathy for Williams if this was the level of military skill she had been dealing with from the Ascended. Ulysses seemed to have all the expectations of entitlement, which was in its own way necessary for Humanity to take their rightful place but it was not coupled with a dose of reality and a willingness to work. And that, while not being illegal would and was holding the Empire back.

If all the Ascended were helping, with an extra 3000 dreadnoughts, while he was unlikely to dial back military spending, the Empire would be far more secure and the Project! Mining was still underway but he probably wouldn't have had to trade and maybe he could have gone a military path with the Attori, or the Skatra because at least part of the order for peace was to protect the Project.

"How many of you were soldiers?" Harper asked. He would try another way to educate Ulysses.

"About five percent," came the reply.

"And how many were involved with the military?"

"Another twenty percent."

Harper nodded. "And finally, how old are you?" He could have looked it up but the direct question would probably drive home the answer even more. He hoped.

"Do not make this about age!" Ulysses hissed.

"It is not about age," Harper said calmly, linking his implants into the database to retrieve the information while waiting for Ulysses to answer.

"I'm almost 700," the Ascended replied eventually.

"And in those 700 years you have seen the Attori join the Empire peacefully. You have seen the advances made by the Skatra and you have seen what the Fedochi and Ullator are willing to do. And in all of that time we have been at relative peace, so what you have not seen is how many will die if we were to pursue a path of open conquest."

"They aren't advanced enough!" Ulysses scoffed.

"The Attori most likely not," Harper conceded, "but when pushed the organic mind can adapt to war very easily. I do not know what they might have conceived during conflict.

"The Fedochi were more than advanced enough, as well you know. The losses are still felt," Harper reminded Ulysses unnecessarily about the holes in the Ascended network from the deaths.

"As for the Ullator," he sighed. "They would happily destroy you and the hints we are getting from the Nur are not reassuring. They, like us appear to be able to create eezo and have truly long range vessels.

"The Skatra may be the oldest species we've discovered in the LMC and while they may not have FTL, they have tenacity. To hold their planets without FTL tells me that and I do not wish to give them the secret of eezo until we are in a position to dominate them, which is why the path is slow but certain.

"But if I was to take your desire, and to attack without care, it would not matter how many husks are manufactured, at least half your population would have died before ascension, killed fighting hostile aliens. And after you became Ascended, the risk does not end.

"There are twenty-seven Milky Way Ascended here, including Cerberus. How do you think they were damaged to the point where their cores shut down and they were beyond the realm of self-repair? I couldn't save further seven because even their core was damaged.

"War was how it happened," Harper explained. "War against organics with the same level of tech as those we see now. Are you that confident of your combat ability?" he challenged.

No soldier was ever that confident. Not even him because they all knew the chance of death was very real. Training and equipment gave you some protection but in the end luck was sometimes the only thing standing between you and death. And luck was a very fickle mistress. No Ascended should be that confident either. The Fedochi should have taught them that.

"It would have determined the worthy," Ulysses replied.

"No," Harper snapped, a little sharper than he intended but the point was important. "You are all descended from Cerberus so you are all worthy." On Earth he would have said all Humans but Harbinger was picky and those with flaws had been discarded but Harper was reasonably sure that more Humans had been accepted because of the deal that would usually have been.

Legacy and Instinct would never have been created by Harbinger otherwise. The first Ascended did not discriminate and he Ascended children but not as the only members of their Ascended form.

"So what are we meant to do?" Ulysses asked but Harper could tell he was asking simply to find out the information, not because he agreed.

"You do the tasks you are assigned for they are important and you participate in training to increase your ability. Cerberus, I maintain my advantage because while I am not homogenous I do know how to use my form to my advantage. That is why Cerberus has not been challenged.

"If you cannot do that, then hibernate and awaken when you can or homogenise and train. Planetary guard duty serves a dual purpose. It allows you minds to continue to maintain their sense of self because they may visit the planet, but it is an individual choice and I have not stood in the way of those who have wished to homogenise," Harper finished and waited for Ulysses to respond.

"We are forced to defend and you have still not told me what you have done, only that you have done something. If I am being forced then I wish to know what has so much power over me."

"You will not accept my explanation," Harper said. "And it is your own coding which is forcing you to protect that world. Your sensors feel it, and you know it, and so you obey. I have changed nothing. I am merely exploiting existing weakness. And not efficiently."

"Tell me," Ulysses demanded. "Or I will come to Home and fire on the palace," he added the threat.

"You will try," Harper laughed. "You aren't the first to notice the compulsion and you won't be the last but not one has been able to fire."

"You are not Ascended now, Harper. Cerberus' protection does not extend to your organic form."

"I was not referring to that Ulysses," Harper told him. "And I would advise you not to try as it will only hurt you," he added. The palace had two to three Shepard clones and one accompanied him wherever he went. "You now have a choice to make. You know I have some ability to force compliance but you may still disobey but I warn you, if you do the punishment will be worse.

"Or you can obey and do your duty to the Empire and you will find there are rewards."

"How can you possibly reward me?" Ulysses demanded.

"There are duties and duties," Harper said simply. There was a reason the more interesting tasks went to those who were loyal. "Don't bother to reply now. Your actions will tell me your choice and because of that, I will leave you to it," Harper said, leaning forward to cut the comm.

After it disconnected he sat back again with a heavy sigh as he moved Ulysses' name from the list of moderates to hard supporters of Cannaman because he knew what Ulysses' decision would be.

Still, Ulysses was bound to the planet until Harper chose to relieve him and with the Shepard clones still ensuring that the job was done, he was not inclined to relieve him for another century or so.

Maybe two. After all, he didn't want to have to make the point twice.

-cfr-

**46530 Years after Human Ascension, 1477 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Planet Iesakx, Former Fedochi Protectorate, Phoenix Empire Territory**

As she wandered through the market, Nesrin kept a close eye on Lappela. Not that the little one was in any danger, but a mother liked to keep track of her children, especially her first born.

First born. The thought made her feel happy. Looking back, in the dark days when her father was negotiating her sale, she never thought she'd have a first born, at least not a child she would be proud of, not a child that wouldn't be ridiculed simply for being born. Pleasure women were there to serve, and that did not include reproducing.

But then there had been the war and the Rebellion and… Nesrin shook her head. There had been so many changes! And while many Fedochi deplored what they called the destruction of their society, Nesrin revelled in them and really, not much had changed.

Duke Kivanc still ruled Iesakx, though he had a Human overseer. Some of the Rebellion had been upset about that, but Kuoxxar had calmed them. He'd pointed out that the issue on Iesakx had never been the Duke, just the corruption of the lesser nobles, and they had been cleared out. The Humans apparently hated corruption even more than the Fedochi people and one of the first things the occupying military forces had done was round up those guilty of the grossest injustices and execute them.

Nesrin could close her eyes and remember the shocked look on Earl Halim's face when the Humans hadn't heard any of his excuses. He'd been one of the first to face the firing squad. Since Iesakx had fallen late in the war, and was the system where Exarch Tirto had been captured, ending the war as far as the Phoenix Empire was concerned, there was only superficial damage to the facilities and the interference in governance was comparatively light, no matter what many thought.

She clicked lightly to herself and looked around. The market was one change. Now all Fedochi could come and obtain goods, not the privileged few, as in the past. She never had to worry about food, never needed to think how she would have to abase herself just for a scrap, all she had to do was go to work. For some, that was a huge change. Some of the younger nobility had never worked but for most Fedochi it was a more than fair exchange and the Emperor mandated it!

Of course, he mandated other things which weren't as nice, such as taxes but she was now in a position where she could pay them, rather than be punished.

Nesrin scooped Lappela up as they came to a busy intersection and as she looked around, through the throng she clicked again as she spotted something. Human Apples! She loved those things and living on the far border of the former Protectorate, she never thought the Humans would import them so far but they had. Nesrin pushed her way through the crowd to stand in front of the stall, just looking at the fruit.

She remembered how she got her first taste of one. After the capture of Exarch Tirto, the Humans had broadcast to the planet an ultimatum to surrender. She hadn't heard it. She'd been in the thick of the riot the Rebels had started, on Grand Admiral Williams' orders. Besides, the surrender order wasn't directed towards them, but to the Duke.

The fruit was in two colours, which meant two varieties and Nesrin looked them over, trying to find those that would be the most succulent. They were a little expensive, but she could afford that now.

After the Duke surrendered, and the Humans had set up a beachhead, she had been selected to serve as a messenger between the Rebels and the new rulers of Iesakx. It had been a little hard establishing her credentials until Grand Admiral Williams' voice had come over the comm. It had been amusing watching the Human soldiers stiffen in the presence of their Commander and had reminded her of the way Fedochi behaved but the Grand Admiral had given her at least limited clearance, and then she'd been escorted through the Human base.

She decided to buy two apples. One for now, and one for later since they kept well. While the store didn't look that popular now, Nesrin imagined that once a few Fedochi got a taste for the fruit, they would be overwhelmed.

They'd been walking down the bases corridors, when it had happened. Her stomach had growled. She'd been mortified and had paled when the Humans who were moving about her escort turned to look. Food was sometimes hard to come by when you were lower tier serving the nobility and that was meant to be one of the things they were meant to provide for that service. In the Rebellion, it was sometimes harder, and while they had the freedom to steal as much as they wanted, the war had put the nobles on edge and they had been on very short rations.

One of the Humans had laughed and the sound had startled her. She didn't know what it meant but then they'd thrown something small and red at her. She'd caught it but hadn't known what it was. His companion had said something before holding up one hand. In it was a similar red object, and then he had taken a large bite out of it, showing her what to do with the fruit. She'd followed suit and that had nearly been the end of her report. She'd been torn between wanting to eat it as fast as possible, and cut it into tiny portions, to savor the sweetness.

Her escort had looked annoyed but had waited for her and then they'd continued on their way to the base commander for her to report what the Rebels were doing.

It was a good memory and she looked at the fruits now. She didn't know which were good fruits though, and selected one of each colour that seemed firm. The Fedochi behind the table nodded and put them in a bag before she handed over some money with a nod. She put Lappela down, keeping ahold of one of her hands, before she accepted the bag and turned back towards the Fedochi traffic, to continue the journey home.

It bought a happy feeling to her. Home. A place that was comfortable and warm and it was hers! It would be nice if Lappela's father was here but he had left, saying it was for the best and while naively she had thought it would be best if he stayed, she knew in her heart, life wouldn't have been as calm if he had. The others would never have let their leader slip into obscurity.

Thirteen years after the end of the war, life was different, but it was better, and that was all anyone could hope for.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end of the Fedochi Protectorate but most of them are happy about it. Harper can be diplomatic when he wants to be. Of course, he did warn Tirto that the next attack would be 'on his head' and Harper isn't one for idle threats.


	70. Executive Actions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashley has a pointed discussion with Harper. Exarch Ilkin is given another reward, though unlike the fruit basket the Fedochi doesn't like it much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 69: Executive Actions**

-cfr-

**46538 Years after Human Ascension, 1485 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Planet: Safehold, Phoenix Empire, Emperor's Office**

Harper looked at the feed from Underworld. The colossal, engineered rock that formed the Project was nestled in its specially constructed dock. It was not complete. Even after all this time, it was not complete and on the vid he could see the blinks of light coming from the storage areas. Tonnes and tonnes of metal were there, just waiting to be moved into position.

The skeletal outline of the Project was visible. Ribs jutted into space like the bones of some long dead behemoth but flesh still clung to those bones. Near the centre, the surface almost seemed to glitter and it sparkled with the shifting lights upon it. The diamond surface was in place, protecting the innards.

Harper sighed, turning off the feed before he tapped a datapad. A single number appeared. One that meant nothing except to those who knew. Years until completion 746. It was well within the two thousand stipulated by Shepard so he felt no stab of trepidation but it was longer than he liked.

The Project was so vulnerable, not so much now to the Ascended who disagreed. In the years since the war with the Fedochi, they had been quiet. Death had driven home that Ascended were not truly immortal and the Shepard clones were keeping them around the planets they had been assigned to protect though by now, they all knew he had done something. The density of Shepard clones meant they could do nothing about it except complain. Harper cast his eyes towards the ceiling. There were Shepard clones overhead in the Palace, and below, and at the edges of the building as there'd been some Ascended who pointed out that they could calculate a trajectory to hit him without endangering the clones.

No, the Project was vulnerable to attack from the Ullator Federation, though Harper wasn't sure if they'd attack or try to steal from it. For all that they were manipulative, spying bitches, they were motivated by greed just as much as anyone and sitting in Underworld was the wealth of the Empire. They knew about the Project, but he was reasonably certain they didn't know where it was or have a true idea of what it represented, despite the probes they were launching into the Empire.

Pulling up the latest files was interrupted when the double doors crashed open and Harper had a glimpse of heavily armored troops before his bodyguards closed ranks and he felt himself unceremoniously shoved to the ground for his own protection.

There was a lot of noise. The two groups were shouting at each other but there was no gunfire, Harper realised. Both probably knew that it would be an absolute slaughter the moment one started firing and the troops were more heavily armored than his bodyguards but they most likely had better shields and enhancements.

"Silence!"

The order literally reverberated through them all, the command felt as well as heard and both sides obeyed, leaving the creak of straining synth and the slightest shift in movement as loud. The tap of approaching boots heralded Williams' arrival and Harper knew he'd been around the woman far too long if he realised it was her, just from the sound of her gait.

"Finally decided to try that coup?" He challenged.

She was one of the few who could. All other challengers he'd put down ruthlessly because they couldn't complete the Project but Williams, Lawson and almost any other original would. They had to. They were bound by the same orders he was but some originals would never try this. They were not suited to leadership and they acknowledged it.

"The opposite," Williams replied, her voice slightly muffled, probably by her armour. "Jude Mundine, if you step forward, I will not go through the rest of you. But make no mistake, one way or another, you are leaving with me," she continued.

Harper frowned. Mundine was one of his bodyguards and had been for the last five years. That didn't quite make him a veteran but it did mean he was competent. He had two girls, Olivia and Ursula and his wife, Olympia, was a data analyst working with the survey section to identify habitable planets for colonisation. His mind supplied the information instantly which made this make less sense.

Silently, Harper did something he didn't like to do, he initiated a link with Williams via their implants because if this degenerated into shooting, her troops would be the last one's standing and he'd be… Best case was injured, worst was dead because he didn't think his men could get him to the safe room with her troops here and Harper wondered how long she'd been aware of this little breech in his security.

At least his desk was bulletproof but… Harper didn't want to think about it.

The link established itself, which told him that she was willing to talk but the information flow was stilted. This was caused by them both because the feeling was too much like homogenisation for either of them to be comfortable, so that meant he couldn't just absorb her reasoning. This was much faster than speech though, so that was something because he didn't know how long the two sides would hold.

"What the fuck are you doing?" He demanded.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" She growled back.

Harper didn't dignify that with an answer because his language would not have been good, and it would waste time because he knew a lot of curse words. "Why did you burst in?" He asked, grinding his teeth together.

"Mundine has been compromised," Williams replied.

While they couldn't share information like they could when they were both in Cerberus, Harper felt the links of knowledge that Williams had. They implicated Mundine and directed him to a file she'd placed on a secure server earlier, which held the full explanation.  _She expected this!_ Harper realised, opening the files and grasping the pertinent information. If Mundine was compromised then it was a very elaborate set up.

"And you thought the best way to capture him was while he was on duty?" Harper asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Williams replied. "The best way to capture him would be in his quarters, especially if I could catch him speaking to his contact."

"Then why the fuck?" Harper demanded, feeling like they were going in circles. At least no one was shooting yet. His bodyguards had done the same math he had.

Williams just laughed. "You have to ask?"

"You're fucking trying to get me killed!" He yelled mentally.

Williams was silent, which was answer enough. Harper pushed back at his guards.

"Stay down." He wasn't sure who hissed the instruction but he was in no mood to listen.

"No!" Harper exclaimed, driving upwards more forcefully. "All of you stand down!" He shouted as he pulled himself to his knees.

"Sir!" Several of his men exclaimed and he could hear their dismay. Usually when they practiced emergency drills, he was compliant with their requests so they hoped he would be similarly docile in a real event. This was not what they had anticipated.

"Stand down!" He repeated, glaring at the troops.

He couldn't see Williams' expression through her armor but imagined it was amused. He got his feet under him and waved away his bodyguards who were anxiously hovering, torn between pushing him back down and aiming their weapons. The troops hadn't moved.

"Ashley," he growled her name as warning, cutting the link.

"Jack," she replied. "Mundine is coming with me," she added.

"Yes, yes," he agreed and he wasn't the only one who caught Jude's flinch.

Williams laughed. "Go ahead," she told Mundine, making sure her helmet was facing him. "I wanted a shooting gallery," she reminded the room. It was clear that she'd have no objections if things degenerated but almost 1500 years of breeding meant that Humans, especially trained Humans held their nerve better.

The troops glared but his bodyguards glared back, and while their weapons creaked, and their eyes darted every which way as they tried to see everything, no one fired, or made sudden, unannounced movements.

"Mundine," Harper ordered heavily. "Stand down."

Jude was standing in profile to him but Harper could see the way he was calculating his chances. Jack sighed theatrically. "If you so much as twitch in my direction, you will be full of holes," he told Mundine. "So don't think about it," he advised.

"And don't even think about suicide. I'd have to get answers out of Olivia and Ursula," Williams added, referring to Jude's girls.

"You leave them alone!" He snarled.

"Make me," she snapped back.

Mundine glared for a moment and then to the surprise of all, he lunged towards Williams. She was standing at the front of her troops and while they reacted it was not fast enough and Jude impacted with Ashley, his bulk carrying him through her personal shields. Williams was augmented, she had some of the best enhancements the Empire had to offer but not even she could hold her balance against that much momentum and with a loud crash, the two of them sprawled on to the floor, wrestling each other.

Harper was tempted to order them both shot but that would mean they couldn't get information out of Mundine. And, Harper reflected, Williams would probably come up with some additional reason to shoot him in the future.

Besides, she was equal to the fight and her troops had turned their attention to it with a slightly amused air. Harper waved his bodyguards down as the two of them continued to grapple.

"Ow!" Williams' voice was clear. "You bit me!" She complained and as Harper watched, her armored form seemed to gather before she pounded one elbow into Mundine. The sound of her hitting his flesh thunked through his office and with a growl Williams rolled them so that she was straddling Jude. She'd somehow managed to get her legs up so that she'd pinned his arms against his body and while he tried to gain leverage with his legs, Williams was strong enough to continue to hold him pinned. He thrashed his legs but she was implacable and held firm. One armored fist drew back and slammed into Mundine's head.

His struggles ceased.

"Heh!" Williams snorted as she rose and the instant she was clear of Mundine's now unconscious form, four of her soldiers surged forward and quickly had Jude trussed up.

Harper watched as Williams examined one of her wrists critically. Her armor was weaker there because the join had to be flexible. "I better not get rabies," she muttered before turning to him.

He rolled his eyes. She knew that was not a possibility. The disease had not made it off Earth but he humoured her. "He's going to pay for that?" Harper surmised, sitting down after one of his bodyguards righted his chair.

"Darn straight," she told him.

"Well, I'm not dead," he said.

"And I didn't go through security four times," she returned triumphantly.

Harper groaned. It was going to be a mess out there.

Williams turned to her troops. "Take him up to Miroslav," she instructed. "Strap him out in the area she directs you to and then return to your barracks. I'll authorise leave for you all tonight."

While their faces were not visible, you could tell they were happy but her troops were also members of the military so, after crisp salutes for their Commander and Emperor, they filed out in an orderly fashion, dragging Mundine with them. It left Williams alone with Harper and his bodyguards.

"Oh, calm down," she berated the bodyguards once her troops were gone and the doors were shut behind them.

She sat on one of the couches, ignoring how it creaked with the weight of her armor. Harper's bodyguards glared but since the Emperor had let her troops take Mundine, they said nothing, despite the fact he was one of them. She pulled off her helmet, raking one hand through her sweety hair. Armor was still not climate controlled and Home had a warmer climate than Earth.

"So Mundine was compromised?" Harper said aloud.

"Yes."

"How did you find out?" He asked.

Williams looked at him with wide, falsely innocent eyes. "A little bird told me," she gave the ancient excuse before she huffed. "How do you think I found out?" She returned the question. "My agents told me."

"You've still got them?" Harper was surprised. Xavia's purge had been hard and as far as he knew, the Ullator Spy Mistress did know how to scan for Phoenix Empire agents now. She would be a formidable obstacle when they went against the Ullator Federation.

"The bitch knows about some of my agents," Williams shrugged. "But not all of them," she added with a grin.

He nodded. "So how bad is it?" He asked, thinking about what Mundine could have told the Ullator.

"I don't think it's that bad," she replied, after a moment's thought. "I was tempted to leave him but-" Williams blew her breath out, allowing the gesture to express a multitude of reasons she hadn't, not the least of which was that the longer Mundine had been compromised, the more chance that he would have passed on truly critical information. "What is more interesting is how he was compromised," she said.

Harper was silent. That was a point which would have to be addressed but before he could ask Williams expression morphed to show her anger and he knew he was about to get told the how.

"Since when have your bodyguards' brats been allowed to attend any school but the Palace's?" She growled at him.

Harper winced. Now was probably not a good time to admit he'd needed the space for the Shepard clones. She'd probably get her desire for a shoot out then but he would be the first casualty.

"And since when have you been able to storm the Palace?" He countered.

Oddly enough, the argument served to calm his bodyguards. They were used to this. The bickering that came between the Emperor and the Grand Admiral and while to an outsider it might look like she'd just attempted a coup, the argument said otherwise.

Williams smiled viciously. "Since always," she replied. "And you have only one real defence against it," she added.

Harper groaned. She'd been arguing for years that the Special Forces in the Palace needed to be located closer to him. His security had been resisting but this was going to precipitate the remodelling of his office and the Palace. "I'll let them be next door if you give me a cigarette."

"Just the one?"

"Of course not."

"Then no deal," Williams' voice was cold. She was still holding firm.

"It's been more than 1000 years," Harper muttered.

"I know."

He suddenly had a vision of Williams triumphantly marking off the days on some huge calendar and made a mental note to look through her files the next time he was in Cerberus.

"So you'll be wanting to reinstate the bodyguard lifestyle policy," Williams said. "Their security is easier when they are… confined," she said carefully. In many ways his bodyguards were confined and the lifestyle policy impacted on their families as well.

First they were encouraged to have a family only after they retired but otherwise their families were also confined and controlled. It was not to ensure their loyalty, no matter what Williams had inferred earlier, his bodyguard's families were not punished if they failed. Well, not specifically punished. The lifestyle policy was to make sure no outside agents could compromise them with threats.

"And the storming?" Harper asked, silently accepted the reinstatement of the policy.

If Mundine had been compromised because of his children, then yes, it was best that the policy was reestablished. The Ullator would be getting more desperate as time went on, especially as both he and Williams routinely purged the known spies. To the Ullator Federation, the Phoenix Empire should be becoming a black hole.

"That's going to depend on how close you want my troops."

"Your troops?" Harper was amused. There was a small battalion stationed at the Palace but he made a point of ensuring their loyalty was to him. That's why his security had been able to resist her recommendation to move them closer for centuries.

"Yes, my troops," Williams said. "Those were the Palace's special forces," she told him and Harper knew from her tone that she had discovered his plan.

"You said it yourself, there's not a lot of defence against it," he laid out the tentative argument.

"Not against my forces," she said, "but you've always known that if I want the title of Empress, I will step over your corpse to take it, Jack. But I am finding being Cerberus far more enjoyable."

Harper snorted. Williams didn't have Lawson's list but she had enough reasons of her own not to want the position. The years they'd endured in each other's thoughts and in those of the other ninety five million minds on Cerberus meant they all knew very well where they stood. It was an idle threat and while Williams usually was downloaded during his scheduled rebirths, the few times they had been in Cerberus together since taking on avatars, she had yielded the Prime position to him easily enough.

"I'll see where we can put them," he said.

"Do that," Williams replied, and shifted, as if to rise.

"Just a minute. You might as well give your weekly report while you're here," he said.

Williams huffed again but settled back down on the couch. Harper could see her collating the information in her mind. "There was a small Pro-Exarch riot on Kesalth that was put down by the local forces."

"Ullator?" Harper prompted to find out who was behind the riot.

"Probably but no definitive link. Kesalth was fairly traditional anyway and I have been focusing on Mundine," she answered. "There was a pro-democracy rally on Svaryll," she continued. "Several of Kuoxxar's former lackies were seen but they remained peaceful."

Harper nodded. He'd pulled Kuoxxar back once the war was over but the desire for democracy had been embedded in some. "What about the rumours he has a brat?"

"They seem to be just that, rumours, but it's possible. His body was fully functional," she reminded him needlessly.

He knew their avatars were functional and enjoyed that fact.

"But if he had a child, they'd only be twenty-four at the most. That's barely out of diapers," Williams continued.

That was true. The Fedochi lived for about 800 Phoenix Empire years and while their bodies appeared to be fully mature by the time they turned thirty, their minds remained underdeveloped and impressionable for longer. That's why parents were expected to educate the children for quite some time and Ilkin had been considered young for an Exarch. At least at first. He'd been about 100 or so when the Fedochi had encountered the Attori. Quite young but his father had been killed a few years earlier and it might have been different if an older Exarch had survived. It didn't matter but these child rumours would provide a rallying point for some time to come and eventually, if there was enough to gain, someone would 'find' the child. So long as they said the right things, their actual provenance wouldn't matter.

"I'll have someone ask him," Harper said. "I don't need this brat, fictional or otherwise causing issues. How goes the net rollout?"

Williams' initial estimate of twenty systems a year had been a bit ambitious, especially with everything else they had to do in the wake of the war. Defensive formations in each system did not build themselves, not completely anyway, despite the VI controlled robotics they used. The extra dreadnoughts and crews had to be built up slowly using whatever extra capacity they could scrape out of the docks. It was fair to say that the military docks were some of the most efficient in Human history.

She looked disgusted at the question although she had known it was coming. "It should be another four years, maximum," she growled, her voice implying that if it took any longer than that, heads would roll.

It had taken about fourteen years to get to a production rate of 20 systems a year but the net was nearly finished and did track ship movement wonderfully well. Actually stopping a rogue ship or asteroid remained the issue but with more Ascended over each Human world, it was not impossible. The fleet was now 3227 large, growing at nine ships a year. They were dispersed around each planet in numbers such that they could work together if necessary. And with the Shepard clones augmenting any residual loyalty they felt for their homeworlds, it was sufficient.

"Have we detected any bonuses?" He asked.

The Ullator knew about the net, they just thought they'd found a few blindspots. Williams grinned at him. "A few," she said. "One of which we made disappear if you want something to play with," she added.

"Maybe later," Harper said.

While it was implied Williams was torturing the Ullator, she wasn't. Well, not beyond indoctrination but it added to their reputation to have at least some rumours circulating and while his bodyguards might now be confined again, they had been the unwitting vectors for some news he wanted dispersed. They'd never say anything specific but their impressions and silence was open to interpretation.

"How are the ships?"

"Still building," Williams replied. "Four thousand extra dreadnoughts take more than twenty years, especially when I have the replacement program to maintain," she explained.

Each Fedochi world would have the minimum protection of ten dreadnoughts on station. Human worlds had twenty five but some of the free dreadnoughts, those used for patrol had been lost in the war and the priority was their replacement, as well as the continuing maintenance on the existing fleet.

"The Genbu docks are still running?"

"Night and day," she told him. They were a huge facility capable of docking two hundred dreadnoughts at once for either building, repairs or refit. Currently they were building new ships with maintenance being taken care of at smaller regional facilities. "Unless you want me to rush the Byakko docks, it will still take a bit of time."

"No," Harper replied. "So long as they are still on schedule, I think we have time."

"They are," Williams said. "Byakko's due for completion in another 15 years with their first batch of dreadnoughts to be launched two years later," she reminded him of the time frames he already knew.

The Byakko docks were the sister facility to the Genbu docks on the far side of the Empire. There were plans for Suzaku and Seiryu docks as well, to be built in time but he couldn't divert too many resources, even if the ships were earmarked for the Project's protection. Each of the successive shipyards were to be larger than the last but Williams could already foresee having to duplicate them all again, several times. The Empire kept expanding and so did her forces. Seven hundred and thirty planets meant 11,000 dreadnoughts, both for planetary protection and patrols. That number was not going to go down.

"Is there anything else?" Williams asked, again making as if to rise.

"No, but send the report over as usual and tell me when you are questioning Mundine. I'll have to decide on an appropriate punishment," Harper said.

Williams nodded as she stood, scooping her helmet up with one hand. "That probably won't be until next week. Miroslav will make sure he'd ready to talk."

"Just so long as he still knows what to talk about," Harper growled and Williams laughed at the memory.

They'd asked the wrong questions once of an indoctrinated agent and the Ullator had been confessing to childhood misdemeanors for hours before they got to the information they truly wanted. They'd been much more careful since then.

"Oh, he'll know," Williams replied, stepping towards the door.

"Ashley," Harper said coldly as she reached it.

She looked back and Harper could see that she was braced for an argument about cigarettes but this was not about that.

"The next time you are so reckless, you'd better not miss," he told her, making sure his eyes were boring into hers.

"Is that a threat, Jack?" She asked softly, her slips creasing slightly.

"I don't make threats, Ashley," he replied.

They stood, glaring at each other as the seconds passed.

"Right, got it," Williams said finally. "Shoot first, questions later," she continued, patting her side arm with her free hand. "Don't worry Jack, I won't miss," she concluded before stepping through the door. It clicked heavily behind her, leaving Harper staring at the patterned surface.

He sighed as he ran several scenarios though his mind. It was an unfortunate reality that he needed Williams. While someone else could run the military and the Admirals and Generals did do a great deal of work, she was the integration point between the Ascended and the organic forces. He just didn't have the time to do it himself. Lawson didn't have the skills and after so long, many were used to her, just as they were used to him being the Emperor.

Not to mention that she had Shepard's backing. He didn't want to think about what the man would say if he overly censured Williams, so while he was tempted, he had to let it go. Except he really didn't want to do that, not when she'd been hoping someone would snap and start firing. Her orders to the soldiers had probably emphasised that they were well shielded and so could afford to wait for his bodyguards to shoot first. Then in the resulting battle he was positive that she'd have seen to it that a miss-aim had taken him out.

It wouldn't have been for long. Lawson always had a body ready but it would be annoying.

Hmm… she hadn't spoken to him over the Shepard clones, perhaps he should do the same? No, that would be childish. Harper rested his chin in one hand while the other tapped on his desk. She already had to go through security several times but that was for his ciggies. What could he do not to express his displeasure?

Confiscating her weapons was useless, since they were all military issue and… Ah… that was it!

"Get me Grand Admiral Williams' personal schedule," Harper ordered one of his PA's who had been cowering in the corner. As she'd once stated she took her time off. He'd be doing her a favour by cancelling her appointments and dinner reservations. After all, it must be stressful to run to a time table.

"And get me some ciggies," he added, ignoring the glares from his bodyguards as his PA scuttled out.

"Sir," Grover said warningly.

"Shut it," Harper growled. "The next time Williams visits, I'm busy," he added. "Even for a scheduled meeting, I'm busy."

Grover just looked at him for a moment before the man nodded and stepped back with a heavy sigh, and Harper tapped the datapad, bringing up the feed from Underworld again and another idea came to him. Harper smiled as he pulled another datapad over.

As the Grand Admiral of the Empire, the Project really was Williams' first priority, just as it was his. She really should protect it personally. A few taps and the orders were given. He leaned back, just looking at the image before he waved one hand and the feed was cut.

"Just another few centuries," he murmured. Then he could do what he wanted.

Harper reached out, snagging a glass that had remained upright before he saluted the image that was no longer there. "Soon, Shepard, soon," he said and drank and just for the moment the weight of his orders lifted.

But it was only a moment and the weight resettled. He was used to it though. It was the burden of the Empire and he could not relinquish that to anyone without a fight. Williams knew that, and she knew if she truly wished to challenge him, then it really would be to the death.

No, if she was going to challenge, she would have done so already but…

Yes, he could expect a few more displays of unhappiness about the Shepard clones and no doubt the man would have something to say about them as well but if Shepard didn't ask, then Harper was inclined not to tell, so really, all he had to do now was deal with Williams.

And he'd been doing that the entire time.

-cfr-

**46561 Years after Human Ascension, 1508 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Fedochi Homeworld Cyr, Phoenix Empire**

"Exarch Ilkin, if you would please come with us?"

The Fedochi looked up at the address. No one had called him Exarch in… well, not that long but it had been a long time since the title was used with respect. Yet standing before him were two precisely dressed Humans who were looking at him with an air of expectation.

The thing was, today was one of his days off and while most days were off for him, he'd never been interrupted before. His Human overseers preferred to pretend he didn't exist, which meant they would not have sent these lackies.

Ilkin felt his eyes narrow as he took in their dress. It was as precise as all those he had seen worn by the Phoenix Empire officials but this was perhaps just that bit sharper. These weren't local lackies.

"Where are we going?" He asked as he rose. He had nothing better to do at the moment, after all.

"The Emperor wishes a word."

Ilkin froze, but he didn't sit back down. "Then tell him to call," he said.

One of the lackies frowned while the other sighed. "In person," that one said eventually, their voice soft and tempered as if attempting to explain something to someone being particularly dense.

Ilkin blinked. "What could Harper possibly want?" The question burst from him without thought.

"We do not question the Emperor," the one who frowned said. "Now, please come with us. The Emperor does not like to be kept waiting."

The former Exarch was tempted to laugh at that. Harper had more than enough patience to wait for almost anything but he refrained. Instead he shook his head and stepped towards them. Not surprisingly, no one stopped them as they moved through the corridors and eventually Ilkin was led out to a landing platform. A shuttle was waiting, one which bore the crest of the Phoenix Empire but it was designated the Emperor's shuttle because of the crown adorning the bird.

He knew far too much about Human symbols, Ilkin thought disgustedly to himself as he walked up the boarding ramp. It led to a plush interior and one of his escorts stopped at the top of the ramp, tapping at the controls to raise it. There was a small conversation but it was just with the pilot, telling them to lift off.

Ilkin sighed heavily. "This is going to take forever if you expect me to go to Home," he muttered.

"It won't take that long," Harper's hated voice sounded from the side and Ilkin whirled to confront the hologram standing there. Harper was holding a drink and had obviously been waiting for him.

"In person?" He repeated the words, half at the lackies, half at Harper. A hologram did not count.

Harper chuckled and waved the guards aside and after crisp salutes, they disappeared elsewhere in the shuttle. "This is about as in person as you are going to get," the Human Emperor dismissed. "You know that Ilkin."

"But I did so much want to revisit Home," he replied. Over the years, he'd gotten better at turning Harper's jabs aside.

"I can get your cell ready if you really want," Harper invited.

Ilkin shook his head, as he moved to the sideboard and poured himself a drink. Harper had one, so why shouldn't he. It was not surprising to find it well stocked with both Human and Fedochi drinks and it had been forever since he'd had a decent glass of Asitrise. Since this was Harper's shuttle, it was a fair bet that the Human Emperor wouldn't have the inferior stuff.

"That won't be necessary," he said finally as he took a sip.

"No, not this time, it's not," Harper agreed, "since you are not heading to Home but to a system named Viarus."

Ilkin ran his mind over the Human systems. He didn't know all their names but he couldn't recall even vaguely hearing about one called that. He looked at Harper in askance.

"Very good," Harper praised him like some dog but Ilkin let it wash over him. "It's one of the hidden systems," he admitted. "We build the mausoleum platforms there," he continued, explaining.

"Ships, Harper, just say ships," Ilkin growled, "because you and I both know that's what they are." He remembered the invasion. They might have destroyed some of them but those ships had been terrifying.

"Yes, I did suggest we be honest with each other, didn't I?" Harper mused quietly. "That makes this easier," he added, taking a sip from his drink.

"Was the Emperor afraid of speaking to me?" Ilkin mocked.

Harper's demeanor changed and his glowing eyes speared into the former Exarch. "Never," he hissed. "It was more a question of cushioning," the Human said the last word carefully, as if making sure it was appropriate.

"Cushioning?" Ilkin frowned. He knew what it meant. Harper's Plam had not deteriorated over the years but it had to be a Human expression he had translated.

"Yes," Harper agreed, "as in how much I apply to this explanation but you've rightly reminded me, I should just be blunt. Political speak or gentle explanations will only muddy the waters and while you would eventually understand, I want you to know the reality before experience teaches you." Harper smiled but the expression was cold.

"So what am I to understand?" Ilkin asked, letting Harper know that his little charade meant nothing. Really, after seeing the Phoenix Empire invade his territory, and being forced to watch the execution of his son before he was sent back to his territory to provide 'Administrative assistance' for the area he had ruled, did Harper think anything could truly scare him? The Humans had already done everything they could, including turning all his nobles into automated drones who served their every wish.

No, the Phoenix Empire and Harper couldn't scare him. The only thing left for them to take would be his life but Harper had made it worthless, so there was no point.

"What's about to happen," Harper said. "And of course, the Empire," he added, looking thoughtful. "I'll have them divert through Underworld."

"Underworld?" Ilkin asked. It was another system he'd never heard of.

"It's where the Project is located," Harper enlightened him.

"You're actually going to show me the mysterious Project?" Ilkin asked mockingly.

"Of course, it's necessary for you to understand."

"And what's to stop me from going directly to the Ullator agent you've kindly left on my staff?"

Harper smiled at the question. "I trust Nola wasn't too taxing?"

"It wasn't my information she was stealing," Ilkin shrugged.

That actually caused Harper to chuckle.

"So you aren't concerned?"

"No," Harper replied. "For two reasons."

"Two?"

"Of course. You know I cover every angle. The first reason is simple. A couple of days ago my security forces decided to have a chat with Nola," Harper said and a screen flickered to life, showing Nola surrounded by those precisely dressed Humans.

Then it changed, Nola was crying, what appeared to be tears of shame but she was still speaking and while there was no audio, Ilkin knew Nola was telling Harper's men everything she knew. Interestingly, there was not a mark on her and her hair, while being a little mussed was mostly in place. Ilkin didn't think she'd been roughed up at all, which made him wonder, not for the first time, how Harper managed to detect and turn so many agents.

"She's already given up her contacts," Harper confirmed, "but she was a Ullator agent, and with my plans for you, I had no need of a double agent," the Human Emperor continued before the image altered again.

This image was in line with what Ilkin had been expecting. Nola was naked, and her body bloodied and still, hanging from what appeared to be a meat hook, which had been driven through one shoulder. She was very dead.

"I don't like spies," Harper said, as he waved the image away.

Ilkin shook his head. "And the second reason? The one I gather has something to do with your plans for me."

"Ah yes, that's simple as well. You aren't returning to Cyr," Harper announced.

"What?" Ilkin demanded.

"It's time you retired," Harper told him.

"So you are going to execute me?" Ilkin was incredulous. Surely, that could have been done on his homeworld? Really, Harper could have arranged for him to be poisoned or something. Ilkin suddenly felt the loss of his homeworld keenly, even if he was just on a shuttle. He'd always planned to die on Cyr and the invasion had only heightened that desire. He owed it to his ancestors.

"Of course not," Harper denied the accusation. "I like you, Ilkin, why would I have you killed?"

"You killed my son," Ilkin spat.

"I warned him that the next attack would be on his head. No, I'm giving you a reward."

"Not another fruit basket," the words left Ilkin's mouth before he was aware of speaking and he gasped, mortified by what he'd said when he realised. Harper just looked at him curiously before smiling widely.

"No, not another fruit basket," he agreed. "This reward you'll be able to enjoy for much, much longer."

Ilkin frowned, glaring lightly at Harper over the rim of his glass. "So what is it?" He made himself ask.

"I'm going to make you immortal," Harper announced.

"What?" Ilkin's mind went blank.

That didn't make sense, though a hundred little odd details ran through his head. He remembered, soon after they'd made first contact with the Attori, their Prime Minister assuring him that when the aliens on their far border, called Humans, referred to their Immortal Emperor, they really did mean it. And Ilkin remembered the first time he'd spoken to a younger version of the Human Emperor, after one of his rebirths, but he also remembered security shots of Grand Admiral Williams showing the same youthful regression, just at different intervals.

He remembered his Uncle Syril's death, having Harper's hologram lecture him while standing over his own corpse. He'd had doubts. The entire Fedochi Protectorate had had doubts about Human immortality but for Emperor Harper, Ilkin had just accepted it as fact. The Human Emperor was immortal and kept control of his Empire by offering the same service to his citizens. But Ilkin had never heard of it being offered to Attori. He didn't think the process applied to non-Humans.

"I'm going to make you immortal," Harper repeated. "You are a prime fedochi specimen. Not physically any more but mentally Ilkin, you are as fedochi as any fedochi. You will be a good choice."

"That's not possible, Harper," Ilkin said, not bothering to tell the Human that he didn't want this reward. It was no reward. If true, it was punishment and Harper's vindictive way of ensuring his supremacy for a very long time.

"Of course it's possible, Ilkin," Harper waved his objection away. "You really don't believe Kuoxxar survived that many executions without help, do you?" The question hung in the air between them before Ilkin growled at the mention of the democratic rebel.

He knew the Phoenix Empire was behind the rebel, he had just never been able to prove it but the Kuoxxar's he'd seen didn't have the implants he knew Harper did. "Except, he wasn't like you," Ilkin replied.

"No, he wasn't," Harper agreed. "Kuoxxar never remembered all his lives the way I do but he was immortal."

"Was?" Had Harper actually done away with the rebel for real this time?

"Was," Harper confirmed. "You though, will, because you will be Ascended and you will form the foundation of a Fedochi mausoleum platform that I will slowly populate."

"No," Ilkin objected. "I refuse."

"Early immortalisation is the highest honour the Empire gives to a citizen," Harper said.

"This is not early for me," Ilkin growled. "This is your petty desire for dominance," he continued, yelling. He did not want this. The peace of his ancestors was his desire, preferably on Cyr where his other, surviving children could honour the family. He did not want the sterile eternity a Human had.

"Any of your Dukes would jump at this chance," Harper said mildly, using a Human phrase that had confused Ilkin at first.

"Because they are your obedient little puppets," Ilkin shouted. He still remembered Duke Vuqar, a Fedochi who had stood next to him, trembling in rage at Tirto's execution, a Duke who had been staunchly anti-Human telling him, after they'd been returned from the Human homeworld that they had been wrong and the Phoenix Empire really did know what was best for them. Harper had done that, somehow.

"And you aren't," Harper said, but didn't deny it. "I left you exactly as you are. I left you with free will."

Ilkin shook his head. "Only to cause pain. Only so you knew I could watch you rip away everything I held dear. Only so you could make sure I knew we were never going to win." The former Exarch was breathing hard as he screamed but the words were the truth and the pain that had been festering long within him lashed out at its source. "Well, I already knew that," he added at a whisper, suppressing a keen of grief. "I already knew," he repeated a bit stronger.

The realisation had been slow and had come to him over a number of years but the pain had been real and had predated his conscious knowledge of that truth. For all their posturing and belief, for all their scheming and planning, they were never going to win against the Phoenix Empire, not without changing everything they were. Maybe there had been a tiny chance, right at the beginning, when they met the Attori if they had attacked in full but that was a dim possibility and it was not worth considering what might have been.

Ilkin shook aside his grief. Over the years, it had become a constant companion so he was familiar with its embrace. He looked up at Harper's hologram. The Human Emperor didn't appear angry, if anything he was relaxed and pleased.

"There's a reason I like you, Ilkin," he said. "For all your arrogance, you are intelligent, and straightforward. You know that Tirto's death was politically required and that I controlled your Dukes because that was the fastest way to integrate your territories. You know that while the Fedochi Protectorate was larger, you were never as developed as us. It's not the size, it's how you use it," Harper said, smiling at him.

"That's why you are going to be the first Fedochi truly immortalised. The foundation, as it were, because this is not an honour I give to puppets."

"No!" Ilkin screamed, putting all of his denial into the word as he cast his eyes around for a weapon of some sort. He was not going to have Harper lord it over him for eternity.

There was nothing except the drink bottles and the glass he was holding. The shards would have to be enough to cut. He raised the glass, intending to drive it down on to the floor but his arm was suddenly heavy and his breathing laboured.

The Asitrise sloshed everywhere, leaving a sudden cold as it soaked into his clothes.

"Yes, Ilkin," Harper said calmly. "It's already been decided."

"You did this," he managed weakly.

"Of course," the Human didn't bother to deny it, seemingly incredulous that Ilkin had pointed it out. "After all this time, after everything I've done, you didn't think I'd let you win?" Harper asked and the mocking question followed Ilkin into the darkness, where he already knew the answer.

He was never going to win.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ashley is now officially disappointed that she couldn't get a shooting match... maybe next time she'll just go for an orbital strike? :D Wouldn't that confuse anyone (such as the Ullator) as to what is happening in the Empire. And Ilkin is thusly rewarded. He's been a good Exarch. Harper liked him and that's really all that was important for him.


	71. How To Train Your Ascended

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Williams finds out some information she doesn't like from the Ullator. This forces her to compromise with Harper to get her way. A new recruit enters the military one with a background so interesting, even the Grand Admiral takes notice, and Shepard finally calls back! Will everything be to his liking?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 70: How To Train Your Ascended**

-cfr-

**46583 Years after Human Ascension, 1530 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Safehold, Emperor's Private Quarters**

"Your Majesty."

Harper recognised the call as coming from the security group who scanned all entrants to this area of the Palace. "What is it?" He asked.

If it was an emergency, they wouldn't be calling him.

"Grand Admiral Williams is here to see you," the guard said.

Harper frowned. Williams wasn't scheduled to see him, especially not so late into his down time and even if she was, his orders were clear, and had been for years. He was busy. He was always busy when it came to her, even in the middle of the night and especially when he was settling down to watch a movie before sleeping.

"Well, you know what to do," Harper remarked, picking up the remote to press play on the movie.

"Your Majesty, she voluntarily handed over every weapon and has stripped to her underwear to prove she has no others," the guard said with an audible gulp. He was probably trying to avoid looking at Williams too much.

Harper felt his eyes widen at the information. What the hell did Williams want that would drive her to such lengths? Then his eyes narrowed and a considering smile graced his features as he thought about what she'd give him to get it.

"Let her in," he commanded after a moment.

She'd only get pissy if he made her wait. He flicked the TV off and sat back in his arm chair as his bodyguards redeployed subtly. While he generally tried not to conduct business in his private quarters, it was inevitable that sometimes it was necessary, so they knew what to do. It was only a minute or so later that Williams stalked into the room, apparently completely unconcerned with her state of undress.

She was agitated about something. He could see that immediately by the way her features were drawn and her eyes were narrowed dangerously and inwardly Harper hid a smile. This should be fun.

"I'm going to authorise a raid into Ullator territory," she announced with a growl, as she began pacing in front of his TV.

Harper didn't even blink as he considered the implications. Depending on who it was, it could lead to war but he didn't think the Ullator were ready for it so it might just intensify the staring match they were having across the border. Humph! He would do that anyway, as he had no intention of blinking but the real question was how Shepard's orders would react. He couldn't tell yet since Williams hadn't provided context. Generally, the orders were not to provoke but there were exceptions.

Williams was obviously upset and he could feel nothing. "Why?" Harper asked before Williams demanded he speak.

She whirled to glare at him, her expression suggesting he should already know so he glared back. He was not psychic and they both agreed that was for the best. "Because of this," she hissed, turning back to his TV and turning it on with a flick of one hand.

The screen remained blank for a moment before a military login appeared. Williams went through it quickly and several more electronic checkpoints appeared and all yielded to her. Finally the screen resolved into a list of files. The names were nonsensical to him but Williams picked one and a vid opened.

It showed a reasonably neat office but Harper didn't recognise it. Datapads were scattered on the workspace and a Ullator was working on one of them, which only identified the species. They had gotten some spies into Nur space and there was a project with the Skatra now. The vid paused before anything happened.

"This is sub-spy-mistress, Xoila," Williams identified the Ullator.

"Speaking to?" Harper prompted, asking for the identity of the vid taker.

"One of my people," she replied as she waved one had to let the vid play.

Xoila looked up at Williams' agent, putting aside the datapad. "You have news?"

"The Phoenix Empire has just launched another of those nets."

"They do that every time they colonise a new planet," Xoila dismissed the information. "Do you have anything pertinent?"

"Yes, ma'am, The Emperor just authorised the Gladiator class of Dreadnoughts."

"After he said he wouldn't?"

"Yes."

Xoila sat back, an obviously thoughtful expression gracing her features. "Williams convinced him," she said finally.

"The official word is that the redesigned ships now fit the needs of the Empire."

"The official word," Xoila parroted, sounding amused. "They hide it very well," she continued and Harper noticed that Williams had stiffened with anger but he kept his attention on the vid. "And if I didn't know better, I'd never believe Harper and Williams are in love," Xoila concluded.

"That! Them!" Williams exploded, pausing the vid and stamping her foot as she once again glared at Harper.

For his part, he remained staring at the vid. "She said what?" He managed to gasp.

Williams flicked her fingers and the vid rewound slightly. "They hide it very well and if I didn't know better, I'd never believe Harper and Williams are in love."

Williams actually trembled with anger at the words.

"So you want to grab Xoila?" Harper asked, all other thoughts forgotten.

"Obviously," Williams snarled in return.

"And then what?" Harper asked, his tone giving nothing away. As angry as she was, if he said no, there was every possibility she'd go ahead anyway and to be fair, he shared a sense of outrage towards Xoila.

Williams stilled, looking at him as if he was stupid. "Pain," she snapped finally. "Lots of pain," she added.

Harper held up one hand as he closed his eyes, forcing himself to breath deeply as he thought. "If you let me smoke," Harper began, gesturing for her to stand down as her glare intensified. "I'll ask Kai," he said.

"And what good would that do?" She demanded.

"Williams, you are a soldier. You dispatch enemies. Kai was, and still is an assassin and the last 1500 years have only honed his skills. When it comes to causing pain, he's the one you want."

Williams' lips pursed as she thought about it. "How much would it cost me with him?" She growled finally.

Harper looked thoughtful. Kai would want compensation for being pulled out of whatever hole he was in. "I'll pay anything over two hundred years enhancement," he said.

She raised one hand to her face as she thought, her eyes cold with calculation. "You'll smoke only in private," she said softly.

"Only in private," he agreed.

"No more than five hundred years on Kai's enhancements," she added the next condition.

"That's more than enough," Harper agreed.

"For that price the Ullator bitch better scream for at least five years," she said. "If he kills Xoila, he will answer to me."

"I think he will be liking the fact you owe him a favour," Harper murmured.

"So," Williams looked him squarely in the eye, "am I allowed the raid or not?" She asked and Harper knew she was asking about Shepard's orders.

He leaned forward, resting his chin on one hand. "You may have your raid. Xoila disrespected you," Harper grunted. "If only that clause applied to me," he muttered.

Williams looked on for a few seconds before she snorted her laughter. "I've told you before, you don't respect Shepard, so he won't respect you."

"I'll deal with it," Harper dismissed the matter. "I'm calling Henry now because I want it on record that you are allowing me to smoke."

"Whatever," Williams said, giving up control of the TV as she stalked towards the door but she paused almost mid-step and looked around, her eyes alighting on his bodyguards. "The Emperor is allowed to smoke, but only in private," she emphasised the condition. "All other provisos apply."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Harper asked sharply.

She looked back at him, one hand on her hip as her fingers tapped her skin. "Oh, you'll find out, Jack," she said with a wicked smile.

Harper glared but she was as immune to it as he was. "Just go away and plan your raid, Ashley," he said, dismissing her. "But in future, you might want to consider that it won't matter how many sub-spy-mistresses we kidnap if you continue to visit my private quarters at night, in your underwear, they won't give up their beliefs," he said suggestively, making sure he raked his eyes over her body. He had absolutely no desire for her, just as she had none for him and they both knew it but rumours had started from less and the Ullator would most likely make up something even more outrageous from this incident.

He heard Williams' teeth grind and could see the whites of her knuckles.

" _Every_  other condition applies," she repeated firmly before she walked out.

When she was gone, Harper laughed delightedly. Whatever conditions she was talking about were unimportant. Finally, he would be able to contemplate his plans with the comfort of a cigarette.

He linked in with his network, running through the files until he came to the dossier on the sub-spy-mistress Xoila. It said nothing about her little theory and Harper activated the TV to put up her still image. She was completely normal for a Ullator and the image was recent as it matched well with Williams' vid. She had no idea about the anger she'd awoken and the pain that lay ahead. Still, it wouldn't all be in vain, and if Williams' raid started a war then at least he had his ciggies. So that wasn't all bad.

After all, he had his priorities.

-cfr-

**46608 Years after Human Ascension, 1555 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Human Military System Kaiden**

Lappela Rademaker wrapped her arms around her torso to conserve heat. It was cold in the base commander's office but she had been told to report, so report she would, even in the middle of the night. Even if the office was empty.

She had a horrible feeling this was just another so called hazing from some of the older recruits. Well, they were older in training, not in years. Fedochi childhood reached far into Human adulthood and so she was, physically at least, older than almost everyone else on the base.

Lappela looked around the office one more time before turning to the door. Hazing or not, middle of the night or not, she had training in the morning.

"Where are you going, Cadet?" The voice made her jump and she spun guiltily and found herself staring straight at a hologram. It took her preoccupied mind a moment to make out the details and Lappela thought she could be forgiven for another moment of disbelief once she realised who she was facing.

The instant she knew, she snapped into a crisp salute. It seemed to amuse the hologram.

"At ease, Cadet," the instruction came only after a few seconds had passed.

Lappela know she was being assessed in that time but the woman's expression betrayed nothing. She fell into a looser pose almost reluctantly as her mind tried to work through the surreal situation to determine why Grand Admiral Williams, her hologram at least, was here.

"Sit," the supreme commander of the Phoenix Empire's military moved her hologram into the base commander's chair on the opposite side of the desk. "You may speak, Cadet," the Grand Admiral said but Lappela did not know what she could say. "But silence is also a good strategy," the Human continued and she knew the woman was amused.

"You are obviously wondering why you are here, Cadet Rademaker," Williams continued.

That thought  _had_  crossed her mind.

"The thing is, I'm interested to know why you are here," the amusement faded from the Human's tone and Lappela suddenly felt pinned by the intense gaze. "Why are you here, Cadet Rademaker?" The question was an order for answers.

"I-" Lappela swallowed heavily. "I don't understand, Sir," she managed to say.

"Why are you here?" the Grand Admiral repeated her question. "Why did you join the Human military?" she clarified.

Ah, that made more sense. Lappela took a few breaths as she ordered her thoughts. The decision to join the Human military had not been easy. It would have been far better for her to join the Fedochi Police or something similar. Except… While her mother had done her best to shield her, it had become obvious that there were some Fedochi who were interested in her. They hid it well, making their visits seem as if they were there just to talk about old times with her mother but they all looked at her with calculating eyes.

It had weighed upon their small household for several months before one day, her mother had explained why.

"I came because of my father," Lappela answered, looking directly into Grand Admiral Williams' eyes.

The Human woman nodded but Lappela could tell she didn't truly understand.

"My father was active in the war. He was a Democrat and he worked with Human forces to bring down several Dukes and Exarch Tirto."

"Kuoxxar Ramakers," Grand Admiral Williams said the name and her face transformed slightly as she understood. "You admit that easily."

"You are my commanding officer," Lappela gave the explanation as if it was obvious.

They sat in silence for a few minutes and while it seemed as if the Grand Admiral was doing nothing, Lappela had been paying enough attention to know that she was probably checking her files and other sources of information, so she remained sitting quietly even though the office was still cold and she could feel it seeping into her flesh. Lappela was aware when Williams focused her attention on her again.

"Usually I don't accept potential political agitators but I think I'll make an exception," the Human said and her smile became warm. "You joined my service to avoid the remaining fanatics. That was wise, but you didn't consider Harper's fanatics."

Lappela stiffened. She hadn't considered Human fanatics but more than that, the Grand Admiral's words indicated she was well informed. "You already knew!" she made the accusation but it sounded lame to her ears.

"Of course I knew! You don't think I speak to all cadets?" Williams replied with an obvious truth of her own. "The military is part of the Empire but it is not under the Emperor's control. It is under  _mine_!" There was the sound of titanium in Williams' voice at the proclamation. "As such, you do not need to worry about the Emperor's Secret Police or any of the shenanigans of politics. As a soldier, in my military, you only need to concern yourself with pleasing me. And nothing pleases me as much as competence.

"Do your duties. Obey your commanding officers and I will make sure that that is all you need to worry about. To me, you will never be a pawn because of your father's blood. But-"

Lappela braced herself. There it was. The price of the Grand Admiral's protection.

"That requires one thing from you," Williams waited expectantly, as if this thing should have been obvious but Lappela couldn't think of anything.

"Sir?"

"It requires you to forget who your father was," the Supreme Commander told her.

Lappela blinked. She mostly did that anyway.

"Do you understand?"

She nodded. "Yes Sir!" she snapped to reinforce her agreement. It required nothing from her.

"Very good," Williams said. "The military will protect you from Fedochi fanatics and Harper knows better than to cross me over my troop selections." The Grand Admiral's hologram stood and Lappela scrambled to her feet.

It was tradition for the lower rank to leave but the Supreme Commander of the Military only went with tradition when it suited her. "You should get back to bed, Cadet Rademaker. Training begins at 0600."

The hologram disappeared, leaving Lappela in the darkened office and for a moment, she wondered if it had truly happened.

She shook her head. The gesture was a Human one, she had picked up. She hadn't imagined it. If she had, she wouldn't be this cold and she was thankful that the walk back to the barracks would warm her up.

Still, Lappela lingered briefly at the door, looking back at the desk. "I'll be your pawn," she said to the hologram that was no longer there because despite the Grand Admiral's reassurances, Lappela knew how politics worked. She was not naïve enough to believe the military would be different but they would at least play to a set of rules she understood.

That would be enough. And perhaps, if she laid low for long enough, she wouldn't have to be a pawn. Unless there was a driving force, political battles tended to be opportunistic and she was fairly sure the Grand Admiral was prepared to let her be forgotten.

That was fine with her. Just fine.

-cfr-

**46623 Years after Human Ascension, 1570 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Safehold, Emperor's Office**

Harper sat on one of the couches in his office, taking a break from the rather dry financial reports, as he enjoyed a rare cigarette. In exchange for kidnapping a Ullator sub-spy-mistress, Ashley had allowed the annulment of a millennia old bet to allow him to smoke in private but the bitch still throttled every supply route. And it was not like he could just go down to a shop and buy some. He'd only been able to once get a PA to supply them that way before she'd clamped down on that. So he was allowed to smoke but obtaining every cigarette was a battle.

He blew out a long trail of smoke, enjoying the taste as he pushed himself back into the plush leather. He took another deep breath, forcing thoughts of Williams' putridity away but the thought of her brought the thought of the network.

It had been in place for years, and had detected several rogue ships and asteroids. Of course, it had a few programming errors but after they had been corrected, the prize catch had been a Nur ship. He had been half-concerned that Shepard's orders would compel him to return them, which was one of the reasons he didn't interfere with Williams' handling of intruders but there had been no feeling at all from them, and the Phoenix Empire had dissected this bounty with care. The captured Nur had been afraid of that but Humanity was not so crude.

There was no reason to be, not when the Nur had been happy to explain everything about their ship and Empire. Physically the Nur were large. The smallest of the crew had been 2.1 m tall and they looked somewhat like giant insects. The Empire's xenobiologists assured him they weren't. They had lungs and breathed oxygen but could do so at approximately 16% optimally.

They did not have a hive mind but they had something like it. Between siblings, those birthed from the same clutch of eggs, communication was possible. Distance was not an issue. One of the xenobiologists had claimed it was like they had internal quantum comms. Harper had not been amused. Williams had been less so. They both understood the military advantages that would give them, especially since clutches could be several hundred Nur.

That discovery had soured their sense of accomplishment at capturing a Nur vessel. There was no doubt that their Empire knew but since they never mentioned it, Harper had decided not to mention the incident either. They were probably sacrifices. He had though ordered the Captain - who at that point, had been held on the planet below in an effort to display that resistance was futile - to be indoctrinated. All Nur were then ordered to cease communication with their Empire.

Overall, they were an interesting species. They refused to create AIs. That was comforting. It fitted with his world view, but he didn't know why it was so. The Ullator had been firm when explaining but not clear. He would find out why, in time.

The Nur Empire was huge. Geographically they were spread over approximately half the galaxy and they had a military to match. They could also produce eezo but nowhere near as efficiently as the Phoenix Empire could. It wasn't surprising that someone had worked it out, Humanity had figured out the theory in the Milky Way. They had not had the time to work out the mechanics but what was more concerning was the Nur's long range ships, as evidenced by the one they had captured. They did not have static discharge issues but they did have heat dissipation problems. Heat sinks were only so large and travelling interstellar distances could be an issue.

Even so, Harper had authorised the advancement of the Phoenix Empire's military and associated vessels. In the next few years, all of them would be staticless as well as armed with the best shields possible using shield tech that had been developed for the Project. Any extra military budget was going towards increasing the fleet numbers but they had been doing that for years to establish the appropriate defences around each of the Fedochi worlds and they were finally approaching the Empire's minimum standard. No one had been willing to sacrifice the ships around Human worlds.

Kuoxxar's child remained a rumour and while the brat would remain a reality for centuries more, if it truly existed, the rumours were not gaining credence. Most Fedochi were happy with the reality of life in the Empire and so long as that continued, he had little to fear from an attempt at revolution and Kuoxxar was safely back where he should be. In storage.

Harper looked at his cigarette. It was about half gone and he tapped at his breast pocket. The crumpled packet resided there and he could feel that there were only a few left. He always kept as much of his supply with him at all times to avoid having Williams confiscate them on some pretext.

"Harper," a choral voice he didn't recognise broke into his thoughts. "The boss is calling."

Harper felt himself stiffen at the phrase and the small fidgets of his bodyguards stopped, plunging his office into total silence.

"What did you say?" Harper asked.

"Shepard's calling," came the answer.

Harper looked around the room. His bodyguards were looking at him with wide eyes. They recognised the code phrase but they also knew  _he_  had to say the phrase for them to take action. He sighed. "I'm coming up," he said before taking a deep drag of his cigarette.

Smoke filled his lungs and he sat up as he blew out, flicking the ash into the waiting tray. The cig was half gone and he thought about leaving it but couldn't help the counter thought that Williams would be here in about ten minutes and in the time it took him to download into a new body after speaking with Shepard, she'd have ransacked his office for any he had stashed.

Besides, it was tradition for the condemned to have a last cigarette. Harper took another deep drag, watching the burning line approach his lips. He held for a moment but knew better than to wait too long. Shepard had made it clear the first time that he didn't want extended conversations but after having lived nine hundred and forty one years since Shepard called last time, it was hard to appreciate the risk Shepard was taking.

Sure, Harbinger might awaken but what were the chances the first Ascended would awaken in that one hour out of the millions in that time? Still, it would not be prudent to keep Shepard waiting. Who knew what he was being told?

Harper took a final drag, savouring the taste as he stubbed out the butt before blowing out one final long trail of smoke in a long sigh. He speared his bodyguards with his eyes.

"The boss is calling," Harper said clearly.

They had relaxed slightly when he hadn't immediately said the code phrase.

"Your Majesty?"

Harper recognised the voice of Tuan Hooper, one of his senior men. He nodded slightly. "The boss is calling," Harper repeated and heard the click of a gun behind him.

"Hold still please, Your Majesty," came the request. "I will count to three," Tuan said and Harper jerked his head once, tensing in anticipation.

"One."

Harper wasn't sure this was better than last time.

"Two."

His bodyguards were going to be ordered not to dither.

There was no three.

-cfr-

Shepard woke instantly and was again defeaned by the silence of his mind. He wondered how the Vanguard, who was essentially one homogeneous mind survived the long silence of the cycle but then dismissed the thought. It was not a concern for him now and if things worked out, it would never be a concern. His passive sensors told him his hibernation drift was within tolerances but the destroyer Jedlicka had moved infinitesimally closer over the years and the gap in their formation caused by Instinct and Legacy still felt hollow both within and without.

Shepard snorted to himself, pushing aside grief. He was becoming too poetic about that. The calculations he'd set running were still going but they would be running for a very long time and if all went well, he'd consider leaving Harper to his own devices and just sending the data during the next cycle. It would depend on his little Project's design, which should be… Shepard felt a small spike of surprise. He'd been in hibernation longer than he thought and while he didn't have confirmation, that must have meant Harbinger had been awake.

He wished he had more information on the first Ascended's habits when he created a slave race but Jedlicka had been reluctant to talk and Shepard could feel nothing specific from the information he'd downloaded from the network. Most Ascended didn't care what their leader did to create the slaves, they only knew that he did. Still, it stood to reason if the first Ascended had woken once to deal with the slaves, he might awaken again and since he had no desire to be caught, he should get on with this.

"Cerberus," Shepard sent the call out across the galaxy. "Cerberus," he repeated so that the Ascended knew it was not an illusion.

"What? Oh, Shepard," a voice he didn't recognise replied. "We've been hoping you'd call," the speaker continued and Shepard got the impression that in life the man had been one of those Humans who was highly intelligent but very vague. They were the type who should be left to continue their work because it benefited all Humanity but he didn't have the time now to deal with it, though the phrase had been interesting.

"You can tell me why, while you fetch the Prime," he instructed firmly, knowing that being direct was the best option.

"Oh yes," the man replied and Shepard felt him send a signal towards Harper. It would be a few minutes before the manipulative businessman arrived but now that Shepard knew what he had to go through to get here, he didn't necessarily begrudge him the time.

"Now, why were you hoping I'd call?" He asked pointedly.

"We've been having a bit of trouble with the Ascended," the man replied. "Not many but enough to cause some issues because they don't believe you exist."

Shepard wasn't sure what he should think of that. It wasn't an issue he'd considered.

"But it's okay now, we've got them under control because they have to protect you. And that's what they are doing."

Shepard could feel the frown forming. He didn't like the implications and he liked the reality less once he absorbed the information from the subchannels.

_Again!_

The man had cloned him again!

He could feel his weapons powering up at the thought and forcibly reminded himself to calm down. Cerberus wasn't in any position for him to properly extract vengeance. Or was he? "How many Ascended?" Shepard asked.

"There's just over four thousand," the man replied.

Hmm… Perhaps Harper was able to be punished.

"Very well," Shepard said as he felt Harper's consciousness enter Cerberus. It was an odd thing for him to sense but he accepted it. "Harper," Shepard greeted him as he demanded a vid file over the sub-channel. It was quickly delivered and he watched as one of Harper's bodyguards stepped up behind him with their weapon drawn but then he noticed the time stamp.

"We need to talk," Shepard announced, more dramatically than he intended but the purpose was clear.

Harper was politician enough not to flinch. "We do," he agreed, slipping into the Prime position and the feeling from Cerberus altered with the Prime in place.

"Let's start with everything you don't want me to know," Shepard said, perhaps cruelly but there was no reason to be subtle. "Start with the things you will think upset me the most," he added, feeling a well concealed anguish from Harper but he was inexorable.

"You're a bastard, you know that?" Harper growled.

"Yes, yes," Shepard agreed. "Now get on with it," he instructed.

Harper sighed. "I gather you already know about the clones," he made the question a statement.

"I do," Shepard said. "We'll deal with them later," he continued, refusing to be side tracked, even as he accepted files from the sub-channels which explained the reasoning.

"Most of the others are rather boring compared to that," Harper said.

"I'll judge that," Shepard hissed, losing patience.

"Alright," Harper said placatingly. "I had the Attori Prime Minister assassinated to allow us to more easily integrate them into the Empire. I kept a Fedochi Democratic Rebel and resurrected him several times to create unease in their Protectorate. I tried to have Williams assassinated once. It was a total failure and I've purged the criminal element in the Empire a few times without due process for their crimes. I had to purge the government once, without due process, when I caught elements within it stealing from the Project."

"Stop," Shepard ordered, probing into Cerberus to determine if Harper was lying. This was a petty list but it was the truth and the details of each incident only highlighted that.

"Despite what you may believe, I am not a petty, immoral man," Harper said. "I deal with people, making agreed upon bargains which usually favour me but they do get exactly what I promised them," he explained.

Shepard sighed. It was a reasonable explanation but he had another. His earlier orders placed precedence on the Project and Harper couldn't engage in activity that would risk it. That had kept him somewhat honest and even the attempt to assassinate Williams had been done to… Shepard felt non-existent eyelids blink. Because she'd stopped him smoking. There was definitely a story there but it would wait for later.

"Alright, Harper, I'll agree for now, that you have not done much that would upset me, so why don't you forget what I asked and what you answered," he suggested in a tone that said he had to be obeyed.

"Yes, I understand," Harper said flatly and Shepard could feel the records erasing themselves.

"Clones, Harper?" Shepard asked, referring to what he'd been told previously to cover the gap in conversation.

"I had to do something," Harper almost yelled, uncharacteristically, throwing files which highlighted Ascended discontent. It showed the ways they had failed to protect the Empire and Harper made sure the file of Ulysses threatening the Project was prominent amongst them.

Shepard sorted through them, absorbing the information. It was a small group but they were trying to spread their influence. They had not yet interfered with the Project but he could feel Harper's fear that they would. "So how did cloning me help?" He growled, feeling that he was missing something.

"You are the first, Shepard," Harper explained. "Whether by design or fate, not only are we bound to obey you, but to protect you as well. I wasn't sure if it applied to your organic form but I had to try something."

Shepard thought for a moment. Harper would have had to test that, which meant he made the clone and then… He was willing to bet that Harper had tried to have his clone order the other Ascended to do something. He continued looking at the data files provided. Yes, Harper had, but it didn't work, so now there were at least four of his clones on every planet and the Ascended were attentive at making sure he was protected but it seemed a complicated way to do things. And it didn't answer the first question of why. The Ascended threatened the Project but why didn't they believe he ordered it? Why didn't they believe he existed because that's what the first speaker had said.

"So I take it my clones can't order you to break wet tissue?" He said to confirm the files. Harper signalled agreement before Shepard asked what was truly confusing him. "Why don't the Ascended you've created believe I exist?" He asked. "You told them about Earth, I presume."

"Of course I did," Harper scoffed.

"Then why don't they know about me?" Shepard pressed. "I shouldn't be the focus but I think I at least rate a mention."

"They do believe in you," Harper said. "Most of them do anyway," he explained. "They believe you were a soldier in the Systems Alliance."

"The Project Harper, why don't they believe in that?"

"Because they don't know about absolute orders."

"Is it just that?" Shepard continued pressing for answers, feeling more than ever that Harper was leaving out some key piece of information. "If they are taught history, then the Project should be a logical investment."

"How am I meant to teach them about the Catalyst?" Harper demanded. "I can't even think about the Project."

"But the Humans can," Shepard reminded him. It was the reason Harper had recreated Humans. "We don't take everything from our organic lives but with all of them, they should collectively take that information," Shepard said.

Silence told him everything he didn't want to know. "You do teach the Humans?" He asked, already dreading the answer.

"Not about you," Harper spat finally.

Shepard forced himself to count to ten before he answered, though while he was counting the absurdity of the situation occurred to him and he said that rather than anything else. "They don't trust you," he concluded. "You might not have lied to their Ascended forms but you have lied to their organic selves. I'm not surprised they don't trust you."

Again Harper said nothing but Shepard knew what he wanted. The man was never one to go to authority to solve his problems, not even to him but in this case, the solution could also be used for punishment. Harper would wish he'd educated the organics with the questions he'd be asked.

"Enough of that. Will the Project launch on time?" He asked. That was the main concern.

"Yes," Harper replied, relieved to be moving on to other topics. He offered several files on the Project but Shepard rejected them.

"I don't need to know," he said and Harper understood. Given that it was going to take so long to get to the Milky Way, it was best that Shepard have no information which could be compromised. "Quantum shields?" He asked hopefully. His orders over the subchannels last time would ensure Harper would not allow the development of particle weapons. Not until Shepard said he could.

"Not yet," Harper sighed. "We have developed better shields but not true Quantum Shields," he told Shepard.

"No matter," the first Human Ascended dismissed the failure. "Keep trying," he instructed, "but do not delay the launch." He didn't want to delay justice for Instinct and Legacy and the others any longer than he had to.

"It will be another few hundred years but it will be done," Harper said and Shepard expected nothing less but it was time to deal with his insubordination.

"I trust you now feel suitably respectful towards the journey?" He asked, referring to the orders he'd given in the previous call.

"You bastard!" Harper growled, any indication of submission given by his earlier agreement was lost with the words. "Every fucking year I've had to put up with that crap. Every year! Nine hundred and forty one years! That's over two thousand hours. Eighty seven days!"

"Eighty six point nine," Shepard corrected. "And you should be thankful I didn't make it the extended edition."

"So can I stop?" Harper asked, ignoring the implied threat.

Shepard was silent for a moment, drawing out Harper's pain. "You may," he said finally. "Now patch me through to your Ascended and I will educate them," he added, taking pity on Harper because the Project came first and he didn't want to make Harper beg.

Not yet. That would be next time, when the man truly understood what it meant to lead, and not just dominate.

-cfr-

Cannaman felt a new immortalised enter the network. That was not particularly unusual. A new one awoke every two weeks or so but it wasn't time for a new immortalised. The last one had joined the network two days ago and while it was possible for several to awaken together, it was not normal. And this immortalised felt different. It felt old.

Cannaman shifted slightly, focusing her attention on the network. Another immortalised was another immortalised to bring in against the idiotic Project.

"Welcome," he greeted the newcomer. "I am Cannaman." It was only polite to introduce yourself.

"Hello," the voice was male but strangely flat and it took Cannaman a moment to realise that the customary echo was not present. That was rare but not unheard of. Sometimes, one will was strong enough to dominate the others.

"Who are you?" Cannaman asked politely. He felt the smile over the network.

"I am Shepard," came the reply.

"Another attempt to convince us?" Cannaman sent the sarcastic query to Cerberus.

"Oh no," the one claiming to be Shepard said. "I am Shepard, the one who ordered the Project."

Cannaman was about to scoff but there was something in the words screaming the truth at him.

"Are you all listening?" Shepard asked, and even though it should have been obvious Cannaman was, she still felt compelled to reply. The network was flooded with assent and Cannaman realised that every immortalised had replied. "Good," the voice purred.

"I am Shepard, the First Human Ascended," the information was given forcefully. "In the Ascended fleet, Human or otherwise, you will obey me," it continued and a wealth of meaning accompanied the words.

Cannaman caught glimpses of another fleet of Ascended and knew that they were comprised of different races. They were the preserved representatives of their species which was similar to how Cerberus was immortalising selected Attori and Fedochi. Then there was an image of a blue alien, followed quickly by a burning planet and a sense of satisfaction. Another image appeared. This was of a space station that was strangely compelling. A nebula surrounded it and there was a small fleet of platforms around the five segmented station. Then an immortalised appeared, and another, and another, until there was a small fleet present.

Then the platforms opened fire and Cannaman expected the Ascended to return fire and some did but others, those who had been hit screamed and their voices reverberated through Cannaman. Accompanying the image was a growing sense of rage and as more Ascended joined the image, most of them firing on the platforms, Cannaman could tell that those who had appeared first had been killed.

Another immortalised appeared with a small fleet of others around it and that fleet began decimating the platforms until eventually they were gone as even as thousands more immortalised appeared. That feed cut off and a series of dead immortalised flashed across her senses. Cannaman recognised their names. They were the ones Cerberus had rebuilt, including those two delinquents, Legacy and Instinct.

"For the deaths of the youngest, those who should have been protected, it was I who authorised the Project," Shepard continued. "The Catalyst is no longer fit to control-"

"Daddy!" The cry was joyful and Cannaman recognised it as coming from Legacy.

Shepard felt surprised and there was a moment where Cannaman could feel Shepard verifying their identity before there was a surge of emotion. Relief. Happiness. Love. But it was only a moment before that feed was cut off and Cannaman knew Shepard was directing it now towards the Milky Way Ascended.

He could only imagine the layers of subchannels being established now. The brief flash of tender emotion should have made Shepard seem weaker but Cannaman could feel herself trembling mentally. The depth of emotion was a testament to the lengths Shepard would go to protect, to serve, to lead. He would go to any lengths for those emotions and feel that nothing was unusual in that.

"I am Shepard and as you have been told by numerous sources, I do exist."

Cannaman winced mentally. Legacy was no doubt the source of that jab.

"I told Cerberus to deal with the Catalyst and I expect other Human Ascended not bound to its ancient form to help with it, just as I expect all Ascended to continue the work they did when they were organic, to see to the improvement of the Human condition and the protection of Human territory.

"However, I know there will be times when choices must be made. Usually I would make them, assessing what I believe best for Humanity but I must remain in the Milky Way and am unavailable to answer all questions, which is why I delegated the Project to Cerberus, just as I now delegate leadership.

"Your first loyalty is to me but Cerberus is in your chain of command and acts in my stead. You are not to call me, or any other being outside of the LMC or leave the LMC unless ordered to. You are to direct all questions to the Emperor," Shepard continued and Cerberus could feel the compulsions carried in the words.

No, it was not compulsion. There was a chance to fight a compulsion. This was an order and it was something he had to obey.

"I trust that clarifies the situation?" Shepard asked superfluously but Cannaman couldn't bring herself to point that out.

They had no choice but to obey and something Harper had once said to one of his supporters came back to her. _"I'm trying to protect you from absolute orders."_ Cannaman gasped as the force of Shepard's presence pressed into them all. The Emperor should have tried harder!

Shepard seemed to vanish after a moment but the point was made and Cannaman could feel himself reeling and could feel the confusion and guilt in the subnetwork she had been leading.

"Cerberus did not lie," Warren said into the silence.

"Ascended do not lie to Ascended," Ulysses said and the group mentally looked back and forth at each other. They weren't sure what to do.

"Oops, sorry, Shepard really does exist" hardly seemed like it would be enough, or an appropriate thing to say but what else could they do? They knew they were wrong. They would serve the Empire now because they had no choice but Cerberus would remember and the young Milky Way Ascended would no doubt be smug.

That would just have to be dealt with but if they didn't want Cerberus assigning them the most boring and tedious jobs from now until… well, forever, they had better do something now.

"Zorya," Cannaman said the name pointedly.

Zorya had shared their views on the Project but was happy to actively work with the military.

"What do you want?" The question was frosty but Cannaman ignored that.

"You have the maps and invasion routes for the Ullator Federation?" Cannaman pressed.

Zorya was silent for a moment before several files were pushed into their network. "Don't get yourselves killed," she said. "That will only annoy Cerberus more, and she has practice at resurrecting immortalised."

"We won't die," Cannaman assured Zorya, not surprised at the distance he could feel now. "We won't, but we will lead," she added.

"Cerberus will remember."

"I know but this is better than waiting for punishment." Even though they'd just discovered that absolute orders were real, there was no need to add that Cerberus would probably order this anyway and that they had no other way of atoning.

"I'll let you know what the fleet is doing," Zorya promised before the comm was cut, leaving Cerberus and his followers with the plans.

"Well, let's get to work," she announced and felt the others draw close.

They had a lot of work to do.

-cfr-

"Daddy!"

The word broke his concentration in a way Shepard didn't think was possible. With the word came requests for comm and network linkages but he held off for a moment.

"Harper!" He didn't have to tell the man what needed to be explained.

A flood of information was thrust at him. "They were dead," Harper assured him, so that he did not feel guilty for leaving them, "because they could not self-repair and over time, their cores would have degraded but with help, they could be retrieved. There are seven who were truly lost."

Shepard mentally took a deep breath, bracing himself before he allowed the comm lines to open, along with as many subchannels as the two desired. He couldn't allow the network connections. Not yet. It might leave residual information in his system and he couldn't risk that but he let himself bask in the knowledge that they were whole.

"This does not change the Project," Shepard told Harper, then he distanced himself from the Ascended comm network that had been established by the LMC Ascended. As fun as it was to intimidate them, he had more important things to focus on now.

But he did not neglect them, continuing their verbal instructions so that they would obey Cerberus. The pleasure his final instruction caused was lost in the greater pleasure of Legacy and Instinct's presence. Still, Harper would figure out what he meant in due course and that was the point really.

"I'm still upset about the clones," he sent to Harper. The man couldn't be allowed to think that resurrecting the Milky Way Ascended had gotten him off the hook.  _And with your little delay,_  he added to himself but he would deal with the man later.

"I'm happy to feel you," Shepard said to the two youngest Milky Way Ascended, "but we cannot network properly," he explained so that they would not feel hurt by his rejection of that. "And you cannot talk to Mummy," he added sadly, knowing that they'd ask. It was best to get the bad news out of the way all at once. He wouldn't be able to speak to Elysium about them either but she would eventually have the joyful reunion, not just with Legacy and Instinct, but with the others Shepard could feel now that he knew to look for them in the comm network.

"We know," Legacy answered for them both. "Cerberus said you were fighting the bad ones."

Shepard felt himself smile, even though he wasn't capable of that gesture. "I am," he agreed. "I'm making sure it can't come after you, so I can't give your lessons yet, and you can't come here until the bad one is gone."

"Then we can go back home?" Instinct asked.

"Yes, I promise," Shepard replied, feeling a stab of pain but it only sharpened his resolve. The Catalyst was no longer the way of the cycle. "We'll go home together," he added.

"How long will it take?" Legacy asked.

"At least three cycles," Shepard said.

"Will we fight afterwards?"

"Only if you want to," he told them and could feel a mixed response. "Organics will not be permitted to hurt you again but they will be Ascended for their preservation. There is millions, billions of years of history in the Ascended fleet," he said, highlighting the other species because their knowledge should not be lost.

"We will go with you," Legacy said.

Shepard silently agreed, letting himself revel in the feel of the two young ones. They might be in Ascended form but it made him feel Human and he was thankful for that, but as much as Shepard wanted to enjoy the sensation he knew he couldn't yet. And he knew that he could not delay further. But he could enjoy their presence while he finished up with Cerberus.

He opened a dedicated comm line to Harper as he absented himself from the LMC network properly. They would obey Cerberus now, as would the new ones. The new Human nation would be well protected, just as the Ascended would be.

"They will obey you now," he said without preamble. "As will those who are to come."

"Good," Harper seemed pleased, as well he should be.

"Don't get ahead of yourself," he warned. "Their first loyalty is still to me. I have just put you into the chain of command, do not abuse it," he said. "I will be checking on you, and it is my assessment you must adhere to."

"So nothing has changed," Harper growled.

Shepard chuckled but said nothing.

"The Project will launch in the next few hundred years but we will need tighter coordinates once it gets closer."

"I will provide them. The calculations are already running but I will need a better estimate of time before I can provide good correction values. What is the window of detection?"

"Assuming we can get it as close to light speed as I want, 595 days."

Shepard thought for a moment. Without knowing the habits of the Catalyst he couldn't say if that was good or bad but as the Ascended scanned the nebula as part of their end of Cycle duties, Shepard didn't think the Catalyst would be watching but if it did see it… They'd cross that bridge when they got to it. "Good," he said, finally indicating the end of the conversation because now that he knew the Project was on schedule and had been buoyed by the news of Instinct and Legacy, he was eager to return to hibernation. The chances of being caught might be infinitesimal but the stakes were higher now. He would not allow Instinct and Legacy to again be subjected to the Catalyst's whims.

"Wait!" Harper said the word urgently. "I need you to talk to someone."

"Someone?" Shepard questioned.

"One of Cerberus' minds. He did me a favour many years back and his price was two minutes with you."

Shepard signed but was mildly impressed Harper had bothered to remember such a promise. "Open a subchannel on this frequency," he instructed, passing over the information and a moment later a new connection was made.

"Hello, Commander Shepard. My name is Kai Leng," the introduction was standard and Shepard absorbed further details non-verbally, even as he continued to speak with Harper. There was one advantage to being Ascended, he could, even by himself, properly multitask.

"I'm not happy that you cloned me. Again," Shepard said, not bothering to modulate his emotions on the link to Cerberus. "You will immediately destroy all of them and all records of my genetic material. I do not wish to be, nor do I wish to sire a host of organics."

On Earth Kai had worked for the organisation Cerberus, now he worked for himself but that didn't answer the one thing Shepard was curious about. What had Kai done to garner this reward? "What did you do for Harper?" He asked curiously.

"Secondly, you will now educate your Empire as to the true history of Earth and the Citadel Council and the Catalyst. Given that Humans become Ascended, lying to them is almost the same as lying to an Ascended."

Harper sighed. "I'll see to it," he replied neutrally, recognising that the punishment probably wasn't as bad as it could be. Instinct and Legacy had softened much of Shepard's anger.

"I purged the government of everyone who was stealing from the Project without allowing the criminals to run rampant but with respect, that is not what I wish to talk about," Kai answered his question honestly.

Shepard was impressed. The man was polite yet precise in his information. "What do you wish to discuss?" He asked, willing to let the governmental purge go. Further information would be on the files that were streaming to him, and Harper had already given him the basics.

"Thirdly, you have permission to stop watching BB for the commemoration of the journey but I would suggest that you find some other way to mark such an auspicious event."

Harper said nothing at that but Shepard could feel his relief at being released from the movie but, as per his instruction there would be some other celebration.

"Fourthly, I want Instinct and Legacy to have the same protection as Cerberus does at all times. I will be very upset if anything happens to either of them," he added warningly knowing that Harper would correctly interpret his orders. Cerberus was protected. Legacy and Instinct now shared that protection.

"Oh, just a few things about the dear Emperor," Kai replied and Shepard listened as the man spoke again with precise sentences, outlining what he wanted.

"Stop," Shepard said. "You may go ahead with your plan, but I must insist you wait a few years. Ask Ashley for assistance if you need it."

"I won't," Kai replied. "She already owes me for the next couple of centuries."

"Very well," Shepard said. "Save files for me," he added the instruction. Agreement was instant and after politely saying goodbye, Kai cut the connection, leaving Shepard to concentrate on speaking with Harper.

"Is there anything else?" Harper asked when Shepard paused but was wise enough not to make the question one that implied any offence.

Shepard thought for a moment, going through some of the files transferred to him by Cerberus and the other Ascended. "How did Ashley make you stop smoking?" Shepard asked, clearly amused.

Harper sighed. "I made a throw away comment when we were developing our avatars. Williams took me up on it."

"How many years?" Shepard inquired, barely holding back his laughter.

"1438 years," Harper grumbled.

"Oh well, Jack you know what they say, smoking kills," he said, shutting the comm and pulling his attention back to the Milky Way.

He chuckled to himself as he sorted through the files. Harper probably thought he'd gotten off easy about the cloning issue, and in many ways he had. The Emperor would learn how very wrong he was soon and would be feeling his displeasure over the next few years.

Shepard sighed to himself, pushing thoughts of Harper aside as he considered the other things he had learned. The number of Human Ascended would continue to grow in the LMC, and they would all be loyal to him but Harbinger could control them, as could the Catalyst. That was a part of being Ascended but they did not know the LMC Ascended existed and the LMC Ascended didn't know they were meant to be loyal to the Catalyst.

They would be useful if Harbinger was not reasonable. All he'd have to do was hold out against Harbinger's orders. He didn't know how well he could do that but perhaps he wouldn't have to. The first Ascended was old and pragmatic and so long as the cycle continued, he should be content.

Besides, if needs be Shepard could close his comm by putting it on an emergency maintenance cycle. That way he couldn't hear the first Ascended. Though there was nothing stopping Harbinger from ordering them one at a time. It was a thought for the future, and if they had to destroy the Ascended fleet, he would make sure they were remembered.

It was satisfying to know that he would no longer have to do that for Legacy and Instinct. They were strangely old and young. They were shaped by their experience but they didn't seem to remember the full pain of the attack but they were gaining experience in the LMC. Williams had done well teaching them and their fine control was honed. They were, for all their youth, still developing well. They will be formidable, both within and without the Ascended fleet. For now, Cerberus would watch over them and they would learn. They would truly showcase the instinct and the legacy of the Milky Way Ascended.

But it was going to be difficult not letting Elysium know and again Shepard sighed. He couldn't. It was that simple but he could make sure she had time with them in the future, and he would make sure she survived until then. He would make sure they all survived until then.

The Catalyst would not win.

Shepard distanced himself from his anger, and pushed the comm files from Cerberus and Legacy and Instinct and all the other LMC Ascended into a niche of memory only he could access and then he erased the logs before mentally settling himself. Everything was on schedule and he could let Harper have a bit more time before he called again. He wanted the Project to be on its way then. And once it was complete the future would be brighter.

That thought followed him into the senselessness that was hibernation.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And thus the problem of the Ascended disobeying Cerberus is ended. And it ends with the method Ashley suggested - wait for Shepard to call. Of course, Williams let Harper have his rope.
> 
> No aliens this time, but with the Empire now being changed because of the knowledge of Shepard, the aliens will be impacted in the next chapter.


	72. In Which There Are Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The immediate consequences from Shepard's call come to play in the LMC Galaxy. Some are bigger than others.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 71: In Which There Are Consequences**

-cfr-

**46623 Years after Human Ascension, 1570 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Ullator Homeworld Ulan, Spy Mistress Xavia's Office**

Xavia stared at the data pad.

The vid feed on it had not changed and it would not change. She ignored the frantic beeps from her comm. It would be the Ravitel, her agents, her sub-spy mistresses, it was everyone and they all wanted to know the same thing. Why?

Except she had no idea why. While it was difficult to get information out of the Phoenix Empire at the best of times, there had been no warning signs that they were about to attack. There had been no build up, no rumours, no diplomatic posturing. None of the usual signs. Nothing!

As far as she knew, even the Human Ambassador was still here. If the Phoenix Empire was going to attack, surely they would have come up with some reason to withdraw her? Except local reports from the capital Ulan indicated that the Humans had been taken by surprise as well. They had turned the Embassy into a fortress but it was only a matter of time before Ullator forces broke into it. Xavia doubted they'd find anything. If Emperor Harper had decided to sacrifice the Embassy, he probably hadn't given them any warning.

The comm tone changed.

It was a high priority signal from the Ravitel. They probably wanted to know what to do. As if they should ask! There was only one thing to do!

Fight. And hope that the Nur did not take advantage of the commotion but Xavia didn't think they would.

Lately the Ullator had been focused so much on the Phoenix Empire that the Nur border had been stable and the Nur had seemed content with what. She shook her head. That was all a distraction and she looked again at the data pad and the image of the Phoenix Empire's huge mausoleum ships sweeping towards Qorene.

It was a fleet 600 strong and as they approached the planet, smaller sub-fleets broke off to deal with the planetary defences. Qorene never had a chance but Xavia frowned. She wasn't completely up to date with military manoeuvres but she knew enough to know that you did not send only dreadnoughts and… why the hell had the Phoenix Empire sent their mausoleum ships?

They were usually protected because even if it was preserving only a copy of the Human mind, no one wanted that to die. It made no sense.

The comm beeped again and somehow, the sound was even more urgent. Xavia slapped it off. She had no answers and the reports from her few remaining agents were garbled and official routes were silent.

Or were they?

At the beginning of the Phoenix Empire Fedochi War, Emperor Harper had spoken to Exarch Tirto a few times until he'd gotten tired of it, and it was obvious that Tirto had not been going to surrender. She didn't know what they'd discussed each time but she knew the conversations had happened. Perhaps the Phoenix Empire would speak to her?

Did she want to speak to them? What would she learn? Why were they attacking? How they had known to take out Qorene first?  _What purpose would speaking to them have?_  Xavia thought before she snorted to herself.

It might let her find out why her agent's reports were 'He's real' and nothing else. It might let her find out why they were attacking. Emperor Harper would be arrogant enough to explain and it might let her know why they took out Qorene first. Speaking to them might tell her everything. Or nothing.

The comm beeped. The Ravitel still and Xavia took a deep breath. She had to find out something, she decided and with a trembling hand she tapped a comm she never thought she'd use. At her level it was not hard to get the direct contact details for the Phoenix Emperor's office. The real trick was making sure she wasn't added to the banned list but she had never personally used this line so it should connect.

Xavia waited, hearing the call attempting to connect and just as she was about to shut it off, the tone changed, indicating a connection. She watched the security protocols cycle for a moment before the image resolved. It was not Harper but her memories provided the identity immediately.

"Director Lawson," she said, looking at the man.

The office behind him was the Emperor's. He frowned at her for a moment before his expression cleared.

"Spy Mistress Xavia," he greeted her formally.

"Where is Emperor Harper?" she asked, as her mind supplied theories. Were the Humans attacking because there'd been a coup? Why was Lawson in Harper's chair?

"He's currently downloading," Lawson replied easily.

Her expression must have told him that she knew it was not Emperor Harper's scheduled time for rebirth. Lawson smiled. "Not an assassination," he explained. "Jack had to speak to the boss."

At that, the bodyguards who Xavia recognised as being Harper's laughed but Lawson made no move to censure them. "Now, how can I help you Spy Mistress?" he asked.

Xavia's mind was everywhere. She'd heard the rumours that Harper had a boss but like most, she'd dismissed them. Sure, those rumours had persisted for the entire time she'd known of Humans but there was never any proof. And sure, if you accepted Human history, then yes, there probably had been someone back in the Milky Way who was supposedly in charge of Harper but that had been a long time ago. And while Williams was undoubtedly far more important to the government than just the position of Grand Admiral, Harper didn't need to upload to speak to her.

She took a couple of deep breaths and forcibly reminded herself that speculation was a distraction. She needed answers.

"Why are you attacking?" Xavia asked, capping her desire for additional information on Harper's supposed boss.

"We ar…" Lawson began to say before his expression changed, as if something just became clear. "So that's where they went," he said, leaning forward to tap a few data pads.

Xavia couldn't see the screens but she didn't need to.

"It's complicated," Lawson told her after a moment. "I suppose the easiest way to explain is to say that they are trying to make things up to us."

Xavia frowned, ignoring the implications that this was not a sanctioned attack. "I do not understand," she said because Lawson's explanation made no sense.

Six hundred ships did not cross the border without the Phoenix Empire knowing. This was not a raid by privateers, this was a full attack by state sponsored, state created ships.

Lawson sighed. "The problem with having an immortal population is that you get every prejudice and opinion preserved."

Xavia blinked. She'd never considered that. She'd never really thought about it because for the Phoenix Empire, it just was, but she wondered now how they dealt with it and the things the oldest Humans had seen.

"As a result there has been disagreements between the immortalised. You haven't seen it of course because we do not discuss it on open channels but a schism has been growing in the immortalised. Those who support Cerberus and the Project and those who support the Human nation."

"So you are going to claim this attack is the result of a schism?" Xavia let scorn colour her tone. "How convenient for you."

"Of course not," Lawson disagreed, shaking his head. "The attack is the result of the schism disappearing. You see, the other problem with immortality is deciding who should be in charge," he continued. "You may believe that it is Cerberus, but it isn't.

"His name is Shepard and his is the leader of all Human immortalised, both here and in the Milky Way. Those who were disagreeing with Cerberus have been brought to heel."

"Why should they obey this Shepard?" Xavia asked, intrigued despite herself and the events that were taking place. "You Humans are notoriously contrary."

Lawson looked amused and he nodded his agreement with her observation. "As you have observed, immortalisation may be described as digitisation and there are rules coded into us. Absolute obedience to Shepard is one. He doesn't call that often. It has been almost 1000 years since he last called and those who disagreed with the Project were told to change their minds.

"And they have. That's why they are attacking. It is to make up for their previous disobedience."

"Attacking Qorene was the way they decided to show their obedience?" Xavia asked skeptically.

"Williams tells me they are using her attack plan," Lawson shrugged. "Anyway, did you want something? Other than to complain."

"This is an act of war," Xavia growled.

Lawson didn't appear concerned. "Yes, I believe it is because we will be following their incursion with occupying forces. Williams is seeing to that now," he added, after checking a few data pads.

"You will risk a war with us so that some of your immortalised can prove their loyalty? What of the risk to your Project?" Xavia demanded trying to grasp for something that might stop the Phoenix Empire. Like the Fedochi before them, the Ullator were not ready for this war, but they were ready enough.

A screen behind Lawson altered to display the attack on Qorene. "I don't think it's much of a risk," he replied. "But I'll let Harper make the formal declaration-" Lawson looked thoughtful for a moment, "-if he bothers. The declaration would activate several of Shepard's orders which we might be better off without. I'll discuss it with him," he said before looking up at Xavia. "If that's all you wanted Spy Mistress, I'll be going. Just because I'm currently occupying Jack's position doesn't mean I gave up my own and the double workload is trying," he said with a mocking smile.

"And before you call again, I'll tell you the thing Harper told Exarch Tirto when he kept calling. Don't call again unless it is to surrender. So good day, Spy Mistress Xavia. I imagine you are about to become equally as busy."

The screen went blank, leaving Xavia staring at it, her mind whirling.

The Humans made no sense and she wasn't sure how much she should trust what Lawson had said. It was true that they'd never caught Harper in a lie but so much of what he said depended on having the right preconceptions or making the right assumptions. It depended on your point of view as Harper had said once.

But if you were an outsider, it made no sense, and with Lawson's words, while she understood them, their greater meaning was lost to her.

The comm from the Ravitel beeped again.

Xavia closed her eyes, enjoying the dark and wishing she could enjoy the quiet but she knew she would have to answer and she didn't know what to tell them. Well, she knew but she couldn't believe it. The Humans were attacking and not on the orders of anyone but because this was the way they supposedly healed schisms because their leader had supposedly revealed himself.

It sounded like one of their fringe religions but Xavia didn't know how to describe it. Was this what the garbled messages from her agents meant when they transmitted 'he's real'? Xavia shook her head, wishing for silence, but knowing she wasn't going to get it as she wondered what she could tell the Ravitel.

No matter what she said, this was not going to be easy.

-cfr-

**46623 Years after Human Ascension, 1570 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

Williams slouched in the chair, glaring at Harper. He'd only insisted she come physically to gloat and she didn't have time for that. With Cannaman's group decimating Ullator forces she needed to upload to coordinate the Phoenix Empire's response.

Taking planets and systems was one thing. They had to hold them and that would require work. She really didn't have the time to be sitting here listening to Harper drivel. She agreed they had to punish Cannaman's group but they didn't have to work it out now.

"Was there something?" Williams growled.

Harper's security had confiscated her omni-tool and Harper had locked his networks so she couldn't even work while she waited for him to get to the point.

"There's always something Williams," Harper replied but didn't appear to be getting any closer to actually discussing things.

"Jack," she ground her teeth together, letting him know that her patience was wearing very thin.

"Did you need something?" he asked innocuously.

Williams was tempted to shake her head and storm out but that would only put her further behind schedule. "Actually, yes there is," she said instead, pitching her voice sweetly as if the earlier aggravation had never happened. Two could play this game and before Harper could say anything further, she continued. "While the Ascended have made our intentions quite clear, I will need a declaration of hostility from you to send in our regular military. And I'm going to need fiscal assistance to compensate the families of those who die as well as to construct the ships we are going to need in order to hold the Ullator territory."

Harper nodded, becoming serious. While the Ascended would lead the battle, this was combat, it was an unfortunate reality that some in the Empire would die. "I'll see to it," he told her because right at the moment, Williams should be focused on how to hold the new territory.

"I'll take another 1400 with me. After the Fedochi, they have all paid a lot more attention to their war training," Williams said easily, "though I need to know what you want us to do with the Nur?"

"Stop at the border," Harper said, though with two thousand Ascended, they probably should be able to keep going. Except it was a lot of territory to hold and even now, more than half the systems of the Empire were alien. Human and Attori systems combined outnumbered Fedochi, barely but Fedochi and Attori systems outnumbered Human ones. Still, both races knew the Human systems held power yet it was a weakness that should be addressed.

"If the Nur take advantage of the chaos, let them," Harper instructed magnanimously. "They have been dealing with shit from the Ullator for far longer than we have." He frowned. "Do we have any Nur in the Empire at the moment?"

Williams shook her head. "None officially and I don't recall any reports of others. There's still some crew from that ship but," she shrugged, trusting Harper to interpret that to say those particular Nur were not fit for returning.

The Nur were a large species, standing on average at 2.3 m and they reminded her slightly of the Krogan, seemingly without the bad tempers or the stupid lust for combat. They had a hierarchy. Observations had shown them that immediately with the captured ship but the Nur were not afraid to go around that hierarchy if they thought it best.

"Alright," Harper nodded. "Any Nur we capture in Ullator territory will be sent back to them. We don't want to antagonise them yet. And any ships that encounter Nur are not to fire first. I'd like to establish an embassy if we can."

Williams nodded before sighing. "Do you want us to attempt to rescue the Ambassador?" With the Ascended attacking in the wake of Shepard's call there had been no time to recall any Humans in Ullator territory. She was told that the Ambassador had turned the Embassy into a fortress but they could not hold out for long.

Harper pulled up a map, looking at the fleet's relative position to the Ullator homeworld. "No," he sighed. Rescuing the Ambassador was not a practical move. "I'll make them out to be martyrs for the cause," he added but the reality was with the revelation about Shepard sweeping the Empire, few would remember them. He'd compensate their relatives and if any did survive until the Phoenix Empire reached the Ullator capital planet, Ulan, he'd tell Williams to escort them back as heroes.

"Alright," Williams nodded. "I'll make sure we play nice with the Nur." The 'for now' was unspoken but heard by them both.

"You'll upload?" Harper asked.

"This afternoon," she told him. This particular war might be impromptu but she would run it properly.

Harper nodded. "I'll be initiating social reforms shortly," he announced.

"Such as?"

"The Nur are bigger than us," he said, zooming out on the map to display the galaxy. "While I'm sure we are technologically superior, I don't want to find us outgunned," he explained. "And now that I can fully trust the Ascended," he said suggestively.

"You have overseers who can't be corrupted," Williams surmised.

It hadn't been such a large issue for her. While some ranking military Ascended had agreed with Cannaman's group, they had also acknowledged the need to protect the Empire. So while they had resented being held in place by Shepard clones, they had still helped with running the military when necessary and participated in advanced war games. She knew Zorya had given Cannaman the most up to date invasion plans, for example.

"How are you going with the clones?" she asked, touching on what she'd been told. She'd heard a recording of Harper's conversation with Shepard but hadn't actually felt it yet. It would be one of the first things she did when she uploaded. The words only told her part of the story, the sub channel information would actually tell her what Shepard wanted and with her current understanding it was impossible to hide the snark in her voice.

Harper had gotten off far too easy.

"They've been destroyed," Harper said. Shepard had stressed the immediacy of that order. "As well as all record of his genetics," he added before Williams could ask.

"Good," she said with a deep sigh.

"You think I got off easy," Harper said, deciding to confront her.

"I  _know_  you got off easy," she replied.

"Perhaps Shepard isn't quite as idealistic as you believe."

"Maybe," Williams was forced to admit.

Harper shrugged, smiling at her. "We will expand faster now," he said, and she watched as he pulled open a draw.

"What other reforms are you after?" Williams asked. Most wouldn't affect the core military but there were some subtleties in the way they presented things which helped them remain as socially acceptable as they were. She'd accommodate his changes, unless of course, it was to steal her best people again.

Harper looked up, pulling out a small, somewhat battered packet of cigarettes. He tapped it on the surface of his desk to raise one.

She glared but he smiled at her, as if to say that she'd missed this packet during her search of his quarters while he'd been speaking to Shepard. She'd turn his desk to kindling next time he Ascended if that's what it took. At least his bodyguards had the grace to look somewhat ashamed though a few were concerned. Williams' punishments were profound.

"Expansion," Harper said absently, again looking through his desk and Williams ground her teeth.

He was drawing it out now but he managed to find a lighter. "Population growth," Harper continued, lighting a flame and bringing his cigarette to it before sitting back a content expression, one tinged with smugness. "Probably more aggressive exploration and I was thinking of contacting the Skatra," he finished.

Williams frowned, ignoring the cigarette for now. Harper wanted to rub it in and his insistence that she come in person made a lot more sense now. "No," she said slowly, thinking. "Leave the Skatra until the Project is safe. I imagine once the Ullator get organised, they will push for it. They won't make it, of course, but the Skatra are closer," she pointed out.

"True," Harper conceded, taking another deep drag. He coughed on the exhale and Williams snorted in amusement. "New body," Harper grumbled but didn't extinguish the cigarette.

"So far, I'm foreseeing more ships and more patrols," Williams told him, referring to his social reforms. "And I'm expecting them anyway with the Ullator."

Harper nodded. "I'm going to cut the population restrictions, so after a few years, it's going to be fast."

Williams frowned. "I'll have to rush the Genbu replacement docks," she murmured but it wasn't her focus for now.

Everything in the Empire was designed and constructed to last for at least 100 years. The Genbu docks had done that and more and were now approaching the limit of their lifespan.

"Expand the others as well," Harper said. "I'll give you a special commission to employ privately if needs be," he added the inducement, taking another drag.

Williams pursed her lips. She didn't like subcontracting military requirements to the so called private sector. They always expected follow up contracts but if expansion went as fast as she knew it could, such as they had experienced in the Milky Way, then she was going to need the extra ships and crews faster. "I'll think about it," she muttered.

It wouldn't be for a few years so she could hopefully work out an alternative in the meantime, especially now that the Ascended would help. Two kilometre long forms were excellent for building the framework for huge space docks.

Harper laughed, before taking another drag. Cerberus' income in Sol had been made in a variety of ways, including supplying the Systems Alliance. It was amusing that Williams refused to entertain that notion. He blew smoke towards the ceiling.

"Is there anything else?" Williams asked, her tone indicating that further social development discussion could be put off until after the skirmish with the Ullator was dealt with.

Harper took another slow drag. That was the problem with cheap cigarettes, they burnt too fast. A muscle ticked in Williams' jaw as she watched and he could tell she wanted to say something but an agreement was an agreement and while she was still throttling supply, it was worth one to annoy her. "I don't think so." He took another drag. The last.

He held it, enjoying the flavour while Williams glared.

"Then I'll be going," she said, pulling herself up from the chair.

Harper blew out. "Give me-" he stopped and Williams looked over to see that Harper was stiff and there was a sudden tension in his office. His bodyguards were watching Harper with bright eyes, one was moving as they tried to determine what was happening.

"Give me," Harper tried again, and Williams could see his throat muscles working and his glowing eyes widened.

"Harper?" she asked, her voice concerned. This was not normal.

He lifted one hand to grip at his throat. "Can't…" he managed to choke out.

"Can't breathe," she said for him and at the words his bodyguards exploded into action.

None of them were stupid enough to attack her, that's what a millennium of selective breeding could do for a species, instead they crowded around Harper. One of his men lifted him out of his chair while, as Williams watched, another landed several heavy blows between his shoulder blades.

There was a heavy thwack of the man's hand hitting Harper but he continued choking and they could all see the Emperor struggling to draw breath. His bodyguards shifted positions. The one who had hit Harper now reaching around him with long arms and the man pulled inwards at an upward angle.

Williams recognised the procedure but she could see it wasn't working and she tapped her comm. They hadn't confiscated that. "Get me medical services to the Emperor's office," she ordered as Harper slipped into unconsciousness.

His bodyguards immediately laid him out and commenced CPR. It was slightly distressing to see how little had changed over the millennia. Another pulled some equipment from a side cupboard and as one continued chest compressions, Williams watched as a tube was inserted down Harper's throat.

"Airway is clear!" the bodyguard cried and she could hear a note of panic in his voice. Letting the Emperor die would not be good for their life expectancies, especially not on the day he downloaded!

Her eyes narrowed as they continued working.

"Give me the cigarettes," she ordered. The packet was thrown towards her and she snatched it out of the air before pulling one out. Carefully Williams sniffed at it but couldn't detect anything.

"Why isn't he breathing?" The bodyguards were all worried now though they continued to work.

Williams extended her tongue, tasting the tobacco but there was nothing. Her body had top of the line sensors, it was one of the reasons she had to visit the best restaurants. Sub-par food was not something she could tolerate. The cigarettes would be properly tested but she already knew they'd find nothing.

Medical services burst into the room, throwing both doors open with a loud crash that everyone ignored. They immediately went to work scanning Harper's body but after a moment, Williams could tell they were equally as frantic. Harper wasn't responding. His windpipe was clear, as evidenced by the tube but he just wasn't breathing.

She let them work for a few more minutes before she stepped forward.

"Alright, call it," Williams ordered.

"Sir?" one of the medics asked.

"Time of death. Call it," she instructed. "There was probably something wrong with that body," she added the excuse. She had no idea what the problem was and if it was an assassination then it had been very well executed.

"There's nothing wrong with the body," the voice echoed through Harper's office and while they all knew it was an Ascended, Williams recognised Leng in the echoing tone.

"What do you mean, Leng?" she demanded.

Harper's bodyguards weren't sure if they should cling to the words because they knew they had only followed regulations.

"Shepard's orders," Leng said and a shiver passed through the room. The bodyguard's knew about Shepard. It was one of the state secrets they were sworn to protect. The medics knew the name from the announcement but they weren't sure what to think. "You remember the last thing he said?" Kai asked.

Williams frowned, reviewing the conversation in her mind. "'Smoking kills'?" she said with a frown.

"Yes," Kai replied. "He meant it literally."

Williams blinked, running Leng's explanation through her mind. She turned towards Harper's body and bit the inside of her lip. The small pain was not enough and she convulsed, snorting.

She took another breath, still looking at Harper's corpse but it was too late and Williams felt her lips stretch into a smile before the breath wheezed out of her and she leaned forward, almost doubling over as she laughed.

The other occupants of Harper's office stared at her. The death of the Emperor was not a laughing matter but the Grand Admiral showed no signs of recovering as she continued laughing. Every time she took a new breath, she would explode into further laughter. It didn't even stop when she fell to her knees, bracing herself on her hands as she continued to laugh, tears streaming down her face.

"Sir?" one of the medics eventually approached and Williams looked up, sniffing heavily as she brought herself under control.

But she saw the ashtray and that brought fresh laughter.

"Williams!" Leng snapped and she gasped, breathing heavily as she struggled to her feet.

She placed one hand on her diaphragm. It actually hurt but she sniffed again, drawing a few deep breaths as she wiped the tears from her eyes. "I will never doubt him again," she said, loud enough to be heard, still chuckling lightly.

"Indeed," Leng replied.

Williams looked around, meeting everyone's eyes. "The Emperor is indisposed," she said, "due to unforeseen consequences of receiving Shepard's orders. That is the official story, and that is what you will report when asked," she told them.

"But Sir!" one of the bodyguards objected. The Emperor was dead.

Williams waved one hand. "He'll download into a new body tonight," she said. "And be back at work tomorrow, as will you," she added, snorting as she remembered. This was even better than what she'd done. Shepard always did know how to take things to the next level.

"But Ma'am, what caused this?" one of the medics asked. Their voice was polite but she could hear the demand and idly wondered if they were related to Vanda Hesketh. Decent medics shared certain traits and it went without saying that the Palace's medics were decent.

The question brought another chuckle. "As you've been told," Williams began explaining. "Shepard is the first Human Ascended and in the Milky Way there were 476 created. In order to better control the fleet, and to establish a chain of command, Shepard has the ability to give orders that must be obeyed," she said.

Harper had told the Empire about Shepard but he had not had time to develop the information yet. This was all new and she could see the medic's doubt as they listened. It was expected that you served the Empire when you were Ascended but having to obey someone was not a part of the deal.

"He does not give many orders," Williams said.

"He doesn't have to," Leng interjected and Williams just let it go. It might be better to have an Ascended explain it. "In the Milky Way we agreed what had to be done. Shepard would merely provide direction on the specifics, just as he has now."

"He confirmed the importance of the Project," Williams said.

"But those of us who were contemporaries of Shepard in life sometimes get additional orders," Kai said before she could add anything else and Williams nodded, raising one hand to stifle further giggles.

Presenting this as something personal between Shepard and Harper was probably for the best.

"That is why Harper has watched  _The Blues Brothers_  every year, without fail."

The explanation appeared to be working. Williams could see the medics relax slightly. With over four thousand Ascended now, and more being built, there was very little chance they would actually ever personally interact with Shepard.

"But the Emperor delayed answering Shepard's call," Kai said and Williams cocked her head slightly. This was news to her. "He finished his cigarette before giving the order."

She was surprised when Harper's bodyguards nodded. Williams shook her head. They felt the passage of time. They knew it was 941 long years since Shepard had called but to him, it would be a moment and he would be painfully aware of the dangers of being awake. Harper should not have delayed.

"As a result," Leng continued, "Shepard issued specific orders to the Emperor."

Williams snorted with laughter. She couldn't help it. This was going to keep her entertained for centuries and unlike keeping Harper from violating their agreement, she wouldn't even have to work at this one.

"The Emperor is therefore allowed to smoke, but every cigarette will be his last."

"After all," Williams tacked on, looking directly at the medics. "Smoking kills," she managed to gasp the words.

They just looked at her and she could see them weighing up the implications.

"That is preposterous!" one of the older ones yelled finally. "An order should not be able to physically control the body's unconscious functions to that extent!"

Williams shook her head. It didn't really matter what they believed. "You may examine the body," she said, "but for now, it is time for us to move. Please escort it to Harper's personal quarters, as if you are giving him care.

"Leng, has the upload started?"

"Yes," came the confirmation. It shouldn't take long. There wasn't that much to upload!

"Then tell Lawson we need another of Harper's bodies readied. I'll have to delay a day on leaving for Ullator territory," she added. Download did not work effectively when you were moving at light speed.

"Captain," Williams said, turning towards Tuan Hopper. "You can take care of the swap?"

"Yes Sir," he said confidently. A swap was eminently preferable to losing his head.

"Very good," Williams nodded as they moved Harper's body onto a gurney and his bodyguards assembled around it. She picked up the cigarette packet from where it had fallen and moved to place it on Harper's desk. She made sure it was prominent.

"You know those restrictions," she said softly.

"The ones about supplying the Emperor with tobacco?" Tuan asked looking over at her.

"Yes, those ones," Williams purred, smiling happily but determined to keep herself under control. "They are rescinded. All of them," she continued. "Make sure Jack is well supplied. I'll send you details about his preferred brands," she added.

"But Sir," Tuan said, trying to work his way through the implications. "That will kill the Emperor," he concluded finally.

Williams smiled beatifically at him. "The Emperor is a grown man," she said. "Far be it for me to deny him his simple pleasures."

Tuan gave her a hard look, clearly not believing the pious note in her voice. "You are a bad woman," he said finally, shaking his head before nodding at the medics to begin the journey to the Emperor's quarters.

The group filed out, leaving Williams alone in Harper's office. "Oh Captain, you have no idea," she whispered before she laughed once more as she looked around, making sure no one had moved the cigarettes. She turned to the double doors.

"He really doesn't," Leng agreed but before she could reply the comm cut out with an audible blip.

Williams snorted, showing herself to the doors. "You better not be there," she said to the empty room, referring to Leng for when she uploaded but she could not delay any further.

Even with this new development, she had a lot of work to do.

-cfr-

**46623 Years after Human Ascension, 1570 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Nur Homeworld, Xyrpyni, Empress' Palace**

Empress Syvwlch listened attentively to the reports from her agents. "So the Phoenix Empire has declared war on the Ullator Federation," she mused.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

She looked at the images showing the Human ships. She'd seen some of them before, the Nur knowledge of the Humans was not completely absent, but this was the first time she had seen them in combat. They were decimating the Ullator Federation vessels.

"What are our predictions?" she asked. Her siblings had given their estimates, and while she had risen to the position of Empress on the strength of her pod, she had learned to use and respect the information provided by others. Overall, it lead to a more harmonious Empire, which was better for her. It was less likely that she would be challenged if others knew she would hear their opinions.

The agent laughed. "The Ullator won't last the year," came his quick assessment.

The others who had accompanied the agent nodded their agreement and it fitted with the estimates her siblings had made. The Ullator, for all their posturing, were just not fighters.

"Then give me an assessment on the Phoenix Empire," she ordered.

"Now, Your Majesty?"

"Yes, now," she indicated.

"But we haven't prepar-"

"Then tell me what you know," she interrupted.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the agent agreed, before taking a deep breath, obviously collating what he knew. A quick glance at the others showed that they didn't have anything immediate to offer. "The Phoenix Empire is comprised of three main species. The Humans, Attori and the Fedochi. The Humans dominate, and they are all ruled by an Emperor Harper, who, if their propaganda is to be believed, is immortal." The way the agent cocked his head told the Empress what he thought of the statement.

"The Attori joined as a protectorate species, the Fedochi through right of conquest," the agent continued.

"What of the Humans?" Empress Syvwlch asked. She didn't need to hear about their subject species. They weren't making the decisions.

The agent nodded. "There are three main Humans who make the claim to be immortal. Emperor Harper, Director Lawson and Grand Admiral Williams. They all claim to have come from another galaxy."

"That's nice for them," she stated. "Give me information I can use."

"We don't know if they are truly immortal," the agent continued, "but those three names have remained in charge of their respective divisions for all of the Phoenix Empire's history.

"Control is maintained through military might and through the supposed immortalisation of the Human citizens. As far as we can tell, the Humans believe that they become immortal as well."

"How do they do that?"

The agent looked uncomfortable. "We believe it is a form of digitisation," he said slowly.

"Digitisation?" Syvwlch asked sharply.

The gathered agents responded to the note in her voice. They understood her concern. Far back in Nur history, just when they were beginning to explore the stars, they had created an AI. It was meant to help them with the difficult calculations of interstellar travel, and it had, for a time.

But then, they weren't sure what had happened. The AI had turned against them, and the war had started. For all that it had been short, it had been brutal and bloody. Fully half the Nur alive then had died when the AI had taken control of missiles and other weapons, targeting civilians and for a while, no one had been a civilian. They couldn't afford to be and everyone fought.

They'd driven the AI and its creations back to their moon, managing to isolate them there. And then, when compromise and treaty were not possible, they had destroyed it. The moon, which had inflicted more damage on their home world.

Xyrpyni still bore the scars today. The creation of an AI was strictly forbidden. Even the creation of VI's was closely monitored, because it was all too easy to see one of them developing further, and it was the sworn duty of every Empress to see that such an event was not repeated.

They owed the memory of those who died and to those who had dragged the Nur back to the stars in the wake of the disaster. Every Empress swore that they would never allow the Nur to create another AI, a vow that was reinforced when they had once again walked the stars. They had found evidence of another species, an older species and through much work, had pieced together what had happened to them.

They had been space faring, and had inhabited much, if not all of the galaxy. The Nur still periodically found ruins of their civilisation. But they too had fought against an AI, or at least something their writings described as one. Except they had lost. Their final act was to destroy the AI which Syvwlch was grateful for. She knew from the histories, that when the Nur Empire had discovered what had happened, they had mobilised, ready to fight the threat.

Just as she would now, if she had to. The Empire would back that decision.

"Yes, Your Majesty, digitisation," the agent repeated. "But the Humans are adamant that it is not the creation of an AI, but the preservation of their mortal mind. The Phoenix Empire has strict rules, much like we do, forbidding the creation of an AI."

"How is this immortalisation not the creation of an AI, with one of their minds as the template?" She demanded.

"Information from the Attori indicates that their organic bodies are part of what is preserved," one of the other agents said, stepping forward to bow to her.

"Explain?"

"When the Humans are immortalised, their organic bodies form the core of one of their super ships." The woman tapped several commands into a data pad, highlighting one of the ships which were attacking the Ullator. "That ship is what the Fedochi called a Mausoleum Platform. We understand, from information the Attori have collected, and been given, the organic body is required for full immortality. We don't know if that's a lie, but it would provide a subtle difference between an AI and their claims of immortality."

Empress Syvwlch took a deep breath. "Get me more information," she ordered. It was suspicious but she needed to know the truth before she could commit the Empire to what would be a costly war.

"Yes, Your Majesty," the woman nodded, stepping back.

"I want a full report on this Phoenix Empire in five days. Their history, their leadership, and this supposed process of immortalisation. I want to know everything."

"Yes, Your Majesty," all the agents snapped. They could hardly say anything else.

"In the meantime, monitor the Ullator response but offer nothing, and when the Human ships hit our borders, make it clear to them that we will not be yielding," she added the orders. The Humans wouldn't reach the borders that quickly but it was best to give these orders early. It helped ease any confusion.

"You are dismissed," Syvwlch waved one hand and looked back at the images.

This meeting had given her much to think about, but the Empire still required her attention, and resolutely she put the issues of the Humans and Ullator from her mind as she turned her attention to the Nur Empire's internal problems. They still had to be dealt with.

-cfr-

**46624 Years after Human Ascension, 1571 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

The comm beeped.

Harper hung his head in his hands. The tone said it was an Ascended. He didn't tell it to connect but he knew the protocols were already cycling. Ascended communication always had priority.

For some reason, in the aftermath of Shepard's call, the Ascended had decided that he had to answer absolutely everything. Yes, Shepard had put Cerberus, and therefore him, in their chain of command. At the top of the chain of command for the LMC but that had never meant so many questions!

"Emperor," the choral voice greeted him as the connection was made.

Harper groaned, looking up slightly to see which Ascended it was. "Silas," he replied. He should not be rude to the Ascended. While each of them was only one billion minds, the fact that they were immortal was enough. They could remember rudeness for a very long time.

"I have a question," Silas said.

That's what all the Ascended who'd called in the last few days had said.

"What is it?" Harper asked, as further details came to him via his implants. Silas was about 100 years old, created from those who settled in Pepito Ellis, a settlement which had been named after the Human who had made first contact in the LMC. Silas had participated fully in training even before Shepard had called and was now in Golconda, one of the secondary eezo production systems.

"The Fedochi know we are capable of attack. The Attori know but are so well trained that they will not point it out. The Ullator are definitely aware," Silas continued and Harper detected slight amusement at that. The Ullator were definitely aware with Cannaman's group leading the invasion. "No matter how good we are at covering our tracks, the Nur will also know we are not mausoleum platforms, so why are we remaining in hiding?"

Harper suppressed a sigh. At least this was a sensible question, he consoled himself, not like some of the questions he'd fielded from the Ascended in the past few days, but the answer should have been reasonably obvious.

"It is true that every alien species know our Ascended forces are far more advanced than mere platforms," he began his reply, making sure his voice displayed a patience he did not feel. Silas could have asked Cerberus for this information, and would have already had the answer since Ascended comms were far quicker that organic vocalisation! "However, there are a number of reasons the majority remain in hiding," he continued. "Or why those who are seen are required to remain sedentary around planets."

"Yes. Why is that?" Silas asked.

"Those who are seen must remain unmoving because even though the alien species know immortalised can move, if they are not reminded of that fact, they tend not to think about it. It is the same with weapons," Harper elaborated. "The running track for our main cannon is obvious, yet the Attori and the Fedochi did not know immortalised were armed until it was too late to do anything about it.

"With no reminder, the thought fades for organics. Especially for those races who have shorter life spans.

"Obviously the Ullator and the Nur both know the Ascended are armed," Harper said before Silas could point that out.

"If they know about us, then why do we have to remain hidden?" The younger Ascended returned to the previous question.

Harper looked up with a wry smile, not sure if Silas was watching but assuming she was. "The Nur and the Ullator might now have a fair estimate of Ascended capability but you will remain in hiding so that they have no idea how many there are.

"The Ullator barely represent a threat but the Nur will have watched. They will estimate a fleet of 1000. Perhaps 2000. The 600 or so attacking the Ullator and some more within the Empire," Harper made the rough guess. "That is what they will be prepared to fight," he explained.

"The reality of at least 4000, but hopefully by then, far, far more should be an unpleasant surprise for the Nur."

"And insurmountable," Silas added the observation.

"Yes," Harper agreed. "Remaining hidden is not just about numbers. It limits their knowledge. They will have no idea how much eezo we can produce, or where it is made. Checking every neutron star is not an effective use of time.."

"Yes, I understand. That is why you have ordered the majority to remain in non-public systems. So that we are true unknowns," Silas said.

"Good," Harper replied, allowing the word to be both praise and his acceptance of Silas' understanding.

"Thank you Emperor," the younger Ascended concluded before the comm line went dead.

Harper sighed. That hadn't been too hard and after deep breath he turned back to his datapad. The skirmish with the Ullator did not require much of his attention, how he could make the Empire expand at a greatly accelerated exponential rate did. The terraforming teams alone were going to need to quadruple in size. Now that he had administrators who were not corruptible and who did not require sleep, or pay, he could expand. He just had to make sure everything else kept up and that was going to be difficult, even without the Ascended asking questions every few minutes.

He reshuffled the resources again, trying to push a projected 400 years of growth into about two and watched the simulation. If he could just get this bit done then…

The comm beeped. The tone indicated it was an Ascended and the protocols began cycling.

Harper groaned. Why the hell were the Ascended so fixated on calling? Because with this going on, he was never going to get anything done.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be changes to the Empire in the next few chapters but the immediate consequences of Shepard's call are showing now. The Ullator might wish that they had been nicer to the Humans before the war is over but if that had happened, Harper would have already dominated them. They can't win... But that's normal, they aren't human.


	73. This Was Not Expected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the war with the Ullator has been short and to the point, the galaxy is a big place and there are always surprises lurking in the unknown corners. The Phoenix Empire encounters one of those unknowns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 72: This Was Not Expected**

-cfr-

**46624 Years after Human Ascension, 1571 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Boadu Border System Sisi, Edge of Territory with Ullator**

"Ma'am."

Ekua Baah sighed at the voice, closing her eyes. "Another one?" She asked.

"Yes Ma'am."

"On screen," she instructed, opening her eyes and looking at the screen. It was a blocky ship, similar in shape to those they had seen previously. Alien writing adorned the side and Ekua resisted the urge to shake her head.

A month ago, when they'd first encountered the ships, there had been excitement but now it was routine.

"Send them the usual signals," she told her crew. At least with all the encounters, they had quickly worked out some of the language. Enough to tell the following ships what to do. "And get ready for complaints," she added.

The first ship had been thankful and gracious about their rescue. The next… well the next had tried to hack the patrol frigate. They'd been stopped. The protocols were not compatible but the fact that they had tried to put the entire Union border patrol on edge. They were meant to be rescuing these aliens! At least, that's what the aliens had claimed. They all wanted sanctuary and protection from the species they said was attacking them.

Except the Union hadn't seen any evidence of that. Even the ship that had attempted to hack claimed that! And they explained their actions as an attempt to establish communication and while it was a barely plausible explanation, it showed that these Ullator were impatient. And liked to be in control.

It also made the Union's Congress examine the information the Ullator had given them with more judicious eyes. There was no question that the Ullator were being attacked. You didn't leave the safety of your own territory without being desperate but the Union now wondered what the Ullator had done because their information was very hazy on the cause of the conflict. The Union had let the Ullator get off lightly with their hacking attempt. How could they not? It was confirmation of not only one other space faring race but two! But it was clear a more aggressive race might have taken offence.

The Ullator had provided images and vids showing the attacks on them and there was no doubt in Ekua's mind that this new ship would also have images of atrocities but while the conditions did look bad, there was no image of the attackers. Except for fleets. All they could show of the face of the attackers, they called Human, was historical images, nothing showing them actually killing Ullator. And frankly, the aliens in the historical images did not look dangerous.

They stood about two metres tall, had five manipulators but no claws or fangs. Granted, it was believed that most space flight capable species evolved their way out of needing them but there was no vestigial evidence. These aliens weren't from a traditional predator species, though they had forward facing eyes, according to the Ullator, they were relatively weak. This Phoenix Empire's citizens did not pose a physical threat. At least, not in one to one combat but in fleet combat, they were more than a match for almost any species.

The Ullator insisted it was more than that, that these Humans were capable of effective ground combat but they could provide no further details. They said those who had seen more were dead.

"Ma'am, they want to speak to the one in charge."

Ekua sighed. The Ullator always did. Couldn't they just be thankful that they'd been rescued?

"Put them on," she said.

The now familiar face of a Ullator appeared on the screen. Despite familiarity, it was still alien and she didn't like the almost scaled features that looked at her. "Translation software good?" She asked and got a nod of affirmation. "My name is Captain Ekua Baah of the Boadu Union. How may I help you?" She enquired.

"We wanted to speak to the one in charge."

Ekua flushed with frustration. "I am in charge," she said, holding back the threat to leave them. This space wasn't friendly to those who did not respect its dangers and she didn't think these Ullator respected much.

"Ah," the alien said in an attempt to be friendly. "I thank you for rescuing us," they continued.

Ekua nodded gracefully and waited for the alien to continue. She ignored the subtle insult that the lack of introduction indicated.

"You will be taken to the local planet for processing and resettlement," Ekua said, which was nothing new. Her crew would have told them the same thing. "I would suggest you list any useful skills you-"

"We know this," the alien interrupted. "We wish to know if we might speak with your actual leadership."

"About?" Ekua asked with a quick inhalation. She'd heard rumours that the aliens wanted this but this was the first time one had been bold enough to ask. At least none of the other Captains had reported this.

"You are graciously providing sanctuary for our people but there are so many more suffering. Those we left behind," the alien seemed genuinely sorrowful. "If it were Boadu ships, the Phoenix Empire will hesitate. They will not attack the unknown."

Ekua drew herself up and felt her throat working as she listened and the first thought through her mind was ' _how stupid do they think we are?'_  But her features remained neutral even as off screen her crew collectively gasped.

"That is indeed a proposal for our leadership and I will relay it to them," she replied diplomatically.

"Perhaps I might be able to help demonstrate the danger the Phoenix Empire represents," the alien said.

"And how would you do that?" She asked. "Your people have already provided several specifications about them, both as a species and as an empire."

"I can offer something more tangible," the alien said and Ekua felt a premonition of dread.

A moment later it coalesced into full fear when the screen shifted to show a restrained Human. Ekua stiffened, just staring at the second alien. The angry glare needed no translation but then Ekua noted the sheer size of the restraints on the Human. They were almost bigger than the alien. She gulped. "Is that really necessary?" She asked.

"We are barely holding it," the Ullator said. "Humans, especially their soldiers, are heavily modified," the alien continued, coming back onto the screen.

"I will let the Congress know," Ekua promised, wondering how much the Human could understand. Soldiers, at least low ranking ones, weren't known for their intelligence and even now, while the Boadu languages were unifying, not many spoke a language they didn't need to. Well, except for a few choice words. But beneath the glare, the Human's eyes had shown understanding.

"Do that," the Ullator said, knowing that it had startled Ekua but before either of them could say anything further, the proximity alarms screamed and everything became chaotic.

On the space screen, Ekua got the impression of something huge coming out of light speed close to them, then there was a loud clang as something impacted with her ship before space itself seemed to spin and churn! On the screen showing the Ullator, the alien was screaming something but the internal of the ship was displaying flickering light and Ekua realised the Ullator ship was under attack. There was nothing she could do because they were already struggling to bring their ship under control.

The comm link dropped as the pilots wrestled with the controls and she couldn't spare any attention for anything but their predicament. Slowly, they brought the  _Kostroma_  under control.

"Damage report?" Ekua screamed.

"We've lost everything from the mess to the starboard side. But the blast doors are holding."

Ekua took a deep breath, swallowing hard. "Engineering?" She asked.

"The drive core is stable," came the slightly tinny voice through the still functioning intercomm.

She nodded but braced herself for next answer. "Losses?" She had a crew of twenty-one and she dreaded how many had been lost.

"We can't account for five," came the subdued answer.

"Give me the names later," she breathed. "Can we get back to Koffi?" She asked.

"The engine is operational," came the reply. "But we are going to need help landing."

"That's good," she said, using the words to centre herself. "What about the Ullator ship?"

"It's gone."

"What?"

"It's gone. So is the thing that hit us."

"How?" Ekua demanded. It had taken time to regain control but not that long.

"We're reviewing the log now."

"On screen!" She commanded.

The view screen flickered but an image resolved itself with numbers in the corners. She recognised them as a time count from just prior to the impact. The Ullator ship was clearly visible then they were hit and the camera skewed, showing a bewildering view of space and fast moving stars. Every now and then the Ullator ship flashed on screen but more often than not the huge alien ship, that had hit them was visible.

The camera changed several times as the techs tried to get the best shot but the movement made everything confusing and the ships were getting distant but Ekua could see that the huge alien ship fired something at the Ullator and she could see the crest of the Phoenix Empire on the larger ship.

After that, she couldn't see what happened and the cameras shifted again as they attempted to re-locate both alien ships. There was nothing and Ekua turned towards the sensor tech, who was going through his log. "The two ships come together, and then they both vanish," Piesei reported without being ordered.

"So why didn't they notice us?" Ekua asked. The huge ship had hit them!

There was silence for a moment and they all knew how close they'd come to death.

"I think…" Piesei said slowly. "I think we were probably caught in their decceleration plume," he said finally, though uncertainty still laced his tone.

"We'll go with that," Ekua decided. The techs back home could work out a more technical explanation. "Is there anything else in the area?"

"No Ma'am," Piesei replied after checking his schope again.

"Then let's head towards Koffi," she ordered. "We have a lot to report." That was putting it mildly, Ekua thought as she took a calming breath.

Contact with another Ullator ship but contact with their enemy, literally! That enemy had to be chasing down their kidnapped soldier. Despite the damage and the loss of life, the encountered had not been hostile. At least not for them and if her assumption about the Phoenix Empire ship's mission was correct then…

Ekua wasn't sure what to think. One the surface the mission was noble but she didn't have any way of knowing if these Humans had been chasing down a soldier or a commander, which would be the difference between compassion or necessity. The Ullator would say it was necessity but- Ekua sighed. She was not sure and she would be advising that for true first contact with this Phoenix Empire that they be cautious but not hostile because so far, no matter what the Ullator said, there was no need to be hostile.

If these Humans were as hostile as the Ullator indicated, they would quickly reveal themselves but if they did rescue individual soldiers, Ekua wouldn't see how they could be.

It was not a decision she would have to make, but she hoped, for the sake of all Boadu, the Union's Congress chose well.

-cfr-

**46624 Years after Human Ascension, 1571 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Nur Homeworld Xyrpyni, Empress' Palace**

Xavia was being dragged, escorted! She corrected herself, through the corridors of the Nur Empire Palace. It was a labyrinthine structure deep underground and every time she appeared to be able to make a miss turn one of the hulking, 2.5 m guards assigned to her would prod her arm to make sure she stayed on route.

She had no idea how they knew where to go, except through memory and experience. The corridors were featureless, broken only by other corridors, chambers, and the barest ornamentation.

Finally, they emerged into a huge chamber. She'd seen images of this area. The Empress' Throne Room. But the images failed to capture the full immensity of the room. The ceiling was lost in darkness, though when Xavia glanced up, it appeared to be crawling and she quickly looked away. That let her see that while most activity was in the centre of the chamber, it extended far back on all sides.

She was prodded to approach the centre. The gesture was an unnecessary reminder that she was not in charge here. When the Phoenix Empire had attacked, she had done her best to advise the Ravitel but the advice to fight was all that the Spy MIstress' office could give. Extra information, such as ship specifications, especially of those mausoleum ships was pure speculation. There'd been accusations made of course, that she had not been doing her job but since no other spy mistress, official or otherwise could provide the information, the accusations had remained just that, and no action was taken.

As the Phoenix Empire had closed in on Ulan, it had been Xochitl who had urged her to flee. The former Spy-Mistress had made a convincing argument that she knew the most about Humans, thus should would be able to help and advise the Nur the best. But being walked through the Nur Palace, she felt like she didn't know much.

Xavia began walking again and noted that the floor surface was different here. She looked down and almost wished she hadn't. Embedded in the surface but completely flat were carapaces. Thousands of them were stacked within each other, to make the surface and Xavia looked around, focusing on the floor. Everywhere appeared to be covered and she wondered how many individuals had been killed to make the floor.

She kept walking, refusing to look down but as she drew nearer to where the Nur Empress was, she couldn't help but notice that the centre of the great chamber was paved with something different. It was a much lighter colour. Xavia resolved not to look as she was lead closer but before her guards set foot on the lighter part, they stopped. She stopped with them and got her first glance at the Nur Empress in the flesh.

Her guards were huge. The Empress was even larger and she exuded a sense of… Xavia wasn't sure how to describe it beyond a sense of entitlement. The Nur Empress knew she was higher ranked than everyone here and that her needs were the needs of the Empire. It was very simple in a way. Direct in a way the Ullator could never achieve.

She waited and Xavia watched as several others approached but none stepped on to the changed, lighter surface. The Empress dealt with them, speaking rapidly in Ohlk and Xavia began to see how the Nur were so well run. There was no wasted conversation.

After what seemed an eternity, the Empress turned towards her. There must have been some sort of signal but Xavia missed it as she was prodded to step forward on to the different surface. Her guards moved with her, but they stopped a fair distance from the Empress and Xavia didn't miss the way the Empress' guards tensed. She had no thought to attack but they were ready for the possibility.

Xavia bowed, lowering her head to indicate submission but not so far as to say she would owe loyalty. That would have been an insult because her first loyalty was to the Ullator and the Nur knew it.

"I have had an interesting request… demand more like, made," the Empress said.

Xavia said nothing. Without further information she didn't know what she could say.

"Emperor Harper is somewhat upset," the Empress continued.

Xavia nodded. She could understand that but again there wasn't anything she could say. Well, there was a lot she could say but she knew if she did, the Empress would be offended. She did not yet have permission to speak and while she, and her immediate predecessor might have focused on the Phoenix Empire, she had received extensive training in how to treat with the Nur Empress, even if the thought of meeting the Empress was considered laughable. She wished Xochitl was here. The former Spy-Mistress had always had a knack for dealing with the Nur but Xochitl had pushed her into this position, so she had to succeed, for all Ullator, and possibly for the good of the galaxy.

The Nur were now the last line of defence against the Phoenix Empire and their Human supremacist agenda but Xavia couldn't help but feel that the Empress was measuring her now. She hoped she was found acceptable.

"He had some very interesting things to say," the Empress carried on, "but I'm sure you know nothing about the attack on MacCaeba and Nkiru. Do you?"

And there it was. The test, mixed with her permission to speak. Xavia swallowed. She wasn't sure how to answer. The normal answer was that she knew nothing. That was the answer of all Spy-Mistresses but, she had been sent here to warn the Nur, to make them fully aware of the dangers. Xavia looked up into the multifaceted eyes of the Empress. "I may know a few details," she replied, unconsciously bracing for one of her escorts to strike.

"I rather thought you might," the Empress responded and Xavia knew she had passed the first test. "Perhaps you would like to tell him what you know?" Empress Syvwlch invited and Xavia froze as a hologram appeared.

Emperor Harper smiled at her coolly and she wondered if the Empress had already made a deal with the Phoenix Empire. The hologram explained one thing. How the Phoenix Empire had managed not to insult the Nur. While it was not as good as speaking in person, having the Emperor make the call illustrated how seriously the Humans took the matter and gave respect to the Empress by not expecting her to deal with an underling.

Xavia felt cold. "Emperor Harper," she managed.

"Spy-Mistress Xavia Qabayla," he greeted her. "While Spy-Masters are not fabled for their courage, I did think you decent enough to face the consequences of your actions," he said. "But alas, you are consigned to the reality I expect."

"Actions?" Xavia questioned, shaking her head. "My actions in regards to the Phoenix Empire have been far less than the mirror of your own."

The Empress made a noise Xavia couldn't interpret but she continued looking at the Human's hologram. Harper seemed amused by her statement.

"You hold the snake close," he remarked. "It will take warmth and sustenance but when it feels cold, it will bite," he said to the Empress.

"Yet while it remains, it deters other pests," Empress Syvwlch replied.

Xavia saw the way Harper's glowing eyes flickered with anger and she felt comforted. If the Empress was willing to bait Harper, then this was not a negotiation.

"You would be wise to cut its head off," the Human said.

"And return it to you?" Syvwlch asked.

"Yes," Harper said.

"I believe I have already told you my decision. I see no reason to bow to the dictates of your desires," Empress Syvwlch announced.

"And I see no reason to pay you for what is rightfully mine."

"Careful. Even within the Nur Empire we do not practice slavery but perhaps the Phoenix Empire does. Your tone would indicate that truth, even if you refuse to use the term."

Xavia stared. She had never imagined anyone would speak to Emperor Harper that way, especially not the Nur Empress. Well, maybe, Grand Admiral Williams, but Harper was used to her. Still, if anyone was going to do it, perhaps, the Empress was the only choice.

Emperor Harper was visibly insulted but was composed enough not to degenerate into yelling or blustering threats. Instead he took a deep breath. "The Phoenix Empire demands the extradition of Spy-Mistress Xavia Qabayla to stand trial on the charges of espionage, aiding genocide, terrorism, crimes against Humanity, torture and murder," he said, his voice composed and showing the not inconsiderable power he had at oration.

The Empress seemed to draw herself upwards. "The Nur Empire sees no proof the Phoenix Empire's claims, and cannot, in good faith, hand over an individual deemed to be a political prisoner. And that, Emperor Harper, is my final word," Syvwlch said firmly with a note in her voice that said she would no longer discuss the matter. "However, I will give you five private minutes to speak with my Empire's guest."

Harper didn't even bother to hide the unvarnished hatred gracing his features and Xavia couldn't help but wonder how long it would be before he ordered his warships over the border. But… while the Phoenix Empire was strong, she thought, no she  _knew_  the Nur were stronger, and she would prepare them.

"Privacy is not required," Harper said and Xavia saw his hologram shift as he gestured to others on his end. "Let this be a warning to you as well, Empress," he added, before the image changed.

Xavia frowned as she looked at it. It was a clear image but she had no idea what she was looking at. It had probably been a sphere but like a fruit perhaps, or maybe a ball of dirt, she could see that parts had been pulled away and were now strewn around the rest but it still maintained a shape that indicated you could just push everything back into position like some children's toy.

Then the image rotated and the natural shade of the sphere was displayed. Xavia felt her eyes widen and if she thought she had been cold before, it was nothing against what she felt now at the image.

Ullator couldn't convulse and regurgitate food the way Humans could, but she felt her stomach roil as realisation dawned upon her. "No," Xavia whispered. "You can't have," she continued, clawing for a rational explanation but as the image continued to spin and further details became clear, a differing interpretation of the image slipped further and further away.

"I didn't," Emperor Harper's voice sounded. "But those wishing to regain my favour did, and I cannot honestly say that I am displeased with their efforts." The Human added as if this was just a business favour which had been done for him.

Xavia continued to stare at the image. Where before she hadn't spoken to the Empress out of respect for custom and because she didn't know what to say, now she remained silent because she could not speak. What did you say to the madman who had destroyed your world?

"Your warning confirms much that was merely speculation," the Empress said as she shifted her head slightly to take in the whole hologram. "Now, let us dispense with the posturing," she continued in a new tone but Xavia was too lost in grief and shock to realise it was one of respect. "There is no question that the Ullator have spent the majority of their relationship with you probing, testing the boundaries, seeking some sort of leverage or advantage. I know this because that is the policy they maintained with us. So, Emperor Harper, I, and the Nur Empire, are not your enemy." The Empress paused, obviously awaiting an answer but Harper remained silent. He might be a Human supremacist but he was also a politician and knew how to negotiate.

"But nor are the Nur your lackeys. Your demands will be ignored but we will consider requests, just as we would expect you to consider our requests. I will be keeping Spy-Mistress Xavia, but I am happy to maintain the borders been the Nur Empire and the Phoenix Empire along the same lines as those we maintained with the Ullator Federation."

The image of Ulan was replaced with Harper and he appeared thoughtful, though not overly surprised.

Xavia wanted to scream and rage but she had not gotten the position of spy-mistress by not being able to suppress her emotions and even though grief threatened to consume her she was still thinking. The Nur Empress respected Harper's actions. The death, the destruction. Syvwlch didn't care about that. She was instead impressed by the strength it took to make the attack.

Harper sighed but eventually nodded. "The setting of borders would be of use to my Empire."

"Is that all the Ullator are worth to you?" Xavia demanded. "A border dispute?"

The Empress didn't look at her but Harper's hologram turned and she could feel him examining her closely.

"Three months ago, the Ullator Federation was a threat I had to, the Phoenix Empire had to endure. But it was not the threat you represented that I endured. As you've discovered, your forces were no threat to the Phoenix Empire, rather the risk came from within," Harper began explaining and while he was outlining a weakness within the Phoenix Empire, his voice was calm. This was a weakness which could no longer be exploited. "I believe Lawson explained it at the beginning, and I've alluded to it now." Harper smiled and there was a viciously pleased aspect to the gesture. "The problem with immortality is maintaining control. I am now the undisputed leader of the immortalised form of Humanity," he announced. "And thus, the risk from within has been annulled."

Xavia snorted. "Until Williams decides to take your title," she replied.

Harper looked confused for an instant before he laughed, remembering the incident the spy-mistress referred to. "That was to remove your agent," he said, shaking his head slightly. "And your agents are no longer important," he added and turned his attention back to the Empress. "As much as I desire the former Spy-Mistress to be delivered unto justice, for the establishment of borders, I am willing to forgo pressing the issue," he said.

"Besides," he added with a chuckle, "it's not as if any of her information is accurate."

Xavia growled. The noise was animalistic but she couldn't help it. She was the singular best Spy-Mistress in all of the Ullator Federation. Her information was the best, her networks the most extensive and Harper's lies could not change that.

Harper laughed again. "I'll let you discover that for yourself. Good day, Empress Syvwlch. I wish you the best with your new toy," he added, nodding slightly before his hologram disappeared.

Xavia screamed, a short sharp sound, stamping her foot on the floor in frustration as she forgot herself. She looked up at the Empress. "For the destruction of Ulan," she said from between clenched teeth, "I will give you everything I know about the Humans, so that one day justice might be served unto them."

The Empress looked at her, but Xavia kept her gaze unwavering as she looked into the multifaceted eyes. "Your information had best prove useful," the Empress said. "The Human Emperor does not have my advantages but he is a man to be reckoned with," she continued.

Xavia did not wish to see anything in the Empress but with the destruction of Ulan, she could clearly see a grudging admiration in the Nur's stance. 'A decisive man who is not afraid to live with the consequences of his actions,' she mentally translated.

Emperor Harper was the head of an Empire not afraid to destroy whole worlds and that, in some way, scared the Nur Empire. He may not be able to communicate directly with so many of his subjects, not in the way the Nur Empress could but he could communicate well enough. But the Nur had known that for centuries.

"The Phoenix Empire is an Empire of hidden weaknesses," Xavia said.

"And you will tell me about every one of them," Empress Syvwlch said, and while there was no threat in her tone, Xavia didn't need to hear it to know if she failed, or if she did not know enough, then the Nur had no reason to keep her.

She would not fail.

"Yes, Your Majesty," Xavia said, her words indicating her change in loyalty. The Empress said nothing. Xavia hadn't expected her to but despite the generally amicable relationship Xavia had observed between the Empress and Emperor the Nur would eventually fight the Phoenix Empire, and she would see the Humans' fall.

-cfr-

**46624 Years after Human Ascension, 1571 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Edge of War Zone**

"Vice Admiral Rubin, Sir! We have an unknown vessel in the midst of the Ullator fleet."

"What? Show me!"

The main view screen quickly changed to highlight the ship. Ullator ships tended towards blockiness, this was rounder.

"It's being targeted?" Vice Admiral Cristobel demanded.

"No Sir. It's not giving out the same signals as the Ullator, so the sensors are skipping over it for the moment, especially as it hasn't fired."

"Find out how it got into the middle of the Ullator fleet," Cristobel Rubin ordered. That ship had not been with the Ullator when they had begun their attack but to be fair, that had been three systems over, and they had been pursuing the Ullator. "And find out what it is."

The orders prompted several tech stations to intensify their efforts and Vice Admiral Rubin waited, watching as his fleet continued to decimate the Ullator. He didn't know what had possessed them to run but they should have known, and it had been proven several times, Ullator vessels could not outrun the Phoenix Empire. If he looked carefully at the images of their ships, he could see faint static discharge on some of them. Life would not be comfortable for the crews of those ships, though life was rapidly shortening.

"Sir! It's an alien ship!" Myesha Ziegler responded to his earlier orders.

"Well, of course it's an alien ship," Rubin replied, somewhat sarcastically. All ships not made by the Phoenix Empire were alien.

"No, Sir. It's completely alien. This is a new species," Myesha explained.

"You mean to tell me, in the middle of combat, I have a first contact situation?" Cristobel demanded.

"Yes, Sir."

Vice Admiral Rubin sighed heavily. Just the complication he needed. "Hack the remaining Ullator vessels," he ordered. "They don't seem surprised by the newcomer so find out what they know!"

-cfr-

"Just tell me what you know!" Captain Dede Yaaba yelled into the comm.

This was meant to be a simple escort mission. The Ullator had said some of their ships had escaped from the Phoenix Empire and her cruiser had been dispatched to escort them. The Congress had determined that the Ullator were a matriarchal society so where possible, female captains were being deployed. They got more respect than their male counterparts.

Her ship had arrived at the rendezvous point to find the Ullator fleet under attack. And to make matters worse, the Ullator ships had then converged around hers! Their presence hadn't stopped the attacking ships. They were led by an absolutely huge thing that was sleek and black and was throwing out energy attacks that were probably stronger than what her entire ship could put out. But not one of the bolts hit her ship.

Ullator ships were going down but nothing had approached them.

"That is the Phoenix Empire," the Ullator replied.

"I thought you said you lost them!" Dede screamed at the alien. Perhaps it was unfair but her orders were clear. Escort, not combat, and for the good of the Union, Yaaba didn't want to be the one who fired first.

"We had, but they are a vicious, vindictive race. You must fight them!" the Ullator yelled back.

Dede was silent. She might be reluctant but she didn't want to go down without swinging. But against a ship of the size bearing down on them, a ship that had an escort of at least twenty ships the same size as her own, attacking was sheer stupidity. "I will do no such thing!" Yaaba replied. "Surrender to them now," she ordered.

The Ullator knew the Phoenix Empire, they'd know the right protocols to speak to the new aliens.

"The Phoenix Empire does not accept surrender," the Ullator replied.

"Then give me the frequency so I can try!" Captain Dede retorted, refusing to believe it.

"You must fight them," the Ullator repeated her earlier command.

Yaaba huffed, growling. "I am not firing at an unknown alien!"

-cfr-

"They're an unknown alien species," Intelligence Officer Benita Stitt summarized, skimming with interest through the Ullator notes they had lifted from the ships. "Several refugee ships have made it into this new species' territory and others will try to."

Vice Admiral Rubin sighed. "And the bitches will contaminate them against us," he said.

"Maybe not, Sir," Benita continued. "The ship has not made any aggressive moves towards us, even though we've been taking out Ullator ships all around it."

"True," Cristobel admitted. "Do the Ullator have the frequencies and protocols to speak to them? And language packs?" he tacked on the end hopefully.

Benita grinned. "It's basic but we got them."

Vice Admiral Rubin returned a pleased smile. "Then initiate the comm, I suddenly feel the need to speak to an alien."

-cfr-

"Can we speak to them?" Captain Yaaba demanded to her bridge crew.

"No Ma'am. We don't know what protocols they are using and the Ullator haven't told us anything," Kwame replied. He was scared. Yaaba could tell. She was scared as well. This wasn't meant to be like this but she would continue her mission as best as she was able.

"Captain," Fuae shouted to ensure she got Dede's attention. "We are getting a new signal."

"From where?" Yaaba demanded. She didn't have time to be distracted.

"From the attacking ships," Fuae replied.

Dede felt her eyes widen and she couldn't help the quick inhalation of breath that caught in her throat. "Put them on," she ordered, trusting Fuae to mute the line to the Ullator.

An alien appeared on the screen and a moment later Captain Yaaba heard was what obviously a translation.

"This is Vice Admiral Cristobel Rubin of the Phoenix Empire to the unknown vessel in the midst of the Ullator fleet. State your species and allegiance."

"Where did they learn Eiol'u?" Kwame hissed.

Yaaba motioned for silence. The Phoenix Empire had probably stolen a language pack from the Ullator.

"I am Captain Dede Yaaba of the Boadu Union. I am Boadu and my loyalty is to my Congress," she said, hoping everything would translate correctly at the Phoenix Empire's end. It all rested on the software they had because she didn't have their language packs.

The alien, Human, Yaaba reminded herself took on a listening attitude and she hoped that was because the translation was accurate.

"Not Ullator?"

"The Congress of the Boadu Union," she reinforced that part of her answer, hoping it would be acceptable.

Had the Phoenix Empire even heard of the Union?

-cfr-

"Is the Union one of the Ullator's uplifted races?" Vice Admiral Rubin asked Lino Healey. He was one of the bridge techs who had taken a particular interest in the species the Ullator had taken advantage of. It only reinforced the Empire's stance on non-space-faring alien civilisations.

"No Sir," he said after checking a list. "And this space is beyond the known Ullator territorial expanse."

"Actual first contact?" Vice Admiral Rubin asked, surprised.

"It would appear that way."

Vice Admiral Cristobel looked thoughtful for a moment, his eyes glancing towards the tactical screen. "Offer the remaining Ullator ships the chance to surrender. Include these new aliens, the Boadu, on the transmission. If the Ullator do not comply, destroy them, but don't risk the Boadu ship.

"Then we'll talk to them. Send word to Home and the Grand Admiral. Shepard only knows what the Ullator bitches have told the Boadu about us so we are going to have to be especially diplomatic." The Vice Admiral turned his attention back to the view screen, displaying the alien captain.

It was impossible to tell of course, without any knowledge of this species, but she didn't seem upset at his few moments of inattention. That spoke well for this new race, assuming he'd read her expression accurately.

-cfr-

"What the stars does that look mean?" Yaaba demanded, when the Human turned back to her after looking away and presumably giving orders. And answer would have been nice, though she knew she wasn't going to get one.

"We are getting a new signal!" Kwame announced. "It's directed at the Ullator ships but we've been included on the frequency."

"What are they saying?" Dede demanded.

"The Phoenix Empire is offering the Ullator a chance to surrender."

Captain Yaaba looked sharply at the comm which had been muted. The Ullator had been adamant that the Phoenix Empire would not accept surrender, yet they were offering it.

"It is a ruse," the Ullator said as the comm was unmuted. "A trick to get us to lower our guards, so that we might be more easily captured."

"With respect," Captain Yaaba said, "the Humans have the advantage." She shouldn't have to point that out.

"Only because you will not engage," the Ullator replied. "They will hesitate if you get involved."

Dede stared in disbelief. "Have you not noticed the relative sizes of our ships? And the numbers?" she demanded. Did the Ullator really believe she would attack the second alien species the Union had met because they asked? She'd been warned they were manipulative but this was stupid.

Were they really that desperate?

-cfr-

"They're desperate," Vice Admiral Rubin said, listening to the Ullator transmission to the Union ship.

"Do not retaliate," another voice spoke.

Cristobel stiffened, recognising its choral tones. "Grand Admiral!" he snapped into a salute.

"At ease," she instructed as a holographic view screen appeared. Information flashed across its surface and the Vice Admiral knew the Grand Admiral was assimilating everything they'd done in the battle. He wasn't the only one to hold his breath at the outcome. He could see Myesha, Benita and Lino trembling slightly in the presence of their ultimate commanding officer. She was in her immortal form, which meant she could keep track of everything with the war.

Vice Admirals, Rear Admirals, Admirals, Generals and all the other commanding staff still ran the war but the Grand Admiral oversaw it all, providing guidance that left them with very few weak spots.

This encounter with a new alien species would soon have contingencies and procedures written for next time.

"The Ullator have replied," Lino replied.

He spoke before Vice Admiral Rubin could ask. "What did they say?"

-cfr-

"What did they say?" Yaaba demanded incredulously.

"'We will never surrender to Phoenix Empire scum'," Kwame quoted the Ullator response again.

"What have the Humans done?" she demanded, looking at the tactical screen.

"So far, nothing," came the reply before the comm line to the Humans activated again.

"Captain Dede Yaaba of the Boadu Union, if you could shift your vessel to the indicated position, that would be most helpful."

The voice translation was different this time. It was echoy but Kwame shook his head to indicate he didn't know why.

"Do not be alarmed if the Ullator follow, we will take care of them," it continued.

"Helm?" Yaaba sent the question as an order.

"We can be there in about 45 seconds Captain."

"Very good," the Human transmission replied, assuming their compliance. "That would be most appreciated."

Captain Yaaba looked back at the tactical screen as her ship's engines fired. She sent a command to the image, rotating it slightly and saw exactly what the Humans intended. The new position put her ship out of the line of fire. She felt cold but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel thankful that the Humans hadn't intended to attack them.

"You have to attack them now!" the Ullator cried and Captain Dede made a cutting motion towards Kwame. The feed was cut off and as her ship reached the position indicated, she took a deep breath.

She hoped she'd made the right decision.

-cfr-

"They've made the right decision, good," Grand Admiral Williams purred to the bridge crew. "Eliminate the Ullator and continue communication with these Boadu," she instructed Vice Admiral Rubin. "Be diplomatic but defer on making any agreements. Protect them from further Ullator incursions," she added.

Cristobel nodded, translating the orders. 'Be nice and ensure that his patrols took out further Ullator ships before the Boadu noticed.'

"I'll send reinforcements," the Grand Admiral added. "Especially if you get a space map," she continued as the small fleet fired, taking out the last of the Ullator ships. "You have done well, Vice Admiral Rubin. You have all done very well," Grand Admiral Williams praised the crew, linking her comm to his entire fleet and Rubin felt himself flush with pleasure.

The Grand Admiral was a hard woman. She expected perfection and she got it. Praise was not something she gave lightly.

The signal from Cerberus dropped and Cristobel looked back at the alien vessel. He nodded to Lino, indicating that they should unmute the comm. It was time to be diplomatic to the new species. They seemed sensible so maybe it would be possible to undo the damage the Ullator had done. It would be better for this Union if they did not fear the Phoenix Empire.

"That was an unfortunate conclusion to the battle," Vice Admiral Rubin's said, projecting sorrow into his tone, hoping that even those these aliens wouldn't understand his words, the emotion might be obvious. He didn't feel it, but that was not the most important consideration "But we are at war, and the Ullator did not accept our generous offer of amnesty. We had no choice and regret that this is the first side of Humanity that you have seen. I hope that further relations shall be peaceful between our peoples."

-cfr-

"Peaceful between our peoples," Yaaba murmured, her eyes wide as she stared at the tactical screen.

The Humans.

The Ullator.

They were just gone. True, they had not taken the opportunity to surrender but…

She'd never thought a species could be that strong and knew with certainty that the Union could not fight.

"Ma'am!" Kwame yelled to get her attention. "Ma'am!" he repeated.

Captain Yaaba shook herself, looking at the comm screen as a way of avoiding the tactical screen. She had to reply and took a deep breath to centre herself after what she had just seen. This Phoenix Empire had been brutal but not unthinkingly so. If they were that, then her ships would have been destroyed.

And the Ullator  _had_  been given a chance to surrender. They had not taken it. She wasn't sure what the Union would do in such a situation. She hoped she never found out. These Humans were powerful, and perhaps even brutal but it was … open, she decided. Not like the Ullator who had urged her to fire in the hopes of confusing the issue, so as to tie the Union to their fate, Yaaba realised the implication.

It might have been sorted out later but it might not have been as well. If she'd fired and been destroyed, it would have made it easier for the next Captain. No, it was better that she hadn't.

"Yes," Dede said firmly, collecting her thoughts. "The Boadu Union shares the hope for peaceful relations."

The might have granted some Ullator sanctuary but if it came to the safety of the Boadu people, that must be the first priority of the Congress. Captain Yaaba took a deep breath.

First contact had not turned out how anyone had dreamed but reality was seldom that nice. They might be civilised but they couldn't forget that the galaxy was just a larger proving ground.

She hoped her people were ready.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First contact in a battle... And the new species barely knows what is going on. The Ullator just got the short end of the stick when the Ascended had to prove their loyalty to Cerberus. If they'd been nicer, Williams wouldn't have had those aggressive plans drawn up. Poor Ullator. And even at the end of the war, there are those trying to get away... Good thing the new species seems sensible... even if they aren't powerful. Harper can respect sensible!


	74. Looks Like Magic

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new species meets with both the Ullator and the Humans to decide what they should do about both. There is only one correct answer though and maybe they will be intelligent enough to see it... 
> 
> Kai also has a few minor problems but he's been in the underworld so long that problems are just an everyday occurrence and unlike other underworld figures, he has cavalry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 73: Looks Like Magic**

-cfr-

**46625 Years after Human Ascension, 1572 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Boadu Union Space Station Tasion**

"Thank you for joining us on this historic day! We are coming to you live from the Union's Congress Meeting, where, for the first time two  _alien_  representatives will be addressing the delegates! The first speaker will be Xeneta, from the Ullator Federation and the second will be Grand Admiral Ashley Williams of the Phoenix Empire. Our watchers, all Boadu, will know that until recently the Phoenix Empire was at war with the Ullator Federation, a war they declare that with the conquest of the Ullator home world, Ulan, is over.

"Xeneta disagrees, stating that it is just propaganda from the Phoenix Empire and that the Ullator home world could not have fallen so quickly." Wauda was breathless when she finished but was pleased with the summation. She looked over at the camera to see what was being broadcast. It was an image of Xeneta, and while she was undeniably alien and speaking her native tongue Vasycys, the gestures made the translation very emphatic.

But the Ullator had been very quick to learn what gestures meant the most to the Union. It was in stark contrast to the Grand Admiral, who had so far kept her Human mannerisms, relying on translations to make sure her proper meaning was conveyed.

Wauda thought that it was more honest really. The Ullator felt like they were desperately trying to conform, as if that would bring the Union in on the war on their side. The Humans merely presented themselves, though they had made assurances that they were not seeking conflict with the Union and those assurances had been borne out by their actions. She liked the Humans more, but others preferred the familiarity the Ullator were trying very hard to project.

"As you know," Haraji took up the thread of the commentary, and the screen shifted to display a long distance shot of a ship in space. "The Union first encountered the Ullator when our rudimentary patrols encountered several refugee ships." There was an image of an Ullator emerging from what looked to be a very battered, and barely space worthy, even by the relative primitive standards of the Boadu Union, vessel.

"Fifteen days later a Human military contingent was detected as well."

The screen altered again, this time displaying Human ships in precise formation. What was not clear was the sheer size of the Phoenix Empire vessels and while some had argued that a reference scale should be provided, the studio had decided it would be best not to antagonise the Phoenix Empire. One thing that could not be changed was that the Human fleet far outnumbered a standard patrol fleet.

"Yet, instead of attacking, as the Ullator indicated they would, the Phoenix Empire treated the situation as first contact and remained polite and open and have remained that way ever since, treating the Union with courtesy and respecting our borders."

"And now, the Phoenix Empire has sent Grand Admiral Ashley Williams, who is third in the line of succession to speak at this open meeting!" Wauda said. "Information packs have been given to the delegates and the Grand Admiral will be taking questions to clarify the information. This is truly a historical event!"

"Yes," Haraji agreed. "And it looks like they are beginning." The addition was accompanied by another screen change, this time showing all the delegates in position.

The two Boadu colonies had sent representatives, and the home world had several, representing the major geographical regions. Grand Admiral Ashley Williams was on one side of the huge oval table, while Xeneta was on the other. It had been deemed best to keep them separate.

"Oh! Standing on the Grand Admiral's left is one of the alien species of the Phoenix Empire. An Attori. The information we have indicates that this is Captain Ri'sid, the Grand Admiral's Personal Assistant. Many analysts believe this is a good sign, that the head of the Phoenix Empire's military trusts the non-Human races enough to interact with them on a personal level. There is no question that Ri'sid has access to much of the Phoenix Empire's most sensitive information." Wauda gushed. The Humans had provided some of Ri'sid's history which showed the Attori had been assigned to Williams for several years.

"But, she does not have a Fedochi assistant," Haraji objected.

"Far different histories," Wauda countered but before she could elaborate the differences, the Chair rose, calling the meeting to order.

The Ullator relied on a translator and astute and observant viewers would have noticed that the Grand Admiral required no such device. She simply listened attentively with a slight upward crease to her lips. The Chair's welcome was lost in the presenter's previous discussion but no one cared about that. They just wanted to hear the question time that would be the open session of this Congress meeting.

"And without further delay, I will open the floor to questions from the delegates," the Chair said and there was not even polite gestures as the delegates all vied to be the first to ask a question. "From the Kingdom of Gyambi, Ibimpe." The Chair indicated towards one of the older representatives from the homeworld.

"To the Grand Admiral," Ibimpe said and the comparison to a press conference was unmistakable. It had been a shock to find the Humans had them as well! "Is it true your species does not originate in this galaxy?"

"That is correct," Grand Admiral Williams said, surprising many when she spoke passable Eiol'u. "The homeworld of Humanity is known as Earth, in the system of Sol, located on the Orion Spur of the Milky Way," she continued. The Human picked up an information crystal – there had been an absolute flurry of activity to ensure the Phoenix Empire information was compatible with the Union's systems. Not everything, but enough for the Grand Admiral to have visual aids to the likely questions – and projected an image onto the screen. It illustrated a long distance image of the galaxy the Phoenix Empire named the Milky Way. A small area was highlighted.

"That is the approximate location of Earth," Williams smiled.

"Oh, come on!" the first colony's delegate scoffed. Akuamoh's residents were known for being outspoken but there was a universal cringe and before the Chair could censure him, Adjow made another demand. "You don't expect us to believe that!"

Grand Admiral Williams smiled. "Many other species have expressed that sentiment," she said, holding up one hand to indicate that she did not mind the question. At least, that's what the Human, who had been assigned to translate the gestures indicated it meant. "And they are entitled to their beliefs but it does not change the truth."

"It's not a belief! There's no way you could have made it. The maximum distance a ship can travel is 20 light years!"

"Your ships," Williams stated clearly, not quite managing to keep the note of superiority out of her voice. "Ships of the Phoenix Empire do not have distance restrictions," she continued.

The small shifts from the delegates stopped and they stared at her. Obviously, they knew the Phoenix Empire was far more advanced. It was obvious from the sheer size of their warships, but it had never been so starkly pointed out. It really shouldn't have been necessary but the Human did not appear upset.

"Did we hear that correctly?" Wauda asked Haraji.

"I think so," the male reporter replied. "But there has to be a misquote from the Grand Admiral. I'm astounded that she is speaking Eiol'u but that cannot have been correct. There's no question that the Phoenix Empire vessels travel further than ours but there have to be limits!"

The two commentators fell silent as the Grand Admiral began speaking again. "We are all younger species. Eventually you will find that 150 to 200 light years is the range limit of your ships but older races have far better technology. They are not so limited. The Milky Way is dominated by such races and Humanity survived only because we ran." For a moment, Williams looked down, her expression sad. "And we ran only after we had stolen an engine from one of the older species."

"Your legend of the Shepard has no bearing on now," the Ullator representative snapped, Xeneta's voice patently unimpressed.

Grand Admiral Williams didn't even acknowledge the words and there was a cacophony of noise from the delegates and the Chair was trying to bring the meeting back under control. It was chaos but the Human didn't appear to be disturbed and remained seated as the shouts finally died down. She looked around, her expression firm and spoke before the Chair could re-exert control. "In the end, does it really matter where Humanity comes from? We are here now," she added the unassailable truth.

"Immigrants have no rights to determine our future," Warank snapped. The delegate from the second colony of Djansi well represented their views. After initial settlement, they resented the continuing influx of Boadu from the home world!

"Oh, that's got to bring a response," Haraji noted.

The Human turned towards Warank and she nodded. "We only seek to determine our own future," she responded, her voice lilting with the accent of Djansi.

"That was a good answer," Wauda said nodding slightly.

"And what of the aliens within the Phoenix Empire?" Warank demanded, his anger evident at her adoption of his accent.

Before the Grand Admiral could respond, her PA placed one hand on her forearm. "I'll answer that," the Attori said before looking up at the delegates. "The Attori, my people, have flourished since we joined the Phoenix Empire, two hundred and twenty nine years ago. Before that, they were our protectors."

It took a moment for the translation come through but Haraji nodded at the words.

"But not all aliens are equal within the Phoenix Empire," Warank challenged. "What of those who were conquered?"

"The Fedochi are adapting," Ri'sid responded. "Integration with the Phoenix Empire means that their outmoded and archaic hereditary class system has now been replaced by one that recognises individual skills. Ninety percent of the Fedochi prefer living in the Phoenix Empire over the Fedochi Protectorate."

The Attori sounded sincere but had not yet addressed the Ullator and the screen panned to Xeneta who was glaring furiously at the Human delegation.

Warank snorted but before Ri'sid could continue, Grand Admiral Williams said something that was not picked up by the mics. She looked towards Warank. "The Ullator will be integrated into the Phoenix Empire as citizens," she explained. "They will be encouraged to keep their cultural diversity and unique traits, within the Phoenix Empire's laws," she finished.

The Djansi delegate made a sign of disagreement but the Chair re-exerted control. "We will continue questions within the framework agreed upon." The delegates became quiet again. "I recognise Vaakyire," the chair continued.

"For the Ullator," Vaakyire said. She was the representative for the northern most area on the Home world. It was a peaceful area that had long ago put aside warfare in the interests of peaceful resolution of problems. "How did the war with the Phoenix Empire start?"

Xeneta seemed pleased. "I do not know," the translation came through. "One day relations were normal but the next, the Phoenix Empire was invading," the Ullator continued.

"Oh, look at the Grand Admiral!" Haraji exclaimed.

The screen changed to show the Human shaking her head. She murmured something but again the mics didn't pick it up.

"What did you say?" Xeneta demanded.

Williams grinned, and some of the Union delegates drew back, even though they had been told the gesture was friendly. "I said, that is typical of someone who runs away," she spoke clearly in Vasycys.

Xeneta reared back, obviously angry but Williams just appeared amused. "How dare you!" Xeneta hissed.

Williams turned towards the chair. "Are there other questions?" she asked, clearly dismissing the Ullator.

"How many languages does she speak?" Wauda asked.

"And how quickly can she learn them!" Haraji agreed with her question.

"I believe documents the Phoenix Empire supplied have explained that all ranking members speak all languages of the Empire, though it does appear that the Grand Admiral has learned quite a few more."

"Yes," the Chair replied to the Grand Admiral. "A question from Uandoh."

The delegate from the home world state nodded, rising and turning towards the Human. "To the Grand Admiral Ashley Williams of the Phoenix Empire," she directed her question. She was always polite in the Congress meetings, and carefully directed her questions. "What are the Phoenix Empire's intentions towards the Boadu Union?"

"Ah finally!" Haraji said.

"Yes, that is what many will wish to know," Wauda agreed. She might be pro-Human, but that was something even she wanted to know.

The Grand Admiral nodded towards Uandoh, acknowledging the speaker. "The Phoenix Empire hopes to maintain a peaceful relationship with the Boadu Union," Williams said. "With the agreement on borders, the Phoenix Empire sees no reason why relations should not normalise," she concluded.

"So you have no intention of attacking us?"

"Of course not!" Grand Admiral Williams said and her voice was earnest, even as several of the delegates stared at Uandoh for asking such an insulting question. Most of them had realised that the Phoenix Empire was large enough that if they decided to invade, it wouldn't be much of an attack, more instant occupation. Even with that, no one would answer yes in such a situation. Uandoh didn't seem to be concerned with the attention.

"What are your intentions towards the Nur?" came the follow up question, bypassing the Chair. The Boadu had learned about the Nur from the Ullator.

The Grand Admiral turned towards the new speaker. "When we encountered the Nur, the borders were accepted by both Empires. They have been confirmed by a one to one holo-meeting between Emperor Harper and Empress Syvwlch," Williams explained. "All Nur detained during the unpleasantness with the Ullator have been returned to their Empire," she added, highlighting the methods the Phoenix Empire used to deal with the aliens.

"Unpleasantness!" Xeneta screamed. "You exterminated us!"

At that, most expected the Human to look angry.

"Grand Admiral Williams will have to respond," Haraji told their viewers and on screen the image displayed that the Chair was expecting exactly that. As were the other delegates as they remained silent with their attention split between the Xeneta and Grand Admiral Williams.

The Human heaved a visible breath. "I had wanted to leave some respect for the Ravitel," she said, shaking her head, though her eyes remained focused on the Ullator. "But it appears, like the Fedochi Kratos, we will have to destroy all semblance of belief before we can move forward." Williams tapped at the controls at her assigned place. The screen the delegates could look at changed to display a document of some sort. Markings on it suggested that it came directly from the Ravitel's office and with another few taps, Williams had highlighted several portions of text.

The script was obviously the written form of Vasycys so the delegates couldn't read it and for those watching, the image of an image was quite blurry but it seemed to have an effect on Xeneta. She took a moment to read it.

"You lie!" came the response, in Vasycys but no one needed a translation for the anger still lacing her voice.

Grand Admiral Williams looked sad. "This is obviously not the best environment to reveal this information," she said, "but ignorance must always be addressed swiftly to avoid it festering into belief. I fear we have been too slow in this case." Her expression was regretful.

"Oh, she is so sincere!" Haraji said.

"You can see how she cares, though we will attempt to get a translation for the document," Wauda agreed.

"You lie!" Xeneta stated again, firmly. "Your ships swept across our border, unprovoked with the intention of killing us all," the Ullator made the accusation again.

"Strong words again from Xeneta," Haraji observed.

"Yes, but the Grand Admiral does not appear disturbed," Wauda said. "Surely if that was the case she'd display some discomfort."

"True," Haraji had to concede. "And the rest of her party does not appear concerned. They seem to share her sadness." The image panned out to show the group of Humans and Attori all looking dismayed.

"Chair, with respect," Grand Admiral Williams said. "This is a private matter between our species. One I am happy to continue discussing here but I am conscious that it is consuming valuable time." She frowned slightly, as if a new thought had occurred. "Perhaps it would be better to postpone further discussion between the Phoenix Empire and the Ullator refugees within the Union to a later time and to ask one of the Union delegates to provide mediation at that time?" Williams made the suggestion.

"That is surprising," Wauda murmured, slightly disappointed.

"Indeed," Haraji agreed. "All analysis indicated that the Humans would keep arguing the point, especially if it was about or reflected upon their Empire."

"Except it was the Ullator who provided that analysis, so perhaps not the most neutral of observers," she concluded, and a wry amusement was carried in her tone.

"Quite so," Haraji said, nodding wisely and the screen returned to the Chair as they once again took control of the meeting.

-cfr-

**Boadu Union Territory**

"She certainly knows what to say," Ebo Sika said, leaning back in her chair.

The leaders of the Boadu Union may not attend the meetings of the Delegates often, they sure as hell spoke to keep the Union strong. No one wanted a war between areas of the home world, or even between their new colonies. Ebo Sika was the President of the southern continent.

"If the Ullator information is to be believed, she should," King Kande Takyi replied, his hands sifting through several reports.

"That's only true if we believe the Humans' claims that they have mastered digitisation," Afutwie said.

"It doesn't matter," Ebo said. "The Humans believe it and she knows what to say."

"So does Emperor Harper," Homla agreed, looking around at the screens which displayed the other leaders.

The Union was essentially between six Boadu groups. Four homeworld areas and their two colonies. They had known there were other species out there, even before first contact, though the ongoing studies about what aliens might be like were now on hold with the reality of meeting them.

"What has the Emperor been doing?" Councillor Yempew of Akumoah Colony asked seriously.

"He's offered to sell us Eezo at a very attractive rate."

"How attractive?" Yempew asked.

Homla named a figure.

"That's insane," President Sika exclaimed.

"The Attori," Afutwie of Djansi colony noted.

"It would appear that way," King Takyi agreed.

"It is a very dangerous system," Homla observed. "One I believe they were attempting with the Fedochi."

"Except the Fedochi attacked."

"No, they didn't," Ebo corrected. Her patrols had been the first to encounter Ullator refugees and with all the attempted hacking, passed off as attempts to gain a common language, she did not feel particularly sympathetic to the Ullator cause. "The Ullator attacked through Fedochi proxies. The Phoenix Empire had to respond though, and did the only thing they could."

"Yeah," Homla laughed. "They flattened the Fedochi."

"And they flattened the Ullator as well," Sika reminded them. "But," she continued, gesturing towards the feed from the delegate meeting, "I do not like how there does not appear to be a trigger event for the Phoenix Empire's invasion of Ullator territory."

The gathered leaders were silent at that.

"Could it simply be the Humans were ready?" King Kande suggested.

"I suppose that is possible, Your Majesty," Yempew said politely.

"Unless we penetrate the Phoenix Empire's network, we won't know," Afutwie said sensibly but no one was suggesting that they attempt it. It was a surprise that they had caught the Ullator but the Phoenix Empire would likely catch them just as fast. "But what you are telling me is that the Phoenix Empire has already begun to lay the groundwork for conquering us," he made the observation.

"Conquest via financial dependence, as with the Attori but with the not so subtle hint of military conquest by sending the Grand Admiral as a negotiator."

"Yes," Homla agreed. "But I see very few ways we can combat it," the Prime Minister said. "If the Union does not buy eezo, our corporations will, or the Phoenix Empire's will and they will be able to ship their goods further for cheaper."

"Plus, many of the Phoenix Empire's so called corporate vessels are armed," King Kande said. He wasn't sure he wanted to allow armed alien vessels within their territory but even if the Humans shipped to the border, they could undercut prices, ensuring they were very competitive. They could probably do that now, without lifting any one of their slender fingers.

Domination would take time but the history of the Phoenix Empire that he had seen, suggested that they were willing to spend that time. His reading of the information provided indicated that they'd only been a few years away from dominating the Fedochi and the brief war with the Ullator, whatever had triggered it, had shown that the Phoenix Empire were not afraid to engage militarily.

"So where does that leave us?" Yempew asked.

The leaders were silent as they thought. Information taken from the Ullator had been verified by things the Phoenix Empire had said. While the details were missing, the overall information was very straight forward. Simple even.

The internal workings of the Phoenix Empire were a mystery but so far they had done what they said they would. Which meant for the moment, when they said they would maintain peaceful relations with the Union, they would maintain peaceful relations with the Union. But that would be while they were rebuilding their military in the aftermath of the Ullator war. Or it would be while they got their people used to the idea that the Union should be a part of their territory. It was for now. And while they were maintaining peace, economic domination would begin. There was nothing the Union could do to avoid it. They simply weren't big enough. Short of initiating a complete ban on Phoenix Empire goods and services but that would only drive the problem underground and it wasn't like the Humans couldn't expand to surround them.

Of course, the Union could also try a war but if they went with a war, they'd be decimated. It was likely the Grand Admiral's escort fleet could destroy their military without additional aid. And right at the moment the Phoenix Empire was primed for combat.

If the Union accepted peace, and the Phoenix Empire allowed it for long enough, which was probable, then economic dependence would eventually lead to subjugation but the Ullator refugees would cause tensions.

There was no good cause of action.

"We must decide what is best for our people," Tawujo Soadwa said softly. Tawujo represented the first nation of the Baodu Union. They were the oldest, longest civilised race who had lead the Baodu people the longest. They did not dictate the policies but they were taken very seriously when they spoke. "If we choose to trade with the Phoenix Empire, there is very little doubt that they will trade in good faith.

"We will remain independent but we will slowly lose our identity. There most likely won't be a species like the Fedochi, who will then drive us to seek Human protection but eventually I believe the Phoenix Empire will wish to dominate the galaxy. There will only be one species in control."

"They will have to go through the Nur," Afutwie objected.

"True," Tawujo allowed. "And that is what we are looking at here. The Phoenix Empire is mopping up the last of the Ullator but once that is complete, they will, consciously or not, be preparing to face off against the Nur. We might be able to maintain neutrality until that point but once that war begins, one way or another, we will be drawn in. We do not have the military forces to remain separate.

"And if by some miracle, they allow us our neutrality, that will only be until the end of that war and whoever wins will be harder on us for not siding with them."

"So you are saying we have to pick a side," President Ebo murmured.

"The sooner, the better," Tawujo observed. "The longer we leave it, the more obvious to either side that we are choosing them and likely, the more unfavourable the deal will be."

"You say that like there is a choice," King Kande said softly.

"There is always a choice," Tawujo objected. "Sometimes they are not good."

Kande said nothing but they all knew what he was thinking.

"King Takyi is correct," Yempew said. There is only one viable choice, though I doubt any will be happy to hear it."

"There is always the chance they won't agree," Afutwie said. "What can we offer?"

"As far as we can tell, the Attori did not offer much when they joined the Phoenix Empire."

"Perhaps not, but they had a long history of trade."

"A history we don't have."

"But one we can get. The Phoenix Empire wants metal and we can provide that. Not as much as the Attori could, obviously, but we can still provide it."

"It seems as if you have come to a conclusion," Ebo said and the others fell silent.

"Have we?" King Kande asked.

"I'll support it," Councillor Yempew of the first colony Akuamoh said. "If it's going to happen anyway, then we might as well embrace it," she added. "But what would we want out of it?"

"The same agreement as the Attori," Prime Minister Homla said. "Self-determination within our territory, subject to the overriding laws of the Phoenix Empire," he elaborated.

"And what if the Phoenix Empire isn't interested? We risk the potential wrath of these Nur?" King Kande pointed out.

"I think we can rely on the discretion of Emperor Harper," Prime Minister Homla sounded confident. "It's not like our border is with the Nur, so I don't think we need to worry about them. We should at least sound the Phoenix Empire out. If there is no interest, then there is nothing risked but if there is, then we are in a position to gain so much."

"I suppose it would not hurt to ask the Grand Admiral," Afutwei said. The Congress delegation was meeting on his colony.

"We all need to express agreement," Tawujo murmured.

"I agree we should approach the Phoenix Empire with intent to join," Prime Minister Homla announced.

"So long as the enquiries are discreet and at the highest level, I agree to approach the Phoenix Empire for their opinions," King Kande Takyi said when Tawujo's image turned towards him.

The old Boadu nodded and turned further, looking at Afutwie. "I agree with his majesty Takyi," he said.

Tawujo turned to President Ebo Sika. "I'm not sure we should act so quickly but knowing our position is best," she said slowly, doubt clouding her tone.

Tawujo nodded but turned to Councillor Yempew Firikyi of the First Colony without saying anything. Yempew was deep in thought. "I believe it obvious that both the Phoenix Empire and Nur Empire are both capable of making eezo, however, at the moment, we have contact only with the Phoenix Empire, and they are willing to share, even if it is to gain economic dominance. They also have a proven record of incorporating other species. I did not see that in the information the Ullator provided about the Nur. Now, it is true, that the Phoenix Empire has done this incorporation mostly by force, but within their former territory the Fedochi are still alive and while the Phoenix Empire executed their Exarch, they did not exterminate the entire Kratos, which surely would have been a simpler method of subjugation."

Yempew took a deep breath. "They do demand some changes to a species, but they do not demand cultural suicide. I don't know about the Nur and if we approached them," she paused, unnecessarily allowing them all to consider the consequences of that. "I believe we should find out where the Phoenix Empire stands before we commit to any course of action that involves irrevocable decisions."

All five leaders now turned towards Tawujo. "I am in agreement," he said formally. "And I would ask Afutwie to speak discreetly to with Grand Admiral Williams. I believe she will be able to tell us immediately what the Phoenix Empire's appetite is to pursue further negotiations. If there is no desire, then we never spoke. If it is later, then the possibility is accepted and if the last, most unlikely option is true, then at least we will have saved everyone the formality of war."

"It will not come to that," Prime Minister Homla said, smiling gently.

"I hope not," King Kande replied without humour.

Afutwie sighed. "So now that we know what we are doing, how much do we believe what Grand Admiral Williams has said?"

"About?"

"About everything."

-cfr-

**46627 Years after Human Ascension, 1574 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Secure Location, Ascended Cerberus**

Kai snapped awake as his consciousness returned to Cerberus. Memories returned. They always took a few moments to catch up after an unscheduled upload. Lamia wasn't meant to kill him. She had though. Over what?

To an immortal, long term memory was relative. He already knew that he hadn't known anything that compromised Lamia. The knowledge had to be more recent. Those memories would upload last. Kai waited. He was patient. Lamia would have had some reason to kill him. She did not kill wantonly. He had been planning on supporting her bid to become the Head of Allen. After a few years, he'd eliminate her to take it. But that wasn't for a few years. He hadn't even been making those plans, so there was nothing for her to detect.

His memories trickled in. The day had been normal. Normal for a member of the underworld. Most people didn't realise being criminal was actually a job. He spent many of his days in the same routine. The main difference was that change could be quick. Promotions were instantaneous, same as terminations. There were, when done right, no second chances.

He'd spoken with his contacts. There had been no trouble. And then he'd gone to a late lunch with Lamia. They were discussing several business opportunities. Those which would lead to the retirement of the current Head. They had a steady supply of Iufora, as well as buyers. Prostitution was going well, both male and female. The camo-nets he'd managed to lift from one of Williams' stockpiles were helping. People paid well for the illusion of sleeping with whoever they desired. The novelty would wear off but you made money were you could.

Those were the basics. Others tried to run weapons. Kai never bothered. Williams had the truly good stuff on lock down, and no one was going to invest in the R&D required to develop them independently. That recollection triggered recognition.

He focused. The memories of the lunch crystallised. Lamia had discussed a new venture. That wasn't unusual. This was- Kai drew a blank. He probed. He checked the time on Allen. In Cerberus, the calculation of relative time was instantaneous. It was about 1630 in the city he'd died in.

So he'd been killed at lunch.

Kai sighed. The exhalation would never been seen in life. He had no choice but to wait. The memories closest to death always took longest. Unless they were directed. Unlike other times, he hadn't been expecting to die.

Then he knew. Like all memories, he wasn't conscious of knowing. He just did. The knowledge was there for whenever he needed it. Kai pulled the files. In Cerberus, everything was ordered. His files went under his lives. Harper liked to keep things separate.

Lamia had wanted to expand. She wanted weapons. Weapons to fight those who would challenge her position as Head. So far, so reasonable. Except, with his support she would have remained Head. If she listened to him. At least until he needed the position. By now, he could probably make Williams the Head of the Underworld. Without her even knowing.

Maybe he'd do that one day. Just to see her reaction.

He'd told Lamia that he would provide the weapons required. He had means he didn't want to reveal. She hadn't liked that. They never did. She pressed. He evaded. It was an old game. Sometimes he let them win. Not this time.

So what had he said? What had he done that had given him away?

The memory unfolded.

' _It is a good idea, isn't it? A perfect one,' Lamia pressed, smiling._

_Kai - no he was Witold Dresdner – swallowed the piece of steak he had been chewing. 'It will take longer,' he pointed out the obvious._

' _But they will not have the signature of the cursed military. That bitch's twats won't be able to figure it out.' Lamia didn't spit the words. It was the customary way of referring to Williams._

' _If they can't figure it out, she will get involved. That will be messy.'_

_Lamia shrugged. 'By that stage it will be too late. I will have them. And since I'm not interested in killing policemen, she won't care.'_

_Williams was somewhat predictable that way. A certain number of the underworld had to be caught, but the leaders remained free. Lamia knew how to play the system._

_He tapped the table top. A slight frown graced his features to accentuate the fact he was thinking. Kai had learned that the little gestures meant more. 'They won't be ready in time,' he announced. 'Construction will only take a week, depending,' he shrugged. 'Development could take years. You will be Head before then.' He gave her a gentle smile at the last. It was the culmination of her plans._

' _Development will be quick. I only need a few details to be provided.' Lamia waved her fork before stabbing a piece of meat. 'Those we ask will think they've outsmarted us. Individually the details will mean nothing. The combination is important, and the military idiots won't realise the combination until it's too late.'_

' _You are confident,' Witold said. The sentence was the request to know more._

' _The Emperor bans the means, but what would we be if we obeyed the rules?' She chuckled._

_It took him a moment to determine what she meant. 'An AI?' His voice was genial. Considering of the option. Not surprised. He simply couldn't be that inflexible, but not immediately denying the thought._

' _An AI,' Lamia confirmed. 'Programmed correctly it can develop the weapons in weeks, maybe days.'_

' _That would make it faster.'_

' _It has,' she agreed._

_Witold was surprised at that. She already had one? 'Really?' he asked with mock enthusiasm. Kai's mind was already compiling the list of those who would die. He grimaced internally. He might need assistance._

' _It has,' Lamia repeated. He caught the catch in her voice. Her stare was cold. 'Goodbye Witold.'_

The memory ended. That wasn't a lot to work with. He knew what had happened. She thought it was shackled. The AI wasn't. Not properly. It had told her about him. That was evidence enough. It was striking at those who had authority. Officially he had none. But he was original. That was enough.

What would it do when it gained control?

That was obvious. It would mold the underworld. They couldn't win. But they could be a far bigger thorn than they were. Enough of one to hide the AI.

He was going to need assistance. Cerberus was too distant from Allen to get there in time to solve the problem now. And Harper would not be pleased at the implied risk. Not for himself. For the young Milky Way Ascended. They might get ideas. Kai had never experienced the pain from Shepard's orders himself, but as a part of Cerberus he knew what it was.

Kai sighed again. He knew what was necessary. The destruction of AI was something he couldn't fight against having been Ascended. This was the most efficient way. Lamia should have realized he wouldn't just go away. If he did this right, he might even get to show her exactly what he was. That could be amusing. She could have been the Head but that ambition would be cut short. It was a good thing the Ullator hadn't been that much of a problem.

He barely thought before the comm link opened. "Williams-"

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We will have to see how far common sense gets the Boadu. Harper can respect common sense, even in an alien because its so rare!
> 
> Next up, Harper is going to start focusing on what he should have been doing all the time – the Project! How close to complete is it? Will it be crewed? What does the Empire think of it? And now that the Ascended are on side, what else can Harper do with the Empire? All this and more…


	75. Interview With An Immortal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Williams is annoyed with Harper but that's just the way of the world.
> 
> The Phoenix Empire is almost ready to launch the Rock so there are things that must be done to complete it. Crew Quarters and the crew itself... Harper needs a lot of patience for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 74: Interview With An Immortal**

-cfr-

**46628 Years after Human Ascension, 1575 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"God darn it Harper! Would you stop it?"

The Emperor winced at Williams' volume, and his hearing implants weren't extensive. He could only imagine what it was like for his bodyguards. "Would I stop what?" he asked, deliberately pitching his voice to be reasonable.

"Expanding," she growled. "First I get the Ullator territory, which requires extensive border patrols with the Nur. I just got the Fedochi settled, then I get you allowing expansion everywhere. And you know as well as I do that every planet needs a protective fleet."

"They fund that part themselves," Harper reminded her with an insincere smile. While he still hadn't forgiven the grunt for his ciggies, the man had at least confirmed the shifting of responsibility for defence to Williams. He had to fund the requirements but she had to make sure they were met.

Williams glared. "And now you tell me I have to include this Union?" she growled.

Harper laughed. "They petitioned to join," he reminded her. She had brought him the initial overtures after all. "Was I meant to say no?"

"Yes!" she hissed but Harper knew she probably didn't mean it. "Or at least put it off until I had the Ullator settled."

"You know I couldn't do that," Harper said.

"You could have at least limited their expansion! 100 planets? They are young enough and stupid enough to try to colonise them all now! Where am I going to get the ships?"

"They are young, but they were intelligent enough to see what would happen. That deserved some reward," Harper countered.

"Over time!" Williams snapped. "They need time to develop their government to handle disparate colonies."

Harper grinned. "Or they adopt our model," he said smugly and Williams was experienced enough to know he meant that they would become more like Humans, and thus be easier to control.

Williams sighed heavily. "I don't get it," she said. "The Phoenix Empire is now more alien than it is Human."

"I know," Harper had to admit. "That's why expansion is happening so fast," he reminded her. "We will maintain control and we will, over time, outpace them all on expansion. That is an inevitability Williams, one we must embrace."

"And in the meantime, we risk everything," she snapped, shaking her head. "When is the Project due to launch?" she asked.

With the Ascended now being onside, the completion date had been moved forward significantly.

"1800," Harper said, watching as Williams then looked at a datapad.

"I want to appropriate further budget then," she announced.

"Oh, for what?" Harper asked.

"All the building I will be behind on, and for the inevitable war with the Nur."

"That will be after the Project clears the LMC," Harper said but didn't deny its eventual reality. They hadn't spoken about it but they both knew it would happen. Really, they were racing now to complete the Project before the Nur were ready for that war.

"And we don't know what will happen with the Skatra," Williams added.

"You were going to get further budget," Harper admitted, "because I want this galaxy unassailable."

She nodded but appeared thoughtful. "What else is on the list?"

"Are you in Cerberus?" Harper countered. Cerberus had access to the future plans.

"No, I haven't gone back since dealing with the Union."

"There's no disobedience?" Harper asked, detouring from her question, referring to the Ascended.

Williams smiled but it wasn't happy. "There's some but no one has actually tested it yet. They know that if they don't obey me as an organic, I will just upload and make them do it."

Harper sighed. "Didn't Cannaman get the point?" he murmured.

"It's not Cannaman," Williams told him. "It's not any of that group," she added, with a vicious grin. "They have been perfectly obedient and I think they hold Shepard as something akin to a god. No," she shook her head, "it's a couple of other factions, those who were helping but now they resent the implication that they can be forced."

Harper signed.

"No one has disobeyed," Williams repeated.

"Then how do you know they feel it?" He asked.

"Jack," she said, her voice serious with that tone that said without words her position was unassailable. "I've raised thirteen children. Believe me, I know the tone that says 'I'll obey you but I'm not going to be happy about it, Mother'."

"They are Ascended!" he objected. They weren't petulant children.

"They are Human," she countered. "Trust me on this, I know the tone."

"Just so long as they aren't actually calling you Mother," he spat.

Williams laughed. "Afraid they'll call you Father?" she verbally poked.

Harper grimaced. "Ashley, it is a disgusting little fact that I try not to think about too much, that every single Human alive today is related to me.

"Every population. Every planet.

"And if they are related to me, they are related to you," he drove the point home. He could see her thinking about it.

In the early years, they had been strict on maintaining genealogies but as the population had grown, that hadn't been as necessary. With ninety five million starting stock, it hadn't been a huge priority but it had been done. The first link between them came at the great grandchild stage.

He'd checked.

"How long have you been waiting to tell me that?" she asked, and Harper could see her gulp hard against the knowledge.

"A little while," he admitted.

"Have you told Kai?" she followed her initial question.

Harper froze for an instant as he thought about the implications, then he chuckled. "Not yet," he told her.

"Let me?" she asked with a sly smile.

"Only if you give me warning," Harper spat, before wincing as pain flashed through him.

Williams saw it and laughed, looking pointedly at the packet of cigs on his desk. They were strategically placed behind an upraised datapad so that visitors couldn't see them but Harper could, and did.

All the time.

"Still trying to get around it?" she mocked, referring to Shepard's order as she began to pat down her pockets.

Every cigarette was his last and Harper had churned through a number of bodies in the last few years not believing or rather, refusing to believe that order. After that, he'd begun experiments to try other methods. A pipe, a cigar, a bong, etc. All had killed him and he'd gone back to cigarettes, this time only smoking three quarters, a half, a single drag. They all killed him.

When the cigarette went out, so did he.

She was still laughing about it and gave him a cool smile as she pulled out a packet of cigs, before taking one out.

Harper looked disgusted in the way only he could. There were centuries of disgust in that expression. "It even triggers on e-cigs," he muttered.

Williams frowned. "What are they?" she asked raising the cig to her mouth and lighting it up. She didn't recognise the term.

"Something from Earth," he explained. "They give you the nicotine but release water vapour so you don't have to worry about passive smoke."

She nodded, looking at the image he held up on a data pad. "You could just accept nicotine patches," she suggested, deliberately blowing out the first drag, straight into his face.

Harper glared. He knew better than to mention the cigarette but his thoughts were not so kind. Right at the moment, with Williams smoking, he didn't care that she'd hear them after he Ascended. The bitch should know better and she knew it had never been about the actual substance, though Shepard's order meant he couldn't enjoy Elmeth laced tobacco at his rebirth. It had for him, always been about the soothing nature of the motion, the routine from his younger days. Williams knew that.

"Anyway, what else is on the list?" she asked, pressing her earlier question, as she took another drag.

"Ah ha!" Harper shook his head. "Are you going to warn me?" he countered, forcing his expression to be calm at her continued smoking. She only did it when she visited him! And her implants ensured she didn't choke. There was no justice.

She looked thoughtful. In the two minutes Kai had spoken to Shepard, the man had given him permission to assassinate Harper. Kai hadn't actually said it, but the last time he'd come to her for implants, he'd hinted that she'd be obligated to help if he asked. It was funny and annoying and since it wasn't that disruptive for Harper to die, it was a good way of exposing gaps in his security because Kai would find them.

"If I'm able to," she said finally but Harper could see the way Ashley's lips quirked around the cigarette.

Kai's assassinations were amusing for her but Kai being caught would be very interesting. For her, it was a win-win situation.

"You haven't killed Lawson lately," he observed.

"Of course not," Williams scoffed, not denying the implications. "He's working on the Project now, not some idiot cloning scheme," she explained unnecessarily.

Harper snorted. She'd made very sure that they'd both understood the logic behind the first time she'd casually eliminated Lawson.

"What else is there?" Williams asked again before Harper could come up with another distraction. She ground out the cigarette, slipping the butt back into the packet as she gave him a cruel smile.

"A lot of major building projects," he said, taking a deep breath as he reached out for a data pad and bringing up a file of ideas. He had to remain calm. He had to show that it didn't bother him. She'd make sure to chain smoke next time if she thought it would annoy him. "Eventually we will colonise every habitable planet and every planet we can make habitable. I won't allow growth at the current rate forever, but it will happen, though I imagine a good section of the population will see it coming and growth will slow anyway," he mused.

However many years of selective breeding that would be, had to be good for something.

"After that, we either cap growth or look for alternatives."

"We can't expand into other galaxies," Williams said. "At least, not into the Milky Way." While by the time they needed to look at that, the Project would be well and truly on its way, they could not risk it.

"Andromeda or somewhere else is an option, but not an efficient one," Harper agreed. "Humanity has had ideas about how to expand in space for, well, a very long time. Since the twentieth century. Some of them might turn out to be crackpot sci-fi ideas but we've only developed by following imagination and we can build on a scale they could only imagine."

Williams snorted. "So their crackpot ideas become our reality?"

"No," Harper shook his head. "Some of them probably started out as weird ideas but I've had a few design teams look at them. Some of the ideas are based on sound principles. They will work. We just have to figure out how to build them."

"So what will we be building?" Williams asked.

Harper held up a list.

"Orbital lifts, planetary rings, a dyson swarm, a topopolis? What's that?" she asked, though Harper could tell from the frown that had been growing in her voice as she read the list, she could already foresee problems.

"It's a space habitat," he explained. "It rotates to produce gravity."

Williams nodded, acknowledging that it would help to keep the energy requirements down.

"The good thing is that we can build it in sections that link up," he continued.

"But where are we going to get the stuff to build with?" She asked seriously. "The Project is already beginning to fight with Ascended production for metal resources," she reminded him.

The Project always won those but with the population expanding, the need for Ascended metal was going to increase. She could already foresee the day when the military fought with the Ascended for materials because 20inch armour plating had to be 20 inches of metal!

"The resources from the Proj-"

"Will help," Williams interrupted, "but they will be quickly consumed," she added, "especially with what I'm going to want them for."

"Oh?" Harper perked up at that.

"The idea came from Gladiator and Cimnios," she began explaining and Harper leaned back into his chair, taking a sip from his drink as he listened.

"Cimnios is one of the quiet LMC Ascended. He's a scholar and will probably get along famously with Elysium," he continued. "And he actually helped Goertz with some construction.

"Anyway, while watching the Milky Way Ascended train, he wondered why we don't do that all the time, especially if ascension is meant to be for preservation."

"Do what?" Harper asked.

"Remote pilot," Williams replied.

"But we do. Husks and processing ships," Harper responded immediately.

"No," she shook her head. "That's not what he meant. Why don't we remote pilot everything?" She held up her hands. "Husks, oculi, processing ships," she ticked them off on her fingers. "Co-m-ba-t sh-ips," each syllable ticked off another finger and she looked expectantly at Harper when she was done.

He was silent as he thought. The idea was so straightforward.

"Ascension is meant to preserve the organic species," Williams continued needlessly. He already knew what she was going to say. "Cerberus,  _we_  didn't spend much time in the Ascended network but we sure as hell felt the gaps," she reminded him of the Milky Way Ascended network. There were hollow places where a species had fallen, their memory, their unique abilities forever gone. "Even here, we can still feel the gaps from the Fedochi."

"So you want to duplicate every Ascended?" Harper asked. That would be 4138 dreadnoughts now and who knew how many for the future!

"Maybe," she replied. "I want to at least see how the idea works," Williams explained. "Smaller ships might be better."

"Why not just VIs?" Harper countered.

"No," Williams shook her head again firmly. "They have their place," she admitted. "But if we completely lose touch with combat and war, then we will become monsters."

Harper nodded slowly. It was a bit more involved than that but he could see where she was going. "There's two things I can see against this," Harper said finally. "One, why wasn't the Ascended fleet doing it already?" He asked.

"Because Tartarus is a stupid child?" Williams suggested, reiterating arguments and discussions they'd had on the journey. "There may be a reason," she said after a moment. "But we don't know it, so I think it is worth trying. We'll find the reason quickly if it is that catastrophic. And the second?"

"Cost," Harper said seriously. "Every single one of those ships is going to need not just quantum comms but quantum controls," he explained. "That's going to be prohibitive, even for Ascended."

"I know," Williams agreed. "But one billion lives on each Ascended should help make the cost palatable," she added. Ascended, especially the original fleet didn't think about cost but those in the Empire maintained a working knowledge of economics.

"True," Harper nodded. If he could show that the money was headed towards the immortalised, or to those who were going to become immortalised, there was remarkably little objection to funds collection. Even after all this time, people desired immortality.

"While we may need to duplicate the Ascended fleet now, as the Ascended fleet grows, that will not be necessary. There will be enough combat vessels."

"See how it goes first," Harper instructed. "We can worry about the expense once it's been proven."

"Theoretically, there's nothing stopping it working," Williams said.

"Cimnios' has been thinking about it for a while?"

"Gladiator has the plans for a processing transport. We do as well," Williams noted.

"Every Ascended is capable of completing the cycle," Harper reminded her.

"I'll run some small scale tests now," Williams said. "At least that way we will have a feel for the possibilities."

"Yes," Harper agreed. "I like the idea but with specific restrictions."

"Well, it's a method we could use to fight the fleet, or possibly even Tartarus if it comes to it."

"Let's hope not," Harper said.

Williams' hologram nodded. After so long they all wanted the Project to succeed. "Just remember some of the budget is mine," she reminded him.

"I'll see that you get a share," Harper agreed. It was an easy promise. The military would have been assigned some of the resources anyway.

"Get me more funding now," Williams added. "I can't keep up with the expansion, unless you expand my budget."

"And that will happen as soon as revenue starts coming in from the Ullator and Union."

Williams glared and Harper could literally feel the atmosphere of the easy conversation they had been having evaporate.

"That's five years for the Ullator," she growled. "They have to rebuild. And the Union is so small that any funds they add will barely be noticed."

"So you should barely notice the expense of having to protect them!"

The glare turned into a stare of disbelief.

"No, Jack, I can't," she said firmly. "I know the budget is tight, but get me something. I can't expand that quickly," she said.

Harper sighed. It was a valid complaint. "I'll get you something," he promised, "but you may have to accept private enterprise."

"So long as they build to my standards," she agreed grudgingly.

"I'm sure you'll persuade them," he said with an offside smile. The Grand Admiral's reputation would precede her.

"Immediately," she added the stipulation, glaring before her hologram swept out.

Harper sighed, looking through the area she had been standing.

"Oh I think it will be just after his orders sting," he breathed, tapping several commands on a data pad. Williams would need extra ships and for all the haste he could put on the orders, it would still take time to fulfil them.

It was best they start now.

-cfr-

**46661 Years after Human Ascension, 1608 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Redacted for Military Operational Security**

"The Shepard will strike you down for this blasphemy!"

Adria Knutson looked over at the man, who, despite being held firmly by two soldiers, was screaming denunciations upon them all. She winced at his volume and mentally filtered out his voice, sparing a thought for his guards. Knutson hoped they had the newer implants which would let them filter and she made a mental note to check or, failing that, to make sure they had a full medical soon, with emphasis on hearing.

They were all Human troops for this operation. Not Attori or Fedochi or even the Exanimates and the instruction to use one hundred percent Human troops had come from the top.

Adria hadn't even nodded when she'd read the order. The reasoning behind it was obvious. This operation was as much about rooting out the new formed Cult of Shepard as it was about testing loyalty. Any sympathy towards the Cult would be obvious and Knutson knew they were all being observed.

"You sin against the foundation of the Empire!" the man continued.

Adria sighed when, despite the filtering, the cry still penetrated to the top of her awareness. She knew what that meant, no matter the things she needed to be paying attention to now, like the ongoing assault, she had to deal with this lunatic or he'd just keep distracting her, even if she ordered him removed from her earshot.

The ability to multitask, to track, assess, assimilate and use multiple streams of information was one of the abilities all command staff of the Phoenix Empire possessed, right down to squad leader. The higher your rank, the better you were at doing it. Multi-spatial awareness testing was part of the examination procedure to be promoted after all.

"I would be disobeying my commander if I did not obey," Adria told him, at a normal volume, allowing her change in stance let the fanatic know she was addressing him. "And my commander answers to Grand Admiral Williams, who answers to Emperor Harper, who answers to Shepard," she added, daring the fanatic to refute her perfect logic. It was odd to refer to Shepard without a rank, but the Emperor hadn't given him one and so most figured his name was significant enough.

The man blinked and Adria could actually see him process her words but she knew passion did not bow to logic so easily.

"The Shepard is the Lord of All," the man retorted and Adria glanced at her omni-tool when it pinged softly, indicating that it had identified him.

His name was Sayyid Torquemada, a civilian VI programmer though some of his algorithms had been co-opted for military use. It had promoted his citizen status in the Empire, greatly reducing the requirements for immortalisation. With the current emphasis on growth, if he had one kid, he could be immortalised now but he didn't and Adria sighed as he continued.

"And it is his name we worship, his orders we obey, for the Emperor is a false icon."

Knutson felt her lips purse. She hadn't been born when Shepard called and Emperor Harper had been instructed to reveal the truth. Sayyid would have been one and a half. Not old enough to truly understand but Emperor Harper had announced who Shepard was and he had been very clear that Shepard had put him in charge of the LMC. The other immortalised had confirmed that and over the intervening years, further information had emerged.

"Shepard was a man. Not originally an immortal, but a contemporary of the Emperor during their first lives," she retorted, keeping her voice gentle as she explained.

Grand Admiral Williams had made sure that the military knew exactly who Shepard was and what their orders were.

"We exist to fulfil Shepard's orders. The Empire exists for that reason," she continued.

"Because Shepard is the Lord of All," Sayyid crowed, as if she'd bowed to his logic.

"He is," Knutson agreed, "but the Lord of All put the Emperor in charge of the LMC," she added, hoping to include that in his logic stream.

Torquemada looked at her for a moment before his face contorted into a look of hatred. His eyes were hard but Adria returned his gaze placidly. She was not the one in chains. "The Emperor is a false icon," Sayyid repeated. "He is a test and a trap. He appears to follow the Shepard, to obey the Lord of All, but he raises himself to the same stature and he shall be brought low."

Adria couldn't help but heave a deep breath at the words. Emperor Harper had ruled for 1608 years. He could and would rule for far longer because that was Shepard's will. How could Torquemada not see that? Every immortalised confirmed it.

"And who would replace the Emperor?" she asked.

Sayyid blinked, surprised and Adria had to suppress a superior grin. Fanatics never thought of the future.

"Director Lawson does not want the job," she said. That was known throughout the Empire. "Grand Admiral Williams is too busy," she continued, shaking her head slightly. There was no question Grand Admiral Williams could do the job but as the military leader she had little time for Empire politics. "Another of the originals? They already know their leader and the other immortalised will obey Shepard."

Adria took a deep breath. "Your immortal Shepard would not accept a Human. We are ephemeral and you would dishonour him by making him speak to a mortal or do you dare to think you are worthy enough for his attention?"

She wasn't one who thought mortals were not yet true Humans but she wasn't a fool. Mortals had no place dealing with Shepard. It wasn't fair to him. If he was only going to guide the Empire every 1000 years or so, then it was best he spoke to someone who remembered him, who knew him. Mortal memory would forget, would twist his orders and for the good of the Empire, they needed that stability. Besides, it wasn't like mortals couldn't hold high ranks. The Emperor was the ruler but every rank beneath him was filled by those who had yet to be immortalised.

Torquemada looked horrified and for an instant, Adria thought she had broken through his fanaticism but a moment later the fiery light took hold again.

"The Shepard is the Lord of All. Only he has the right to rule," Sayyid exalted.

Knutson shook her head and waved one hand to dismiss him. His guards reacted and dragged him away as Adria turned her full attention back to the battle, or what was left of it. Even with her slight inattention, things had progressed well and as she assimilated the updates, once again filtering Sayyid's noise as she gave a few orders.

For the stability of the Empire, the fanatics, this supposed Cult of Shepard had to be dealt with.

-cfr-

**46860 Years after Human Ascension, 1807 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire, Underworld System, Project Construction Main Office**

"This can't be right," Iraida Mejia snapped, flicking one finger through the hologram of the plans.

"Which bit?" Soledad Rhoads asked.

"These quarters!" Iraida explained. She was the Chief Engineer on the Project. The highest non-immortalised position there was. Of course, it did mean that immortalised looked over everything she did but they were Human, so it really wasn't as bad as many believed.

Besides a successful tour here was a guarantee of immortalisation the instant she wanted it. She didn't have to fulfil any of the Empire's other requirements.

"No, they are right," Soledad confirmed the hologram after looking over at the numbers.

"But these are palatial!" Iraida exclaimed.

"Yes, because they will be living in them for at least sixteen years," Soledad explained. "That's why the Rock is going to be very well stocked. The Emperor was very insistent," he said with a rough laugh.

"It's going to be expensive to build these," Iraida observed, still looking at the plans.

"Compared to the rest of this Rock, the crew quarters and all the extra luxuries they have aren't even a rounding error."

Iraida flicked through more holograms. "The full entertainment suite for each crew member and a theatre for group events," she murmured as she looked at the drawings.

"Yep, and they will all have access to a pool and a running track."

"And a velodrome," Iraida shook her head. "Pretty nice for the amount of work they have to do," she said, half laughing.

"I know," Soledad agreed. "It does seem excessive but they have to do that job."

"Shift the engines and hit the brakes," Iraida said

"Yep, the entire focus of the Empire has been for that," Rhoads said. "Most of us immortals are wondering what will happen once this thing is launched," he continued.

"Well, it won't launch until the crew quarters are built," Iraida said. "And if I'm making them this extensive, do you know what colour schemes?"

"The crew hasn't been chosen yet," Soledad reminded her.

"Okay," Iraida sighed. "We'll rough out the rooms and get input from them when they are chosen," she decided.

"That should work," Soledad agreed.

"Now that that is out of the way, how are the engine tests coming?"

The huge ion engines had been tested before being put in place but they were being tested again to ensure everything was one hundred percent operational.

"There's no problems on any of them so far," Rhoads reported.

"So what was the glitch on number three?" Iraida asked.

Soledad rolled his eyes. "One of the fire control wires was loose," he replied.

"That's it?" she was incredulous.

"I know," the immortal sighed before he continued. "All the tow points have been secured."

"Including yours?"

"Including mine," Soledad smiled.

Origalch would be one of the immortals who would help tow the Project up to speed. Iraida waved the hologram away and moved towards the huge window. Visible in the distance was the Project. There were flashing lights all around it and she could barely see the silhouettes of the ships, the lights belonged to. They were all immortalised and they were all sworn to the Project's protection.

Underworld was the safest system in the Empire, Home included.

The leading surface of the Project faced them. It glittered slightly. The manufactured diamond facing reflected the light. Behind it was tonnes and tonnes of metal. Tungsten and carbon formed the first layers as they had the highest melting points. Rhenium, osmium, iridium were beneath it. There were blocks upon blocks layered one over the other within the structure. From her current angle the Project looked like a giant sphere or the top of a huge umbrella but Iraida knew if she moved to the side it would look like a giant lens with engines poking out from under it. Riddled through it, were eezo cores which would be activated to lighten the huge mass of material.

Right before the Project impacted the cores would be ejected, thus restoring the full, relativity-enhanced mass. Momentum would carry it to target and that would be the end of the Project.

Finally.

There were weapons on the underside and a ship which the crew would evacuate to. The shields were multilayered and powerful. The fleet could pound on the Rock for days and get nowhere. It was the closest thing to invulnerable they could make. There were also legions of camera drones on-board.

As Iraida understood it, they would be launched just before impact and surround the target. The drones would be destroyed in the explosion but they would confirm the destruction of the target. Everything that could be thought of had been.

"You know, I'm almost tempted to put my name down for consideration," she murmured.

"If that's what you really want, I'll put in a good word for you," Rhoads said seriously.

Iraida considered it before she took a deep breath. "One hundred and sixty three thousand years away from everything," she observed. "I don't think I'm capable of accepting the changes at the other end."

"At least, it would only seem like sixteen or so years," Soledad said.

Iraida shivered. "That gives me the creeps," she said, holding up her hands as she turned back towards Soledad. "I know how it works, but it's weird that it will only seem like sixteen to seventeen years for the crew. It will only  _be_  sixteen or seventeen years for them, while for the rest of the two galaxies, one hundred and sixty three thousand years will go by. That just seems wrong."

"Time dilation physics of FTL," Soledad reminded her.

"But they aren't going at FTL!" Iraida objected.

"They'll be going close enough," Soledad said. "It's like a black hole. The closer you get, the more time is compressed."

"Oh, I get that," Iraida said. She couldn't have taken this post if she hadn't understood Einsteinian physics. "It still makes me shiver. They are almost immortal, just because they are travelling that fast."

Soledad nodded. "And if we could get it going faster, it would seem like more time for them."

"Yes, you don't want to break light speed," Iraida laughed. "You are already going to accelerate it to 0.999,999,995 _c._ "

"And one hundred and sixty four thousand of our years will be sixteen point five for them. The most time consuming part will be acceleration and slowing the rock back down," Soledad observed.

"And the trip back," Iraida reminded him.

"And the trip back," he laughed.

"Assuming you don't fuck it up."

Rhoads knew her well enough not to be offended. "Yeah," he sighed heavily. "0.000,000,006 faster and we blow it. No time dilation. Origalch's top fucking speed is 11,500  _c_! Do you have any idea how hard this is going to be?" He growled.

"You'll just have to cope," Iraida consoled him. "Though, Origalch's top speed should make the trip back faster," she added.

"I still hope we've got something better," Soledad replied. "Even at immortalised speed, that far will take a long time. You haven't heard Cerberus complain about the Journey," he snorted. "That's one of the reasons the crew quarters are so extensive and so well appointed. The Emperor is fully aware of how boring travel can be. That's why they are getting a  _full_  copy of the State Archive."

"164 thousand years of movies on the way back should be good," Iraida said but she wasn't being serious. "And think, they will be the first to see Earth!"

"I suppose," Soledad agreed.

"You don't think it's worth it?" she asked.

"While I'm sure they will be immortalised as soon as they return, or maybe even in the Milky Way, I can't help but wonder how much Humanity will have changed in that time. No matter how you think about it, they will be considered throwbacks."

"How can they be throwbacks if they were born now?" Iraida frowned.

"I know," Soledad agreed. "It makes no logical sense but that will be the reality."

They stood in silence for a moment before Iraida shrugged. "Eh, that's what Harper gets paid to figure out," she said finally.

"Yeah, no point in worrying," Soledad agreed.

"Besides, you'll be there, and I'll be there and we will know what they have accomplished," she said.

"The Emperor will know, as will Shepard. And that will be enough to protect them."

Iraida laughed. "The great Shepard," she said, but couldn't quite hide the confused note in her voice.

"You'll understand when you are immortalised. I'll make sure I share the memory," Rhoads told her seriously.

"I look forward to it," Iraida said as she looked back to the Rock.

In a few more years, it would launch. She'd present for immortalisation then, after her life's work was complete. For the generations who had worked on the Project, from the originals who had made the journey from the Milky Way, to those who had conceived the idea, and even for those miners who had gathered the metal, she owed all of them. And on the day it launched, she'd watch with the rest of the Empire, holding her breath, crying, laughing, she didn't know which but she would watch with the knowledge that the hope of Humanity, past, present and for the future went with it.

It would not fail.

-cfr-

**46874 Years after Human Ascension, 1821 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Project Candidate Screening Centre**

Harper sat at the middle of the panel table. It was recessed and elevated so that those before them knew the importance of the matter. Not that they could have any doubts. The entire Empire knew how important this was.

Several years back, applications to be a member of the Rock's crew had opened. They had been inundated. There were millions of applicants. With the revelation of Shepard, Harper had allowed the population to grow. There was in excess of five trillion now. The initial applicant numbers had outnumbered all the minds on Cerberus and that was before homogenisation.

A chainsaw had been applied to trim the numbers. Those without skills were rejected. They were only taking the best of their fields. Those too old were rejected. Those who failed the minimal psych tests the application contained were rejected. They didn't need to worry about the alien citizens of the Empire. They just hadn't been allowed to apply. The chainsaw approach had gotten the numbers down to something that could be worked with.

Further rounds of testing and interviews had cut those numbers further. They were entering the final rounds now. And that required that he personally interview those who were still in contention. Every single one of them. For every position.

As an organic, he would have considered it a waste of time. Ascension had changed his viewpoint. This was the single most important task he had at the moment. He was not going to risk it to an unknown Human, one he hadn't personally vetted. And so he was interviewing. All of most viable candidates.

Williams was with him, as was Lawson. There were a couple of other shared avatars containing those from Cerberus present. Harper knew that most of those there were watching. He took their opinions seriously in this. There was no room for failure.

The candidates knew it. The slightest doubt would mean they were rejected. There were still more than enough applicants that to do that.

Harper waved one hand, signalling to the door guard that the next applicant should be let in. The guard was a Vice Admiral, in full uniform. It was yet another reminder to the candidates how seriously this process was being taken.

The applicants were currently living in a purpose built city. It was guarded. They knew better than to try to beat the guards. They could come and go as they wished, though. It wasn't meant to confine them, simply protect them. Williams had assigned several divisions to the duty. They had a distinctive uniform. The public recognised them. The applicants recognised them. It made things operate more smoothly.

In the interview room, Harper's bodyguards were behind him, and there were others in the corners of the room, half hidden in shadow. They knew their duty was expanded for the moment. All the originals were to be protected.

The next applicant entered. She had light purple hair, but was otherwise attractive. Almost everyone was attractive now. Genetics had been tweaked slowly. She had a brain to go with the looks. The file said she had a Doctorate in Bioengineering. A fairly generic discipline but one that could be utilised in a number of ways.

"By Shepard! It's true!" The squeal was piercing. He wasn't the only one who winced.

Harper looked up, his glowing eyes focusing on the source. It was the applicant. She was smiling hugely, and almost jumping up and down. "I don't believe I'm being interviewed by the Emperor and the Grand Admiral!"

From the corner of his eyes, Harper saw Lawson's lips purse. He raised his hand, flicking the stylus gripped there through a sideways motion. Williams snorted softly, a half smile on her features. She understood. They didn't even need to consult for this applicant.

The Vice Admiral saw it. She knew what it meant. She moved purposefully, gently gripping the arm of the applicant. The woman looked confused. "I… what?" She balked as she realised what this meant.

The Admiral was stronger. Williams had ensured that. Everyone serving for the interviews had state of the art implants. It wasn't much of a scuffle, and the now rejected applicant was shown out the far door. There were further members of the divisions assigned waiting there. They would escort her back to wherever she had come from.

Harper sighed when it was closed again, crossing the woman's name out. Anyone getting on the Rock had to be far more stable than that. "I hope Kai's having a better time," he muttered under his breath. Surely, it couldn't be much worse.

-cfr-

Rueben jerked upwards. The smell vanished thankfully but it left him aware of his situation. He was sitting, roughly. There was a crick in his back that he squirmed to try to relieve.

"You're awake, finally."

His head tilted, trying to pinpoint the noise. It was then that he realised he couldn't see. There was something over his head. It was rough and it rasped at his ears when it was pulled away.

Rueben shook his head to clear his vision as the light speared into his eyes. A moment later his implants adapted and he blinked examining everything.

He was tied to a chair. There was a bright light shining down on him. It meant the rest of the room was hidden in shadow. The details he could see gave nothing away. It appeared to be industrial. Metal floors. Metal railings. He couldn't see much else.

He could hear things though. There was someone in front of him, hidden in the shadows. Rueben could hear their breathing.

"You won't get away with this," Rueben announced, his voice triumphant. "Don't you know who I am?"

"Rueben Felip Mun, from Zecrallion in the Sirta Sector." The voice was matter of fact. He sensed the speaker could continue. Could probably tell him every detail of his life. Apparently they did know who he was.

Mun was surprised only for a moment. "Then you know I'm in the Program. I will be missed. They will be looking for me. Kidnapping is a capital crime." There was only one Program in the Empire at the moment worth anything. The Selection Program for the Crew of the Rock.

The speaker chuckled. A new light appeared, illuminating them. It was the same as the light that was highlighting him. Bright, and harsh. It made the darkness surrounding them all the more deep. Rueben studied the man. He was nondescript. Brown hair, almond eyes, medium build. He was dressed in a simple shirt and pants, the type that were seen on almost every world. There were no adornments. Rueben didn't recognise them.

"This is an interview," the man announced.

"You're lying," Rueben snarled, testing the bonds. They held firm.

"Why would I lie?" the man smiled. It was a predatory smile. "This is part of the process. To get on that expensive piece of hardware, you have to pass my tests as well." His voice was calm. It complemented the relaxed way the man was sitting. His legs were crossed as he leaned back in the chair. His fingers were laced together.

Rueben snorted. "You aren't going to survive this." He glared.

The man returned his stare calmly.

"You can't do this!" Rueben blustered. The man just continued to stare. It was unnerving. He wanted to move but it would reveal weakness. How could this man be so confident?

The man untangled his fingers, lifting one hand to his face to rest his chin on his thumb. He took a visible breath. "Rejected." One finger raised in a signal.

Rueben didn't have a chance to speak. Something hit the back of his head, pitching him forward against the ropes. There was a flash of pain, then everything went black.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he awoke. His head ached, and Rueben gasped, moving slowly to avoid causing himself more pain. He was lying on something soft and it was just the right temperature. That was a comfort. He continued lying there, waiting for the pain to pass. When it subsided enough that he thought he could move, Rueben shifted slowly. He sat up, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed.

It was his bed. It was his room. On Zecrallion. He hadn't been here for years. Not since the interviews began. It didn't look too dusty. His blurry vision told him that much. A couple of blinks didn't resolve his vision. Something had come loose. There was a glass of water on the table. He reached out to take a sip.

It was then that he saw the envelope. It was the only other thing on the bedside table. He blinked again. His vision slowly cleared. Self-repair was taking care of it. The first thing he saw was the crest. It was the Empire's crest. The phoenix rose from a spiral galaxy, formed from the flame coming off its wings, a blue planet clasped in its claws.

His breath caught. Was this what he'd been waiting for? The water was forgotten as he reached out. The seal broke easily. He unfolded the letter. It was on plastipaper. The Empire used it for official correspondence. This had to be what he was waiting for. It had to be his acceptance.

'Dear Rueben Felip Mun,

You have been returned to Zecrallion. Thank you for your expression of interest in the Project. Your application has been rejected due to your failure to deal with unexpected situations…'

Rueben didn't see anything more. The plastipaper fell from his limp fingers.

That was impossible! That man couldn't have been official. What official needed to kidnap someone to speak to them? It didn't make any sense. He couldn't have failed.

The declaration didn't lie.

-cfr-

"Ugh, this one's heavy. How many more does the boss have to go through?" Kunal complained as he hauled the body.

"There's still at least five more," Veera replied with a sigh. "Today."

"And we have to be careful with each of them, right?"

"Every single one of them."

"This would be easier if we could treat them like normal." Kunal growled. Hauling bodies carefully was annoying. But the boss had told them to be careful, and that meant no bruises. Kunal knew why. These were candidates in the program. He had no idea how the boss managed to get them and why there was no outcry. The Program had whole military divisions devoted to it.

They'd been kidnapping the candidates for weeks. There hadn't been so much as a whisper that anything was happening. At first Kunal had thought they'd been taken out any second. As the weeks had gone by he'd relaxed. They still had to treat the candidates well. No bruising, except for those the boss rejected. They, depending on what happened, were generally knocked out. The first time the boss had signalled for him to do that, Kunal had been nervous. He'd had to be signalled twice. He'd never made that mistake again.

The boss, Hiroki had been relaxed the entire time. There was a rumour going round that the boss was part of the Emperor's screening process. From where he was standing, carrying the legs of the next candidate, it certainly looked like it. Kunal knew better than to confirm those rumours. Of course, even if he did, he still couldn't answer the next question. Why? Why would Hiroki Maeda, the Head of Heads of the Underworld, be helping Emperor Harper? It made no sense.

"Boss' orders," Veera grinned. "Though who knows? Maybe this one will be an idiot like the last couple."

Kunal humphed. The last few had just harped on about how they were protected. How they were not going to survive. It didn't impress the boss. It hadn't impressed them. They'd all been rejected. Hiroki had signalled for them to be knocked out the old fashioned way with a blow to the head. Kunal had complied. It was the more familiar route.

"I just hope this weirdness ends soon," he said. "We got better things to do than help the Empire."

Veera nodded. It wasn't really agreement. "Sometimes helping the Empire, helps us," she said, quoting one of the boss' favourite lines.

"Yeah, not this time," Kunal shook his head. "Not this time," he repeated, dropping the body into the chair. Veera was quick with the ropes. The Candidate was tied securely. "Every day we do this gives the other Heads longer to scheme. You know Leora is going to make a takeover bid."

"The boss doesn't care. He says this is more important. That it will be more profitable," Veera shrugged. She knew what Leora was planning. They all did. They still didn't disobey the boss. He'd been in tighter situations.

"What profit?" Kunal asked, stepping backwards, back into the darkness as another door opened and Hiroki walked through calmly. Veera wisely never replied.

"Wake them up," Hiroki told Veera.

She nodded, stepping forward with the old fashioned smelling salts. She waved it under the Candidate's nose. They jerked upright. The moment was enough for her to slip away soundlessly to stand just behind the now bound woman. When Hiroki signalled, Veera would remove the hood.

The 'interview' began again.

-cfr-

"Ugh." Linh regained consciousness slowly. The process was accelerated when she became aware of the bindings on her body. They were looped around her chest and over her wrists. Her ankles were tied too. Those around her torso were firm. They were holding her upright. They dug into her skin.

The unconscious movement to ease the pain was what gave her away.

"You're awake," an unfamiliar voice announced.

"I am," Linh admitted. She tried to look around. Her vision was blocked. A hood. It was pulled free. She squinted in the sudden light, trying to see what was around her. It was dark, except for the light on her. "I don't think this is where I'm meant to be," she murmured, even as her mind flew. The stab of panic was suppressed. It had no place here and now. She could panic about this later.

"This is exactly where you are meant to be." The voice spoke again. Another light came on. It was harsh and directed downwards. It illuminated a man sitting out of her reach. He appeared calm. His legs were crossed and his hands were held casually beside him. He had brown hair and almond shaped eyes. There was nothing really to distinguish him yet Linh thought she'd seen the face before. Somewhere.

"Well, I'm not sure where here is then," Linh replied, blatantly looking around. She couldn't see much detail in the room, so she focused on the person. She couldn't recall where she'd seen him.

He was examining her as well. His features didn't reflect much of his opinions.

"You've been going through several tests," he said eventually.

She said nothing. The simulations they'd done as part of testing didn't say anything about what to do if kidnapped. She figured silence was the best policy. At least until she had a better grasp of the situation. The man before her had all the cards. She had to try to get some back, though Linh really didn't know how she was going to do that.

"I am part of the testing procedure."

Linh raised one eyebrow. It was her question. She tested the bonds holding her again. This time she put more strength into it. She didn't have extensive enhancement but she had a few. The bonds gave, but not enough. She relaxed again. The man smiled. He'd seen her movement. Linh forced herself to be calm when she got the feeling he wanted a reply.

"Well," she said finally, drawing out the silence. "You obviously know who I am, which means you've considered the consequences." Linh sighed. "Either you've got guts, or you are official. I don't know which one it is yet."

That caused him to smile. It was a quiet smile, understated. "I am Hiroki Maeda," he said.

Linh frowned. She'd heard the name but where? It was… wait, wasn't Hiroki Maeda the head of Fligunstries? They were a transport company. She'd even used their shuttles on occasion. Except he wasn't an original and the originals were running the application process.

"Ah, I see you recognise the name. At least my official aspect. I am the Head of Heads of the Underworld," the newly identified Hiroki added.

She  _knew_  that phrase. Head of Heads of the Underworld. That was the highest ranked criminal in the Empire. Did that mean he was part of the testing? Was he an original? That didn't make sense. Nothing really made sense. Linh took a deep calming breath. "So, what exactly do you want?" That seemed the safest thing to ask.

"All you need to do is answer my questions. Then you can go," Hiroki said.

"That easy?" she was sceptical. Maeda's reputation preceded him.

"That easy."

Linh tested the bonds again. They didn't move. "What do you want to know?" At least while he was being polite, she could return the favour. She was in no position to bluster. And, while this didn't make sense to her, there were a lot of things in the Empire that didn't necessarily make sense. They would if someone explained them, but she knew she wasn't going to get an explanation for this. It was best to play along for the moment, though she wasn't going to spill any secrets, just because he asked.

"Why do you want to get on to Harper's very expensive piece of hardware?"

The phrasing of the question was odd. Even in the Underworld they had some respect for the Emperor, or none. To actually refer to him by name, that was odd. And the offhanded reference to the Project. Everyone knew that it was a huge undertaking. Maeda made it seem like it was just something they'd built in the last few years, rather than the centuries it had taken.

She considered the question, not the way it was asked. It had been asked to her several times before. Linh sensed Hiroki didn't want the answers she'd already given. He wanted something more personal.

"Affirmation," she whispered. She wasn't proud of it. Her personal reasons for wanting to participate was simply affirmation. Linh wanted all those who had doubted her to eat their words. Selection guaranteed she was the best of her field.

Hiroki nodded. He didn't seem distressed. "There's a few who've answered that way," he admitted. "It's as good a reason as fame, fortune, or desire to serve the Empire."

Somehow Hiroki thought he was mocking them all. Laughing at their reasons. They should be something simpler. Linh didn't know what could be simpler. "So what would be your reason?" she asked. She felt bold. It was the best way to keep her worries at bay. Or add more.

"There is no right or wrong reason," he waved her question away.

More questions followed. Linh focused her attention on them. It ensured she didn't panic. She knew that would be the worst thing she could do. She even tested the bonds a few further times. They didn't move. Hiroki seemed amused by her efforts. He remained calm.

"Very well, you can go," he announced finally.

"I can?" Linh asked.

"You may go." Maeda indicated towards a door she hadn't seen earlier. Her eyes had adjusted to the light. Someone moved behind her. The ropes fell away.

Linh moved her arms experimentally, there was only a little bit redness from the rope, even with the way she'd been testing them. It would be gone soon. She stood up. Maeda kept his eyes on her. He was still relaxed but he wasn't going to be taken by surprise. Besides, there were the others here, those she hadn't heard.

"Thank you for your time," he said. He sounded smug.

She didn't reply but moved towards the door. Her shoulder blades itched. Linh kept expecting something to hit her there. This seemed too easy. Hiroki didn't reassure her. She got to the door. The light behind it was blinding but she stepped through. She didn't want to stay any longer. Her eyes adjusted.

"What?" Linh gasped. This made no sense. She was still in the testing compound.

Linh spun. She peered back into the gloom of the room. There was nothing there. It was a room. Hiroki Maeda was gone. Those accompanying him had gone as well. So were both the chairs. There was no evidence anything had ever happened. They moved fast.

She shorted. A half laugh before turning back into the light. Linh could see several of the compound guards making their way toward her. The stresses that had been building calmed. They flowed away.

She laughed. A proper laugh. At least she'd passed the test.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there you go, the Project is coming along. The crew quarters are huge and Harper is interviewing. I don't think the candidates realise just how much attention they are getting from the Emperor for this endeavor. He's got to get this right so there are no shortcuts.


	76. Five, Four, Three, Two, One… Lif… PULL!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Project launches - finally. Harper has a few celebratory discussions. The Nur ask their Human Adviser what it all means and those picked to be the Crew get to know each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 75: Five, Four, Three, Two, One… Lif… PULL!**

-cfr-

**46878 Years after Human Ascension, 1825 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, December 25th**

Harper stood near the centre of the huge hall, enjoying a lull in the conversation. The Captain of his Bodyguards, Cyril Keeling, stood just behind him but the man was too busy scanning the gathered dignitaries to say anything. They were scanned before they came in, so it was relatively safe but everyone who was anyone was here and unlike events in the past, Harper didn't begrudge anyone their presence.

Everyone in the Empire, before there had even been an Empire had been working towards this day. The day the Project launched.

There was a huge view screen dominating one wall. The final product of centuries of work was displayed upon it. It was the largest, and heaviest ship that would ever be built. 200 million billion or so tonnes of metal, shaped into a lens, 500 km across, just hung in space. It had slipped free of its dock several weeks back, though it was more precise to say that the specialised dock had been disassembled. Surrounding the Project, looking rather small against the immense size of the Rock was a fleet of Ascended. They would pull the Project up to speed, sending it on its way.

Everyone was glancing over at the image frequently to ensure they didn't miss the instant when the Project first moved. Harper knew from a feed running softly through his mind, via his implants that they were still going through the pre-flight checks. It would be a little while yet which would give him time to speak to a few more of his guests.

He didn't need to speak to Lawson. The two of them would catch up after the Rock launched to decide on the future and Williams was conspicuous with her absence today. She was in Nimitz monitoring military feeds from the sensor network and the stepped up patrols, both around the Empire and in Underworld.

The Project had a circumference of 1570 km, which meant that at least that many Ascended could tow it. There were 8720 Ascended and he'd lost count of the number of military ships there were. At least 36 thousand dreadnoughts to cover the 2000 plus systems of the Empire. Now would seem a good time for the Nur Empire to attack, when everyone was distracted by the culmination of their work.

If they did, Williams would be ready. And if they didn't, Harper smiled to himself, she'd still be ready in a few years when he gave the order.

Shepard's orders still weighed upon him but he could feel aspects of them lightening with the Project so close to this pivotal moment. Yes, they would continue to weigh upon him until the Project fulfilled its purpose, making the Cata- Harper winced at his stupid slip-up. The others would find out, too.

Tartarus, he swiftly corrected his thoughts, berating himself for being so careless. The orders would weigh upon him until the Project fulfilled its destiny but many of the restrictions, the requirements for peace would be gone. He could dominate this galaxy the way Humanity should have dominated the Milky Way. The way they would dominate the Milky Way in time. The LMC would be a test case for their home galaxy.

"This has been a long time coming, Sir," an African lady, accompanied by two men and another lady approached him.

"It has indeed," he replied easily as his implants identified them. These were the Project Heads from the original think tanks who had proposed what was now displayed to the Empire.

"To be honest," one of the men said. Richard, Harper identified the speaker. "I never thought we'd see it completed," he added, looking at the view screen.

"It was always going to be completed," Harper answered him. "Size and timing remained the key questions."

"Yes," the other woman, Kimberly said. "We all fully understand how important that was to you now," she added.

Harper smiled thinly. "Yes, the revelation of his existence was rather eye-opening for some," he murmured.

The other man laughed. Ubdhav was of Indian descent. "Cannaman was the first to volunteer to pull it," he made the observation.

Harper nodded. "I understand where the belief came from," he said, speaking freely to the immortalised architects of the Project. "But Ascended do not lie to Ascended, so once they had confirmed with Cerberus, there should have been no issue."

The four of them nodded. They had been immortalised into Miroslav and while there had been some doubt as to the reality of Shepard's orders and existence, being the children of originals, they had erred on the side of caution. Besides, the four of them, in their meetings with Harper, before there was an Empire clearly remembered the originals, their parents, referring to another, the one who had given them instructions. For them, the revelation of Shepard was the answering of questions rather than the revelation that Cerberus had not lied.

"Even for us, Sir, the confirmation of his actual existence was surprising. But it explained so much," Nkiru said.

"We probably should have been more careful with his existence," Harper said.

"Or been more open," Richard suggested boldly. Over 1500 years immortalised had made him much more courageous.

Harper just looked at him, smiling vaguely when the younger man backed down. "Maybe," he replied noncommittally.

"It's done now," Kimberly said, stepping forward slightly. "And we've taken enough of your time, Your Majesty," she said, dismissing them.

"Why don't you explain the Project to the Ambassadors?" Harper suggested, nodding to a group of aliens who were clustered to the side.

Ambassador was not the correct term but it was sufficient. They were the main liaisons for their people to the Empire. The Attori seemed the most comfortable as they had contributed the longest to the Project and were the best received non-Humans.

The Ullator was attempting to hide. Relations were cordial but they knew that of all the alien species in the Empire, they ranked the least. And that included those sapients who had not yet achieved space flight and the FTL-less Skatra. At functions like this, the Ullator Ambassador did their best not to be noticed, generally by mixing with the other Ambassadors and saying nothing.

The Fedochi was speaking with a Human Harper didn't recognise and the Boadu Ambassador simply looked amused. They knew the Empire had pursued the Project but this was their first time seeing it and they didn't quite understand.

"Of course, Your Majesty," Nkiru agreed as they moved off, after giving Harper a polite nod.

Another quickly took their place, as was to be expected. He was the Emperor, he did not wander to speak to others, they came to him. The lull earlier had been appreciated, but not normal.

He recognised the woman and gave her a chill smile. Leora Nowak was the current Head of Heads of the Underworld. She was a vicious, brutal woman, who held her position by being willing to do what others would not. He felt some respect for her but knew better than to let his guard down. Officially Leora was the head of TransCorp, a shipping group that had actually legitimately worked on the Project, transporting metal shipments from what had been the Ullator Home system. She knew how ruthless he could be.

"You look as lovely as ever, Leora," he greeted her. She looked like shit but people still told each other these falsehoods. A genetic tendency towards obesity had been largely removed from the Human genome but that did not stop people from overeating. Leora was chubby but had squeezed herself into a slinky dress far better suited for a slimmer woman.

She returned his smile but he could tell she didn't believe the lie. Still, one did not call the Emperor a liar to his face. "This is quite the party, Your Majesty," he nodded.

"It's not quite complete yet," Harper said, looking over at the view screen.

"Ah yes, it has to reach its target," Leora agreed. "A target you never mentioned," she added.

"Empire security," Harper said carefully, wondering what she was playing at.

Leora laughed. "A convenient reason but one I expected and given the flight time, I suppose it does not matter to those of us living now."

"It is my gift to the future," Harper said, making a mental note to revoke Leora Nowak's immortalisation rights. Usually he played fair and waited for evidence but perhaps it was time to remind the Underworld that they danced to his tune.

The look Leora directed at him told him that she'd counted every credit that had been spent on the Project. "Your Majesty is generous."

It was Harper's turn to laugh, a chill sound. "I am compelled," he retorted. It was the only good thing about having Shepard be public knowledge. The grunt could take the blame for some actions.

"I'm sure," Leora said and Harper couldn't help the way his eyes narrowed. Her attitude declared that there was a change coming from the Underworld. He had expected it and had briefed the Empire's security forces but Leora's impertinence suggested something more.

"So what did you wish to speak to me about?" Harper asked, underlining Leora's name on his mental notepad.

"Ah, yes, Your Majesty," she said with a smile, dismissing her previous words. "I wasn't sure about this but I think it will be amusing."

"Oh?" Harper questioned. He had thought she'd come to discuss, or attempt to discuss some shipping contract but this appeared to be something different.

"I was asked to bring you a message," Leora told him.

"A message?" he decided to humour her.

"He said Your Majesty would recognise the name Kai Leng."

Harper chuckled. Oh, he recognised it alright and had no desire to speak to the traitor. Not after what he'd gotten from Shepard! Permission to assassinate him was not appreciated. It wasn't the deaths that bothered him, so much as the need to manufacture excuses to cover for him. And the fact that he couldn't retaliate.

"What does my underling want?" Harper asked Leora, allowing his smile to become tolerant, as if he was indulging some play of Leng's.

"He said he won't kill you until the Project clears the LMC," Leora relayed the message dutifully though she was watching him closely for his reaction.

"That is generous of him," Harper murmured, tallying the years mentally. "You do not expect a reply?" he asked.

"No, Your Majesty," Leora shook her head. "I don't think I wish to speak to this Kai again."

"Wise decision," he said softly. "Still," Harper took a deep breath. "That is uncommonly generous of him, as the time limit on his bargain with Williams will have expired by then."

"You aren't concerned?" Leora asked.

Harper looked at her, allowing a smug smile to tug at his lips. "I'm immortal," he reminded her. "My death is merely an Empire holiday," he added.

The Head of Heads smiled thinly at the reminder. "Quite so," she murmured and internally Harper snorted. People still didn't know how to respond to that. Some of the originals did but even most of the Ascended were uncomfortable with death.

"I am giving myself a holiday soon though," Harper said with a smile. "This is the culmination of everything the Empire has worked towards since the journey. I think that deserves a bit of a break."

Leora nodded and moved away but before anyone else could come close there was a tone from the view screen. All the LMC Ascended were in position and their network linked so that the 8,720 immortalised could work as one.

Around them, in neat lines were the escorting Ascended and dreadnoughts but what could be seen was only the tip of the military iceberg. Every surrounding system had reinforced patrols. It was one of the reasons Williams was so concerned about the Nur but even she knew the Project automatically outranked the Empire's protection.

A feed from the control room was projected and Harper knew the Empire was watching.

"Firing main engines in three, two, one," a female voice spoke in perfect English.

Harper nodded to himself, listening to the tone, as on screen there was a flicker as the huge engines came online. After Shepard had called, proper English suddenly became far more popular. He no longer had to put up with people mangling it in his hearing but Harper accepted the reality that the language would drift again. It would be up to him to make sure that drift was as small as possible.

A small counter appeared on the screen, displaying the relative speed of the Rock. It was slowly ticking upwards but it had a long way to go before it reached 299,792,456.5 metres per second. A mere 1.5 metres per second off light speed.

Harper watched, controlling his breathing. The Rock was shown from every angle and so far nothing had gone wrong. Nothing would go wrong, he told himself. They'd tested everything.

"Engaging secondary eezo coils," the woman's voice continued. Nothing was visible on screen but there was a slight increase in the numbers displaying speed.

"First wave of immortalised activating."

The first wave was about thirty percent of those who were towing it. It had been decided that activating in waves would be best to spread out the acceleration, though really it would take years to get the Rock up to speed. They could get it close to lightspeed, but the fine control required to get to just 1.5 metres per second away from crossing the barrier to light speed was where the real time would be taken, and the Ascended and the crew would have to work together to regulate the speed. It was not something any in the Empire could help with.

Today's send-off was for the Empire, so they could see the fruit of their labour. It had been timed so that today was December 25th by the Earth Calendar Harper insisted the Empire use.

Williams thought it was a corruption of her religion to use this day but Harper was more interested in the tradition of gift giving. This, the Project was his gift to mankind. He had not lied to Leora about that. It was a gift to their future and it was a gift to himself. 2092 long years he had been working towards this. He had been insulted, belittled, degraded. He had accepted abuse and disgrace and the necessity of negotiating with aliens. All of that stopped now!

Now he could be free. Now they would find out what dominium really meant. Harper smiled.

"Second wave activating," the control room announced and a moment later there was another burst of speed.

Now everyone would learn why the Council had feared Cerberus far more than the Systems Alliance. But not too soon, or too forcefully.

"Third wave."

Peace had forced him to learn patience and the expected negotiation offered all sorts of opportunities.

"Fourth wave."

But soon. The Underworld, Williams, the Nur, the Ullator, the Skatra… Soon. They wouldn't stand in his way for long.

"Fifth wave."

Harper focused his eyes on the now rapidly scrolling numbers, watching as the final surge took place. There was cheer from those around him and everyone began clapping. He refrained, watching as the numbers continued to scroll upwards as the Rock strained for speed.

This was just the beginning. He'd applaud when the curtain closed.

-cfr-

**46879 Years after Human Ascension, 1826 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Nur Homeworld** **Xyrpyni, Empress' Palace**

"Is this correct?" Empress Gylyda demanded.

Xavia shuffled a little closer to the huge monarch. Over the years she'd gotten used to dealing with the Nur, and the insults they made towards her. She was allowed to approach their Empress because they did not consider her a threat and if Xavia was honest with herself, as frail as she was now, she genuinely wasn't a threat.

The Empress was looking at some numbers beside a vid from the Phoenix Empire. It was all anyone was talking about really. The launch of their precious, almost mythical Project. The feed displayed the huge, almost lens shaped thing moving in space. It was hard to know the size without context but the Phoenix Empire had publicly provided other details. Xavia looked at the numbers. It was estimated tonnages and expenses and those weren't public details.

"Yes, Your Majesty. That correlates with information I have from the Phoenix Empire," she noted.

"But that's…" Empress Gylyda was more expressive than her great grandmother and having dealt with her since she took the throne, Xavia found her easier to work with.

"The wealth of their Empire," she replied. "Though now that we know exactly what is it, Emperor Harper's lies become apparent," Xavia continued. "That," she gestured to the vid feed, "is meant to protect this galaxy from something in the Milky Way?" She snorted.

The official story about the Project made even less sense now that they had further information.

"That is a planet killer. A one shot weapon to decimate a world." Xavia didn't need to specify which world it would be aimed at.

500 kilometres across, hitting near at light speed. It would destroy any world it hit and then… She didn't like to think about Ulan but after that, the Phoenix Empire would probably just mine the materials back.

"It's not efficient," Empress Gylyda said, highlighting one of the things Xavia didn't understand as well. There were far easier ways of destroying planets.

"The Humans don't always strive for efficiency," Xavia said. It was the only explanation she could think of. "There are times when they believe effect is more important. To make a statement, a declaration, as it were," Xavia argued. Their history was littered with statement events, all of them carefully managed to display the power of the Phoenix Empire.

"I suppose," Empress Gylyda did not appear convinced.

"The attempted assassination of Grand Admiral Williams on Atto confirmed the Humans as reasonable, capable defenders of the Attori people. It completely silenced those with remaining objections to having the Phoenix Empire become the Attori military.

"The execution of Exarch Tirto," Xavia began listing the big events, "served to prove absolutely that the Phoenix Empire had won and the destruction of Ulan," she added sadly, looking aside as the words triggered her memory.

She'd been standing in the exact same position when Emperor Harper had shown the image. Her homeworld was forever ruined.

"Granted," Empress Gylyda said. "But with such events the Emperor does not go on holiday," she said, chewing the Human word slightly. The Empress could speak English but not all the words came naturally. "It's been confirmed that Emperor Harper has given himself a two month break."

Xavia started at the information as her mind sought an explanation. The only time Harper took a holiday was at his scheduled rebirths. Assassinations or accidents, and there had been several of both since the war with her people, did not count.

"Your Majesty, beyond the fact that is an obvious ruse, the holiday is simply because he has time. Assuming the official information is correct," Xavia said, nodding towards the stats about the Project, "and on this I think we may believe the Humans, it is speed limited to less than light speed. It will take time for the attack to hit," she reminded the Empress.

The huge leader did not appear convinced, and time ticked by as she thought. "We have not yet been able to correlate the launch location but the focus of the military is not towards us," the Empress said finally. "A large force is massed along the border," she admitted, waving one claw, "but a larger force is sweeping through the Phoenix Empire. My experts believe they are clearing the way. And their trajectory is towards the Milky Way," she said, using the Human name. The Nur had named it Spiral 1 because it was the closest. The Human name was more of a name, though she had yet to understand the origin of it.

"Given Emperor Harper's age, he is patient. I believe that their Project is truly going to the Milky Way. Not even the Humans would launch an attack towards the outside of the galaxy, expecting it to turn to hit us."

Xavia shook her head. "Your Majesty, while they may not be looking now, their attack is inevitable. I have spent my time here, trying to help you prepare.

"Your great grandmother knew it was going to happen, your-"

"Enough! I believe well enough that the Phoenix Empire will attack," Empress Gylyda growled, "if provoked. Their build up in recent years has been due to expansion, not aggression and it is entirely possible that we will continue as we have been. Half the galaxy is a significant territory."

The Empress set one multifaceted eye on Xavia. "You would have me attack now, pre-emptively striking at them but you, of all people, should know that the Nur Empire does not operate in such a manner." Gylyda shook her head in disbelief.

"All your people's efforts, for all those centuries were devoted to ensuring that you were not considered a threat, even as you looked for some way of defeating or controlling us!" The Empress laughed, a cold, cruel noise. "You forgot to look for other threats, forgot to stop and consider other alternatives, and that led to your downfall, when you treated the Phoenix Empire as the Nur and they proved to be more paranoid."

"Your Majes-"

"Stop!" Empress Gylyda ordered before Xavia could complete her objection. "I am not a fool. I realise there is every chance the Phoenix Empire will attack but their history illustrates that they do not attack without provocation, and they are equally likely to live in peace." She glared at Xavia, as if daring her to make the contradiction. The Ullator was wise enough to realise that further objection would not be tolerated.

"I owe it to my warriors and my people to live in peace with the Phoenix Empire," the Empress continued quietly. "But make no mistake, Ullator, if the Phoenix Empire are not content with that, I will ensure that the war will be their last.

"And unlike the events on their home world in the Milky Way, they will not rise from the ashes."

Xavia remained silent but as the Empress' gaze lingered on her she knew she was expected to say something. "I will abide against the day of war," she replied, submitting to the Empress' desire but expressing her belief in the inevitability of a war with the Phoenix Empire.

"Perhaps," Empress Gylyda replied and Xavia gritted her teeth. She did not need the reminder of her age.

"I told your great grandmother that I would see justice delivered to the Phoenix Empire for the destruction of Ulan. That has not changed, Your Majesty. I  _will see_  the Humans brought down," she said the last as a promise to herself. Her old bones would carry her that far.

-cfr-

**46883 Years after Human Ascension, 1830 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire, The Rock**

"Well, here we all are," Nisial said as the command crew assembled in what was a giant common room. She looked around at the other nineteen people who represented the others making the journey with her. These were the heads of the divisions and each of them had command over another 200 to 250 people.

It seemed like a large crew but the Empire planned for redundancy. It was evidenced in the design of the Rock as well. They could close off areas, isolate themselves if necessary though it shouldn't come to that.

There were two specialist psychiatrists on board as well as the engineers, comm techs, weapon experts, navigators and astrophysicists! Actually, while every position was duplicated, there was one group who outnumbered them all.

The farmers.

They were on board to ensure they all got fresh food. Nisial wondered idly if they should break that group into two. Farmers and chefs. That would mean that there were two or three of every professional team on board, though she knew most could convincingly duplicate another's role. Some of the navigators were great comm techs, for example.

Redundancy and all that.

"Wow, the Emperor wasn't lying when he said everything was state of the art," Wendall Garrett said as he sat in one of the plush armchairs, wriggling slightly to obviously test out the feel.

"Heh," Moises laughed. "With the amount of weight this thing's lugging," he said, gesturing vaguely towards the nose of the Rock, "crew quarters and comfort didn't even get noticed on the budget."

They all nodded at that. "Yeah, I didn't know budgeting figures went that high," Wendall murmured.

Once they'd made it through the selection process, something that had taken years just because of the sheer volume of candidates, they had been made privy to some of the information about the Rock. Its true composition. Its purpose.

Its cost.

They were very aware that this was not something Harper had dedicated the Empire to in the last few years. The Rock pre-dated the Empire and was the culmination of billions of lives.

Nisial let them think about that for a few moments but it was information they were already familiar with and she wanted to think about something new. "We can talk about that later," she said, making a face. "In fact, I'm sure we will talk about it later," she added as the others laughed.

"So what did you want?" Winter Perron asked. She was one of the astrophysicists and had been making observations about time dilation.

"I thought this would be a good chance for us to get to know each other," Nisial explained, holding up her hands. "Yes, I know, we've already met," she added. They had spent the last year or so in training and living in close proximity to each other. "But on the ground we knew we could walk out the door any time." It was an unnecessary reminder but it was a reality they would all become intimately familiar with over the next few years. "And we were monitored," she said with a sly smile.

"We are monitored here too, you know," Rosalva said, pointing to the discreetly placed cameras.

"Yeah, but there's less things they can do," Nisial said and then froze.

Nineteen sets of eyes honed in on her, drilling into her form.

"You're not one of those?" Winter asked, not bothering to specify what 'those' were since they all knew what would happen next.

"Oh Emperor! No!" Nisial gasped, her eyes wide as she swallowed hard. "Nothing like that," she added. "It's just that I thought this would be a good time for us to ask each other those questions we didn't while we were on the ground."

"Such as?" Victorina prompted.

"Well, we all know why we were chosen. At least, we know the official story," Nisial began explaining. "We were in the right age group, with the right psyche profile and an expert in our field."

There were nods at that as the others calmed but Nisial could still feel her heartbeat. "Thing is, there has to be something else that meant we were chosen over the others who met the requirements. Now, we might never know what that thing was officially but we can speculate and I'm sure we each have our own theories."

There was silence for a few moments before Derek laughed. He was one of the comm techs and it was rumoured he could build a working quantum comm from a couple of bits of wire, a battery and the shittiest crystal focus. "I'll go for the quacks suggestion, but let's spread it out," he added. "One of us a day because we have a fuck tonne of time to spend on this barge."

"Thank you Derek," Nisial said.

"I'll go first," he continued, nodding at her. "Because I know exactly why I was picked. I was on the list before all of you."

"You think you were," Petra snorted.

"No, I was on the list fifty years back, before the list even existed."

"You're not that old!" Winter snapped. The age limit had been very clear and while life expectancy was about 200 and Humans were in their prime until about 160, it had been decided that younger would be better, as it would mean less medical interference was likely to be required. Forty-five was the limit.

"I'm thirty-eight," Derek agreed, "but I was still on the list before I was born." He grinned at all of them. "See, my olds are originals," he explained.

"Bull shit! You're a throwback?"

"First generation," Derek corrected but didn't seem offended by the insult. "Both my parents got permission to come off Cerberus again. Well, my mum did and she insisted that my da was allowed as well. Emperor Harper liked the idea so he really didn't care."

"And?" Nisial asked before someone else could object.

It didn't really matter if Derek was making this up, the truth would come out eventually and they needed interesting tales.

"Well, my middle name is Derek," he said. "The first is Francis," Derek made the announcement as if that should explain everything.

Wendall got it first. "You're shitt'n me! For real?"

"For real," Derek said.

"How?" Wendall demanded.

"Wait! What are you yabbling about?" Winter demanded.

Derek chuckled while Wendall rolled his eyes. "About fifty years back," Derek began explaining, turning to the astrophysicist. "Once the launch of the Project became more fixed, my mum approached Harper about coming off Cerberus and having another kid. My mum is Kindra Crick, Francis Harry Crick's daughter," he announced the last with a flourish, much like the punchline for a joke.

"So you got chosen because of nepotism," Winter made the accusation but a couple of others nodded.

"Of course not," Derek replied, again unconcerned at the insult. "I worked my butt off to make darn sure I qualified. Sure, I had some advantages. Having parents who can call the Emperor gets you some  _really_  good teachers but it was up to me to make sure I learned what I had to," he concluded.

Nisial pulled up Derek's dossier. He was very qualified but they all were. The Project had taken the best of the Empire.

Winter said nothing. No doubt she'd already looked at Derek's qualifications.

"Still, Nisial asked us to elaborate on the reason we thought we were chosen and that's it for me," he looked around. "When this thing hits, I'll be watching for my granddad. For the one who made the Empire possible." His voice was thick at the last but the others understood.

The Empire's education system spent time on the history of Earth leading up to immortalisation and quite a bit of time on the science of re-engineering Human form from the preserved remains. Francis Harry Crick's name came up several times in those history lessons. His importance was only reinforced by the number of planets being named in his honour and the Sector and… There were a lot of things bearing his name.

More than Shepard actually and the Emperor was trying to keep it that way. He made no secret of the fact that the legendary man would not be happy to be idealised in such a manner. There were punishments for naming something Shepard.

"We all have reasons to watch," Nisial agreed and was pleased when the rest of the command staff nodded. She looked around, smiling gently. "That's going to be a hard one to top!" she said playfully, to bring the meeting to a close. "Does anyone want to volunteer to try?" she asked.

"Sure, I will," Ufuoma said. She had so far been a silent observer but Nisial nodded and smiled.

"Same time tomorrow?" she prompted.

There were nods of agreement but the group was already drifting off. Even though they usually worked in shifts, there was always something to do.

Nisial sighed, breathing out heavily as she was left alone. That had gone both better and worse than she expected but it looked like there would be a couple of funny stories to share, which was good because she really didn't want to get started on the 'what do you think the Empire will be like in 164 thousand years' speculation until much later in the journey.

It was only meant to be about sixteen and a half years but that was a long time and said nothing about the trip back. Sure, if everything went well, they would be very well compensated. They'd actually get to see Earth and probably meet Shepard but everything they had ever known would be gone.

If Derek was considered a throwback now, with barely 1800 years of breeding, how primitive would they be considered after 164 thousand? Nisial shook her head. That was not something she needed to concern herself with. This Project had compensations and immortalisation was one. And all they had to do was do their duty.

However long that took.

-cfr-

**47107 Years after Human Ascension, 2054 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire Military Training Facility Massani**

"All right, line up. And don't take all day!"

The order was hard but there was no grumbling as the candidates moved. It was to be expected. These were the officer trials. Well, one part of them and all of the candidates were aware that they were being watched and since none of them wanted a negative check, they obeyed, just as they had been trained to.

They were in a long rectangular room. They'd entered via a door on the narrow width and more doors lined both of the long walls, evenly spaced but offset to their opposite number. Each of the doors had a number and they had each been told a number when they entered.

A withered old man had been waiting for them. A couple of the candidates had been surprised to see such an old figure but his uniform was crisp and his rank bars clearly displayed his position as a Rear-Admiral. Since they were trying to become Captains, none were stupid enough to comment but more than a few were curious to know why he hadn't yet been immortalised.

"This is the exam for promotion from Lieutenant to Captain. Today is multi-spatial awareness testing," the examiner announced. "A pass does not guarantee promotion but a fail does mean you will not be moving on to further testing."

They were all aware of this. These were the same rules as testing for previous ranks and the higher your rank, quite literally the more things you could keep track of.

Admirals and Generals could run entire systems with their abilities, though usually they worked in teams of three to ensure full day/night coverage. Generally, that was only during war and while the Phoenix Empire was at peace now, appropriate multi-spatial awareness was one of the primary skills required for promotion. It was just as important in peacetime that the military was run efficiently after all, so all ranking officers had to be able to properly fulfil their duties.

Admirals ran Sectors. Vice and Rear Admirals ran system fleets, while Commodores and Captains ran the smaller fleets. A commodore was generally in charge of a Sector's emergency fleet and that position was known to be a fast track to Admiral. As the ranks went down, all of them with assigned tasks and duties, and all with decreasing multi-spatial awareness. Of course, going in the other direction was the Grand Admiral.

She ran entire wars, and was capable of tracking every skirmish, every ship twenty-four seven for the entire duration. It might have been four hundred and eighty two years since the last full blown war but there were still stories of Grand Admiral Williams' abilities doing the rounds.

"Training examination is as usual, using VRs but this time, children," the examiner looked them over, "you'll be put in an actual battle. Well, one that happened historically."

There was a slight stir at that. Excitement yes, but trepidation as well. They couldn't possibly be expected to give the same reactions as those battlefield commanders, could they?

"Your orders will matter but do not have to match those originally given," the Rear-Admiral anticipated the questions. "The VR will be adjusted to match the likely outcomes from the orders you give. As such, it is possible to have a better simulated outcome but it is equally possible to do worse. Much worse." The extra emphasis wasn't needed. Previous simulation testing had baselines and they all knew what the results could be.

"Combat simulations will run between six to seven hours. Longer is possible at the discretion of the examiners."

That brought another little stir. So far the only examiner they'd seen was the one in front of them but it was obvious there would be other examiners. "Take the door corresponding to your number and we will get on with this," the visible examiner said, making shooing motions to get them moving.

He might be dealing with prospective Captains but at his age, they were all still children. Besides, what were they going to do? Complaints would equate to an automatic fail and they knew it.

The candidates sorted themselves out quickly, as was to be expected, and before anything else could happen the doors slid open in obvious invitation. They'd all been through simulation testing before so they knew what to do and stepped through into the room without prompting. They could have all sat in the long antechamber for VR testing but separate rooms made administering different length tests easier, especially for cases on both ends of the spectrum.

As soon as all the doors closed, the old examiner moved with a still spry step to the last door. The room beyond it was larger and as the old Rear-Admiral entered, holographic screens appeared, each with a feed from the candidates VR. His job now was to monitor their progress and to ensure nothing went wrong with the simulation.

A cursory glance told him they had all begun but the Rear-Admiral focused the majority of his attention on one of the candidates. She came from Ceddon, a system the Emperor had disparaged as being full of religious fanatics. The Rear-Admiral had never been there but Ceddon was known for their spiritual work and it was said that Grand Admiral Williams was particularly fond of incense made on the main world for those times she was in body and needed to relax.

He snorted. The upper echelons gossiped just as much as the immortalised and sometimes he wondered which group encouraged the other the most. Still, the woman was from Ceddon and while she was being tested for her readiness and ability to perform the duties of a Captain, her loyalty and reaction to several other situations was also being assessed.

Despite ongoing efforts, the Cult of Shepard still persisted in parts of the Empire. The official word was that it was only on backwater farms in isolated pockets but he knew it was rather more widespread. It was just underground.

From what he could tell, it was even in the immortalised but they displayed it in a different fashion. Shepard had put Cerberus in charge and the immortalised had no way around that. What they did have was intense competition. Every year, they competed to find out which of them was the most skilled, not just in military manoeuvres but in infiltration, information gathering, hacking and anything else that might be considered useful. The best of them called themselves Shepard's Guards and while at the moment, they protected Cerberus and two others, on Shepard's orders, he knew they planned to shift their protection to the other immortalised the instant he allowed the Empire to expand beyond the LMC.

It would probably be the day after the Project fulfilled its purpose. That was one hundred and sixty thousand or so years into the future and was not what he should be focused on now.

The Lieutenant from Ceddon had been given the Sect simulation. The mission four hundred and forty six years ago to forcibly put down the first incarnation of the Cult of Shepard. Sometimes, the tests were rather obvious but if the woman wanted to progress she would have to prove she wasn't a cultist. They all would.

The Empire might be at peace now but the last thing they needed was a rogue Captain with a dreadnought or fleet. They'd be destroyed but it would be an unnecessary waste of resources and personnel. It was best to avoid it.

So far, the woman was doing well. She had been slightly surprised to see the simulation but had read through the mission briefing without displaying undue stress and was handling the beginning phases of the mission with the operational logic that was drilled into officers from the moment their education began. The other candidates were progressing as well. That wasn't surprising. The simulations generally ramped up the difficulty as they progressed.

It was much like an operation! You could usually rely on the opening phases to run as planned. It was only later that everything went to hell and if the candidates couldn't handle the opening sections, they wouldn't have been nominated for promotional testing.

It would take a while yet but the Rear-Admiral would pay particular attention when she had the opportunity to interact with the fanatic. The simulation was arranged such that no matter what command decisions you made, you would have to confront the fanatic. You could bomb the area from orbit, which would avoid the confrontation, but that was an automatic fail so that option wasn't sensible.

The commanding officer of the time, Captain Knutson had handled the confrontation reasonably well and if the woman handled it as well now, there would be no further questions about her loyalty. She couldn't be able to act her way out, either. Her brainwaves were monitored and while she could lie to complete the simulation, the truth would out.

With a deep sigh, the Rear-Admiral settled into his chair. For now, all he needed to do was watch. This might be their ranking test but he still had a job to do. It was a good thing his chair was comfy or this could be a painful time for his old bones. This wasn't his first test. It wouldn't be his last but he did enjoy his comforts. There was some perks of rank after all.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Project is on its way! Harper is now free to pursue his own desires... and really what are the desires of a human supremacist? After his holiday. He hasn't had a break in quite a while. Of course... the Nur might see this coming... Or Ashley might decide to be Empress. Or Kai... Or something equally silly :D


	77. Playtime is Over

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper and Lawson discuss the future of the Empire because with the Project on its way, it's time to cut lose. Others have different plans and the golden age is over. Time to break out the iron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 76: Play Time Is Over**

-cfr-

**47179 Years after Human Ascension, 2126 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Personal Quarters**

Harper looked at the feed from Obdulia. The Rock that was the Project was now fully self-propelled, though there was still a significant Ascended presence with it. It had cleared the LMC and was now heading out into the vast, relative emptiness of intergalactic space and he had a decision to make.

The Nur had noticed the Phoenix Empire's military expansion. They had partially bought into the military for planetary protection excuse, probably because some of the expansion  _was_  due to growth in the Empire. They now numbered eleven thousand and twenty systems and while, in the wake of Shepard's calling, he had allowed accelerated expansion, each of the planets was properly protected.

Williams had bitched and moaned and complained but she had got it done. Of course, more planets meant more population, which mean more Ascended and they were still loyal to him.

Harper snorted.

That might be going a bit far. They had to obey him, which was good enough. Better, in many ways as he had always known there was loyalty and loyalty. Absolute obedience was far more convenient. Still, the Nur had noticed the build-up and had partially responded in kind.

Relations were still good and had improved considerably once that bitch of an Ullator spy had died. He'd looked at the logistics of having her assassinated but getting a reliable agent that deep into the palace was absurdly difficult. Every single worker, soldier, functionary, official… Every single one of them in the Palace was a member of Empress Lunyd's extended family and once assigned to the Palace they did not leave!

He could have gotten to some on the outside but there was no guarantee they'd be called for service and he could have sent some Ascended tech bauble but if he was doing that, he'd just send it to the Empress explaining it as a Human custom.

"Stop worrying about the Nur," Henry said, breaking into Harper's thoughts. "We've got a decision to make about that," he added, pushing his friend's attention back to the Project.

Harper sighed. "The real question is if they go after it," he told Lawson. "Their long range vessels have the same theoretical range as us."

"They are slower," he pointed out. Ascended were still the fastest known ships.

"Yes, but the Rock is limited to sub-FTL," Harper growled. It had taken forever to get the rock up to speed and even with all the engines straining, the Ascended pulling and every last scrap of eezo that they'd loaded onto the Rock and activated, the engineers had told him that they couldn't get it going another measly 2 metres per second faster. They literally could not break into FTL with the Rock. It had been a relief in one way but had just reinforced the amount of time it would take in another.

Relief had come from the confirmation of sub-FTL, because that way they wouldn't melt half the ship, and kill the crew. If the Rock went FTL, then the relative time to the crew would be 163 thousand years or so. Unless they could get it to speeds only an Ascended could maintain. Anything slower, even the top military speed, and the crew would die of old age, long before they reached Tartarus. But… it might have been nice to be finished in a few years, assuming they could get it fast enough, even if they weren't ready to face the rest of the Ascended fleet.

"Can they track it?" Lawson asked. "Even if they want to go after it, they have to find it."

"I don't know," Harper said after flicking through several reports about the Nur. Despite efforts, they seemed to instinctively know when one of their number was compromised. Some didn't care but as soon as the agent actually became active, they were singled out and eventually forced to self-terminate to avoid capture.

It was almost like a hive mind or a shared consciousness. Harper had had Williams ask the few Nur they took about that, using every term and variation they could but none had said anything about it. Though when new agents were asked if they thought they could get caught, they all said yes. The Nur had a limited ability but only with their siblings, so unless he could compromise the entire brood, agents, even indoctrinated ones had limited uses.

"Can they find it?" Lawson altered his question.

"Maybe," Harper replied, sighing heavily. "I already know the answer," he continued. "The escort remains," he announced, reaching out for a special data pad.

Time dilation as you approached light speed was brutal and even Ascended were subjected to that law of physics, which was why they usually travelled sublight up to about half  _c_  or jumped to FTL but even with the time dilation, they could receive messages. It just took forever to relay them. While the escort fleet knew how important the Project was, some of them had complained bitterly that by the time they got back, they would be so far behind on news, that they might as well be newborn. Gossip was the unofficial currency of the Ascended, and while Harper had a direct line to them, several maintained communication with other Ascended as they attempted to keep up with the so-called news.

Still, the escort fleet had orders to remain until they heard otherwise. The choice between the Project and the Empire was no choice at all. The Project came first.

He didn't need Shepard's orders to know that while the grunt might regret the deaths of the Humans, if they died to protect the Project then it was a necessary sacrifice. But Shepard was more than understanding of the requirements to keep the Humans safe from the Nur or any other aliens.

"Not exactly a hard choice," Lawson murmured.

"Not any choice at all," Harper growled.

"With it clearing the LMC, it does mean some freedom." Lawson reminded him. They had fulfilled Shepard's orders, to create the Project and had launched it within his time frame. Now all they had to do was wait. Wait a very long time but essentially the job was done.

"We won't be free until Tartarus is gone," Harper reminded him but his expression softened. "Except there are no pressing obligations."

Lawson laughed. "Except colony defence," he reminded Jack.

"That's Williams' problem," he replied. "And I make sure she had access to more than enough funds so it doesn't bother me." Even the Chief Treasurer called the planetary defence budget, which was separate from the Military, generous but Harper had waved off the assessment and approved the funds each year.

"How is the remote control project coming?" Lawson asked, making a face. It sounded like a child's toy when he referred to it like that.

"The KII project is going well."

"KII?"

"Keep Immortalised Immortal," Harper explained.

Lawson chuckled. "Should have had it as KAI," he retorted.

Harper thought for a moment before he nodded. "I might. It should annoy them both," he said before sobering. "She's limited the number of direct copies. They don't seem to work as well," Harper explained.

"What do you mean?"

In response, Harper pushed a data pad towards Lawson. It displayed what at first appeared to be two Ascended, except one had been given the label of remote and was slightly less refined. The two ships were moving together and as Lawson watched the pereiopod weapon on the remote ship fired but the leg of the control Ascended was also extended. He frowned. Surely Ascended had better control?

"Most of them are like that. Some even fire! The form is too much like themselves and the signals keep getting confused."

Lawson sighed. He didn't need to say anything for Harper to realise what he was thinking. With one billion minds on each of the Empire's Ascended then surely they could work out how to separate the signals.

"The smaller destroyer or cruiser sized ships are easier because they have to split their attention, which brings extra focus and a lack of confusion."

"They don't run into each other?"

Harper sighed. "Not so far," he said but Lawson knew the full sentence was 'not so far but there have been some close calls'.

He nodded his understanding. "Is homogenisation playing a role?" Lawson asked as the thought occurred.

Harper thought for a moment. "I don't think so. Legacy and Instinct aren't any better at it. It really does seem to come down to individual skill and aptitude."

"It's a work in progress," Lawson said finally.

"True," Harper replied. "And they are getting better with practice," he added. It was true but he had hoped for better results, especially given how smoothly Ascended could remote pilot processing ships but they, despite their armouring were not combat vessels. And flying them was a relatively simple task, mostly one where you were required to simply keep it moving with you. He pushed the thought from his mind. "How are the plans coming?"

"We can begin building the initial tubes whenever you want," Lawson tapped on one of the data pads, bringing an artist's rendition of what the beginning phase of the new topopolis would look like before he pushed it over to Harper. "You just have to decide which system."

"We can put farming areas on this?" Harper asked, rotating the image to look at the habitable area.

"We can put whatever we want on it," Lawson told him. "The only restriction is going to be materials. Thankfully, it won't be all metals since those have been so scarce lately."

"And transport," Harper added. "It will go in Home," he decided. Another decision which was not a decision, but for different reasons this time. The call for further habitable areas on the homeworld was strong and the space habitats were just not big enough.

"So no Dyson sphere?" Lawson teased.

"That can be done somewhere else," Harper dismissed the suggestion. He was more interested in the topopolis. While you could build and live in sections of both a dyson sphere and a topopolis, he liked the topopolis better. It seemed simpler, more modular and massively cheaper. They didn't have to connect the pieces and to his paranoid mind, it left less evidence. Eventually the Dyson sphere would block the star by design and that could be seen. The topopolis would merely shade relatively insignificant areas, which could still be detected but not as easily.

Lawson nodded. "Even with the resources from the Project freed up, we are going to have problems," he said. "Not now, but in the future. We've already mined the easy metals from the core systems."

Harper sighed. That was true and had been evident while constructing the later areas of the Project. There was competition between the immortalised, the Project, the Military and planetary construction sectors. As Williams had once said, 20 inch thick armor had to be 20 inches. By Imperial decree, the Project had won those competitions but with its drain no longer on the economy, the other sectors had picked up and were now competing with each other.

"We might have to build more space lifts on several planets," Harper murmured, thinking about the issue. He had resource managers for that. They were already proposing solutions.

"We might also have to look at other means," Lawson said carefully.

"What do you mean?"

"Not every planet is suitable for mining, and not every system is rich. Eventually even the marginal concentrations will be mined out. Maybe not for several hundred thousand years but that is what immortality means."

"Yes, so?"

It was a problem they would eventually face but it was not yet quickly approaching.

"Dyson spheres are better known in the community."

"And we will probably have to create some for energy collection," Harper agreed nodding.

"Yes but think about what they are enclosing."

"A star."

"Yes, untold billions of tonnes of material. Raw building blocks that we can mould into whatever is required," Lawson announced.

"We can't harvest a star!" Harper objected.

"Not yet," Lawson said with a note of confidence in his voice. "But the idea has been around for about as long as dyson spheres."

"Stellar lifting?" Harper questioned, once again flicking through several data pads. He'd read about something like that recently.

"We don't have to develop the tech overnight," Henry reminded him. "But if we put a few thousand groups on it now, someone should come up with something."

Harper snorted, rolling his eyes. That seemed to be their solution for everything although he had to admit it was generally successful. "It didn't work for quantum shields," he reminded Lawson. The Rock did not have true quantum shields but it had some truly formidable kinetic barriers. It had to and Harper glanced back at the feed.

"I suspect there's a reason for that," Lawson said, not dissuaded.

"Well," Harper said noncommittally, "it's going to have to wait," he added with a vicious grin, tapping the controls to project the map of the LMC on to the wall.

The two Empires were marked as red and blue.

"Ah," Lawson said, his voice understanding. With the Project gone, and most likely out of reach, but well-guarded if not, there was no longer any reason to make nice with the neighbours. "Internal purge first?" he asked.

"I don't believe that's necessary," Harper said. So long as the nonhumans of the Phoenix Empire accepted the reality of Human domination, there was no need to eliminate them.

And most were happy. Even the Ullator but the new generation had been raised to Human standards and it was estimated that in a few more generations, culturally the Ullator would be dead. Except for a few customs they were allowing to maintain the illusion of cultural independence. It wasn't the same for the Attori or even the Fedochi. They were actively encouraged to keep their cultures alive. Those bits of their culture that did not contravene Empire law of course.

Some of the non-indoctrinated Dukes had been very disappointed to learn about that additional fact but even with the Fedochi's long life spans, they were becoming accepting of reality.

"Are you going to hand over to Williams?" Lawson asked. The soldier had probably already mapped out several campaigns but Harper now had the time to devote to war and he had, once, been a soldier.

"Mostly," Harper replied with a mischievous grin. "I wouldn't want her to sulk."

Lawson chuckled before his expression sobered. "Are your guards on alert?" he asked.

"They are always on alert," Harper replied, allowing his expression to tell them they had his support.

"Kai said he'd be coming after you again now," Lawson reminded Harper and got a disbelieving look.

"That's if I believe a woman who died in poverty over 250 years ago. A woman who was the known Head of the crime syndicates. Not exactly the most reliable source," Harper dismissed the warning.

"But Kai hasn't made any attempts in that time," Lawson reminded him.

"Oh," Harper replied.

Henry took a deep breath. "Three," he answered the unvoiced question. "But I'm pretty sure Williams helped him with one."

"She had to," Harper explained. "She owed him a few years of implants."

"I'm also pretty sure she'll continue to help him, if asked," Lawson countered.

"The time limit is up on the implants and the stupid Ullator died a few years ago," 'as nothing more than a twitching mass of flesh' did not need to be said.

Lawson shook his head. "Shepard," he breathed the name.

"Oh, for fucks sake!" Harper growled. "He wouldn't have!" he exclaimed.

Lawson just raised one eyebrow, asking Harper if he really believed that statement.

"That scum sucking, anal retentive, vindictive grunt!" Harper cursed. "One cigarette," he continued. "It was  _one_  bloody cigarette!"

"It was a whole three minutes to him," Lawson reminded Harper. He already knew the lengths his friend had gone to in an attempt to smoke. Passive smoke was about the only way Harper was getting nicotine. And it had to be passive smoke from someone else actively smoking. Just lighting up and letting it burn still triggered the order as did ordering one of his guards to do so.

Harper controlled himself only through long practice. "He won't have given Kai unlimited time or unlimited numbers."

"No," Lawson agreed, breathing out. "But Kai's got you three times?"

"Four," Harper replied morosely. "I'm hoping it's five," he added.

Humans tended to count more easily in units of five or ten. He hoped that applied to Ascended Shepard still and that the grunt had given Kai permission to kill him five times. Running a war with an assassin over him was not going to be pleasant, especially since the Nur would be targeting him.

"He's not likely to stop?" Lawson asked.

"For the Project, yes. For a war against an insignificant race, not likely," Harper snorted, dismissing Henry's question. "I'll deal with it later," he added, looking back at the map. "We are at a slight systems disadvantage," he mused, "but with the last 556 years build up, I believe we are fairly equal militarily."

"It's going to be brutal," Lawson responded, looking at their respective territory.

"Which is why I want to give it another couple of years," Harper said.

"Another 150 planets and 700 or so Ascended," Lawson reflected, considering their current growth rates.

"That's if we can find them," Harper said. "Terraforming isn't keeping up with the expansion, which was one of the reasons I want the topopolis. The extra growth probably won't make much difference but I want the time to prepare the Empire."

Lawson laughed sarcastically. "You can't really say, oh hey, get ready for a war with the other half of the galaxy."

Harper looked at him flatly. After all this time, Henry should know he was far more subtle than that. "Maybe not," he agreed. "But I can heighten the dislike towards uncontrolled aliens, increase the distrust. Start a few rumours and maybe engineer an incident or two. Given enough time, the Empire will be pressuring me for a war," he concluded with a chill smile.

"Oh I know," Lawson agreed and Harper could see the twinkling in his eyes. "I was more thinking that if you give it a bit of time, Kai might kill you at a non-critical time."

"That's also a possibility," Harper admitted candidly. He didn't like dying and he certainly did not appreciate that Shepard had let his death become a reward but unless he wanted to further engineer his body then death was something he had to periodically deal with. And it kept him in touch with the Ascended fleet. True, they now acknowledged him as being Ascended but it never hurt to remind them when he could interface at the far more intimate level available to Ascended forms.

"What does Williams think?" Lawson asked. Jack might once have been a soldier but Williams had actually run the military for the last 1600 or so years of the Empire and even before that.

"More time is good. She acknowledges the necessity of the attack but if possible she'd like to hold off until victory is absolutely certain. Well," Harper corrected, "as certain as any military operation can be."

"We have 44 thousand Ascended. Plus Williams' military forces! Ten thousand planets with a minimum of ten dreadnoughts each and patrol fleets. We took down the entire Milky Way with far less ships," Lawson objected.

"Farixen Treaty," Harper said the words like a prayer. "I have to wonder if the VI the Protheans left the Asari was Prothean or Ascended."

"You can't indoctrinate VIs," Lawson reminded him. "It's one of the reasons we don't have AIs."

"No, but you can create their programing."

"We are not making an AI," Lawson said firmly.

"No, we're not," Harper agreed. "And as for the Nur, their fleets look remarkably similar to ours. Not in design but they do not hold half the galaxy without knowing a thing or two. And military power is something they know."

Lawson sighed. "I know they can detect indoctrinated but why haven't you sent a gift to their Empress? What would they do? Disobey their supreme leader?"

"I have considered it," Harper told him, "but I'm not sure they'd allow her to be exposed in that way. Even if I make it a personal gift, indoctrination is gradual and I think they'd feel the change. I don't want to give them that much access to the process. Even if we take over the researchers, it's no good if they are dead."

Lawson nodded his understanding. The main advantage of indoctrination was that the compromised agents were undetectable. They looked the same, they acted the same, until the time came to show their loyalty. Then they struck.

The Nur's ability to detect agents and continue to work with them, all the way up until that critical moment, was frustrating. It meant they were fighting without one of their most formidable weapons and that left them weakened.

"The more time, the better," Lawson said.

"Yes," Harper agreed, though it was obvious he was not completely satisfied with the answer. It was however, equally obvious that it was the only realistic path to take.

Lawson looked back at the image of the Rock, the motion dismissing the still projected map. He reached out to snag the glass poured earlier for him. "For today, Jack, we should be thankful for what is," he said. "Tomorrow, we can look for what will be. To the Rock," he made the toast, raising the glass high in salute.

Harper looked at him for a moment, obviously thinking hard before he reached out for his own glass. Mimicking Henry's action, he saluted. "To the Rock," he agreed and they both drank.

Lawson was correct. Tomorrow he could look to the future because today he had fulfilled his duty to the now.

-cfr-

**47181 Years after Human Ascension, 2128 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Personal Quarters**

"Playtime is over Jack."

Harper barely heard the voice. His bed mate did and quickly disentangled herself from him, leaving him in a rather compromising position, with a very apparent desire but now with a good view of Grand Admiral Williams' hologram.

"Out," she instructed the woman.

Harper's playmate nodded and moved over the mattress to the edge of the bed. She didn't make a grab for the sheet to cover her nakedness. That would have been slightly hypocritical with his bodyguards ringing his bedroom. Ferne, Harper thought her name was, padded over the carpet towards the door, once again not bothering to pick up her clothes. Williams' eyes tracked her until the door closed securely.

The time it took Ferne to leave had taken the excitement from one part of him but had definitely left him on edge. He didn't bother to tell Williams to get on with it.

"At 2321, Atto was attacked by four Nur merchants. Their cargo was eezo enhanced nuclear," she announced.

Harper pulled himself completely upright but as the import of Williams' words became clear he rolled out of bed. "What else?" he instructed, ignoring the clothes strewn around as he moved to his dressing room. There had been a note in Williams' voice that said she wasn't finished and even if it was just Atto, he'd be up all night and would have to make an announcement. He already knew what he'd be saying.

"About 40 minutes later, at 0003, the border sectors of Juraj, Wilkins, Archer, Watson, Chakwas, Hackett and Ellis were attacked by full Nur attack fleets."

"Which contingents?" Harper demanded. Seven sectors meant seventy planets and while that did not seem like much against the 11170 of the Empire, it was a wide battlefront.

"We got identification for Rhyfel, Llynges, Filwraidd and Ymosada," Williams replied. She knew exactly what that meant.

The Nur were insectoid. Huge, but very much like insects. They did not possess a hive mind. Instead, egg mates could communicate with each other across huge distances. The Empress was the one whose clutch held the most senior positions. The contingents listed were under the direct supervision of Empress Oydryd's brood mates.

This was not accident.

"How many did we lose?" Harper asked, his voice tight with controlled emotion. There was no lingering excitement now, rather rage was threatening to engulf him. The Nur would pay for every Human they killed.

He emerged from his dressing room, wearing a severe black outfit but it wasn't complete yet. For this announcement he was going to need the tokens that displayed his rank. Every last one of them.

"We've lost comms with most, but the network suggests that we've lost the entire sectors of Hackett, Archer and Juraj," Williams told him. The fact that she hadn't referred to a data pad told him more.

"You're in Cerberus?" he asked.

"Emergency upload," she confirmed. "I have reinforcements heading towards Ellis, Watson and Wilkins but from the network losses, I don't think any system in Wilkins will hold out that long."

"What happened to Chakwas?" Harper asked as he slipped on a wide sash. He didn't like it but it carried most of the ornamentation that proclaimed him to be Emperor. The only thing he needed now was his sceptre. Maybe he could use it to execute their Empress, to show them exactly how ornamental it was!

This was too early! Granted, he was building up for an attack but this was premature from the Nur. They could not truly be ready. Seven full attack fleets. There should have been more, or was this Empress Oydryd's way of consolidating power? She was relatively new to the throne but he had thought her more politically secure.

Harper shook his head. Even with the Nur's regrettable ability to detect indoctrinated agents, that information would be available shortly. He had to focus on the attack for now.

"They consolidated their fleets on two planets, so those two are holding out," Williams replied to his earlier question.

While seven full attack fleets might seem too small, he was not surprised at the losses. Chakwas had done well to retain two planets and Ellis and Watson were doing well to hold out and if Williams didn't reward their Sector Heads first, he would. Assuming they survived.

"Very well," Harper sighed but then looked directly at her. "I had wanted to wait a few more years, but launch the attack," he instructed. It would make what he was sure she was already doing official Empire policy. "Liberate our systems first," he added. He didn't need to tell her to be sure to get lots of footage of the atrocities the Nur would probably have committed. Even if they hadn't, battlefield shots would suffice for most across the Empire.

Williams nodded, her expression grim. "I'm in the process of detaining all Nur, though several ships blew themselves up," she said, her hologram moving with him as he walked out of his quarters into the palace proper. "They had similar payloads."

"Why didn't the net catch them?" he demanded. If the network could now tell them what systems had not fallen, surely it could have picked up these ships.

At 1 am, the Palace was mostly empty but those staff they came across knew better than to get in his way, even if for many this would have been their first time actually seeing him.

"It did," Williams explained. "But with a nuke/eezo payload, you don't need a long run up. Until the point of attack, they were legitimate merchant ships. The defence dreadnoughts and Ascended tried to stop them and they caught the fifth ship but," she shrugged, wordlessly saying that nothing else could have been done.

"How many?"

"Most of the 7 billion population is gone," she told him. "I'm assuming at least a 50 percent loss on all border systems as well, though you'd better speak to the Centurions directly."

Harper nodded. The Attori represented about 190 planets in the Empire and they had for a long time. While there was other ranks between them, he should speak to their representatives directly. It would give the better impression, even if officially the Senator was in the chain of command. He thought for a few moments, trying to remember how many Senators were attached to the Sectors under attack. He'd deal with whoever he had to for this.

"I've got ships en route to evacuate what's left. There won't be much," Williams shook her head. "Atto is going to be a waste for some time yet."

They could terraform but nuclear material just went everywhere and got into everything! Harper sighed, it was not the immediate issue. "Order eezo production ramped up," he said.

"Already done," Williams replied. She would have taken care of most of the preliminary orders the moment she uploaded.

Harper frowned as he thought. "Abandon Dorado. I want the Ascended gone in three hours," he instructed. "We've been there too long."

Williams nodded her understanding. The Nur could produce eezo. So could the Phoenix Empire. The production centres around neutron stars would be targets. Except the Humans had the advantage there. They could move their production facilities.

"The shipyards have already been notified, and all systems are on high alert. I've stepped up the patrols in Nimitz and initiated the Imperial Wartime Edicts for control over private production."

Harper nodded. He'd countersign those orders after he made his announcement but since they came from Cerberus that was as good as coming from him.

"Viarus is on alert, and those Ascended who were not around a planet are returning there for muster," Williams reported. "Assuming long range Nur attack ships crossed the border at the same time as the attack, by the time they reach Viarus, there will be at least 20 thousand Ascended waiting."

"How many do the Nur know about?"

"I believe their estimates will be for about 15 to 20 thousand."

It was higher than he'd like but with each of the inhabited planets of the Empire having at least one Ascended around it, and the longest inhabited planets having more than one, it was inevitable. It was also pointless to deny that they could be combat effective since the invasion of the Ullator. He could just hope that the Nur didn't have true combat specs, and that the extra numbers would prove to be a surprise. Thankfully there were only about one thousand escorting the Rock, so their absence would not tip the balance.

"When can we expect information from the captured Nur?"

"A day or two," Williams replied, confirming what he already knew. Indoctrination was not instantaneous.

"Promise to ascend those who cooperate," he said with a wicked smile as he reached the store area for the Empire's sceptre. He began going through the security locks. They were coded to him so most opened easily.

"Eighteen hours then, maybe," Williams adjusted her estimate.

"Good enough. When do you think you'll cross the border?" Harper asked, pulling out a mundane key from one of his decorations to go through the final lock.

"It depends," she replied.

"Oh what?"

"How this plays out," she said. "I'd prefer surgical strikes to get to their core systems but I suspect it will be a wide ranging battle, system by system."

Harper reached out to pick up the sceptre, swinging it experimentally. He understood what she meant now and as he turned, not towards his office but to the throne room, he considered the question Williams was really asking. How much destruction could she wreak?

"Target their eezo production ahead of the main advance," he instructed. "Recapture our systems and mass for a total war over as much territory as we can strike."

Williams' lips pursed. She didn't like those orders and Harper understood the risks. They could very quickly overextend but it was a calculated gamble. If, in the chaos of a total border assault, the eezo strike fleets could get through to their targets, then that would significantly shift the balance in the Phoenix Empire's favour. No eezo, no transport, and the Nur did not have sufficient mining capability to make up the shortfall. Truly, the Phoenix Empire would struggle as well but his production facilities were mobile, and could fight back. That would be the difference.

"I don't like it," Williams said before he could continue.

"You know why," he replied.

"I do," she sighed. This war was an inevitability but they had meant it to be on their terms.

Harper had been far more involved with the planning. He entered the Throne Room, the internal lights turning themselves on as he made his way to the dais. The automated cameras would be sufficient for the announcement. It was the setting which was important.

"Well?" Williams prompted, returning to her earlier question.

Harper breathed deep as he sat down, arranging his sash and sceptre so that they were both properly displayed. He ran one hand through his short hair, making sure it stayed down when Williams raised one eyebrow to indicate it was still a little mused. "Hold off on any mass destruction," he decided finally. "I'd prefer intact planets to settle on, after we defeat them."

Williams frowned. In Cerberus she knew that was not Shepard's orders.

"He didn't dictate everything," Harper said, rather thankful that they had come across something Shepard had not thought about. "It's my decision but it fits with Ascended philosophy. Do not destroy planets," Harper said.

She nodded. "I'll make them regret," she promised.

Harper jerked his head at her, telling her to get into position for the broadcast.

"No," Williams objected. "This will look better with you alone," she said.

Harper nodded after considering that for a moment.

"Is there anything else?"

"I don't think so," Harper replied. "Let me know when you are ready to counter attack."

She nodded. "You're going to mention Atto?" Williams asked, gesturing towards the camera that was in position to broadcast Harper's announcement.

"I'm going to have to," he replied. "But I think I'll make an offer to the Attori people. For every extra year's worth of mining they produce, I'll give them one of the Nur's habitable planets," he grinned. Right now, the Attori would be in shock and mourning but eventually they would appreciate the gesture.

"Not yet," Williams said after a moment. "It would be crass to mention that now. Express sympathy, offer vengeance but don't yet make that sort of offer. Let the new Attori leadership know privately."

Harper nodded, silently agreeing that was for the best.

"I'll be going now," Williams said before her expression suddenly became thoughtful.

"What is it?" Harper demanded.

She looked at him with a wry smile. "Kai," Williams said raising her voice slightly, her hologram looking around, so that her eyes moved over his bodyguards. Harper watched with sudden interest but her eyes did not linger on any one in particular so he didn't know who to target.

Williams sighed and he wondered if she had not seen what she wanted, but the grin she directed at him quickly told him otherwise. He knew she was going to disappear as soon as she spoke her next words but he also knew what her statement of the name implied.

The assassin was here, was one of the men sworn to protect him! A shiver passed down his back but Harper held firm. Panic was what Kai would want and he was no target. Besides, Williams wouldn't have broken the assassin's cover in order to have him strike.

"Playtime is over Kai."

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And there it is, the war for the LMC. The previous Empress' might have been a bit more relaxed. The new one is wiser... or is that more ambitious? Harper might be an immortal, and immoral bastard but he does care for his citizens and the Nur will find that out.


	78. Darn You Alien Scum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The counter attack begins but the Nur aren't going to make things easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 77: Darn You Alien Scum!**

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Conquered Territory, Former Phoenix Empire Planet Olavo**

Brgyryad stood in the hastily dug bunker. It was located outside what had been the capital of Olavo. The Humans had fought hard for their system but his forces were stronger. He understood there were a few Human forces in the truly rough parts of the planet but without supplies they would quickly be routed.

He was not focused on them now. Instead he was watching the space sensors. Reinforcements were pouring in but the Phoenix Empire would be coming. The Humans had to respond to the attack before they could establish a true beachhead and already their long range sensors had detected several Phoenix Empire ships at the edge of the system. They were scouts that had only briefly dropped from light speed. Some had released sensor buoys for that net the Humans were so fond of but the automated drones his forces had deployed kept destroying that network.

They even attacked the ships.

For now it was just a matter of waiting. The Phoenix Empire had to retaliate. Would retaliate. He just didn't know when but the longer it took them, the more established he would be.

The techs had cracked some of the Human systems, sending the data back to the Empire to be analysed. With luck, they would find the Human eezo processing facilities. He rubbed his teeth over his skin. A strike there would bring the Human fleets to their knees.

An alarm startled him.

"They're here!" came the cry from one of the sensor techs and on the screen the display altered to show the Phoenix Empire formations dropping from light speed.

Brgyryad felt his siblings already asking for updates but he ignored them as he watched the tactical screen. He had begun with a full strike fleet, and the moment he had established himself on Olavo his forces had been reinforced. All captured systems had been. They were the mustering points for the next phase.

The Human ships were still appearing in neat lines. Of all the species Brgyryad had seen or studied, the Phoenix Empire maintained the best military formations and he knew, they all knew, this war would be brutal. The Empire's tacticians, those who made a study of such things, indicated that it was probable that the Humans, despite being a surface dwelling species, would be better at space combat. The Nur's advantage would lie in their close combat abilities. They were naturally larger, and stronger than Humans after all. The Empire's strategy had been based around capturing planets and landing forces. They would hold that territory through their ground based ability.

It was risky. The Humans could simply obliterate the planet but that was damaging and with their controlled expansion, and focus on living on planets, it was felt they would not do that. At least, it was projected that they wouldn't do that until they were desperate and for the final phases of the campaign, the Nur had further plans to neutralise Human aggression.

Of course, this early, the Humans wouldn't give up the system without a fight but the real battle would not be in the emptiness of their systems. The Humans would bleed and die for their planets, making them better for the Nur. Their bodies were always returned to the soil to enrich it. The fact that this time the flesh would be Human did not change the nutrient the flesh would bring.

"They are coming in at Whitlock, Melanti and Prewer," the voices blurred together for Brgyryad but the information did not. It was exactly as the tacticians had predicted. The Humans would launch a coordinated, simultaneous strike to take back their border worlds.

Of course, they would be defeated and the Nur would launch the next phase of their attack. Once everything was over, and the Humans bowed, the Nur, under Empress Oydryd would rule the entire galaxy. It had been centuries coming but this was the final push. Brgyryad was happy he was alive to see it.

A tone indicated when the Human fleet began advancing. "Hold firm," he gave the order. While the Nur expected to be defeated in space, that didn't mean they wouldn't try to fight. A trap had been set. The Humans were centralised in their settlements. They lived on the planet or in large, space based facilities near the mines and farms. The Nur lived wherever they wanted. The vacuum of space killed them but they were not afraid of it, not like the Humans were.

"Let them come to us," he cautioned, turning to look at the two dimensional screen.

Blue dots represented his ships and green dots displayed those that were hiding. The Human ships were yellow and they maintained their formations as they advanced. Brgyryad was not fooled. The Phoenix Empire ships would be releasing small drones to scout ahead. They were just too small for the display to show accurately though if it did it would be fuzzy with the dots from both sides.

"Time to intercept?" he demanded of the techs who were present. They would have calculated that by now.

"At their present speed, 3 hours," came the immediate response, confirming his expectations. Brgyryad nodded and opened his mind to his siblings. He was sure the other commanders were doing the same and the information would be collected through the Empire.

Brgryryad was about to give a summation when another alarm sounded. His glare towards the techs demanded answers.

"More Phoenix Empire ships," Jwladys said, working at her station and the system map updated.

"Standard or Special?" Brgyryad demanded.

It was one of the few things the Nur wanted to take from the Phoenix Empire, the method used to create the ships they claimed they preserved their minds in. The claim of immortality aside, those ships were powerful. How to create them, and the Human's method of eezo production were the two things the Empress wanted.

Of course, so did everyone else in the Nur Empire. If you could claim those two secrets, the crown of the Nur was yours, though Brgyryad doubted the Phoenix Empire would give up either easily.

"Mixed," Jwladys told him but her voice was uncertain.

He waited for her to elaborate. "The specials don't look quite right," she added finally but still sounded unsure.

He looked at the image she'd brought up, highlighting one of the new ships. To him it looked just like one of the Phoenix Empire's special ships, with its tapered body and folded legs. "It looks too simple," she explained and another image appeared of a special ship. Looking at them both Brgyryad could see what Jwladys meant.

The ships now approaching them were somehow blockier. It was still organic but it didn't appear quite as refined. And it was literally bristling with- "Why does it have so many comm antennas?" he demanded, locking on to the main difference.

"I don't know," Jwladys said.

Brgyryad nodded. Under the present conditions, that was about all he could hope for. Analysis of the battle might explain more. "Label them as Special Beta and continue scanning after the numbers have been relayed to the line."

Jwladys jerked her head down once to indicate her acceptance and continued working at her station. Brgyryad smiled slightly. She hadn't once stopped working and her family pod would go far if they shared her dedication.

"The double wave is interesting," he said to his siblings, as he continued watching the screen.

"I'm more concerned about why they appeared to far out," Gwylym replied. She and Medryon were the thinkers of his pod. They questioned everything and while it could be annoying, there was no denying that it helped Eirwen, Tegid and Dienoil who were the planners. Those five were the real reason Oydryd was on the throne. Sure the military rank he and several of his brothers had cultivated had helped but it was their knowledge and ability to plan that had truly made the difference.

The final conquest of the galaxy would be his pod's legacy to the Nur Empire.

"They most likely needed to scan the inner system," Tegid explained. "The potential for us to release drones is real and a collision at light speed," he continued but didn't bother to complete the sentence. A crash with a drone at that speed was a problem for almost all ships.

"The relative areas to be mined would dictate the inner systems to be far more dangerous," Eirwen agreed.

"Then why so few ships?" Gwylym asked, referring to the Phoenix Empire fleets. They were large with 20 dreadnoughts, but not as large as expected. A quick glance at all the sub tactical screens illustrated that the fleets over the other systems did not have the missing vessels. What was the Phoenix Empire playing at? The question flashed over the comm and Brgyryad nodded. Those commanders not related to him were not stupid. They had come to the same conclusion.

He could think of only four explanations. One, the Phoenix Empire was weaker than anticipated. Not likely, given the ferocity they had displayed in the initial battles. Two, they hadn't yet gathered the bulk of their forces. That was possible. It had taken time for the Nur to muster ships across half the galaxy. The Phoenix Empire now had to do it but then it made no sense to attack prematurely. Three, the Phoenix Empire ships were stronger than the Nur. Brgyryad shook his head. That was true of their super-dreadnoughts but not of the military ships. They were well matched there. Four, for some reason the Phoenix Empire was holding back. They had deliberately sent in a small wave to see the reactions.

Except it didn't make much sense to do that over multiple planets. Unless they were probing for weakness or thought that the Nur would consolidate on one planet after a mere show of force?

Brgyryad took a deep breath, letting the slightly moist air calm him before he reached out to the comm. "Speculation only weakens us," he sent the message and was gratified when the others ceased their discussion to listen to him. He was the commander and that was nothing more than the respect due. "We will deal with the Phoenix Empire as they appear, as small fleets or large-"

A new alarm of klaxons broke his attention.

"Phoenix Empire ships in high orbit now!" Jwlady's screamed.

The comm echoed her cry but Brgyryad ignored it as his eyes fixed on the tactical screen. It was awash with red and in that instant he realised the previous ships had simply been scouts, sent to lull them into a false sense of security. To give them the belief that they had time to prepare. All it had done was give the Phoenix Empire time to properly assess their position. He didn't need to tell the space defences to fight.

Three heartbeats after the new Human fleet appeared they were engaged in a vicious battle, one they were losing.

"Ground forces fire," Brgyryad ordered. It would take a few minutes for the shots to reach the battle but they would take out some of the Human ships.

The Phoenix Empire could have the empty expanse of space, the Nur were the masters of planet and low orbital combat but the tactical screen displayed a grim reality. The Phoenix Empire wasn't just retaliating, they were retaliating in force.

While Brgyryad had every faith in their ability to win, it was going to be a hard fought battle.

As it should be, he thought a moment later. The Humans might win the space battle but they would not take the ground. Not while he lived.

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Conquered Territory, Former Phoenix Empire System Nguyen, PMS Dreadnought _Lightbringer_**

"We've got ground strikes inbound," the tactical information flashed over Admiral Phi Gannon's senses.

"Full evasive for targeted vessels," she ordered as she added another feed to the information holoscreens around her.

The Nur had taken the bait, focusing their attention on the far fleet which had allowed sixty percent of the opening salvo to fly true, which had almost immediately crippled the Nur response. The space-based one anyway but the preliminary ground scans were in and it was obvious that the Nur had focused their attention on holding the planet by actually holding the planet.

"Tell General Ibarra that this is going to be a ground slog," she instructed the comm techs. They were quick to obey but then everyone was at the top of their game today. There would be no mistakes with retaking Human territory.

She didn't need the acknowledgement to know that General Newton Ibarra was preparing but she mentally filed it.

"Second volley from ground," the report followed quickly.

"Pinpoint targets," Phi instructed, glancing at the tactical screen. Half the remaining Nur ships had already been destroyed. "Disable the remaining ships," she ordered.

The information they could obtain would be useful.

"General Ibarra says he'll try to capture the Commander as well."

Admiral Gannon nodded her acknowledgment, sending a pulse to the General as the landing ships readied. "Do we have the ground targets?" she asked.

There was a pause as the bridge crew collated answers from the fleet and a secondary screen displaying the planet appeared. Nur positions were highlighted in red and Phi hissed as she realised they were in the midst of Human townships. There would be a reckoning and she doubted the Nur could pay.

"Launch sites have been identified, and we are scanning for Nur troop placement now."

Phi nodded, expecting nothing different. "Once the Nur fleet is dispatched, focus on ground scans. I want to know where every Nur is on Whitlock but put ten percent of the fleet on sweeping duty." She paused. "Tell them the subgroup that clears the most Nur debris within the system will get a bonus," she added the inducement in an effort to smooth over what would be seen as a put down.

The Captains knew sweeping was essential work but everyone wanted to participate in actually liberating Whitlock. There would be further chances for planetary assaults.

"Nur planetary fleet fully subdued."

"Begin dispersal," she instructed and watched as the space tactical screen presented the fleet breaking their combat formations to take up positions around Whitlock. That would allow them to scan for the Nur fully. A group of ships broke away and Admiral Phi nodded to herself. They were the sweeping fleet.

So far everything was going as planned and none of the other assault fleets had indicated any troubles.

"Have the infiltration fleets left?" Phi asked for confirmation. The tactical screens screen didn't show the outer reaches of the system and she assumed they'd jumped into FTL on schedule but she wasn't an Admiral because she relied on assumption.

"On schedule, Ma'am."

Phi suppressed a tight grin. The Nur might have struck first but the Phoenix Empire would strike last and for the moment, that was the last pleasant thought.

"I believe it's time to do something about those ground positions," she announced, her voice cold. General Ibarra's forces could root them out but it would cost far too many lives so, as much as she was loath to order it, there was only one choice. They had to fire on the planet.

A Human world.

"Prepare for targeted orbital bombardment."

"Admiral! We are detecting Human life signs at the targets."

"Show me!" Phi demanded and the tactical screen changed to display one of the targets. It was in the middle of a city.

"The red points are clusters of unknown biologicals, the green are Human signatures."

And the orange were AA placements, Admiral Gannon knew. There weren't clusters so much as a spread of green around each orange position. For all that targeted orbital bombardment was precise, there would be collateral damage. At least some Humans would die in the strike.

Phi bit the inside of her lip, thinking swiftly. They had assumed that the citizens would have been rounded up and while there were some clusters of Human signals, there weren't as many as she thought there should be. Admiral Gannon took a deep breath. "Prepare for targeted orbital bombardment," she repeated the order.

The lives lost were just more blood the Nur would pay for because she couldn't leave the AA positions, especially not with the way their fire was intensifying. Her comm tech swallowed visibly but nodded and the fleet began moving into position.

"Darn you alien scum!"

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Conquered Territory, Former Phoenix Empire Planet Olavo**

"Tell the crews to keep firing for the glory of the Empress and pull as many troops back into the bunkers as possible," Brgyryad ordered.

The crews manning the AA positions would die but it was their job to bring down as many Human ships as they could. Besides, they could not go alone.

He had seen no reason to round up all the Humans into labour camps yet. Some had been but others had been encouraged to return to their homes. Gathering the Humans together might give him a labour force but it confined the area the attacking forces would not strike. It was too easy and it was far better to leave at least some of them in the cities.

It would slow down the Human assault as they tried to deal with the civilians and when they took out his AA placements, they would take out their citizens. As plans went, it was not perfect but he worked with what he had. The Humans weren't meant to put up quite this level of retaliation.

Brgyryad shook his head. Of course they would. Now was the time when they had strength! They would send their fleets but the Nur would wear them down. If the Humans were here, they were not over their other worlds. They were counter attacking but the Humans had probably stripped the defences from a hundred other worlds to muster this and the other attack fleets, while the Nur had prepared.

"Prepare for ground combat," he ordered before he turned his attention inwards to give his siblings an update, as he doubted he'd be able to once the close fighting began. He'd speak to them after but it was going to take a while to convince the Phoenix Empire that they had lost this system, especially in light of the larger than expected fleet.

"They are putting on an impressive display of strength," Brgyryad said.

"That's not unexpected," Gwylym replied. "All other systems have reported similar tactics."

"Typical! Williams probably doesn't want to show her hand but we already know everything she can try," Medryon dismissed the Human tactics.

"Will you hold?" the question came from the Empress and they all fell silent, awaiting the answer. Oydryd was their sister but she was also the Empress.

"We will hold," Brgyryad confirmed. "But it will be a close battle," he added, speaking for his brothers.

"We will send reinforcements," Empress Oydryd said after another short moment of silence. "Let the Humans break their spirits attempting to reclaim their worlds before we move forward," she instructed, non-verbally reminding them all that they had time. It was pointless to want to move further while the Phoenix Empire was still resisting. Far better for them to weather the Human storm and then crush them.

"That would be appreciated," Cadoc said but none of the other military commanders contradicted him.

An alarm brought Brgyryad back to his situation.

"The landing troops are on their way."

He glanced at the damage reports. He was physically incapable of wincing but the damage was great. The Phoenix Empire fleet had been brutally precise with their shots but he was pleased to see that they hadn't escaped unscathed. There were several holes in their usually exact formations and at least one of the dreadnoughts was showing damage. The ground crews had done well before they died.

But the tactical screen was still awash with Phoenix Empire fleets and the steady beep told him that there were landing craft enroute. There was a background buzz as his command readied the troops. Brgyryad dropped his hands to his daggers. One graced each side of him, along with his claw reinforcers.

"I'll be at the front," he told the techs as he turned, slipping his claws into the moulds. He was not a commander who was afraid of battle and the boost to morale his presence would give might make the difference. The Humans would be driven back and it would be his hand that did the driving.

Besides, there would be no better way to measure the strength of the Phoenix Empire than by testing it himself. His siblings said nothing and while he sensed that they wished him well, he knew they shared his curiosity. It was the Nur who would be standing at the end of the battle because they were the stronger race.

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Conquered Territory, Former Phoenix Empire System Ballam**

"Sir, the Nur are everywhere!"

General Newton Ibarra looked at the young soldier who had made the report. "Explain," he ordered.

"They are scattered throughout the city," the young woman said. "Just like the civilians, and every time we think we've secured an area, more Nur troops appear! It's like they are coming out of the woodwork."

General Ibarra frowned. He didn't like that phrase but he liked the fact that the Nur were apparently behind his lines even less. "Slow the advance," he ordered reluctantly. "Go house to house if you have to but find every Nur before moving forward."

The young corporal nodded and General Newton knew the orders were already being relayed to the front.

"Link with Admiral Gannon's scanners," he added, gesturing vaguely towards the sky. "Make the fleet up there useful."

"We already have, sir," the woman told him. "That's why we know the Nur are behind the lines but when we go to the place, they just aren't there!"

"Do you meant to tell me their scanners are wrong?" General Ibarra demanded. He did not need to be dealing with faulty fleet intelligence at a time like this.

"No, Sir," the woman said but it didn't make him feel any better. "The Nur appear afterwards. We just don't know where they are hiding."

General Ibarra shook his head. This was not what he wanted to hear. There had to be some trick to the Nurs supposed ability to appear on scanners but to then disappear. Did they have some sort of adaptive camo? The scanners would detect the energy signature then.

He thought about what he knew of the insectoid creatures… Wait! Insects. Cerberus had brought insects from Earth, and several planets had life they classified as insects and a good proportion of those burrowed.

"Check the ground," General Newton said. "I don't care if it looks undisturbed, check the ground for hollows where the Nur could hide. When you find them, use concussive grenades to create earth shocks to drive them out." The final order 'And then fill them full of holes,' did not need to be said.

The Nur were in Human territory and Grand Admiral Williams had given the go ahead for almost all tactics to be used, though for the retaking of Human worlds they were not using the frontline Exanimates. He hadn't made it to the rank of General without understanding the political reasons but he did not like the extra loss of life which came from using Human troops.

Still every death would be avenged, and Newton knew that Grand Admiral Williams and Emperor Harper would use every death to drive home to the Empire just how serious this war was. It annoyed him that there would be some Humans who did not see the truth but they would fall into line soon enough. If the deaths of the troops did not affect them then the stories from the civilians would. This was not a war those living on the far side of the Empire could ignore.

"We found them, Sir!" the young soldier told him. "They are in the ground."

General Ibarra frowned. The soldier looked down and he saw the way her eyes moved over every patch of bare dirt. "They have burrowed into the ground. The place is honeycombed with holes."

He began assessing every patch of dirt as well. "Are the burrows connected?"

"They don't appear to be."

That was something at least. The notion of having to fight Nur when they could roam freely beneath him was not appealing in the slightest but his mind was already running through their weapons. Concussion grenades would drive the Nur out of their hidey holes but why bother? Humans hadn't buried their dead for… well, the Empire never had but if the Nur wanted to dispose of themselves so neatly, who was he to deny that?

"Find the burrows entrances, use mapping drones, and then if it's small enough, flame it."

The Corporal shuddered. "We could collapse them?"

"No," General Ibarra disagreed, though he understood her distaste. Burning alive was brutal but this was war. "They are liable to dig their way out." The Nur were naturally armored but they were not immune to fire.

"Yes sir," she said and the orders were relayed. "Fleet command indicate there is a larger central burrow complex."

He nodded. Of course there was. It would be the Nur Commander's location.

"But there is also a fair civilian population around it."

Which prevented the fleet from just blowing the complex to kingdom come.

"Advance on that position, and hope to the Emperor that the civilians keep their heads down," he ordered. They were border worlders. Surely, they had some common sense?

General Newton winced as he thought that. He was at least tenth generation military stock and he knew civvies just didn't think the same. Speaking of which… "Make sure the Reporters are getting good shots but keep them back from the front!"

The Emperor had saddled him with several media crews. It was only a small consolation that Grand Admiral Williams had been even more annoyed about it than he was and while he understood the political reasons for them, they were a bit of a logistical nightmare, even during the FTL journey here. He'd assigned one of his Colonels to watch over but she had sent in complaints about how they just poked their noses into everything and wandered around as if they had quantum shields. They had no notion of situational awareness or danger. Sure, each of them had signed waivers. Grand Admiral Williams had gotten that much. It would not be their fault if the civvie reporters died, especially if they disobeyed, but the Emperor was determined to keep them alive because he wanted their images to inflame the Empire.

As if the invasion wasn't enough!

"Colonel Ilia is here," the Corporal held up a map. The Colonel was back aways from the front, near a largish cluster of green.

"Good girl," General Ibarra nodded. That was one of the camps the Nur had established by rounding up at least some of the civvies. The reporters would be getting some good visuals and good quotes which would keep Emperor Harper happy and they were a little way back from the front lines, which should be a little safer. It was the best they could do, and they still had a long way to go.

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Conquered Territory, Former Phoenix Empire Planet Olavo**

Brgyryad was exhausted. The last time he'd been this tired- no, he had never been this tired, not even during training, not even during the agonising wait when they had made Oydryd's bid for the throne.

For the last five days, the Phoenix Empire had been relentless. They had not allowed the Nur any respite. He had done his best to rotate their troops but everyone was tiring. It was not the fatigue of a long term battle, where soldiers were weary of the fight, it was simple physical fatigue but it was enough. The Phoenix Empire jumped on every mistake and if the Nur clustered in one area, then the Human fleet took them out.

Even if they had hostages. Especially if they had hostages. The psych reports said the Humans should be softer but they were displaying a degree of aggression that would honor most Nur pods.

There were reinforcements on the way but the Phoenix Empire fleets had swept through the system, destroying all evidence of the Nur. Any fleets would be jumping in blind but they would. They could not afford to be driven off the worlds they had gained and already the invasion scenarios had been adjusted. The expectation had been that while the Phoenix Empire would fight for their border worlds they would instead focus on reinforcing the neighbouring systems. Against expectation the Humans were fighting tooth and nail for these systems. It was slightly unforeseen but not insurmountable. They just had to hold out and then the true battle between Empires would begin.

The data analysts thought they had identified some of the Phoenix Empire's eezo production centres, correlating data taken from the conquered worlds with observations previously made, and fleets had already been dispatched. It would take a little under a year and a half for the fleets to reach those targets but everyone, even those opposed to the war, admitted they were primary targets.

And with some luck, the Nur would be able to capture the Phoenix Empire facilities for themselves. It would be interesting to see how the Phoenix Empire created eezo, but that was a question for another day.

They had also identified the system where the so called Project had been but the tacticians were divided on if it would be worth striking. The Project had been gone for two hundred years or so, yet there should still be infrastructure there. A compromise had been reached. The Project's system was on the way to several of the main military systems and it would be examined when they took the surrounding areas, unless a more pressing reason arose.

There had been some thought given to just bypassing the Human defences and sending a fleet straight to the Human homeworld and while that remained tempting, it was acknowledged that any gain would be temporary. It would kill a large number of Humans but Emperor Harper would simply be reborn and such an act would galvanise the Phoenix Empire in a way that the destruction of Atto had not.

But that particular strike had been for a different purpose, to drive a wedge between the Human and non-Human so called citizens of the Phoenix Empire. While it was true that the Attori remained firmly on the Human side, that was never going to change. The Fedochi and the Ullator, though, were far more cautious, afraid that if they were too prominent a similar fate may befall their homeworlds. In the case of the Ullator that would have to be their new homeworld. The Humans had not been kind.

This early into the conflict was too early to see those reactions but it would come and Human arrogance would lead the Phoenix Empire to their doom.

A klaxon sounded, signalling a new wave of attack and Brgyryad shook his head savagely to clear away the fuzzy feeling threatening to engulf him. They were keeping ahead of the Phoenix Empire because as expected, they were better at ground combat.

The Humans, with their immortality were afraid to die but it was a close thing. Closer than had been anticipated. Human armour and enhancements were good and they were not afraid to use them. Plus they were adapting.

Still, the balance was in the Nur's favour, and every day they held out, it remained, and their hold, psychologically at least, got stronger.

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire Homeworld: Home, Emperor's Office**

"Why are they still on my worlds?" Harper glared at Williams' image.

She didn't look happy about it either but being Ascended, she had access to far more information. She understood the reasons because she could feel them in every operation on every contested planet. "The Nur are very good at ground combat," she explained. "They are born faster and stronger than Humans and at our preferred oxygenation, they are super-oxygenated," she added the little biologic titbit.

Harper nodded but was not satisfied.

"I could have them off tomorrow if you really want," Williams offered before he could demand further explanation.

"How?" He was more than wise enough to realise such an offer came with strings.

"Orbital bombardment," Williams shrugged, as if the answer should be obvious.

"Aren't you doing that already?"

"Only limited strikes," she told him. "If we ramp it up the Nur will be dead."

"So will everything else," Harper retorted.

The idea behind retaking the occupied planets with ground forces was to take them intact. There were no rules with war but the Nur had not destroyed the planets when they took them and they could have, so until they escalated, he would avoid escalation as well. That meant worlds would be taken the hard way, with the biosphere left intact.

"So no terraforming?" Williams surmised.

"Not beyond minor repairs," Harper reinforced his position.

"Then how about Exanimates?" she asked using what had become the polite word for husks.

"Not on our worlds," Harper replied immediately.

Williams' image appeared to sigh. "Then this is going to take a while," she said. "They've got some tech I want to acquire," she added.

"Really?" Harper was sceptical. With all the advances Humanity had made, it was possible the Nur would have something, but he thought they would have an equivalent.

"They have some AA cannon. Three minutes to set up, thirty seconds to fire and two minutes to pack up and then they are gone." Williams let the information sink in for a moment.

"It fires into orbit?" Harper asked for confirmation.

"It does, and the shots are strong enough to bring down shields," she confirmed. "Even if spotted during set up, we can't always get into position to take them out. Not fast enough anyway. It takes at least-"

"-eight minutes to get a shot to the ground from orbit," Harper finished for her.

"Yes," Williams agreed mildly. "And they've got thousands of the bloody things on each planet. I can take them out, but we'd be taking out civvies. Plus, I'm sure they are leaving some on auto," she grumbled.

"I can see why you want it," he murmured. That sort of speed and firepower was almost Ascended. "So where does that leave us?

Williams looked at him like he was stupid. "If you won't let me bombard them-"

"Beyond the planetary considerations, that would kill the Empire's citizens. We are meant to at least try to protect them," Harper interjected half-sarcastically.

Williams just rolled her eyes. "If orbital bombardment is out, and I can't use Exanimates, then we are left having to do this the old fashioned way. Unless," her hologram suddenly looked thoughtful.

"Unless?" Harper prompted.

"Unless you are willing to allow biological and chemical warfare. I'm fairly sure we have enough samples to come up with something in a month or so."

Harper just stared. He never thought the day would come when it was he holding back the military. Mentally shaking his head, he made a mental note to check Williams' psych profile soon. Such viciousness was not normal.

"Let's keep that in reserve," he said, making sure his voice was firm. He could see the benefit of utilising such means on selected targets.

"Then we are down to the old fashioned way. We'll either starve them out or run them out of ammo but I'll tell you now, they are very well stocked."

Harper took a deep breath, nodding slightly to indicate he'd heard as he sat back. He picked up a stylus and tapped it lightly against his nose as he thought. "What are the loss projections?" He asked finally.

"Of the current ground forces engaged, depending on rotation, and Nur reinforcement, up to thirty percent fatality with that many wounded," she gave him the assessment.

"And the remaining forty percent psychologically scarred," he added.

"They are the troops I had available," Williams was slightly defensive.

It took time to muster fleets over ten thousand planets and seven thousand light years. It was a wonder the infiltration fleets were already on their way but they had been high priority and the majority were remote Ascended. The loss of life would be minimal for the Phoenix Empire.

"I know," Harper agreed affably but it was obvious he was still thinking. "I believe we can make the battle a little easier," he announced finally.

"How?" Williams couldn't keep the suspicious edge out of her tone. Harper's ideas were not always militarily sound.

"I think we should lose some of our tech," he said, flicking his first two fingers into air quotes with the word 'lose'. The stylus, still trapped between his fingers, bobbed at the motion.

Williams stared, trying to discern his meaning before she understood. "I suppose the loss of equipment in this situation is unavoidable," she murmured.

"How long will it take?" Harper asked, pulling himself upright again.

"Give me a couple of days to outfit the troops and a week or so to have them captured. Then probably a month to make the Nur malleable but a month and a half to be safer."

"So two months?"

"About that," Williams agreed but her voice indicated that it might be faster to just bomb the planets.

"Let's go with that," Harper instructed. "It will keep him happier as well," he added with a thin smile.

Williams huffed but conceded the point. Shepard might not have left specific orders about planetary warfare but he didn't have to. The preservation of Human life and of Human planets was in the subtext of all his orders. "I'll see to it."

"Good." Harper nodded. "After we retake the border, how long until we can invade."

"That will depend on Nur reinforcements. We know they are fortifying their border worlds but how fast we can move will depend on what resources Empress Oydryd puts towards the battle. I'll have a fair number of troops and fleets mustered in two months, so I'll be ready then, assuming the Nur don't launch other strikes."

"Will they?"

"I don't think so. Not unless we can't drive them off. They'll push their advantage then but since that won't happen," Williams shrugged. "We'll be ready when the planets are liberated."

"That's before the infiltrators strike."

"Yes. That will take another four to five months."

"Hmm," Harper made the noise as he thought. "Could we delay invasion to coincide with that strike?"

"We could. It would give our border worlds time to rebuild," Williams shrugged, though she could see the tactical advantages. She could also see the disadvantages. Waiting would give the Nur a false sense of security. "I'll think about it," she allowed finally.

"How are we going?" Harper asked. He didn't have to specify what he was asking about.

"They are out of Dorado and heading to systems we've never used, though we've left probes to detect intruders."

"The full net?"

"Yes," Williams' image grinned. Up until now the Ascended systems had been a blind point in the net. Now those holes had been filled. "Nimitz, Viarus both have a minimum of one thousand Ascended for defence and the docks are under guard."

Harper nodded slowly. "What about our protection?"

"I've got at least five Ascended with me," Williams reported. She didn't need to tell him that it was far less than the protection around Legacy and Instinct. Shepard had wanted them to share Cerberus' protection but they had discovered it was possible to get around those orders simply by assigning far more protection to the young Milky Way Ascended. Shepard's orders were content with that because the younglings were protected. As Shepard had put it, they shared Cerberus' protection and it was easy to get those who were competing for Shepard's favour to protect those Shepard favoured.

"The Nur want this war to be a ground battle," Williams reminded him. That meant for the moment it was relatively safe in space. "But as we penetrate their territory, I anticipate further naval engagements."

"We still have to capture their planets."

"Yes," she nodded, "but I'm sure you can stretch some of Shepard's orders."

"Get them off my worlds first!" Harper said noncommittally. "And develop what tech you want from theirs." Implied in his tone was the knowledge that Williams' military directly employed about ten percent of the empire, and kept more in supporting roles. That was at least five trillion people and at least some of them should be able to develop something from the Nur tech. He didn't wait for an answer before he continued. "How does the clean up on Atto proceed?"

Atto was a civilian world but it was a military attack, therefore it was a joint force attending to the clean-up, much to Williams' disgust. She was understandably focused on but she was also Ascended, so it only took her a moment to collate the information.

"I already told you there's not much to clean up. Salted weapons don't give us too many options. The evacuation teams have got as many survivors off as they can. They are being relocated to other Atto worlds. The increase to their funding you authorised is being funnelled into housing and hospitals. Some indigenous samples have been collected but they have obviously been the secondary focus." Williams paused, giving him the chance to question but Harper motioned for her to continue.

She sighed, considering having her image smoke but knew the effect would be lost while she was in Ascended form. "I had a large number of Attori sign up for the military," she continued, though her statement was putting it mildly. The recruitment stations had been mobbed.

The military was a reasonably popular career choice for the non-Human of the Empire because they were promoted on ability, not species. The current sign up rates had nothing to do with that expectation and far more to do with the desire for vengeance.

Harper frowned. "I wanted to push them into resource collection," he murmured.

"Well, that's what they are doing for me," Williams grinned at him.

The Attori were some of the best miners in the Empire. It was a legacy of their history with the Phoenix Empire and those skills were necessary now to extract the most resources from every available opportunity.

"There will still be plenty for the Empire's facilities," she reminded him.

"Not until after their election, which isn't for another four weeks."

In the aftermath of the destruction of their homeworld it had taken the Attori quite some time to realise they needed to re-establish their central leadership. The Empire's Senators, Centurions, Sector Heads and even Planetary Governors helped but they had not replaced the Attori's government. Not entirely and they needed those elections to nominate a central speaker for all their people. The maintenance of their government was a privilege the Attori were allowed as the first non-Human species to join the Empire and one of two species who did so peacefully. There were rewards for obedience, just as there were punishments for disobedience.

"I'll let the new Attori Prime Minister know about the incentives," Harper said, referring to his earlier offer that every extra years worth of production would give them one of the Nur worlds. "But how are the others doing?" The question was code for would they rebel?

Williams looked annoyed and Harper just raised one eyebrow, silently putting out the challenge but after glaring she shook her head. She'd probably add it to the list of grumbles she maintained about him. It was a file she made sure he saw every time he was Ascended, accidentally or not. Regardless, it was a fair question and he did need to know the answer. She was in the best position to collate the information from the Empire's servers. Hell, in Cerberus she was most of his servers!

"The Fedochi have almost forgotten how it used to be. They are good little citizens," Williams added with a triumphant smile. "And a couple of their political leaders have been emphasising that the attack on Atto could easily have been an attack on Cyr."

Harper nodded. He knew that already. It was his office which had told those leaders to make that statement.

"I've put Commodore Lappela in charge of them for the duration of the war. She will keep the Fedochi in line."

Harper frowned slightly when he brought up the image of Commodore Lappela. He had expected a Human face, not Fedochi. "You are sure she is loyal?"

"Oh, I'm positive," Williams' voice was smug. He could tell from the tone that she wasn't sure because of indoctrination. It was something else that guaranteed Commodore Lappela's loyalty.

Harper sighed when she didn't volunteer further information. "What is it?" he asked, not quite keeping the hint of annoyance from his tone.

Williams grinned at him. "No, I don't think you need to know," she said, ignoring the way Harper glared. "The Ullator are still fifty/fifty as to if they will do something stupid. The Nur want the destruction of the Attori homeworld to drive a wedge between the Human and non-Humans but it's only served to confirm the Attori loyalty and Lappela will keep the Fedochi in line. I don't have anyone I trust for the Ullator, and they might decide that the Nur are the better alternative."

Harper snorted. "And the fact that they don't have a homeworld doesn't impact upon that."

"We are still firmly the bad guys," Williams reminded him.

Dismantling Ulan had been important to truly demonstrate to the manipulative Ullator that they had been utterly defeated but it carried long consequences, though once the Nur were defeated, the Ullator would not have many options.

"Assign a couple of the Milky Way Ascended to watch them."

"And flatten them if they step out of line," Williams added. It was not a question, just the reality. They couldn't afford a war on two fronts. "I'll make sure the watchers are obvious," she concluded. There was no reason to be subtle and an obvious watcher would make sure the Ullator didn't test the boundaries. If they wanted to rebel, it would have to be for real.

Harper flicked the stylus again as he thought but there was nothing else they needed to cover and Ascended or not, Williams had a lot she needed to be doing.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Williams said, sensing the end of their discussion.

"Have the plans drawn up," Harper instructed.

She nodded. "I'll let you know if anything interesting arises," she said by way of parting and her hologram winked out, leaving Harper alone with his paperwork because war or not, there was always paperwork. But before that, there were a few questions that needed to be answered.

He tapped the intercom, buzzing one of his PAs. "Find out everything you can about Commodore Lappela," he instructed before letting the button go, without waiting for a response. As the Emperor, he would be obeyed.

Harper picked up one of the datapads and sighed as he began reading. There was always something to do.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, the battle to regain the lost planets has begun! As well as other, more sneaky battles that will determine the outcome of the war but this war will not be over quickly and purely fighting forces won't be enough to win. Tally ho!


	79. Counter Infestation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Phoenix Empire strikes back at the Nur but not everything goes their way. And civilians really shouldn't be dealing with war, they don't have the constitution for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 78: Counter Infestation**

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"This is what you wanted, Your Majesty?" Breann Quazada focused on the words. When she'd heard about the opportunity to work directly for the Emperor's office, she'd given herself a crash course in High English and had applied.

She'd been surprised, but pleased to get the job but if she'd known the details then… Concentrating on her English meant she didn't have to think about the vid. It was what the Emperor wanted. Her studios, Quazada, had been given footage from the invasion from every planet. They'd been given footage from the battles to retake the planets and from the time of Nur occupation. Not the footage the media crews sent with the troops had gathered. No, she had the footage the ground forces took from their head cams. It was real, unedited.

Hours and hours of it. Thousands of hours. And from the collected images her studio had been instructed to make a vid displaying Nur brutality. That bit hadn't been hard. The images were graphic but the Emperor had wanted to display the worst of the Nur. That meant her studio, her people, had to comb through the images. That had been sickening and more than once she had to excuse them. They were all sick of this work and just wanted it to be over.

The Emperor had watched the vid they'd produced with a critical eye. His expression hadn't changed, no matter how gruesome the imagery was. In fact, after the first screening he'd rewound the vid, pausing it in places to examine the screen closely.

"This is an acceptable first cut," the Emperor said, his English perfect. Well of course it was! English was Harper's first language, no matter how many others he could speak.

Breann frowned. "What do you mean, Your Majesty?" she asked carefully.

The Emperor's glowing eyes turned to spear her. "I mean it is an acceptable first cut," he repeated. "But this lacks focus. It attempts too much," he explained.

Breann bit the inside of her lip. She understood in a vague way what he meant but it was difficult to think of this material objectively. Every shot showed Humans dying, all by Nur claws. Which is exactly what the Emperor had wanted.

Logically, she understood why he wanted such material. It was to rally the Empire but it didn't need to be this graphic and she was wise enough to realise that the counter attack had not been without its own atrocities. They would never be advertised.

Except Breann also knew what the brief had been. Her company was to produce a single vid. The Emperor appeared to be asking for something more.

"We could focus on one aspect," she said, trying to keep to the brief. It would mean this project was over and the sooner that was the case, the better. "The ground forces or the worker crews," she continued.

Emperor Harper looked back at the screen. He had paused on one of the Nur commanders but Breann could tell the Emperor was thinking. He picked up a stylus and tapped it against his lips. The casual gesture was a surprise but Breann figured it was just how relaxed Emperor Harper was.

"A series would be best," he said. "Tell the story of the invasion," he elaborated.

Breann couldn't hide her wince at the thought. She just wanted this job to be over!

"The contract would be expanded appropriately," Emperor Harper continued.

This time she bit her lip so hard she drew blood as she frantically cast about for something to say. She couldn't say no. Well, theoretically she could but one did not say no to the Emperor, not if one wanted a career but she had no idea about the damage this could do to her studio. Not to their reputation. If anything, that would be enhanced but just putting this vid together had been hard. She didn't know if her people, if she was hard enough or tough enough to put a whole series together. Not when all they would be looking at was death. It would dominate them.

She swallowed. Except…

They had already seen the material. Her people were already having nightmares. The entrepreneurial part of her figured they might as well make a profit. And… she could claim they were protecting others. If her studio made the vids Emperor Harper wanted others would have to watch the deaths of so many.

She was fooling herself to think that. She swallowed again, tasting blood. "I think we can negotiate something, Your Majesty," she agreed. "Perhaps a series of five pieces, beginning in space and building to the conclusion."

Emperor Harper smiled thinly at her, his expression telling Breann that he knew exactly what she had been thinking. "Space, the initial assault, the occupation and the Nur's growing desperation," the Emperor summarised her plan. "That should do nicely, though the occupation and their desperation should have two pieces each."

"I'll see to it, Your Majesty," Breann agreed. "It will build to show the worst at the end."

Emperor Harper nodded. "Can you finish in another three days?" It was not really a question. They had to be finished by then.

"Yes, Your Majesty," she said. It would be tight but they could get it done, somehow.

"Then speak to my secretary on your way out for an amended contract and upload your first cuts in two days. I will see that the edits are returned quickly." He said, dismissing her.

Breann swallowed again before she nodded. There was nothing more she could say and her studio had a lot of work to do. She bowed. "Your Majesty," she murmured before turning away.

She wasn't sure if she should feel sickened or relieved. She had survived the Emperor, this time but there was so much more waiting and it might be worse. The possibility of the Emperor's disfavour had not lessened and they were still working with the images of death.

Breann hoped it was worth it, but somehow knew it wouldn't be.

-cfr-

**47182 Years after Human Ascension, 2129 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Unspecified Location**

Commodore Jadwiga Maupin sat on the bridge of the PMS Dreadnought  _Restitution_. After three hundred days of hiding in Nur territory, it was finally time to strike and the entire crew was more than ready.

The majority of that time had been spent travelling, wrapped in the embrace of the immortalised. The huge ships were still faster than the Phoenix Empire Military vessels but even at their top speed, it took time to traverse the length of the LMC.

After they'd travelled some seven thousand light years, they'd reverted briefly to sub FTL and the  _Restitution_  had then travelled under its own power to their destination. It had all been calculated very finely so that the strike on the Nur Empire's neutron stars would be simultaneous and Jadwiga knew that she was the commander of one fleet. Operational security meant she didn't know how many others there were but she guessed at least fifteen.

The Nur covered half the LMC and their eezo production facilities were spread out in that territory. Her fleet had stayed well back from their target, making observations to confirm it was a target until the time to attack had arrived.

Jadwiga took a deep, somewhat shuddering breath. The neutron star designated Gyfrinach was a target and she spared a brief thought for those fleets who had made the journey only to discover that Intel had guessed wrong. A few had moved to secondary targets but others would just have to turn back. Again, she didn't know how many had done that but she pitied their commanders. It would be disheartening. Though she knew, if she was in that position, she'd take a few pot shots at the nearest Nur planet. If nothing else, it would confuse the aliens.

Time had been the hardest thing to deal with. During the journey here, there had been nothing to do but monitor the ship, entertain themselves with the material the Imperial State Archive had loaded them down with and watch the updates on the war.

Jadwiga had known, intellectually, that large scale conflicts, like this one, took time but she had never truly understood it. Only a few commanders did. It just took time to travel to your target. It was one aspect of the war between the Phoenix Empire and the Ullator and Fedochi that had never really clicked. They studied the battles but not the time in between.

The journey through Nur territory had more than made up for that shortfall in her understanding. The numbers were no longer just dates. Now she understood the times between each battle far more intimately than she ever wanted. Jadwiga imagined everyone on her crew understood it now, and had a far better appreciation of what the word boredom meant.

And they still had to return to the Phoenix Empire. Some had been in favour of remaining behind Nur lines and striking other targets but Grand Admiral Williams herself had made it clear they were to return. They would drop spy drones but it was probable that after this mission any target, assuming they could find it in the vast territory would be far too well guarded.

After all, there was a reason the Nur controlled half the LMC.

No, they'd travel back to the Phoenix Empire and take their places on the front lines because just hearing about what the Nur were doing, how they had ravaged the worlds they had invaded, was hard. Despite her mission, she'd never felt so powerless.

The real strike would come soon. Not just theirs, but the Phoenix Empire's launch of full retaliation. The time it had taken the  _Restitution_  to travel would have given Grand Admiral Williams time to muster the Empire's forces and Maupin imagined that even now they were massing for the attack. It wouldn't surprise her if it too was launched simultaneously. Or at least, the attack on the Nur would start while they were still reeling from surprise. That's how she'd do it.

"Thirty seconds to target," Farrell's voice jolted her out of her reverie and a glance at the tactical screens illustrated nothing had changed.

The cannons were loaded and ready and her crew were all working at their stations with an air of anticipation.

"Launch strike three seconds after reversion with corrected targeting vectors," Jadwiga ordered.

There would be no wasted ammunition on this mission and while the attack would be difficult because of the gravity well of the neutron star, she had faith in her tactical officers. They had had three hundred days or so to practice in simulations.

"This is for the peace the Nur betrayed. This is for the lives the Nur have taken. This strike is the foundation of the Phoenix Empire's inevitable victory."

The words were broadcast to the fleet and Jadwiga suppressed a smile when she saw the bridge crew.

"Reversion," Farrell announced and the screens came alive with information.

-cfr-

**Nur Empire, Neutron Star Gyfrinach, Eezo Creation Facility**

"Initiate second hold point," Owena instructed and then watched the dirty screen to confirm the drop was on hold.

The fuzzy dot that represented the ship came to a slow stop and she breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't normal for the second hold point to fail but it was not unheard of, either. Especially with the production schedule they had been maintaining.

The planned war with the Phoenix Empire had necessitated an increase in production for the last few years. First to build up stock and now to keep up supply. Anyone who'd been stupid, or just plain unlucky, had been killed years back so those remaining on the eezo production crews were experienced but it remained difficult and dangerous work.

"I'm locked in place. No anomalies," Rhydderch's voice came over the comm and Owena logged the note.

The little shuttle, if it could be called that, since it was really just engines with a tiny habitable area was suspended above Gyfrinach, a neutron star. Below the tiny ship, closer to the star was a bundle of material. It was a mass of hydrogen and denser elements. To make eezo you needed both.

The process was easy. You just lowered the mix into the gravity well of the neutron star and waited. Gravity did the work for you, breaking down the material into eezo and other elements. The trick with production was collection and timing, which was why the Nur stopped the descent at several points. By holding the material steady the eezo literally streamed off. The closer to the star the more was released but if you got too close…

Well, in the industry all neutron stars in the Empire had other names. Names that represented death. It was a rare month that went by, even with experienced crews that someone wasn't killed. There was little room for error when dealing with eezo production and Owena knew if something happened to Rhydderch, she'd simply move on to the next crew. Such was the production demand.

Besides, it wasn't like their guard fleet did anything. Even if they could rescue a listing drop ship, when asked, they just replied they were here for defence, not rescue. Defence? Against what?

Most pirates couldn't approach them, the gravity well would rip their ramshackle ships apart. The Humans? They were busy fighting on the border, and even if the rumours about the Phoenix Empire having unlimited ships were true, they would still have to travel through thousands of light years of Nur territory. That wasn't going to happen.

Owena looked at the sensors, reaching out to rub the screen so she could read the numbers properly. She mostly smeared the dust but at least managed to confirm that production was underway. Rising up from below Rhydderch's ship was a small stream of eezo. It was on target as well and would hit the collectors. Sometimes solarwinds or a magnetic shift pulled or pushed the eezo stream, meaning they had to frantically reposition the collector arrays.

Only one idiot had ever suggested they move the drop ship.

"Production is good," she told Rhydderch.

"What, you mean I might make quota?" he returned.

"Maybe," she replied. "But you know what that'll mean."

"Yeah. Double shift so I can do it again," Rhydderch snorted.

Really the reward for making quota just as well might have been what he suggested. There was no reward for making quota, merely the expectation that you'd make it again. She'd heard of people actually being docked if they didn't but had never actually spoken to one. That particular rumour had persisted since she could barely talk. It was something amusing to scare the hatchlings with.

"At least Idwel will buy you-" Owena jerked as a dull alarm sounded. Her eyes flew to Rhydderch's stats but she knew after a glance there was nothing amiss.

At least, nothing the sensors were picking up.

"Owena?" Rhydderch asked.

"You're good?" she returned the question.

"This hunk of junk is fine," he relied.

She nodded and turned to the comm. The alarm was still going but she had no idea was what causing it. No one bothered to tell them if another production line lost a ship, so this had to be something else. The sensors on her monitoring station were shit, so Owena punched the comm for the defence fleet. They would actually know what was going on.

"Attack!" the scream was almost deafening. "It's an atta-"

The signal abruptly cut off but Owena didn't need to hear more.

"Shit!" the exclamation was not dignified as she slammed one hand down on the station's alarm. No one thought they would be attacked but the Empire still had procedures.

"Fuck!" Rhydderch gasped.

"Emergency retrieval," Owena confirmed but she knew he'd already be working, jettisoning the load and powering up the engines.

A new alarm sounded. Collision alert. Owena swung wide eyes to a screen which displayed the outside. The star field was dominated by Gyfrinach and she thought she could see a smudge that was Rhydderch's ship as he powered back to the station. It was not a guarantee of survival but it was better than being ripped apart by Gyfrinach's gravity. She couldn't see the attacking fleet but she could feel it and as she waited, she decided that was the worst.

The collision alarm still ran but it would be a few minutes before it actually occurred.

"Fuck!" Rhydderch interrupted the wait.

"What?" Owena demanded.

"It's the Phoenix Empire," he told her.

"How do you know?" She knew she sounded desperate and deep down she knew that was the only fleet it could be, but somehow, she wanted to hope otherwise.

Rhydderch flicked a file to her and she loaded it. The drop ships had better sensors. They had to, so that the ship could navigate the gravity well. For a moment, all the file displayed was the star field. It was almost the same as what the station sensors were displaying. Then a ship appeared. Then another, and another, and another. For a long heartbeat, Owena didn't recognise them, except there was only one thing they could be. Phoenix Empire ships.

It appeared as if they had come out of light speed already firing and while she was no expert, she knew that was an impossibility but when the shots ripped through the defence fleet, impossibility gave way to reality. The Human ships were huge and vicious and they had barely finished off the fleet before they turned toward the station, firing again.

She didn't know how she knew but she could see the round that was bearing down on the station. It would be a direct hit. Rhydderch's vid ended. Owena swallowed hard and opened a vid link to the drop ship. Usually the comm was audio only but she felt like indulging. "Well, this is goodbye."

"The shields will hold!" Rhydderch objected.

Owena snorted. "They'll fire again," she said and he knew it was true.

It was obvious why the Phoenix Empire was here and Owena realised, if this strike was duplicated, then the war was going to get a lot harder, even with the stock piles. She watched as Rhydderch sighed.

"It's over, isn't it?" he asked for confirmation, his voice full of resignation.

She nodded, pushing herself back in her chair as the station shuddered. It sounded like a series of thuds but Owena knew the first impact was enough. The station groaned but she didn't hear as she linked to her siblings. Her brood had never ranked very well but they were family.

She was just the first to die.

The station shuddered again. The Humans were impatient but they were also precise and it was only a moment later that Owena felt the shift in pressure. She breathed out as the air escaped and it was in the silence of the vacuum that Owena died.

-cfr-

**Nur Empire Homeworld Xyrpyni, Empress' Palace**

Empress Oydryd didn't like Fleet Marshal Yorath. He was not of her brood. He was not even of a related brood but with Human resistance being far stronger than anticipated, and the loss of the initial gains and not so incidentally her more militarily minded siblings, she was having to accept the presence of others.

They didn't have the numbers or the support to challenge her but Oydryd could see the desire burning in Yorath's eyes. It was unbecoming of a lesser servant but for the moment, she had to accept it. What she did not have to accept was the way Yorath jerked his head to the side. She recognised that look. He was listening to one of his siblings and to dare to interrupt this meeting, the information had better be of vital importance.

Oydryd watched closely though she maintained an air of indifference. It would make it seem as if she had graciously allowed the disruption. Yorath was a decent politician, he recognised what she was doing. His skill complimented his military rank but she could see his expression change and she knew that the information would be important, but not pleasing.

Perhaps the Phoenix Empire had finally launched their counteroffensive, except that wasn't really bad news. It was expected and it would be nice to have it finally over.

Yorath shook himself slightly, blinking as he turned back to her. "Your Majesty," he said formally, with the precisely correct amount of deference. "The Humans have launched their attack."

Empress Oydryd nodded. "Gather the fleets."

"No, Your Majesty," Fleet Marshal Yorath interrupted, his voice still differential. "The Phoenix Empire has not struck at our border worlds," he continued and Oydryd could feel a frown forming.

They had been waiting for weeks for the Phoenix Empire to strike and now Yorath told her it wasn't where they were meant to be? How could you fight a war like that?

"The Phoenix Empire has struck facilities at Hanfodal, Gyfrinach and Dosbarthu. I am awaiting confirmation from Aneglur and Dirgel as to their station."

Empress Oydryd blinked, thinking hard for an instant for the pertinent details about Hanfodal, Gyfrinach and Dosbarthu. And then it hit her. They were neutron systems. Eezo systems, and immediately she flung her mind out to her remaining siblings. Sure, she had lost some of the highest ranked in the opening gambit of the war but she had others.

There was a confused welter of emotion which seemed rushed and she knew they were busy. But she was the Empress. Her requirements took precedence.

"Is it true?" Oydryd demanded.

"Is what true?" Eirwen growled, seeking further context.

"The attacks on Hanfodal, Gyfrinach and Dosbarthu."

"Yes, it's true," Eirwen replied, her mental tone making it clear that she thought it was a waste of time asking for confirmation. "They got Diarffordd and Anhysbys as well," her sister elaborated, highlighting exactly how bad this was for them.

Those who had advocated a different path would once again be pushing for it now.

Oydryd took a deep breath, concentrating for an instant on the mundane to calm her racing heartbeat. "Get me an estimate of our remaining production ability and the timeline on our stockpiles," she ordered.

"What do you think I'm working on?" Eirwen growled. "But it's a bit hard with all this- Oh fuck!" Eirwen's sentence changed direction all at once and Oydryd could feel the cold note that laced the expletive.

Eirwen worked in one of the central military comm rooms. She literally heard everything of importance in the military.

"The Phoenix Empire has launched its counter invasion," she told her.

"I know," Oydryd said. There was no need to be concerned. "The neutron stars."

"No, the Phoenix Empire has launched their counter invasion," Eirwen repeated. "They've just crossed the border."

Oydryd got the mental impression of thousands of ships travelling through space. She'd seen images like that before of the Nur fleets so the fact that they were all Phoenix Empire ships just added to the sense of wrongness. "How many systems?"

When you shared a border over half the galaxy, it was huge but logic dictated that the Humans couldn't be attacking every system. Most of them were not habitable, even by the meanest Nur standards, let alone the exorbitant ones the Phoenix Empire had!

She got the impression that Eirwen was trying to work that out and Oydryd withdrew her presence slightly. It had been a difficult lesson for her to learn, that hounding only led to things going slower and while she waited the Empress turned her attention back to Yorath.

It was only a small comfort that he did not have the answers either.

That was the first thing that had to change. Decisions could not be made without correct information. Well, not good decisions and even with the unexpected attack on the eezo facilities, it was still her place to make the decisions.

"The Humans have also crossed the border," Oydryd told Fleet Marshal Yorath and was pleased to see his surprise.

He might have known about the internal strikes but he hadn't known about the expected battles. That was a failing of his network and the Empress imagined he would chastise them thoroughly.

"For the moment, we will proceed as planned," she continued. "The strike against the eezo facilities was not expected but will be assessed once the full reports are collated." That would only take a few hours. "The strike on the border will be used to assess the Phoenix Empire's true strength and appetite for war. Fierce protection of their precious worlds was expected." Empress Oydryd forced herself to display no reaction when Yorath twitched. She didn't need to be reminded that they hadn't expected resistance to be quite that strong but what was done was done and the Empire was not backing down.

"I will collate the damage assessments, Your Majesty," he responded.

Oydryd nodded approvingly. Of course, he would. Even without orders he would and he would not be alone because every credit of damage was a mark against her name. Even now her opponents were desperately hoping it added up to enough political capital to depose her because war or not, politics in the Empire did not stop.

-cfr-

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Ascended Cerberus**

Williams was wise enough not to participate personally in combat. It was not the security challenges posed by keeping Cerberus safe in such situations that held her back. Rather it was the difficulties they would have once Legacy and Instinct found out and gleefully drove themselves into the thick of it.

Ascended didn't have nightmares per se but that thought made her freeze because it was closely followed by the memory of a very angry Shepard. If the youngest Milky Way Ascended got so much as a scratch, or god forbid, anything worse, then- Well, it was better not to think about the consequences.

So while she was wise enough not to take Cerberus into combat, Williams was not above pulling rank to pilot one of the remote ships. It was still a bit of an embarrassment how bad most of the Ascended fleet was at controlling the remote ships but over the intervening centuries, they were getting better but no one was what she could call truly proficient, even if some of them now could defeat the organics when they had a turn.

She couldn't even exclude Cerberus from that whole but she was definitely better than average. Still, to tow their military ships and make the strike on the Nur eezo facilities they hadn't need complete proficiency, just adequate had been sufficient. She understood why. The remote ships just felt different. That should have made it easier to separate their thought streams needed to differentiate between their real body and the remote ship but the sensors blurred together.

Williams would have burned with shame at their collective ability if she didn't know that Ascended were not considered adult until they were fully homogenised and had gone through at least one hundred cycles. Then you understood how insignificant your species was in the greater life of the galaxy but every individual mind was also subsumed by the whole and things like remote piloting became second nature. You were truly Ascended then.

It was a fate Cerberus would never suffer. Any thought of homogeneity with Harper was… just yuck! To use a juvenile but pertinent expression. There was absolutely no thought of homogeneity with Kai Leng. That did not bear thinking about.

_Ever._

Even without homogeneity, she, and therefore Cerberus with her were improving with remote piloting and while Cerberus was a modest twenty systems back from the border, in a system remarkable only because it was exceedingly average, Williams' attention was flying through Ychwange, closing in on the continuing firefight between the Phoenix Empire fleet and the Nur.

The battle was slightly unusual. Until now the Nur had shied away from extensive space conflicts, preferring to pull the battle into orbit or on to the ground. But they appeared to be determined to defend Ychwange. Williams launched several missiles at their extreme range, following up with a volley from her thanix cannons. It was unlikely that the ordinance would hit but it was yet another thing the Nur tactical computers would have to trace, and eventually someone would get lucky.

As she continued to approach, Williams pulled the command frequencies to her attention. As Cerberus she was constantly monitoring every battle and skirmish and unit. It was a continuous flow of information that despite rumours, she only occasionally interfered with. The time Vice Admiral Cristobel Rubin had made first contact with the Boadu was one.

Pulling the command frequencies brought this battle into sharp relief as the thing that had her immediately attention.

Admiral Waltraud Urbina was doing well but there were some unanswered questions.

"Admiral," Williams smoothly took over several command lines so that the woman could speak to her. "Why are the Nur defending this planet?" she voiced the follow up question before Waltraud could salute.

"Sir! That is unknown at this time, though I have instructed Intel to discover the reason."

That was a good decision and as Williams focused on the logs she could see it had been an early consideration. She expected nothing less because in her military competency was the only way to get promoted. "Reinforcements are coming in from starboard south," she told Urbina.

The Admiral nodded, assimilating the information. "That should clear away their resistance," she noted after mentally running through the likely scenarios. "We will hold off on launching ground forces until the targets are known," Admiral Urbina continued.

"Very good," Williams agreed.

Even with the Phoenix Empire in control of space, a desperate enough pilot might be able to run through their cordon. There was no need to make the Nur on the ground that desperate, at least, not until they knew why the space defences were so uncharacteristically fierce. The likely reason for that was that they were protecting some VIP.

The Nur ships turned slightly and Williams knew they'd detected her fleet. Their commander was better than she thought though not good enough to make her return the command streams. She felt the Nur target her form with the back of her mind and altered her shields accordingly. Williams could have evaded but that would slow them down and she wanted to Nur fleet down sooner rather than later.

Another barrage of rounds was sent towards the Nur fleet and she put on a burst of speed. Complex manoeuvres were well and good but it was often the simple things that brought victory.

"Ah finally! They've got something," Admiral Urbina said, pulling up a report from Intel. "As expected, we have managed to catch a VIP," she continued, nodding slightly to indicate her understanding.

"The Quadrant Leader," Williams absorbed the report quickly. The question now was how hard the Nur would fight.

"Interesting," Admiral Waltraud murmured. "He's not actually related to the Empress."

"I'm not sure it's worth capturing him though," Williams replied as she debated within herself.

"Another point of view," Urbina reminded her respectfully.

"Let me check something," Williams said before reaching out with her real form.

She didn't often call like this but it was frequent enough that he was used to it. At least this time he was eating breakfast, not… well, they both agreed that time had not happened.

"How badly do you want a Nur Quadrant Commander?" she asked without preamble.

"You've got one?" Harper was surprised.

"We've taken out the defence fleet," Williams clarified after sparing a half thought to confirm her words. "The question is how badly you want him. The Nur put up a good fight." From her, Harper would know she meant, one hell of a fight and that it would be expensive to retrieve the Nur Commander. It wasn't impossible, it just depended on how many lives they were prepared to spend. "Vynnfor isn't related to the Empress," she added the information to provide proper context.

"For fuck's sake! You can use some husks for this mission," he growled, knowing that was what she was leading up to. He had promised to review the decision over Nur worlds, and they were now over Nur worlds. Using husks for the ground assaults, especially since the Nur favoured them so much, would make the losses far more palatable to the Empire.

"Exanimates, Jack. Exanimates," Williams reminded him, but there was an edge to her voice that let Harper know she wasn't happy with the limits as she dropped the connection, leaving the Emperor to his breakfast.

"Let General Hildago know I'll take care of the ground assault," Williams said to Admiral Waltraud. "His troops will just need to maintain a cordon." She would have said more but the remote ship's sensors screamed at her at the same time an alarm sounded on Admiral Urbina's dreadnought.

Williams was faster to assess the signal. "What the?" the exclamation was surprised. There were more Nur ships on the scope.

"By the Emperor! Where did they come from?" Waltraud sent the demand to her crew.

"The  _Onyx_  reports they have boarders!"

The comm report triggered Williams to refocus her sensors on the  _Onyx_. It was a cruiser class vessel and while initially she couldn't detect a problem, it was listing slightly and Williams felt non-existent eyes widen when she spotted the boarding craft. Where the hell had it come from?

"If they fail to repel them be prepared to fire on the  _Onyx_ ," Urbina ordered. Such was the reality of the situation. "Line shots up on the other Nur targets and fire at will," she continued.

"But Sir! We don't know where they came from!" One of the tactical officers objected and while it was true, Williams had an inkling as to what was happening. She hoped she was wrong.

"Perhaps," Waltraud agreed with the officer. "But I know exactly where they are going. Fire at will," she reinforced her order.

Williams assessed her sensor logs. They confirmed what she feared but it was only after the Nur ships were destroyed that she chose to speak, reaching out to every fleet that was in the process of assaulting the Nur border systems.

"Begin a total sweep of the system. I want every spec of dust and rock scanned and tagged."

"Sir?" Admiral Urbina was obviously confused.

"You heard me, Admiral. Every rock," Williams repeated for emphasis but since this wasn't meant to be punishment she continued to explain. "Those new Nur ships did not drop from light speed. They were here all the time. They are mining ships and shuttles. Short range only. Or modified, small habitats."

Waltraud nodded slowly, understanding dawning on her features and she began to give orders.

Admiral Urbina might have accepted Williams words as the reality of the situation, Williams was anything but accepting. She might not have a flesh body but that just meant she had access to Cerberus' memory banks of curse words and right at the moment, Williams was running through them all.

Fuck! This little development was going to cost them years. She almost missed the Turians.

"Gladiator is on the way and will handle the extraction of the Quadrant Commander," Williams said to Urbina as she considered what to do. "Form a cordon over Ychwange until then. Get rid of the permanent AA entrenchments while you wait."

"Yes Sir!" Admiral Urbina said crisply but the tone didn't quite hide the wry smile. For all their training, it had never really been clear how much waiting was involved in actual combat but Waltraud would obey. There was no question of that.

"Scan the system as well and kill any Nur life signs but document their location. I'm going to need the sample to prove things to the Senate," Williams spat the last and Admiral Waltraud nodded.

The Phoenix Empire's Senators might be chosen for their ability but unlike the military where it really was competency that paid off, the Senators were adept at political speak. The difference was large enough that Military Command and the Senators did not usually get along well, though both were wise enough to never let that affect their working relationships. The two originals who lead them would not allow that.

"You have done well," Williams concluded as she withdrew from the command streams, returning her focus to the remote ship she was piloting. With the benefit of the battle, brief as it might have been and the appearance of the 'new' Nur ships, she could now identify what that niggling difference was in piloting. If she'd have been her in Cerberus she would have known about the Nur before they attacked. The passive sensor feeds of her true form provided a lot more background information.

Williams nodded to herself. Yes, it was that but despite identifying at least one issue, she had no idea how to rectify it. She'd let some of the engineers know and could already feel an analysis of the differences being composed. In the meantime, she had to work out a way of dealing with the Nur's almost literal infestation.

Admiral Urbina didn't know it yet but her experience was being duplicated over other Nur planets. The defence fleets weren't fighting quite as hard but the ships emerging after combat was a constant. That could only happen if the Nur were already on every moon, rock and dust spec in the system and while it might be a stratagem, Williams had a horrible feeling it was normal for them.

For now, scanning was the only solution and to make sure they found them all, or could detect any Nur who decided to remain in hiding, the Phoenix Empire would have to install the net.

Williams sighed. She was organic enough that she could do that. Installing the net in the Ullator systems had been slow and that was after those manipulative bitches had been subdued. How much longer was this going to make the war? She hated that she already had an estimate yet there was no help for it.

The Phoenix Empire would do what was necessary to win and the Nur had not yet begun to appreciate what that meant. But they would.

Their entire Empire would know.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Phoenix Empire has begun their strike back. And they know where to hit for maximum results. Obviously this isn't the end of the war but things will progress.


	80. Infiltration and Truth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nur infiltrators reach their destinations. It's safe to say they weren't expecting what they found, and in the Nur Empire there are those who are questioning the war's validity. Do they have any hope?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.
> 
> Half way on the chapter count... OMG.... only half...

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 79: Infiltration and Truth**

-cfr-

**47183 Years after Human Ascension, 2130 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Senate Meeting Room**

"Reconstruction is going well on the Invaded worlds. A little slowly, perhaps but all the citizens are working together and morale remains high," Centurion Jernigan completed his report to the Senate.

The Centurions from all the affected systems had been invited to speak at the senate meeting and they had both opted to attend via hologram.

It had taken a while but Harper had finally convinced his government that they were selected to do a job, and that job came first. You did not leave your post, not even to report to the Emperor unless you were specifically ordered to come in person. Since those instructions were usually accompanied by a pair of well-dressed agents, no one was eager to receive them.

"There is enough assistance?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Kraig nodded. "It's a little slow in some of my systems because of the season. The VI construction teams are good but rain is still rain," he explained, watching as the Emperor nodded.

They controlled so much but the planets could still control them.

"Williams?" the Emperor prompted, which was a clear dismissal.

Centurion Kraig Jernigan bowed and moved his hologram away, sharing a nod with his Senator as he took up a position at the back of the room. Centurions weren't usually invited to Senate meetings but exceptions were being made with the ongoing war.

It was an interesting experience for Jernigan and he was determined to learn all he could. After all, Senator Roselia Naquin was getting older and the successful rebuild of his systems, even with the understandable delays would put him in a favourable position for promotion. If he could show other, more advanced senatorial skills that would practically seal the deal.

The Grand Admiral's hologram looked directly at the Emperor but it was obvious to all watching she was annoyed about something and Kraig wondered if the rumours of massive troop losses were real. If he recalled correctly, the Invasion Fleet should have moved on further into Nur territory but they were remaining in place over the worlds they had initially conquered.

"This is a typical Nur system," Williams said, her voice testy as an accompanying diagram appeared. It displayed a system with one inner planet, the habitable world, and three gas giants, marked with numerous moons. There was a scattering of other marks representing asteroids.

"Their world has an oxygen level just a bit too low to be comfortable, numerous orbiting habitats and a few minor settlements on the moons in the outer system concentrating on mining." She gave the overview and several Senators nodded. That was a reasonable assessment of the system and as Williams spoke, green marks indicating the Nur colonies appeared. The densest cluster was on and around the habitable planet but the mining colonies were visible.

"That's a fairy tale!" Williams growled. "That's a Human system where everything is neat and tidy and ordered!"

She waved her hand and the display screen altered, becoming covering in green dots. "That is a Nur system. Every piece of junk and rock that can hold minimal life support does. They literally infest the system." Williams' agitation was obvious to all.

"I assume you have a solution," Emperor Harper's voice was patently unimpressed and Jernigan shivered at the tone. He would not want to deal with the Emperor when he was like this.

"Well, of course I do," Williams replied, all annoyance in her voice vanishing with the sweet, almost amused tone.

Kraig was forced to reexamine the Grand Admiral. From his vantage point he could see the Emperor as well and it was a slow realisation that this was an old game between them. It was then that several things fell into place for Jernigan. He'd known. He'd studied history. Grand Admiral Williams had been the head of the military from a time before there was even a formal military and it was the same as Emperor Harper. The two had known each other for over two thousand years that the Empire admitted to and he wasn't sure how long before that.

Jernigan had known that but he'd never truly understood what that meant. There was not so much as a rumour of intimacy between them but despite that he was sure they knew not only what the other thought but how they thought. They were intimate in every way that mattered beyond the physical and Jernigan bit his lip as the reality of eternity made itself known.

Is that what he wanted? He shook himself, forcing himself to pay attention to the now.

Grand Admiral Williams might act annoyed and agitated and some part of her probably felt that. Emperor Harper was cool and focused to counter that but they could probably change in a heartbeat.

"-but it will slow everything down," Williams was still speaking but Kraig realised he had no idea what would slow everything down

Emperor Harper took a visible breath and the sound of air rushing past his mic could be heard as he thought. His glowing eyes seemed distant for a moment before he nodded. "We are not on a time limit," he said, looking directly at Williams. "So long as they do not pursue the Project, it will not matter."

Williams snorted her surprise. "True safety for the Project requires victory," she muttered and Harper grinned.

"I knew you'd see it my way," he said.

Jernigan frowned. That was a complete contradiction of the Emperor's previous implications. He spared a glance for the Senators. They seemed equally lost but the eldest weren't surprised. His Senator had an indulgent smile gracing her features.

"I'll build the network as we get the systems but the requirements of construction will add at least another ten years to this little skirmish," Williams said and while the reference was flippant, her voice was not.

"The network will ensure we win," the Emperor dismissed the extra time but Jernigan swallowed.

A longer war would mean greater losses. Except now that he understood what Williams had been talking about, he understood the altered graphic. The network would allow the military to root out all the Nur in a system, even those in non-traditional homes but the network had problems with rogue planets in the Empire's territory. How much worse would it be where they had no information?

"Is there any information about Nur colonisation of rogue planets?" the question blurted from him before his brain could remind him where he was and who he was talking to.

Immediately Kraig cringed mentally but he forced himself to stand tall. He was a Centurion! It was his job to take care of his sectors and a continuing Nur presence was not favourable to that.

"Ashley?" Emperor Harper looked pointedly at the Grand Admiral.

She looked skyward and Jernigan could see the way she breathed heavily, her hologramatic head nodding as she appeared to be counting.

"Add another three to five fucking years. Minimum," she spat finally.

"Language, Ashley," Emperor Harper admonished but his voice was amused.

"Yeah, yeah, Jack, talk to someone who cares," she growled before looking directly at him.

Jernigan sank back into the background, thankful that his impertinence seemed to be forgotten.

"We're done here? I have to adjust the combat time lines," Williams announced.

It made sense. All military actions were planned carefully so that the resources went where they were needed, when they were needed. Adding years to the anticipated schedule would require more than just a small reshuffling of resources. Williams would have to rework the entire calendar.

"Not quite," Emperor Harper replied to the obvious surprise of most.

Jernigan frowned. Even Roselia seemed uncertain. What else was there to cover?

"Jack, I know what Shepard expects," Williams sighed, as if expecting a lecture.

"Oh, not that," the Emperor waved a dismissive hand. "I want to know how effective the Skatra tech is," he announced.

Williams stared for a moment, disbelief evident on her features but Jernigan caught the way Harper's eyes briefly lingered on one of the Senators and he understood. Not everyone agreed that the Skatra's territory should remain unconquered.

"Their tech is going well. They have better personal shields than we do and some of their weapons are useful."

Harper nodded, accepting the information he already knew.

"That have no AA weapons?"

"They don't have FTL so we haven't been able to pick up anything like that, but what we have developed has already saved at least fifteen percent of the troops. That's a conservative estimate."

Fifteen percent was a minimum of eighty one billion souls. It was not insignificant, considering that as a Centurion he was responsible for 500 billion lives. It was a humbling reminder that the war was being fought on many fronts.

Kraig could see the way the Senator Emperor Harper had indicated earlier was braced and realised that while it might not have been planned, Williams and Harper were too experienced. They couldn't help but work together.

"I'll send the updates in a few hours," Williams said, "though any advance on twenty percent?"

"None at all," Harper replied firmly and Jernigan realised whatever this was, it referred to an old argument. Williams seemed exasperated but after sighing heavily again she nodded before her hologram disappeared.

It was the signal for the meeting to break up and after bowing deeply towards Emperor Harper, Jernigan deactivated his hologram, blinking his eyes to accustom himself to the light in his office.

For a few moments he just sat there, focusing on his breathing. That had been interesting in more ways than one and he needed time to digest what he had learned.

There was one immediate conclusion. When he was immortalised, he hoped he never ended up like the old married couple that Emperor Harper and Grand Admiral Williams presented.

Eternity would not be pleasant that way.

-cfr-

**47183 Years after Human Ascension, 2130 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire, Undisclosed System, Nur Infiltrator Ship**

Ulyre was a Captain in the Nur navy. That fact made him proud but it led to most of his pod preferring to forget he existed. The navy, the spaceships as they put it wasn't a real position in the military. They said it was beneath a decent Nur to serve in the navy which was funny because every time his ship was in orbit around a planet, they were beneath him. So far beneath him he couldn't see them, and they wouldn't see his ship strike them until it was too late.

But now, he had a chance to prove himself, to prove the worth of the navy.

Close quarters combat. Anyone could do that but to strike the enemy behind their lines, to actually make a difference in this war, you had to be navy. The ground grunts just couldn't do what he was about to.

"Reversion in 30 seconds," the navigation specialist cried.

"Prepare for combat," Ulyre ordered unnecessarily. They all knew why they were here.

One of the few things the ground grunts had managed to get during the initial assault of the Human worlds was the location of several eezo production facilities. Of course, that was all they'd been able to get, since they'd been driven off but his fleet had been ready to launch. And now, almost five hundred days later, they were ready to strike.

He was hitting a system the Humans named Dorado and it was one of the systems they'd known about since before the war. The Phoenix Empire didn't admit it but Dorado was one of the first, if not the first system they used to create eezo. It was here, if it was anywhere that the Nur could see the development of the Phoenix Empire's eezo creation process.

That was why he had volunteered. At least officially, that was one of the reasons. Unofficially, he'd volunteered because this was his chance to show everyone the importance of the navy. Sometimes, he wished he'd been born huma-

Ulyre quashed that thought but while he stifled some parts of it, the knowledge that the Phoenix Empire did not mock their navy was just something he knew. The head of their entire military had navy rank!

"Reversion!"

"Scan and lock onto targets," Ulyre ordered, pushing aside his thoughts. "Fire on my mark," he added, waiting for the tone that indicated the targeting systems had picked up the Human facilities that had to be in the system.

He waited and he looked over towards the targeting bay of the bridge. It was fully staffed for this assault and he could see them working.

"Captain?" his weapon tech prompted, waiting for his order.

"Targeting?" he sent the query to them.

In the bay, image after image appeared. Many displayed the neutron star, others displayed darkish star scapes he recognised as being the galaxy but none of them displayed Human construction.

"Sir, there is nothing in this system!"

"There has to be!"

"There is nothing."

Ulyre shook his head. He could almost feel his siblings laughing at him but they had been relieved when he'd volunteered. Finally, the embarrassment was going to kill him and save them the trouble of organising it.

"Confirm location," he ordered. "And confirm star type."

Theoretically you could produce eezo around any mass with a suitable gravity. Black holes were probably the best but it was far, far too easy to slip past the point of no return. Neutron stars were the next best thing. They had sufficient mass and heat. The neutrinos helped the process and they gave off radiation as an easily traceable pattern.

This system was in the heart of the Phoenix Empire, close to their homeworld. It was the perfect candidate to be the Human's primary eezo facility. Intel had confirmed that beyond all doubt so where were the Humans?

"Location confirmed," navigation cried and Ulyre didn't comment on the relief he could hear. It would have been beyond embarrassing if this was the wrong system.

"Star composition confirmed. It's perfect," was the added assessment.

He looked back at targeting expectantly.

"Still not… Wait! Sir, we are getting a slight echo of something."

The screens all shifted to the same image. It displayed a section of the star with a circle around a portion that looked identical to the rest. "Zooming in," came the addition as the crew squinted, trying to see what targeting had found.

A speck appeared and they continued enhancing the image. Ulyre forced himself to breathe. What had the Humans left?

"By the Empress!" the tactical officer exclaimed and Ulyre felt no need to admonish him on the words. The blip resolved itself into a sign and there, written in Ohlk were the words  _'Better Luck Next Time'_.

Ulyre stared. He could feel the blood rushing through his body and for a moment that was all he could feel. Everything was blank and it was only because he was used to being mocked that he could force himself to think.

The Humans were not here. But they had been. Intel had not been wrong. Now would be the perfect time for an ambush.

"Engineering! How long until we can FTL?" he asked, by passing the comm officer.

"Heat sinks are cycling but we could do a short jump now."

"Navigation, plot a course. Scanners, deep scan everything. I want to know what happened here."

"Sir?" They weren't meant to spend that much time in the system.

"I'm sure," he ordered. "But be prepared for emergency withdrawal."

"Aye Sir."

He could hear their nerves and he felt it himself but he was not going to return empty handed. With the message, he did not think the Humans would attack but it was better to be sure.

Others, those who wished glory, might now try to assault one of the inner Human worlds but he knew his duty. Finding out what the Humans had done was now far more important. He wouldn't return empty handed and while it galled, he hoped the other Captains were having better luck.

-cfr-

**47183 Years after Human Ascension, 2130 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire, Viarus System, Nur Infiltrator Ship**

Gaenor was the Captain of the long range stealth cruiser  _Camgyfeirio_. They were currently in low orbit around an ice moon of a gas giant, deep in Human territory, as they put the finishing touches on  _Camgyfeirio_. There were many forms of stealth and while her ship could run silently and invisibly to just about every sensor, welding some panels on to the side would give them the superficial appearance of a Phoenix Empire ship and that might be the difference between success and failure.

Other Captains of the incursion had been given eezo production facilities to destroy and had fleets and ships capable of performing those orders. She had been given another target which is why her ship was alone. She just had to document what she found, not destroy it, which meant the  _Camgyfeirio_  had to be adaptable.

The Phoenix Empire had a number of systems which were off limits to regular ships. Some Intel had determined were military systems and while there was a lot of curiosity, they would be investigated by drones. Others were eezo systems, and they had been targeted by attack fleets.

There was a large empty area in the middle of the Phoenix Empire. It was an anomaly and while there was a curiosity about it, that area, like the system that had housed the Project would be investigated when the Nur forces took the surrounding systems, though Gaenor knew a few of the combat fleets were tasked with sending drones into the area on their way back.

Which left the system she was about to investigate. The Phoenix Empire called it Viarus and she had no idea how Intel had picked it out as an important system but they had deemed it worthy of actually sending her ship. So here she was, about to enter a system that did not exist according to the Phoenix Empire's star charts.

That meant whatever the Humans were hiding here was valuable, dangerous or both. As such it would be far better in Nur claws than Human hands. She was just to report back. After they knew what they were dealing with, a more appropriate fleet could be dispatched.

"Ma'am, the camouflage layer is complete and all EVA crew have returned."

"Excellent," Gaenor complimented her XO.

The man had fought tooth and claw for his position and unlike some of those who sought rank, he was actually competent and he realised that if this mission was successful, he wouldn't have to arrange her demise to secure a promotion. If the mission wasn't successful, they'd both be dead or captured so there was nothing to gain by sabotage.

"Navigation, take us in," Captain Gaenor instructed and felt the familiar thrum through the ship as the engines wound up, pulling them out of orbit and pushing them into FTL.

"Comm tech, are you ready?" Gaenor asked, switching to the Human common tongue.

"Yes, ma'am," Nyfanwy replied and Gaenor listened carefully for a tell-tale accent but was pleased when she couldn't hear one.

Nyfanwy had studied long hours to be proficient and would be the voice of the ship.

It was a short FTL hop, long enough for the crew to settle but short enough so that no one was bored though boredom was a luxury she knew they were wise enough to dismiss while they were in Human territory.

"Reversion," the navigation station reported and the odd nothingness that was FTL resolved first into streaks which then became long distant stars.

Gaenor immediately looked to the sensor screens. It wasn't unusual for a ship to scan an area after dropping from light speed. It confirmed their location and she was about to take advantage of that fact to gather information.

The screen flashed red an instant before an alarm screamed through the  _Camgyfeirio_.

"Silence that!" Gaenor roared as she stepped towards the sensor techs. "What triggered it?" she yelled over the still wailing noise

"Drwg! Drwg! Drwg!" the tech was muttering.

"What is bad?" she demanded, resisting the urge to strike him.

He pointed to the tactical screen. It was still awash with red but then it changed, zooming in on one area and becoming a view from one of their cameras. As it drew closer, the software highlighted a ship and she recognised the profile of one of the Phoenix Empire's super ships.

"Every single ship," the tech said in a shaking voice as the alarm was finally cut.

She glanced at a different tactical display. It showed numbers and Gaenor gulped, feeling cold. The Nur estimates of the total size of the super fleet was less than what they were detecting. The cold turned to nausea as the implications became clear.

It would be a long time, if ever, before the Nur investigated the other areas of the Phoenix Empire.

"Drwg! There are docks here!" The exclamation dragged her away from her spiralling thoughts and she looked at the new image.

Sure enough there were docks and in various stages of completion were the super ships but surrounding them were fully operational ships.

"Navigation," Gaenor whispered, not bothering to say what she wanted. They had to get out of here.

"Hello ship," a voice thundered over the comm before the helm responded.

"Tell them we are lost," Gaenor instructed her comm tech.

Nyfanwy gulped, before taking a deep breath and then speaking. Her accent was still perfect and Gaenor made a note to reward her.

"Oh, the little ship is lost," the voice replied.

"Get us out of here!" Gaenor hissed at the helm.

"We're trying!" came the immediate response and Gaenor glanced over to see them frantically working. She swallowed hard.

"The little ship is a long way from home," the voice continued before a new alarm sounded.

The proximity alarm.

On the close tactical screen the dot that represented the  _Camgyfeirio_  was engulfed by red.

"We are, yes," Nyfanwy replied "Can you help us get back to the main systems?"

How Nyfanwy was remaining calm was beyond Gaenor but it was good that someone was.

The  _Camgyfeirio_  shuddered and the sound of tortured metal permeated everything.

"Of course I can," the voice replied. "In fact, I'll take you there myself."

Something clanged on the armour and the  _Camgyfeirio_  rang like a bell. Gaenor could feel the noise reverberate through her.

"Helm is not responding!"

"I've lost tactical control!"

"Weapons are non-operational."

"Life support is good."

"Sections eight to twelve are under extreme load. Bulkhead failure imminent."

The information poured in and Gaenor didn't know what to focus on.

"What the hell is happening?" she screamed.

"A super ship has actually latched on to us," her tactical officer replied.

"They what?" she demanded.

"A super ship has-"

"Yes, I heard that. How? Why?"

"I would have thought that obvious, Captain Gaenor," the voice replied. "Grand Admiral Williams is going to want to speak to you," it continued. "Nice disguise by the way. If you'd jumped into a regular system you probably wouldn't have gotten caught," there was a conversational tone as it explained. "Well, not quite as fast."

Gaenor shook her head. If they were caught then there was only one thing she could do. "Start relaying information to the Empire, and prepare for self-destruct," she ordered, letting her siblings see what she could see, as she moved to her command console.

"Ah, ah, ah! You can't do that," the voice admonished.

Gaenor was left staring as her console shut down. She didn't need to look to know that the comm link was also non-responsive.

"Of course I can't stop that little telepathic trick you have but I don't think your memories are that good. Now, sit back and be good little Nur."

There was only one message Gaenor could tell her brood mates and as she felt the  _Camgyfeirio_  shudder, she reinforced that to them. Her crew would be saying the same thing so at least the Empire would be warned but even as she emphasised the message, she couldn't help but wonder how they had been caught.

It was like the Humans had known they were coming and she knew they'd avoided their net. The techniques the Ullator had told the Empire had worked. If they hadn't, they would have been caught much sooner. Gaenor shook her head. It didn't matter, only the message was important.

" _Do not come to Viarus."_

-cfr-

**47183 Years after Human Ascension, 2130 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire, Viarus System**

"And then Akita said to Raleigh, only if her core was removed and Raleigh said-"

"Yes, but you need to move on with your life-"

"One of my descendants just made it to Vice-Admiral-"

"Have you seen the latest scans from Gwlad? Cerberus is going to go insane."

"Williams is going spare you mean."

"Yeah, Harper won't care."

"What's up with-"

"Shut up! You know better than to go there."

"But-"

"No!"

Sahasa sighed. There might be a war but this was a normal day in Viarus. The only thing different was that the system felt crowded. Almost half the fleet had been assigned here to ensure the safety of those being created and those remote piloting ships in Nur territory.

Twenty thousand in one system was overkill but better safe than sorry and it wasn't like they could disobey. It was nearly six hundred years but the revelation of Shepard still had implications. When Williams was Cerberus she was careful about giving orders but they all knew they had to obey. Harper wasn't as careful but he was seldom there.

She sighed again, extending her senses as she ignored the ongoing and continuous gossiping.

Yep, everyone was where they should be. Those actually working on construction were hovering around the docks. There was a whole bunch of immortalised who appeared to be asleep who were remote piloting ships and other clusters of immortalised were scattered almost haphazardly through the system, except they formed a solid defensive net. The latest shipment of materials had arrived and Oh!

She felt her senses sharpen when she picked up on an unknown vessel.

Even the buzz of gossip paused as every immortalised looked at the ship.

It had come out of FTL and initiated a full sensor sweep. Not uncommon for an organic ship and it had the profile of a Human cruiser. Not a military vessel but one of those that shuttled people between worlds. Except the power signature was all wrong and the sensor sweep had felt alien.

"Oh, isn't that cute," Zorya commented. "The little Nur ship thinks it can bluff its way through here."

The gathered immortalised laughed. "Who wants to destroy it?" Miroslav asked, using the small amount of authority being the first gave her.

It was a sensible question. It was a cruiser. Hardly sport for any of them so this would be a chore.

"We should capture them," Zorya said. "Williams will probably want to talk to them."

"Heh," Miroslav chuckled at the phrase. "Talk, yes, sure, that's exactly what Williams will do. Pick them up Zorya," she instructed. "You are fairly close and take them to Tellus. Silas will help."

"We could leave them here," the question came from multiple immortalised. The Nur ship represented something to do.

"No," Miroslav was firm. "We can't stop their telepathy and we don't want to give them time to send further details to their brood mates. Tellus is the better option."

There was reluctant agreement and Sahasa sighed, watching as Zorya latched onto the ship.

"But did you know that Quintin told Akita that Raleigh was…"

She sighed again. The ship had caused a whole three minute break in gossip and she was now back on patrol.

That was something at least. No one had ever said that being immortal was so boring and sometimes she wondered if it was worth it but then she remembered, she only had to look at the vast array of space to remind herself that it was.

Today was just today.

Tomorrow held the promise of forever because not every day could be the same. Change was coming and she was on the list to patrol Nur space. With the way they infested systems that would be exciting.

She hoped.

-cfr-

**47184 Years after Human Ascension, 2131 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Undisclosed Location, Cerberus**

"Darren?"

"Yes, Ashley?"

"How are you going with mapping the Nur territory?"

"We are on schedule," he replied, pushing the maps to her attention.

"I need you to focus on finding the remaining eezo production facilities," she instructed.

Darren blinked non-existent eyelids. He was in Cerberus with her. "Can't you work with what we've got?" he asked.

"We estimate they've got about twenty five percent remaining. That's too many," Williams replied patiently. "Especially with the way they infest their territory."

Darren sighed, letting himself feel a slight annoyance. Both Williams and Harper asked his team to find things. Map this and that and generally work miracles with long distance observations. They didn't seem to appreciate how difficult it could be. Nor did they understand how his work relied on routine data analysis.

You couldn't necessarily find something because you were told to. You could look but that was no guarantee of finding. Except both Harper and Williams seemed to think it was.

They'd been lucky in the past but finding the remaining Nur eezo facilities would need more than luck. Especially with the amount of data he'd have to go through.

"I can start looking," he said, "but I'm going to need a few more parameters to help the search."

"What do you mean?" Williams questioned.

"Ashley, do you have any idea how many neutron stars there are?" Darren asked directly but her silence told him her answer. At least she had the good taste not to check the records. "There are approximately two hundred billion stars in the Milky Way, that's about one hundred million neutron stars."

"But I'm not asking about the Milky Way."

"No, but it is illustrative. There's only ten billion stars here but that's still at least five million neutron stars. Even if you account for the fact I only need to look in Nur territory, that's still two point five million stars."

"You've been surveying for more than two thousand years," she reminded him.

Darren sighed again. "Yes," he admitted, "and I can tell you where those stars are. What I can't tell you is if the facilities are there."

It was Ashley's turn to sigh. "Darren, you are filtering Viarus from the network, the Path of the Project and our own neutron stars so why can't we apply the same filters in reverse to find the Nur's facilities?"

"I already did!" Darren objected. "How do you think I found the original targets?"

"Then I need you to look again!" she cried. "The remaining facilities will be enough to keep the Nur going. If they are relying on their stockpiles, the war will be much quicker. This is about saving lives."

"I know that but I will still need the parameters unless you want to check several thousand targets."

Ashley was silent for a moment. "Better than several million," she muttered.

"I'll look but I can't guarantee answers," he said. He was already looking so it was nothing extra to comply.

"Give me your starting list," Williams instructed. She was not mollified by the answer but she had to bow to reality. "I'll send out more probes," she added. It would take a while for them to get there but the destruction of the eezo facilities was important. She could spare a few thousand long distance probes.

"You know it's not a few thousand," Darren interrupted the thought. "It's more like several hundred thousand."

"Then cut the list down some more. I can get thirty thousand probes and even that's pushing it."

"Won't they be safe once they get to light speed?"

"That's not the issue," Williams said. "The Nur will be looking for them."

"Yes, they are looking for our facilities," Darren reminded her unnecessarily.

It was one of the reasons he had added the filters for neutron stars to the network. The information the network collected was a little too public to be considered secure.

"Ours remain ahead of theirs," Ashley laughed, remembering the few Nur ships that had actually penetrated to some of the Empire's neutron stars.

The Ascended had made short work of them before moving on. There was no need to give the Nur easy targets.

"I'll try to narrow it down but hacking their locations is likely to be faster."

"I would do that but information control is the one thing the Nur did properly to prepare."

"Ah," Darren replied. If he'd looked at the files, he would have known that. For all that he was in Cerberus, he was not in the Prime position so he still had to look for information. "I'll give you a starting list in a few hours," he promised. "But I'll try to refine it over the next day or so."

"Try to limit it to stars within 10 light years of a Nur planet. That might help," Williams suggested.

"No worries," Darren said and then blinked as the sense of Ashley's presence vanished.

"Heh," the noise was heard only by himself but Darren knew he'd best get to work. Ashley would want that list sooner, rather than later.

-cfr-

**47186 Years after Human Ascension, 2133 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Nur Empire, Homeworld Xyrpyni**

Fleet Marshal Yorath stared at the data feeds. He was tense and his muscles were knotting up. He forced himself to breath as he attempted to relax. It didn't do any good as every word, diagram and graph just served to reinforce the extent of the Empire's losses.

They had been promised an easy target. They had not gotten it. The Phoenix Empire had been more than ready. Yes, they had been taken by surprise but they had quickly rallied, driving the invasion fleet off their border worlds.

At that point, the Nur had been braced and ready for an invasion but the Humans had paused. The reasonable explanation was that they were gathering their forces. It had taken the Nur about a year to muster theirs so the delay by the Phoenix Empire was not unreasonable. And they hadn't exactly been waiting. They had sent further attacks but the Humans had repelled them.

And then the Phoenix Empire had launched their counter attack. Into the heart of the Empire. Their infernal ships had appeared over most of the Empire's Eezo producing neutron stars.

They could produce eezo around other stars but the loss of the existing facilities slowed everything down. They had replacement ships but not stations. The Nur would be years rebuilding and while the Empire had stockpiles, it would not be enough to run a war.

The destruction of the eezo facilities had been followed up with assaults on their border worlds. Skilful assaults. The Phoenix Empire had learned a lot about the Nur's capabilities when they had driven them off. Yorath had to admit that they learned fast. Too fast.

They hadn't even heard from the ships they'd sent into Human territory after the Phoenix Empire's eezo facilities. It was like they'd disappeared into a black hole and Yorath was reluctantly impressed with the Human's ability to hide information. For all that they were a militaristic society, they were quite open but it appeared, they could change during a war.

He paused the information feeds.

"Is there anything we can do?" he asked Tesni. She was his younger sister from a different brood, but his family, all the related broods had agreed it was in their best interests to work together to get rid of the current administration.

She shook her head. "The Empress' support is still strong," Tesni told him.

Yorath sighed. He expected that answer.

The Empress was well supported. Her family, even with the losses of the invasion, was still very well placed.

"We are eroding their support," Tesni continued, "but it is going to take some time."

Time they may not have with the Phoenix Empire advancing. It would take time for the Humans to move further into the Empire but every day it took would just make it harder to end the war.

"How long?" Yorath asked.

"I don't know," Tesni said honestly. "Empress Oydryd had withdrawn her strongest supporters from the likely targets."

Yorath grimaced. He knew that. The Phoenix Empire had capture Quadrant Leader Vynnfor but the Empress' faction had managed to pin that loss as being Vynnfor's fault. He had supposedly been on a planet he'd been warned against visiting. Yorath knew there had been no such warning but by the time his faction could announce that, it was already too late.

"Keep working on it," he instructed, tossing a data crystal on to his desk. "Make sure this information gets to the right people."

"What is it?" she asked, tentatively picking up the crystal.

"The truth. It's a list of our losses," he told her.

Tensi nodded gravely, tucking the crystal way. It was treason to give her this but they had decided on this path and no one could doubt Yorath's dedication to the cause.

"Have you found any way of contacting the Phoenix Empire?" she asked.

While they may not yet be able to bring down the Empress, if they could contact the Phoenix Empire it would make stopping the war far, far easier.

"I can't get near Ambassador Utley." The Human was still alive and was in reasonable condition but was guarded by Empress Oydryd's loyalists. Contacting the former Ambassador might seem like an odd way to contact the Phoenix Empire. The Humans couldn't speak with their siblings after all but the Ambassador knew the correct frequencies to get a message straight to the top. Attempting to speak with the Human attack fleets when all they could do was offer conjecture was not a way to end the war.

"They may not be interested in talking," Tesni reminded him.

"Despite the military, the Phoenix Empire has almost always chosen the path of peace," Yorath replied. He had studied them. The huge military didn't make sense for the number of times it had actually done something. "There is no reason for them to change."

Tensi wasn't convinced but it wasn't an issue to pursue now. "I'll report back after we analyse this data," she said, dismissing herself.

"There's not much to analyse," Yorath was maudlin. "Beyond our initial, brief seizure of Phoenix Empire worlds, we have made no gains with this war. We've gone backwards and all analysis of the Humans indicates that they are not faltering. They are not desperate, and they are not mismanaged," he added, quoting the way the Empress had described the Humans.

Tensi nodded. There was nothing she could say about that. It was Yorath's opinion and they might be able to find something in the data he provided. Yorath was loyal to the Nur, they all were but Yorath was a soldier. Perhaps fresh eyes would see another path.

"I'll put a rush on it," she said.

Yorath nodded, tapping the screen to resume the flow of data. "See that you do," he murmured as she left. He had a feeling time was running out.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The first Nur ship went to Dorado, the first star the Phoenix Empire was making eezo at. The second went to Viarus where the Ascended fleet is gathered. I think you can tell who got the short straw. The little FTL less species has helped out already. That's going to be good for them in the future, and the cracks are beginning to appear in the Nur Empire. As soon as things go bad, that's when detractors pop up. Aliens are no different, but the worst is yet to come.


	81. Escalation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Nur make a very bad decision and the Human analysts notice some interesting trends in the war data.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 80: Escalation**

-cfr-

**47188 Years after Human Ascension, 2135 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Nur Empire, Homeworld Xyrpyni, Empress' Palace**

A meeting of the Nur Privy Council was a private affair. During a war, that was doubly so.

Empress Oydryd was the focus of course but during a war, the military advisors had a prominent place. Fleet Commander Cerys Blevins and Field Marshal Haf Crui were there. Usually only one attended but in a time of war both were needed. The Communications Mistress Iefana Prybe was present. The title was the polite way of saying Spy Mistress but she was in charge of disseminating information to the Empire and her position had only been created after they had discovered the Ullator but even with them gone there was no push to remove it. Each Empress had found the position far too useful.

The Empress' general advisor Siarl Flyrydys was also present. It was tradition that the position was filled from one of the general population but in practice, it was usually one of the Empress' family. It did help to keep information leaks under control.

By ancient custom that was so old, it was probably law but no one bothered to check, the Empress could not fill all the positions with her siblings. It led to an unbalanced view and poor leadership when that happened. So the Military Leaders were drawn from other groups, usually closely allied but not from the Empress' brood.

The Communications Mistress was usually someone with no loyalty to the Empress but generally they had no loyalty to anyone but the information they collected.

The Treasurer Macsen Pugh was present as well but the Empire was bearing the cost of the war for the moment. With the Phoenix Empire continuing their assault, driving deeper into the Empire, now striking at Tier Two planets, it was a cost they would continue to bear, especially with their proven inability to stop the strikes of the Humans.

Four days ago, the Phoenix Empire had once again struck behind the lines, destroying the last of the Empire's eezo production facilities despite the greatly increased guard fleets at each star.

Presumably the Humans had sent other fleets, to other neutron stars but those weren't guarded and now the Empire was down to their reserves. At least until they could get replacement facilities built. But that, with the continuing war, would be a drain on the Empire's resources. A necessary drain, but one never-the-less. The ships and facilities required to create eezo were specialised, and their docks were concentrating on warships. A portion had been put aside now but it was going to be some time before it made a difference.

"How long will our supplies last?" Treasurer Macsen asked. It was the pressing issue and despite knowing how much the war had cost, down to the last credit, no one said how large the eezo stores were.

"Several years," Fleet Commander Cerys Blevins replied. "Long enough to rebuild facilities, especially if we are careful."

"Define careful?" Communications Mistress Iefana asked, sarcasm thick in her tone. "What you really mean is if we stop all civilian transport," she added the accusation.

"Not stop," Field Marshal Crui defended the Fleet Mistress. "Just limit it to essential travel." Stopping civilian transport entirely was impractical, no matter how much they needed the eezo.

"You couldn't do it for long," the Communications Mistress allowed reluctantly. "There would be open revolt."

"Do you have a plan for this?" Siarl asked.

The Fleet Commander nodded and tapped the screen in front of her to bring up a proposal paper. It distributed itself to the others.

"This is totally unacceptable!" Treasurer Macsen exploded after only a moment of consideration. "Whole tiers would starve," he added. "Your Majesty, you cannot authorise this."

"It would only be temporary," Fleet Commander Blevins said stringently. "We cannot lose sight of the bigger picture. Without eezo, we cannot fight, and if we cannot fight, then we might as well surrender. And I don't think any of us want that," Cerys finished sweetly, daring Pugh to object.

"I know the problem," Macsen objected. "But if the Empire ceases to function, you lose your ability to fight, even if you have eezo. That plan is not possible."

Cerys took a deep, steadying breath. She really didn't like dealing with civilians. "Then what do you suggest we do?" she asked. "We must continue to fight and while I would like to believe we can rebuild further facilities, I cannot rely on that and I must plan accordingly."

"Yet it is your fleets which allow the Humans to run through the Empire with impunity," Macsen countered.

The entire Council froze. The statement was true but no one had voiced it.

"In the interests of continuing this meeting, I will forget I heard that but I would suggest you watch your back," Fleet Commander Blevins said softly.

"Is that a threat?"

"Just a warning."

"We need to stay on topic," Field Marshall Crui warned, nodding differentially to the Empress. "If we cannot ration eezo in the Empire then we must pursue other means."

"I did not say that," the Treasurer said firmly. "Rationing would be accepted, just not that plan," he gestured towards the screen.

"That is what is necessary," Haf Crui said gently.

"Defeating the Humans is the goal," Communications Mistress Prybe observed. "Not just holding them back," she added tartly.

"As it stands we have made no advances, and the Phoenix Empire is advancing on the second tier planets," First Advisor Siarl summarised the military situation succinctly.

Planets in the Empire were divided into tiers. The home world was the highest tier and the major families in the next tier. From then on, generally the further you were from the home world, the lower the tier with the border worlds being tier one. That the Phoenix Empire was approaching the second tier meant they had lost a significant amount of territory.

"As it stands, do we have any plans to push them back?" Siarl asked.

Fleet Commander Blevins and Field Marshal Crus shared a long look. They had discussed this before the meeting, knowing the question had to be asked and with the forces they had available at the moment, and for the foreseeable future, the answer was not reassuring.

The Humans were far stronger than even their most pessimistic estimates. The Phoenix Empire had very cleverly and persistently hidden their real strength and now the Nur were paying for their assumptions. But it was not a complete rout.

The Humans still had to fight for every system but while the battles took time, victory was going to the Phoenix Empire and if it continued, eventually there wouldn't be battles. The planets would capitulate unless something was done.

Field Marshal Crui answered after sighing audibly. "Currently, while we will fight, if nothing changes there is nothing that we can foresee which will tip the battle in our favour," she said the last after swallowing hard.

"Then something must change," Iefana said, looking at the military commanders with a measuring eye.

The others picked up on the gaze and turned to them, waiting for an answer.

"There is one weapon we could use," Fleet Commander Blevins admitted softly.

"Then, by the Empress, why haven't you used it" Macsen practically screamed. "Do you have any idea how much this war is costing us?"

Cerys ignored him. "We haven't used it because it is not something that can be deployed for planetary defence." Her tone was quiet but intense and while they did not know what she was talking about, the Council knew it was serious. Despite the severity of the situation, several of them spared a glance towards the Empress. She remained still and had not said a word, which was unusual but it was obvious she was listening.

Field Marshal Crui was staring fixedly at the data pad in front of her. She was gripping it so hard that it shook. It was obvious this was not something she wished to discuss.

"So what is it?" Siarl asked.

Again, Fleet Commander Cerys paused before answering. She looked down at her datapad and then lightly scratched one hand before reaching out to tap it. As it was still linked to the main view screen, the image there changed as well. It now displayed a diagram of a star. There were a heap of numbers surrounding it and a few ships. They appeared to be towing something huge. Eventually they released it, and the schematic showed the mass in a decaying orbit around the star. It impacted and disappeared, along with the ships. The numbers began to fluctuate wildly.

"What is this?" Siarl demanded.

"Just keep watching," Cerys instructed.

The numbers all seemed to come together at once and then the diagram appeared to shatter, displaying an explosion. The screen then panned out and a line representing a shock wave began emanating outwards.

A new number appeared, displaying days and it was quickly counting upwards. Several systems were marked as hostile and as the line passed through them, the name changed to indicate they were no longer a threat.

The line disappeared and the diagram rest.

"Do you mean to tell me you can detonate stars and we are still losing this war?" Treasurer Macsen was incredulous.

"It's not that easy," Field Marshal Crui retorted heatedly. "Even a civilian like you should be able to see that?"

"What I see is a way to win this war you've been losing," Macsen countered.

"It also nullifies any gains we could make from this war," Iefana spat, unimpressed with Macsen's continued warmongering. All he saw was the numbers and while she could sometimes be accused of a similar attitude, she was aware of the psychological and emotional cost of the war. Already two of her brood mates had been killed.

"What do you mean?" Advisor Siarl asked.

"Detonation of a star does not just destroy the system, it irradiates the surrounding systems. It destroys habitable planets."

"So? They are Human worlds!" Macsen frowned, trying to work out the issue. "By our standards they are polluted," he added, referring to the differences in atmospheric requirements.

"I think it would be best if you remain silent for the moment," Siarl interjected before either military leader could say anything. "Can you detonate any star?" he then asked, looking at them.

"No, it is only a sub-range of white dwarfs."

"I take it you already have a target?" he asked another question, nodding his understanding of the previous statement.

Both military leaders hesitated. "We do," Fleet Commander Blevins said finally.

"It is far enough within the Phoenix Empire that the shockwave will not impact upon our worlds," Crui added the detail.

"How many Human systems are in range?"

"Seven. We estimate catastrophic loss of life and biosphere in seven systems in range, though more will be affected." Fleet Commander Cerys drew a deep breath. "The initial blast wave will take approximately five and a half years to reach the first system. It will take another one and a half years to reach the next and the others as it moves outwards. It will also take about half a year for a ship to make the journey into Phoenix Empire territory and another half year to actually trigger the detonation."

"So if we launched today, it would still take six and a half years before the Humans experienced losses."

"We have that time," Crui interrupted, knowing where Siarl was heading. "And if the troops know we are biding our time, they will fight accordingly. The fucking Phoenix Empire pauses to secure each system before they move on."

"But it changes everything," Iefana murmured thoughtfully tapping one finger on her datapad as she thought. "If we do this, the war will change and I think we must be prepared for the Phoenix Empire to retaliate in kind," she added.

"Yes," Fleet Commander Cerys agreed. "If we launch this, there will be no going back."

"What do you mean?" Siarl asked but it was obvious he was asking for specifics. He understood the deeper meaning.

"The war will become one of survival-"

"It already is," the Treasurer interrupted. "At least, that is how it was presented," he added in a slightly resentful tone.

"That remains true," Field Marshal Crui said. "The war is one for dominance in addition to survival, but this will change it. If we sterilise entire planets, targeting civilians, then the Humans will see it as… what's that word they have? Genocide," she said, mispronouncing the word slightly because of the unfamiliar sounds. "They will take it at a sign that we mean to kill them all."

"And they will act accordingly," Fleet Commander Cerys said.

"What do you mean?" Communication Mistress Iefana repeated Siarl's question, ignoring Macsen's mutter of 'they have no civilians.'

"The Humans have participated in two interspecies wars that we are aware of," Fleet Commander Blevins explained. "The Fedochi and the Ullator. Both species lost but both are still alive, with their territory at the time of conflict not much reduced. The Fedochi still have an Exarch."

"A figurehead," Macsen snapped.

"Granted," Cerys agreed. "But they still have the position and to some extent they are allowed self-rule. It is the same with the Ullator, though their territory was reduced and the Humans are much more pervasive in their government."

"So what you are saying," Siarl spat, "is that the Phoenix Empire might not be so bad."

"Nothing of the sort!" Cerys flared at the accusation. "I'm saying, that for the sake of those Nur in territory held by the Phoenix Empire, we must consider everything. The Humans have not exterminated any species they've conquered."

"Neither the Ullator or Fedochi killed entire planet's," Field Marshal Crui said.

"That's not true," Communication Mistress Prybe shook her head. "The Fedochi rammed ships into Phoenix Empire worlds, much like the attack on Atto." She didn't say it, but her tone made it clear that she considered that attack stupid.

"That's the point," Cerys said. "We have not gone past a point of no return. This attack, if implemented, will be that point."

"How do you know?" Sierl asked. "The Phoenix Empire shows off its ability to terraform anything. Why should this be any different?"

"I… It's…" Cerys struggled for the words. This would change things. She knew that. She could feel it but it was difficult, remembering what the Phoenix Empire had suffered so far, to explain why.

"Because this is an indiscriminate, large area assault. It is not conquering the planets for later use, it is destroying them and their systems for millions of years. This attack will make a point, will tell the Humans that we will fight to the death and they will respond in kind."

"They already have!" Macsen exclaimed.

"No," Field Marshal Crui said firmly. "At the moment, the Phoenix Empire is conquering our worlds. There is no evidence that they are exterminating our people. Those with siblings in the occupied territory can still speak to them," she continued. "They know nothing about Human plans but they are allowed food and water and have been organised into gangs to repair the damage the fighting caused but none of the signals are being removed abnormally. The Humans are not deliberately executing them on mass."

"It could be a play!" Treasurer Macsen said.

"It might be but we deal with what has happened now and that is the truth. And the troops know it. I can't keep that type of information out of their claws. If the Humans were killing everyone, there would be calls for revenge. There are calls for revenge," Field Marshal Haf continued, "but the larger part of the forces know that if they aren't killed in the initial assault, they will survive on the planet afterwards."

"That is an insidious tactic."

"It is a tactic," Cerys retorted without heat.

They sat in silence and Cerys wondered what the silences of this meeting meant for the Empire.

"So what you are saying," Sierl said, his inflections clearly indicating he was summarising the situation. "Is that if we continue as we are, the Phoenix Empire will continue to conquer our worlds, tier by tier until they reach the homeworld, though at some point, it may not be conquest so much as occupation, when they just move in because no one will fight them." There was a definite edge to his voice.

"Or we can launch an attack which will demonstrate to the Phoenix Empire, once and for all, the dangers of attacking us."

Fleet Commander Blevins started for a moment, her mind processing the words without understanding and then it dawned on her. "No," she said the denial, trying to conceive how Sierl could think that.

"That's one way of looking at it," Field Marshal Crui replied before Blevins could properly formulate a reply. "But you underestimate the consequences. We might hope that the Phoenix Empire will sue for peace at that time but we must consider what will happen if they do not."

"Peace?" Treasure Macsen laughed. "I expect that arrogant Emperor of theirs to surrender! And if he doesn't, we destroy more of their worlds!"

"Assuming we launched now, in six and a half years time, where will they be?" Siarl asked, sensibly motioning Macsen to silence.

"They appear, for the moment to be progressing tier by tier. I believe they will be at the fifth or sixth tier," Crui replied. "They don't seem to be in a hurry."

"So we must strike now!" Macsen snarled.

"Do you not understand?" Cerys was exasperated. "The death of combatants is one thing. This weapon kills planets!"

"I understand," the Treasurer replied. "I understand that you can't drive the Phoenix Empire back and so something else must be done to break them. If their arrogant Emperor does not accept reality after one, then we launch again and again until Harper grovels before us. That is what I understand because that is our only path to victory."

"There is another consideration," Communications Mistress Prybe murmured. "Is there any way of letting the Phoenix Empire know we can do this without losing the ability to do it?"

"Maybe," Siarl replied, "but continue anyway."

"We could tell the Humans. Make it a threat to sue for the drawing of a border."

Field Marshal Crui took a deep breath. "History would suggest that the Phoenix Empire may accept that," she said, referring to the first conflict with the Fedochi. "But they will insist they keep their gains."

"You would just walk away from those who have died?" Macsen screamed.

"We started this conflict," Haf reminded him.

"Because the Phoenix Empire was building up their military under the guise of colonisation. They would have started this war in another few years."

"Perhaps," Fleet Commander Cerys allowed. "But they didn't. The surrender of the territory already conquered would be the minimum price the Phoenix Empire demands for peace. But if we threaten them, I'm not sure they will accept it. It is blackmail by another name."

"Ah, but it would open communications," Iefana reminded them with a self-deprecating smile at her use of the word.

"And close them just as quickly. Emperor Harper will not accept that."

"Then open communications anyway and ask for the same," she said it as if it was the obvious choice.

"Never!" Macsen howled at a volume that was not needed.

"I do not believe that is a viable option," Siarl said. "The Phoenix Empire has shown no interest in communication and they would see it as tantamount to saying 'You are stronger than we expected. Sorry, can we put this behind us?'" he carped in a credible imitation of a Human voice.

Cerys swallowed but nodded reluctantly. "Terms could be offered in the aftermath that would include a roll back of territory."

"If they accept terms," Field Marshal Crui added.

"Emperor Harper is reasonable," Sierl replied. "I believe he will but it is not our decision."

"No, for such an attack we will need your permission, Your Majesty," Fleet Commander Blevins said looking expectantly at the Empress. "But with respect, please taken into consideration that this is a final act of war. It may spur the Phoenix Empire to display greater brutality."

"But it is our only hope of victory," Macsen broke in. "They admit that," he added, gesturing vaguely to the military leaders.

Empress Oydryd nodded slowly, the action full of reserved consideration. She had sat silent through their argument but just as the declaration of war had come from her, so too must the authorisation for this act.

"We will not surrender," Oydryd spoke gravely. "I will not see our Empire bow to some alien overlords. If they were honourable, they would have already acknowledged that but they have not," she continued, ignoring the fact that they would not have done so.

"We will make that strike and in the aftermath shall offer the Phoenix Empire the chance to draw a new border with us, one where they acknowledge the Nur as the rightful rulers of this galaxy. I am generous. I will not seek to exterminate the Humans and their allied species, but they will remain subservient."

"A protectorate, Your Majesty?" Sierl questioned.

"Yes," she allowed. "They may maintain limited self-government but their taxes shall come first to us." As expected, Treasurer Pugh seemed pleased with that announcement.

"With respect, those are details for the future," Communications Mistress Iefana said before they could get side tracked dealing with a surrender that was hypothetically hoped for in six and a half years.

"You are correct, Communications Mistress," Empress Oydryd accepted the statement. "For now, Fleet Commander Blevins and Field Marshal Crui must launch as soon as possible but they must also communicate with our soldiers that the end is in sight.

"It may be further than the beginning but it is coming and it does end with our ascendance, no matter how bleak it may appear now."

"Understood, Your Majesty," Crui answered for them both.

Cerys shook her head. "Your Majesty, I am sorry," she apologised and they all knew the question that was to follow, "but are you sure?"

Empress Oydryd's eyes flashed. "I am sure," she insisted firmly. "It is a gamble but unless we are prepared to take it, your Intel suggests this war will end with our defeat. I will not allow the Empire to be defeated, no matter the cost. And that cost shall be borne by the Phoenix Empire."

Fleet Commander Blevins closed her eyes before bowing her head to indicate her acceptance of the Empress' decision.

"I'll have a ship ready to launch in three days," she said.

"Very good," Sierl spoke over Macsen as she looked around. "We've spent enough time on this discussion and we have used our time. Is there any further pressing business?" he asked, looking directly at Iefana. She was the most likely to have something extra to add.

Prybe sighed. "Not yet," she answered the unspoken question from the Empress. "My spies haven't gained sufficient trust to be told secrets yet," she said frankly. "It might take a bit longer but I assure you, they will find out what Fleet Marshal Yorath is up to."

Empress Oydryd nodded sharply. "See that they do," she said.

She was the driving force behind the investigation and so they would examine every facet of Yorath's life until they found something, though Iefana had already decided that she would make a decision about Fleet Marshal Yorath after she found out what he was hiding. If it was of interest, she'd fabricate something for the Empress. It was better to wait and offered far more opportunities for profit.

Assuming she found something and told the Empress, Fleet Marshal Yorath's fate would be decided then because despite the known dislike, there was no question that he was competent, and in this war, they needed all the competent officers they could get.

"I hope I am mistaken," Empress Oydryd said. "But I know that I am right, and I will regret the necessity of removing such a skilled officer." The Empress could speak politically when required and to those who knew her, the regret sounded real.

Communication Mistress Iefana nodded. "I will find out what he is hiding," she confirmed her mission but she was experienced enough to know that the Empress would not regret removing Yorath. Instead, her regret was because she couldn't simply have him removed.

Still Iefana was wise enough to know after the preliminary investigation that he was up to something but whatever it was, those involved were not amateurs, which was reassuring. The Empire would suffer if he was executed and there was only so long she could be blind to the truth once she found it.

"I expect answers soon," Empress Oydryd pressed.

Iefana nodded. "Then by your leave, Your Majesty," she said.

"Yes, you are all dismissed."

The Council rose and bowed towards the Empress before they filed away, leaving the Empress alone. She sat for a few moments more, thinking before she too rose, nodding to herself.

Today was the first day of the end of the war and when Harper bowed to her, she would tell him that because no immigrant species would dominate this galaxy. This Humans were just another obstacle but the Nur would defeat them.

It was their destiny, just as it was hers to rule them.

Forever.

-cfr-

**47192 Years after Human Ascension, 2139 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Phoenix Empire, Military Analysis Facility**

"Eusebia, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" Fen Hsu asked, tapping a stylus against the data pad.

"That depends on what you are seeing," Eusebia Ogla replied.

"You're looking at the data from the assault on Cysawd, right?"

"Yeah, you've got Myd. And we both got them 'cos Williams used the same strategy and wants to see how the Nur reacted."

"That's it," Hsu said. "But you are seeing the same basic defence strategy as well."

"It could be the same commander," Eusebia agreed, "to go with the same attack."

"It's the exact same response, with some variation for local conditions and we used much the same strategy, so why did it take an extra six weeks for Myd to fall?"

"Huh?" Ogla frowned and then began checking her timeline.

They had been so involved in checking the events that she hadn't checked the dates. "You're right. It took fifty-four more days."

"Yes, but why?" Fen asked. "The climates are roughly the same, and except for that storm there was no major interruption to the battles. They just took longer on Myd."

"Better troops on Myd?" Eusebia suggested.

Hsu checked a few logs. "It doesn't look like it."

"More troops then?"

"No, the garrisons were roughly the same. They are both tier four Nur planets."

"A better commander?"

"They made same decisions," Fen shot that suggestion down.

"Hmm…" Eusebia sighed, thinking of further alternatives but everything seemed more fantastic or completely illogical. "Did we just not react as fast?"

"No," Hsu said, "the actual battles took longer but the peripherals are the same. At least on our data."

"Then the Nur just wanted Myd more," Ogla concluded.

"Yes, but why?" Fen demanded. "It makes no sense. Myd has the same strategic value as Cysawd. The records taken from the Nur indicate that the troops had approximately the same equipment and training but Myd still took longer. The only real difference is that we took Cysawd in April and Myd in October."

"It's to be expected that some planets will fight harder," Ogla mused.

"That's true, but it doesn't tell us-"

"-Why," Eusebia interrupted with an audible exhale. "I know," she admitted. "Either we are missing something or the Nur simply fought harder for Myd," she continued.

"Hm, let's try something else," Fen suggested and he began tapping at his datapad, clearing away the old information.

Eusebia looked over before touching the controls so that Fen's screen was projected. She leaned back as she watched the information flow. First, a list of Nur systems appeared. Then they were marked with their tier and everything above four was discarded. A second number appeared beside each system name and Ogla was confused before she realised it represented the order in which the planets fell to the invading army. The list reordered, ranking itself based on that number and then a final number appeared beside each name.

Eusebia didn't know what they were and for a moment there was no discernible pattern. Then she began seeing things. Initially the numbers tracked down. It wasn't perfect, there were some dips and spikes but the overall trend was down.

Then suddenly, for no apparent reason, the numbers reversed, tracking steadily upwards. It happened between April and October.

"Son of a bitch!" Fen cried as he made a graph.

"Header information is nice," Ogla reminded him.

"What! Oh, yes," Hsu said absently, staring at the graph. A moment later an identification attached itself to the numbers.

"You're kidding me?"

"I wish I was," Fen replied, sobering.

"What's the trend on that?"

A smooth line intersected the points, also rising and it it a new label appeared.

"Project it to Xyrpyni."

It took a moment for the calculations to be done and number of new lines appeared. Some continued trending upwards, some did so before they turned downwards again. Highlighted clearly was the actual data and the projection.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Fen exclaimed, looking at the information.

Eusebia took control of the display. "The question is what happened here," she said, highlighting the first, actual trough just before it turned into a rise.

"Which is my exact question," Fen replied. "Why did it take longer for Myd to fall?"

"Yes, but all the Nur systems are taking longer now. We were beginning to see the domino effect," Eusebia said, tapping one finger over the downward line. "Their colonies were falling, each one faster than the last but then it stops." She tapped the trough again.

"It wasn't anything we did," Fen said, "but the Nur don't appear to have done anything, either. At least, Intel hasn't reported anything."

"Yet they must have. Everything else being equal and every measurable factor is, either our troops were tired, or theirs just fought harder."

"I agree."

Fen and Eusebia stiffened. The speaker wasn't either of them and the voice was choral but feminine.

"Something in the Nur has changed and battles we were previously winning are now becoming hard fought."

They froze at the same time, realising who was speaking. There were rumours, stories from the command corp that this happened. It just never happened to analysts. They just got orders delivered to their screens. Impersonal, precise and way less scary.

Eusebia and Fen leapt up at the same time, falling into exact salutes. They might be analysts but they were still military.

"Grand Admiral Williams! Sir!"

"At ease," she instructed and there was an undercurrent of amusement in her tone. That wasn't hard when your voice was a multitude. "Lieutenant Hsu, you have a degree in xenopsychology. Intel's reports of the Nur will be forwarded to you. Use your knowledge to look for a reason for the change in attitude."

"Yes, Sir!" Fen snapped the words but Eusebia could heard his trepidation. No one could look through that information alone, not unless they were an immortalised.

"Your team will report at 0800 tomorrow," Grand Admiral Williams had already thought of it. "Second Lieutenant Ogla, you speak Nur. You shall head a team speaking to the Nur on those worlds we have recently taken. Your task will be to supplement Intel with real information from the Nur. You will also handle the questioning of several Commanders. You need not be concerned, they will answer you," the Grand Admiral said, probably in response to the way she stiffened with dread. "They will respond better to seeing a Human face," Williams concluded.

"Yes, Sir!" Eusebia agreed. What else could she say? The woman was the supreme commander.

"Very good. Report at 0800 to Quanta port for transport. For the rest of today, you are both dismissed and on leave," the Grand Admiral said before there was silence.

Fen broke it first, letting out an explosive breath as he felt into his chair.

Eusebia was only slightly more controlled in that she didn't roll as far.

"What was that?" Hsu gasped. "Was that real?" A beep from their comms accompanied the question and they both pulled them out. Orders appeared in the air, holographically displayed under the crest of the military.

"Fuck!" Eusebia exclaimed, unsure what else could be said. The orders were signed Grand Admiral Williams.

It had been real.

"By the Empire!" Fen exclaimed. "We've gotta find the reason?"

"Yes," Ogla breathed. "Now calm down," she added but that was as much for herself as it was for Hsu. She took a deep breath, calming her heart beat. "You need to think of an analysis strategy."

Fen stilled before he stared at her, incredulous. Then he shook his head, laughing. "After getting orders from the Grand Admiral herself that is what you want to talk about?" he asked.

"No, it's not but as you say, we got the orders. Those stories the command corp tell us are true. The Grand Admiral does monitor everything," she said it weakly, as if she wasn't sure she could believe it. "I'm not sure what else there is to say about that."

"It happened to us!" Fen relied, shock turning into excitement. "It happened to us," he repeated.

"It did," Eusebia confirmed. "But that doesn't change our orders," she added in an attempt to deflate Fen's burgeoning excitement.

"Yeah," he breathed the word, sounding almost like he was deflating.

"You need an analysis plan," she repeated, "Because if you meet your new team tomorrow without one, they'll think you're a throwback."

"Ouch!" he said but she knew he agreed. "You need to brush up on your Ohlk," he said slyly.

"Crud," Ogla growled. "I still can't pronounce some of the words," she said.

"I don't think anyone who hasn't had tongue implants can," he chuckled with a lascivious look. Everyone knew what they were used for.

"Forget it," Eusebia replied. "Not if you were-"

"Yeah, I know," he laughed. They'd had this discussion many times before and it was merely good natured bantering.

"And I'd better think of questions since, no matter what the Grand Admiral says, I doubt the Nur will tell me the truth if I just ask what's changed."

Fen nodded. "I can give you some of my notes," he offered.

"That would be good. I mean, you learn a little bit about their culture with the language but not enough," Eusebia complained.

Hsu waved one hand, interrupting the rant. Information about almost everything was freely available in the Empire. It was up to the individual to educate themselves. He'd studied xenopsychology while Eusebia had focused on language.

"That's not our most important consideration though," he told her.

Eusebia blinked. "Oh?" she asked, tilting her head quizzically.

"What are we going to tell the others?" he whispered conspiratorially.

"Oh… oh!" Ogla murmured, understanding.

It had always been a bit of a running joke amongst the analyst teams that Grand Admiral Williams focused on the command corp but now they had evidence that she monitored them all. The thought caused Eusebia to swallow hard. Just how many things could the supreme commander keep track of at once?

Ship captains were always smug about their ability but there was obviously a huge gulf in ability between ranks.

"I'm not sure," she said.

"We've got to tell them!" Fen was practically bouncing. "Imagine the tizz it will put them in!" he asked.

Eusebia thought about the nebulous them. It could mean anything from their fellow analysts to the ship captain.

"Our orders came directly from the Grand Admiral herself!"

"Yes, but they are still just orders," she countered.

Fen shook his head. "Take all the fun out of it, why don't you?" he grumped.

"I think it's better to keep quiet," she continued. "Yes, the orders are from the Grand Admiral but we are military analysts. We are meant to be discreet."

"We won't be able to keep it secret forever. You're heading off into Nur territory and who knows where I'll be," Hsu reminded her.

"You probably won't be here," Eusebia said. "So why don't we go with that and just disappear? Think about the chaos and speculation that will cause," she phrased it brightly.

Fen laughed. "You're right, let's leave it at that," he proclaimed as if it had been his intention all along. "For now though, I think we have time for a celebratory drink. It's not every day you get a promotion like this."

"Just the one," Eusebia agreed, picking up the data pads. "We've got a lot of work to do."

"But we'll be the ones doing it."

For analysts, that was often the only reward.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for delay. Slight problem last night. Still, not as huge as the problem the Nur are inviting upon themselves but they are getting desperate. Should just go the surrender option. It would end better for them since despite everything else Harper is a, and I shudder to write this, honourable man. Who'd have thought it?


	82. Alert, Alarum and Warning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 81: Alert, Alarum and Warning**

-cfr-

**47193 Years after Human Ascension, 2140 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Nur Empire Homeworld Xyrpyni, Empress' Palace**

"Fleet Commander Blevins," Empress Oydryd greeted the other Nur when she appeared on the comm.

"Your Majesty!" Cerys was surprised and snapped to attention.

The Empress waved it away, holding up a data pad. "The Gohebu Report indicates you have isolated another potential trigger system within the Phoenix Empire."

Blevins swallowed hard. "Yes, Your Majesty."

The previous mission had gone off without a hitch and they were now waiting for the shock wave to strike. The Phoenix Empire had noticed their increased resistance but still didn't know why, though they were actively seeking answers. Their working explanation at the moment was that the resistance increased with planet tiers which wasn't a bad explanation but it did not encompass the whole truth.

"I want a second mission launched," Empress Oydryd instructed. "Not yet, but soon. Once the shock wave hits, I will discuss terms with Emperor Harper. His answers will decide if that mission goes ahead," she explained. "But I want them in position, waiting for the order to initiate the trigger."

Cerys nodded. "I will calculate the necessary launch date and prepare a crew."

"Good," the Empress nodded. "How goes the rebuild?" she asked, changing the topic.

"Well. The first shipment from the Amnewid facilities was most appreciated. I have a full squadron in system to protect them." The facilities were a bit ramshackle but they were producing eezo, and that was all that mattered.

"The Phoenix Empire won't get lucky again," the Empress said firmly. "One good thing the Ullator did for us," she added the half sentence but Blevins nodded her understanding.

They could naturally detect those who had turned to the Phoenix Empire but it was the Ullator who made it clear that they could not be rehabilitated. And it was thanks to the Ullator's manipulative nature that they knew it didn't appear the Phoenix Empire was attempting espionage behind Nur lines. They were equal in that, because the Nur had only limited luck with their own agents. Still Ceyrs was taking no chances. The Phoenix Empire would destroy the Amnewid facilities if they could and even with the Supernova Project, they could not afford that.

Fleet Marshal Yorath had been excluded from all knowledge of the Supernova Project, but like all the Empire, he would know of it in time. For now, he was leading the rebuilding of their eezo facilities, and doing well at it.

The Phoenix Empire was good at espionage and while their normal brainwashing was denied to them, everyone involved in the Supernova and Eezo rebuilding projects were being screened heavily.

There was a whole batch of young, inexperienced pilots and controllers in Amnewid, not just because those with more experience had been killed but because their loyalty to the Empire was assured. They'd had no time in their lives when the Humans could have gotten to them or their siblings and their online activity was closely monitored.

"Yes, Your Majesty, though the Phoenix Empire is aware that we are able to detect their agents, they do not seem to be using them," she said the last with confidence.

"A victory," Empress Oydryd confirmed. "Give me the timeline for the second supernova as well as the updated schedule for the rebuild tomorrow."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Cerys replied, saluting before the Empress cut the call.

The Fleet Commander took a deep breath before she looked back at her datapad. The work never stopped coming.

-cfr-

**47195 Years after Human Ascension, 2142 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC  
(Seven years after the mission was launched)**

The first warning that something was wrong came in the form of alarms. It was not the attack warning but rather they sounded in a small room. Several monitors turned themselves on, numbers scrolling over their screens as the alarm built to a crescendo.

Finally the numbers blinked and words appeared.

"Terminal saturation. Evacuate Immediately."

The alarm gave another loud wail before it dribbled into silence as the words repeated over every screen.

The first warning came in the forms of alarms, in the atmospheric monitoring room of the terraforming station, a station that had been dropped as part of the initial colonisation but never used since both Freyr and Freyjr were habitable.

If it had have been used, it would perhaps have been hooked up to the great terraforming machines and it might have been able to delay the inevitable.

But it wasn't.

So the first warning went unheeded and the sun rose on Freyr and Freyjr as they were bathed in gamma radiation, converting the nitrogen in the atmosphere into nitrogen oxide. The ozone layer thinned and then faded as it was consumed and the planets were bathed in radiation.

It was not a nice way to die.

-cfr-

**47195 Years after Human Ascension, 2142 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Senate Meeting Room**

"I don't know what I'm doing here," Williams growled, glaring at Harper.

"You know exactly why you are here," he told her.

"Fourteen billion died. I don't need civilian interference to tell me how to do my job," she snapped back.

"Yet you are going to put up with it," he replied sharply.

Williams snorted, rolling her eyes. "Only until you authorise what I'm going to do anyway."

Emperor Harper didn't dispute it. "Be that as it may, you will remain here until this emergency Senate session is concluded."

The Grand Admiral's hologram sighed. "If you say so, Jack," she grumped because while she might be present as photons, the bulk of her would be busy elsewhere. Besides, it wasn't like the Senate had any authority over her.

"Right," Emperor Harper turned glowing eyes onto one of the Senators, "Summarise," he ordered.

"Your Majesty," the man nodded. "At approximately 1025, Empire Standard time, Freyr suffered a catastrophic chain reaction in the upper atmosphere, leading to the complete consumption of atmospheric ozone and the subsequent irradiation of the Planet and the death of seven billion inhabitants and ninety five percent of the indigenous life. This was followed by the same deterioration on Freyjr and the deaths of another seven billion citizens."

The senators were silent for a few moments and then the questions began.

"Was it an attack?"

"Did the terraforming fail?"

"Will it happen anywhere else?"

"They aren't terraformed!"

"What did the defence fleet do?"

"Are there any survivors?"

"Silence!" Emperor Harper yelled, cutting through the confused cacophony of questions. All eyes turned to him, seeking answers. "These events are what we are here to discuss."

"So it was an attack," Almeta Guo concluded, leaning back in her hologramatic chair. She as the eldest of the Senators and had seen the most.

"It was," a new hologram spoke. They looked particularly harried but the Senator's recognised the uniform of the Terraforming Division.

"But it was not an attack on the planet," another hologram spoke.

"Darren," Williams said to him.

"Ashley," he nodded.

The exchange was enough for the Senators to realise Darren was an original and they ignored the way the Grand Admiral glared at the Emperor. There was obviously something else going on but the Senators recognised it as politics between the originals and they knew it would not impact upon the Empire. Not significantly anyway. Harper's and Williams' bickering was legendary.

"We've looked at the records from the Network," the one identified as Darren continued, ignoring the staring match between Williams and Harper. "About six and a half years ago, a star we call Zembu, in the Miranda Sector went supernova."

A series of images appeared on the view screens to illustrate Darren's words. "We didn't notice it then because we weren't watching for it. Zembu was catalogued and classified as no threat over twelve hundred years ago when the Miranda Sector was being scouted for colonisation."

"So what happened?" Senator Wing Zhao asked. Miranda was his sector and fourteen billion dead citizens and two irradiated worlds was not something he wanted to be dealing with.

"Zembu should not have gone nova," Darren stated clearly. "It is believed it was assisted," he concluded.

"What?" The general exclamation of disbelief speed around the relatively small senate chamber.

"There is no direct monitoring of Zembu because it was not meant to be a risk," Darren attempted to explain. "However, an examination of secondary readings indicates that until six and a half years ago it was normal. Something must have changed."

"Yeah, the military let the Nur into the Phoenix Empire," Senata Baona Liao muttered.

That broke the staring match between the Grand Admiral and the Emperor as Williams' eyes snapped to the Senator, her face a mask of anger.

"Ashley," Harper warned but there was a slight placating note in his tone. The single word told the Grand Admiral that he needed Senator Liao, though it was of no comfort to the woman.

She was a Senator, the representative for one thousand planets of the Empire, their only official voice to the Emperor but Williams was… The glare emphasised every inch of the political chasm between them. Williams was the Grand Admiral and that position was unassailable.

Except it didn't change the truth of the statement.

"This is why I don't like civilians," the Grand Admiral said finally, with a flick of her eyes that seemed to dismiss Senator Baona as being beneath her. At least that's what it looked like to the males in the room. The females knew better and knew that Williams would remember this.

The Emperor ignored the statement. "Darren?" he prompted.

"Yes?" the astronomer said. "Something probably did change. Esha tells me it's a fairly easy process if a little time consuming to push a star into going nova," he continued and several new graphs appeared.

"We don't need the specifics," Emperor Harper headed the science lesson off at the pass. How was irrelevant now, at least the star based reactions were. They already knew the consequences. The only part of how that had to be discussed was how to stop it since it was artificial.

"In the absence of confirmation, or alternate claims of responsibility, we will assume this was a Nur attack," Senator Almeta said, nodding shallowly towards Emperor Harper to indicate that she would remain on topic. "The immediate concern therefore must be with survivors. Is there any chance there are any?"

"No," Lecia Ankin said firmly though her voice was sick. She was the head of the Terraforming Department and while she did deal with the Senators, to help choose new planets for processing, she never wanted to deal with them like this. "Even if there were, they would be bunkers and ships couldn't get to them. Exposure on this level is fatal."

"So we are looking at two completely irradiated, lifeless worlds."

"Yes," Lecia confirmed.

"Why didn't anyone detect the light from the explosion?"

Lecia shook her hologramatic head. "They did, just before the radiation killed them," she explained. "Radiation travels at the same speed of light through vacuum."

Almeta nodded. "Next," she said before anyone else could comment. "We must consider the range of this nova." She looked at Darren's hologram.

He brought up a star charge honing in on Zembu before the image zoomed out. Freyr and Freyjr appeared, labelled red but then other worlds appeared. Their names were shaded to indicate their proximity to Zembu.

"I believe that will be the effective range," Darren said.

"So there are another four Human worlds and one Fedochi in range and a few are likely to get bombarded with neutrinos."

"The next hit won't be for another three hundred days. So what can be done?" the Emperor put the question to the Senate.

"I can escalate our response," Williams chirped in an unsubtle request that screamed that all he had to do was order it and she'd be out of there. It would be one of the few occasions she actually waited for orders.

"Like most things, we are going to need a few responses," Senator Vasant Singh said. "There are civilian considerations and military ones," he continued, nodding in deference to Grand Admiral Williams. "There are those needed now, to deal with this disaster and those we need to put in place to ensure it doesn't happen again," he paused but no one spoke. "I believe this is the result of an attack from the Nur, and soon enough they will claim responsibility.

"Their Empress will most likely demand the cessation of hostilities," he said with a wry smile that indicated he knew what Emperor Harper's reply would be. "When the Emperor tells her to go and do something anatomically impossible," Vasant ignored Williams' mutter of 'Oh, I'll make it possible,' "we need to be prepared for further attacks of this type."

"Indeed," Emperor Harper agreed. "First, Darren," he snapped, taking control of the meeting. "Talk with whoever you need to. Find out exactly how the Nur did this. I want the exact process on my desk in two days, including instructions on how to duplicate it but I want to know within the hour if this can be applied to all stars or just some classifications."

The astronomer nodded. He might be considered a bit vague but he knew his duty and Harper's order was confirmed by Williams who was the reigning Prime. "I'll see to it Jack," he said before his hologram disappeared.

"Next, I want to deal with the civilian aspects before we move on to our military response," Harper said, ignoring Williams' huff.

"Evacuation of the planet's yet to be affected would be the simplest route," Senator Boana said, "but relocating at least twenty five billion citizens would put a strain on transport and surrounding sectors."

"Draw up plans anyway," Harper instructed.

Lecia had a frown which indicated she was thinking. Most of the politicians didn't display their real emotion but as the ranking member of the Terraforming Corp, Lecia did know how to play politics but it was not the primary focus of her job. "There may be another way," she said softly but it was enough to shift attention to her.

"While I do not believe there are survivors, or that we can realistically get to them, the atmosphere of a planet does not degrade if the radiation does not reach it. It's terraforming 101. If you don't want something to happen, the easiest way to ensure that is to prevent it, rather than try to fix it later," she said and the Senators were reminded that the terraforming crews dealt with world altering chemical reactions on a daily basis.

"So can you fix Freyr and Freyjr?" Senator Zhao asked.

Lecia looked upwards, almost as if she was rolling her eyes but the nodding of her head indicated thought. "Maybe. I'd have to see what the monitors are saying. You see, it's got to do with the radioactivity and the way that-" Lecia broke off at Grand Admiral Williams' cough and she blushed, realising that she needed to focus. "I will have someone check for you," she promised Zhao before looking back at the gathered dignitaries.

"The main problem is the gamma radiation reacting with the atmospheric nitrogen. At the moment, even if I added ozone, it would be consumed. Since we need the ozone, the radiation must be removed or prevented from reaching the atmosphere."

"So how do we do that?" Senator Dionne Renteria asked. She had been attentive but was known to have an acerbic tongue. "Radiation goes straight through kinetic barriers," she added as if that was the defining argument.

"But not through lead," Lecia retorted. "Part of the reason we know what happened is because the terraforming control rooms are shielding against just about everything we can imagine."

"Great, so your instruments survived but everyone else died." Senator Zhao moaned. It was his planets that were being hit and no matter what was decided, he really didn't look forward to dealing with the Fedochi.

"Even if there was someone in the control room, we couldn't get them out," Lecia reminded him. "Anyway, gamma radiation won't go through lead," she pulled them back to the current topic.

"You're suggesting that we build planetary shields," Senator Vasant made the question a statement.

"I hadn't gotten to that but yes. Or shield ships that can cover the planet," Lecia added after a moment of thought.

"It can't be done," Baona proclaimed. "The Project was one thing and that took how long? And it was only 500 kilometres! You want a planetary shield now, that's going to have to be at least six thousand kilometres large. It can't be done!" she said again, shaking her head to conclude the discussion.

"Well, it may have to be done, unless you want to evacuate the planets," Lecia defended her position.

Most of the Senators focused on the budding argument but a couple of the more experienced ones kept some attention on the Emperor. He cast a significant glance at Grand Admiral Williams, who looked as if she was listening to something before she nodded shallowly. The exchange wasn't noticed by Baona or Lecia but Emperor Harper then shifted his glowing eyes to them.

"Enough," he said, cutting through their argument. "Planetary shields are a possibility," he advocated, daring Baona to contradict him. "The construction time may be tight for the first planet. I'll assign a team to develop designs this week, along with realistic construction timelines. They should reduce the need to evacuate worlds."

Senator Almeta nodded as Boana shrank back.

"The question will be where else to build them," Almeta said. "It is impractical to consider them for every planet."

"The initial planets are known," Emperor Harper spoke, gesturing to the map still on display. "Other planets will be considered after Darren submits his report. If it is every star-" At that Williams shook her head. "- then that will be problematic, however I do not believe the Nur can pervert the natural course of events that far. It is far more likely that they will have limited targets, which, unless we are supremely unlucky will reduce the number of planets potentially affected."

"Darren informs me that it is limited to White Dwarf Stars," Grand Admiral Williams reported. "But he is still working on a more exact classification."

"There, the target list is already reduced," Harper waved one hand. "Though that does suggest a military solution," he said, looking directly at Grand Admiral Williams' hologram.

She looked confused for an instant but they had been in each other's thoughts enough that she quickly saw what he was hinting towards.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Williams exploded.

Senator Almeta hid a smile. Even with the tragedy, Williams and the Emperor could be relied upon to fight. "Do you have any idea how many ships that will tie up?" Williams ranted as if the suggestion was plain to them all.

"Better than what they are doing now," Harper said, pouring oil on the fire.

Williams looked at him. "So the maintenance of safe transport routes is not important?" she challenged.

"Of course that's important," Harper agreed. "But that hardly matters if the destination is no longer there."

"I can better use them!" Williams objected. "All you need to do is say the word, and I'll flatten the Nur worlds."

"No, you won't," the Emperor replied taking a deep breath.

This had the feel of an old argument.

"If we completely destroy their habitable worlds and kill all the Nur on each planet, they will know, and those remaining will dig in. You know that Ashley."

"What I know is that I can better use those ships!"

"But at what cost?"

"This is war, Jack," Williams said, after rolling her eyes.

"And we are better at it," Harper replied smugly.

Williams' hologram rubbed at one eye, as if she had a headache and she said something under her breath which sounded suspiciously like 'I hate amateurs,' before she looked up. "So what would you have me do?" she asked tartly. " _Exactly_ ," the word was added as a clear challenge.

The Emperor's lips twitched as he recognised it. "Your obligations notwithstanding," he began, placing particular emphasis on the second word, "picket the likely target stars. Even if they can't stop the Nur, they will give us warning and I know Shepard's orders stretch far enough to let the planetary defence fleets leave if it's to defend the planet. If every planet in a sector sends two dreadnoughts, that should be enough to destroy what the Nur send."

Williams blinked but it was obvious she was not impressed at the suggestion, no matter how true it was. "Perhaps I haven't been making things clear, Jack," she started.

The Senators winced. They recognised that tone of voice and they knew what it meant for arguments between the Grand Admiral and the Emperor.

"This particular war is already going to take years. It's already taken years. If I put a picket around every white dwarf star in the Empire, the war will extend even further. I've already indicated another ten years, this will make it at least twenty. Maybe thirty more, especially if the Nur come up with another weapon."

"I'm aware of that," the Emperor acknowledged, tapping his head, "but I'm prepared to live with that. I told you before, we aren't on a time limit."

"This is for the ciggies, isn't it?" Williams muttered, though no one listening understood the reference.

The Emperor looked disapproving. "I would never risk lives over such a petty reason," he said, sounding insulted at the suggestion.

Williams gave him an ambivalent look but didn't press the issue. "If I can't use those ships, then I'm going to need to be more forceful," she said.

"You can up the conversion rate to provide more fodder."

"To what?"

"Twenty percent."

Again Williams looked like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Why don't you just call this the Hundred Year war and be done with it," she growled.

"Oh, it's not that bad," the Emperor dismissed her words with an amused lilt. "No orbital bombardment either," he added. "Besides you know this is what Shepard would want."

The last appeared to mollify the Grand Admiral slightly. "And I'm going to have a very long conversation with him about that," Williams promised.

That actually caused the Emperor to laugh.

"Your Majesty," Senator Wing Zhao said. "I understand the plan to guard the white dwarf stars within the Empire but perhaps we can limit that. There is no need to guard stars that can't affect populated areas."

"True," Emperor Harper allowed with a gracious nod. "You see, Williams, us amateurs have already freed up part of your precious fleet."

She glared.

"But with respect, I believe it would be prudent to send a probe or a scout to each one now. The Nur will undoubtedly initiate contact in a day or so, once they are sure of the damage, to call for the cessation of hostilities or maybe even surrender."

"They can shove that where the sun don't-"

"Indeed," Wing broke in. "There is no question as to our response," he said, sharing a droll smile with the Emperor. "But his Majesty can expect the Nur to call and I imagine they will threaten a repeat performance, even with this one unfinished. Intercepting that attack should be a priority."

"Yes," Williams spoke before Harper. "There are probes on the way to the likely candidates but I will follow them with an official scout," she added, casting a significant glance at Lecia. The terraformer nodded as some understanding passed between them.

"Very good," Harper said. "Williams keep pushing forwards but assign the guard fleets today. I don't want to give the Nur any reason to believe this changes anything."

"You'll get your update on schedule," she replied.

"Senator Zhao, Sectors Miranda and Hackett will be well compensated and will of course have the first planetary shields constructed. There's enough material left over from the Project that physical resources won't be an issue."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," he nodded, recognising that the Emperor was ending the meeting.

"After I get that initial report from Darren, I'll make an announcement to the Empire. It will include an official five days of mourning for the fourteen billion civilians murdered by a Nur plot as well as my assurances that this war will end with their surrender.

"There is no political speak with that statement. No lie, misdirection or falsehood. I will not rest until the Nur are brought low."

There were nods all around as the Senators recognised the Emperor's instruction to be firm in that message when they spoke to their underlings. On this there was no room for ambiguity.

"We will hold another brief meeting tomorrow to discuss the initial reports and to continue to determine the wisest course of action." Harper looked down quickly before he raised his eyes to look directly at each Senator. "This is a dark time for the Empire but it is not the beginning of the end, it is the beginning of complete domination of the LMC. The Empire is symbolised by the phoenix and like the phoenix we shall rise from this attack and the fires of our rebirth shall burn away the Nur." Harper finished dramatically, though he could tell Williams was about to laugh.

She had heard it all before but he wasn't speaking to her and he imagined she would be delivering several passionate speeches shortly to rally the military forces to strike harder. In fact, he should expect a wave of volunteers to sign up as this news swept the Empire. Williams had probably already set up the booths.

The Senators were nodding. They understood political talk but they were still moved by passionate delivery.

"Until tomorrow, Your Majesty," Almeta said, rising.

The others followed suit and as one bowed to Harper.

"Until tomorrow," he confirmed and the holograms vanished.

Williams had taken the opportunity to go as well, leaving Harper alone with his bodyguards. He took a deep breath before he rose to head back to his office.

The Nur had a lot to pay for and he knew they didn't have the credits. He'd have to ask their Empress what she had been thinking to authorise this attack because despite the Ascended desire not to destroy planets, he still maintained a very Human desire for blood. Williams wasn't the only one who wanted vengeance but he would see it when the Empress bowed and when the whole galaxy obeyed one flag.

It was difficult now but that was an inevitability. Humanity would rule because Humanity was strong enough to stare into the abyss and watch it stare back.

He would lead them to glory.

-cfr-

**47195 Years after Human Ascension, 2142 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Empress' Work Area**

Empress Oydryd examined her Human counterpart. He appeared to be in his office and was somewhat casually dressed but she could tell he was prepared for this conversation by the coronet on his head.

"Oydryd," he said, not even bothering to lower his eyes! The Human was arrogant, even in the face of defeat.

"Harper," she returned, making sure to stare directly into his glowing eyes. No other Human had eyes like that and while initially the Nur had thought it was a mark of the Emperor, notes left by the Ullator Spy Mistress were very clear that it was just an affectation.

She caught the way his lips twitched at the lack of honorific but the Human said nothing about that and she got the impression that his amusement was genuine.

"How may I help you, Oydryd?" he asked.

The conceit he displayed was almost beyond belief. He had declared five days of mourning over an attack her Empire had launched and he had the presumption to ask what she wanted? Wasn't it obvious? Mentally Empress Oydryd shook her head, forcing herself to calm down. The Ullator notes had been clear about this was well, that Harper, and even Lawson would push and prod and would deliberately be obtuse, just to get a rise.

"I think you know," she replied, purposely keep her voice level. She was the Empress of half the galaxy, soon to be the entire galaxy, she was not some hatchling!

"No, I do not," the Human said.

Empress Oydryd was once again reminded that Harper was an excellent actor. One of the lectures she'd seen the Ullator spy mistress give had hammered that point. Harper seemed to be genuinely confused which meant he knew exactly what she wanted.

Even if he truly didn't know, he would never admit it.

She was prepared for this and had taken information from his broadcast to the Phoenix Empire. "Fourteen billion is just the beginning," she told him, referring to the dead. "The shockwave will continue and will hit further settlements in due course."

"I'm aware of this," Harper interrupted her.

"Then you know that this is just the beginning. There is only one way to stop what is coming."

Fleet Commander Blevins had the next mission in place. They were simply awaiting orders and five more targets had been found. The fleets were ready for dispatch.

"Enlighten me," Harper instructed, "because I believe I see different alternatives."

For a moment, Empress Oydryd just stared. No matter the games Harper was known for, surely he knew this was not something to be joked over.

"You, on behalf of the Phoenix Empire will surrender, immediately and absolutely. You will order Williams to cease hostilities and all forces shall withdraw to await further orders," Empress Oydryd had made sure that was phrased in a way a Human would understand. She wanted no mistakes on it.

Harper looked at her, actually looked at her and she could feel his eyes roving over her body, then a breath left him, a hard exhale. It was followed by another and another until he was actually trembling. He opened his mouth slightly, lips curling upwards. "He, heh, heh, heh!" The little noises made no sense but they continued until Harper actually bent over, closing his eyes. It almost sounded like he was choking but his bodyguards, visible on the sides of the image, made no move to help him and while the Empress was not the best at reading Human emotion, they did not appear concerned.

Harper pulled himself upright, wiping his mouth and reaching one finger to the corner of each eye to rub there before he looked back at her. "And if I do not surrender?" Despite his duality, this time he seemed to be genuinely amused.

"We triggered one supernova, we will trigger others," she said. "It is beyond your fleets and your enhanced troops. It is beyond your ability to fight and your technology to stop and it will continue until your people are nothing more than a memory."

Harper's expression became flat but he nodded slightly, the motion more to himself than to her.

"If I'd have known this was the advice that Ullator Spy Mistress was giving you, I wouldn't have worried about her. I know you never personally met Xa… Xe… Which one was it again? They all blur together. Ah! Xavia!" Harper exclaimed.

Empress Oydryd felt herself bristle. The Human Emperor's supposed immortality had always rankled. Why was such a useless being given so much? Immortality would become her birthright and with the defeat of the Phoenix Empire she would guide the Nur to untold heights as their immortal Empress because if the Humans could do it, there was no way she couldn't.

"But surely, she left better notes on Human psychology?" Harper asked the question but didn't expect an answer. "We are the Phoenix Empire. We have survived the total extinction of our people. Even if you destroyed everything, we would rise from the ashes to pull you down. That's not going to happen though."

"It's already happened," she reminded him. "It will continue until you surrender."

"Do you know what a phoenix is?" Harper asked.

"The mythical symbol of your Empire."

"A bird that is reborn from the ashes of its own funeral pyre," Harper corrected. "A fitting symbol for a species that has endured past its own extinction," he added, smiling at the contradiction. "For approximately fifty thousand years, Humanity as a species was dead, yet we live now, in greater numbers than ever before.

"So, Oydryd, let's imagine for a moment, that you create another nova, and another, and another, until all Humanity is lost. That would not guarantee you victory. It guarantees your death. Because we would still be watching, biding our time."

Harper snorted lightly. "But that is a fantasy, and I, like you, deal with reality. And the reality is you have already lost."

"I think not," Empress Oydryd growled.

Harper painted an interesting picture but it was one based on his wishful thinking. The Humans would bow or they would die. Those were the only two choices and if they died, then she would scatter the ashes such that they would never reform.

"You are full of bravado now, but as the destruction continues, your people will falter until they are begging to prostrate themselves at my feet." Yes, that sounded about right.

"Do you know the history of the Njord system? Of the planets Freyr and Freyjr?" The Human asked.

"I don't make a habit of learning your history," she spat.

"You should have. Officially scouting unit 1138 found the system. Unofficially the Fedochi found and settled the worlds. I wiped them out. Of course no one has ever been able to prove it, except those who did it, but as they are loyal to me, that is not a concern. What you need to understand is that I fought for those planets. I was prepared to go for war for that system."

"And now they are worthless," Empress Oydryd laughed. Did the Human think she cared?

"Yes," Harper agreed but there was a dark inflection in his tone. "And that was a mistake. You authorised this attack several years ago, just after Sbardun fell, I'd imagine. You did it hoping to inspire fear, hoping that it would terrify us into agreeing to draw lines but instead, all you have done is harden my resolve, harden the resolve of the Empire.

"Humanity does not bow down in fear. We do not cower in terror. Rather we seek what is causing the fear and then rip it apart," Harper showed his teeth. "Your Empire will be ripped apart, but you need not worry, Your Majesty," the honorific was mocking. "I am merciful. I will not retaliate in kind."

Empress Oydryd shook her head, using the Human gesture to drive home her point. "You could not, even if your scientists could duplicate the means."

Harper raised one hand and pinched at the bridge of his nose. "Humanity has known the theory for star detonation for over sixty thousand years. We chose not to use it because it is indiscriminate." Harper sounded as if he was talking to a child.

"I will not retaliate in kind. I will let you watch as each of your worlds fall. I will let you feel the agony when your own soldiers swell the ranks of my military. I will let you see it all because Humanity will never surrender to you." It seemed as if Harper would cut the comm but he didn't.

"Then let me show you the consequences of your words," Empress Oydryd said, gesturing for Fleet Commander Blevin to step into view. "The ships are in position?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"The second trigger for a supernova is ready?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Fleet Commander Blevin confirmed.

"Then, Emperor Harper, you have just this moment to treat with me, to agree to borders once again."

The Human's eyes narrowed slightly before he shook his head. "There is only one border line I will accept," he said, pointing to an image that appeared behind him. It displayed the galaxy and around it was a line and a light red shading covered everything. The words Phoenix Empire were prominent in Ohlk, an unsubtle reminder that he spoke the language of the Nur far better than she spoke High English.

"A quaint conceit," Empress Oydryd murmured, turning to her Fleet Commander. "You may activate the trigger. It appears the Humans will require further persuasion."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Blevin's replied, making a show of tapping out a series of orders. A moment later a high pitched beep sounded to indicated that they had been sent.

Harper seemed to take a deep breath when Empress Oydryd looked back at him. "You will find there are consequences to every action," he announced. "And the consequence you will suffer now is the release of restraint.

"Everyone seems to believe that I am the blood thirsty one but I have been holding her back, restraining her hand but Njord's spirit rages for revenge and Williams shall be the hand of that vengeance. I tell you now as Emperor cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war, that your failed deed shall be known to the galaxy, with buried Nur, ready to drag you down."

The comm channel dropped leaving Empress Oydryd blinking at the Human's proclamation. It made no sense but she had the feeling that Harper had meant it to mean something beyond the twisted words.

She put the thought aside. Whatever the Human had been trying to say was irrelevant. As further worlds were lost, he would come to see things her way. It was just a matter of time and the application of force. Obviously, she had not applied enough. That could be easily rectified.

"Launch the third and fourth missions," she instructed Fleet Commander Blevins. "If Emperor Harper needs to be persuaded with the blood of his people, then so be it, though I do hope he listens to reason shortly. It is distressing to have to resort to such means." Mentally Oydryd growled, vowing to herself that even if Harper surrendered, his execution would be a term of the Phoenix Empire's abasement.

She was sure the Fedochi would appreciate the irony.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've taken a tiny bit of creative licence with the way the planets would be damaged. The radiation would reach at the same time as the light but I have no idea how long it would need to eat through the ozone and then affect the people and other inhabitants or even if it is strong enough at that distance (approx 5 light years). Assume a melty death. Yuk. Any shock wave will hit later but everything's dead so it doesn't matter as much.
> 
> Harper could retaliate in kind but this war is convenient for him since it is supported by the population. Losses don't really mean that much to him and he does have the resources at the time to conquer them the old fashioned way. Destroying a planet no matter how you do it, is incredibly wasteful... though what Williams doesn't tell him, won't hurt him.


	83. Forget I Said That

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper changes his mind (note the date! It's monumental!) Some of the Nur grunts have interesting experiences and the brass do care about their boss. Not sure what they can do about it though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 82: Forget I Said That**

-cfr-

**47195 Years after Human Ascension, 2142 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"Williams," Harper snapped almost before the comm link established itself.

"What is it?" she replied, managing to convey a multitude of questions with the single one. There was an unspoken 'now' tacked on the end, displaying her belief that he was going to interfere again. It remained unspoken because with the act of calling, Harper showed that he needed something.

"The Empress just called."

"Ah," Williams understood and Harper knew she'd already be accessing the logs.

"I limited Exanimate creation to twenty percent, didn't I?" he asked.

"You did," Williams confirmed, somehow managing to say 'I told you so' with the words, though that interpretation was not hard with the smug tone lacing them.

"Forget I said that," Harper instructed. "Use what you need but go further. Experiment. Make them stronger. I want the Nur to scream just thinking about them."

Williams didn't give a glib reply. The word experiment carried certain expectations such as don't let the media see because for all that they were controlled, it would only take one and while the husks, the Exanimates as they were called, were known throughout the military, the civilians of the Phoenix Empire liked to turn a blind eye. Those eyes had to remain unseeing now. It would be easier than dealing with the fall out.

"I'll see what can be done," she said finally, having thought about the campaigns where they could be safely deployed.

"Are the guard fleets in place?" Harper asked, leaving the husks for now.

"Yes," Williams confirmed, and she didn't sound as annoyed about that as she had at the Senate meeting. "The attack fleet for Umbon will arrive in a few hours," she added, referring to Empress Oydryd's orders.

Harper chuckled. The Nur wouldn't get the joke for another few years but he looked forward to the day they did. When she fully understood the futility of fighting the Phoenix Empire. They could let the Nur succeed. There was ample material left over from the Project to build planetary shields since no colony was close enough to be directly affected by the explosion. But it was bad practice to give the Nur such victories.

"They'll try again," Williams noted.

"And the picket ships will give us warning, and then the strike fleets will stop them," Harper countered.

"The quicker I can get to Xyrpyni, the quicker it will be over."

Harper knew what she was asking for. The right to bombard worlds. "No," he said firmly, denying the request. "You've told me many times, fractional  _c_  attacks are too easy and while we might be able to see them with the net, with the reduced defences around each colony, I doubt our ability to stop them."

Williams sighed but said nothing. She had probably already thought of this.

Harper's lips quirked. There was no probably about it. And she had reached the same conclusion or else she'd be arguing. "When their supernovas fail, they will have to try another tactic."

"And it's possible they'll target stars we haven't picketed," Williams added for him.

"Yes."

They had picked the most likely targets and while the military was comprised of millions of ships, there were millions of candidate stars, covering them all was an impossibility.

"I'll push the Exanimates," she said as a way of letting the argument go.

"Try again for spies," he instructed. "I doubt every Nur supports the Empress, now that we are truly invading." There would be some willing to sell out their species, especially if the means were made easy. "Update?" He asked.

"The husks won't change the time," Williams replied. "It is the need to construct the network and remove all the Nur in pocket habitats," she explained which told him exactly why the frigate and cruiser class ships, now diverted to picketing the white dwarfs were essential to the campaign. Having dreadnoughts do the deep scours of a system was slower.

"No matter," Harper dismissed it.

"We aren't on a timeline," Williams parroted.

"Yes, that," Harper said.

"Is that everything?"

"For now."

"I'll send you the usual updates tomorrow," Williams said, "Though," she frowned, "I haven't been keeping track, how are the Attori going?"

Harper sighed, looking a little chagrined. "I'm going to owe them half the Nur planets," he half-laughed.

"That many?"

"Not quite but they are contributing an impressive amount of taxes for the war effort."

"They would. They can be very industrious," Williams commented with a soft smile before the comm was cut.

Harper nodded to himself, reaching up to pull the coronet that he'd forgotten about. "Call a press conference for 9am tomorrow," he instructed, putting the circlet down.

"Your Majesty," his PA was confused. That was the time Williams gave him updates.

"Call it," he repeated.

The man nodded but Harper could see he was confused as to why Harper was provoking the Grand Admiral. He knew about their spat. Everyone on staff knew about that but they also knew that the Grand Admiral and Emperor trusted each other, so this snub without visible provocation was odd.

"I'm going to be dealing with the 'I told you so's' about the Examinates for the next five hundred years. Minimum," Harper explained. "Ashley can handle one missed meeting. After all, I have to tell the Empire about the destruction of a Nur incursion fleet and announce the travesty that was Empress Oydryd's offer," Harper added with a chuckle but as he spoke he realised he'd say nothing about the Nur fleet, only that the Empress had promised to continue destroying stars and worlds.

The PA shook his head but was entering information into a data pad.

Harper recognised the motion and dismissed it. The Empire might think the behaviour was childish but they knew better than to try to stop it. He wasn't the only one who made people disappear after all.

-cfr-

**47195 Years after Human Ascension, 2142 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Planet: Clatsia**

"So how long do you think we'll have to wait?" Sawyl glanced at his friend.

They were both in the bunker, waiting.

"No idea. The squad leader didn't think the Humans would attack. They don't mourn like us," Ianto replied.

"Yeah, but they lost two developed worlds and we didn't lift a claw."

The squad leader had shown them part of the destruction when he'd told them all the news. That little bit had come from an announcement the Human Emperor had made but the rest came from the Department of Interior. It was meant to boost morale.

"Two worlds of civilians," Ianto retorted, "and more to follow."

The Department of Interior had focused on that point, on how the detonation of a star was the pinnacle of technological achievement for the Empire.

"It would make anyone pause," Sawyl said, glancing towards the ceiling significantly.

It  _had_  made the Phoenix Empire pause. They had been expected at Clatsia at least a week ago.

Ianto shook his head. "They'll have an official period of mourning, then they'll be back." It was a pessimistic assessment but Ianto was like that.

"How do you figure that?" Sawyl asked, slightly annoyed. The only time he talked politics was when he was assigned with Ianto. His friend really shouldn't have been in the military. Despite his size, and he rivalled a female, he had far too many brains. Or at least someone in his brood did. If he didn't die, or get executed for treason, Ianto would go far in the ranks. It was one of the reasons Sawyl stayed with him. That and he felt a certain amount of pride every time he reasoned something out under Ianto's tutelage.

"Oh come on! Think! What would our Empress do? During the Conquering Era, if you were attacked like that, Empress Fyon would have wiped out the Dieithr. Or even now," Ianto continued. "If we were in the Phoenix Empire's position would you surrender because your enemies destroyed a couple of planets?

"No! Not when you are halfway to their homeworld!"

"Shh!" Sawyl urged Ianto. That sort of talk was traitorous.

Ianto sighed, looking slightly chastised but completely unrepentant. "Well, would you?" he challenged.

"The squad leader says it's only a matter of time," Sawyl said, reminding Ianto of all the information they'd been given.

"And the older pod my sister works for, you know the one who actually works in Intel says otherwise. I know which one I think is right," he said.

"Even allowing for everything you've said to be true," Sawyl said, shaking his head, "What do you expect to do about it here?"

Ianto huffed. "Oh, nothing," he appeared to let the matter drop. "All I'm saying is don't trust everything the Squad Leader and the Department of Interior tell you because if the Phoenix Empire was as weak as they'd like to believe, the Humans wouldn't be about to attack a fifth tier planet."

It was Sawyl's turn to sigh. No matter which way he looked at it, on that particular fact, no matter how positive the Squad Leader and the Department of Interior were, Ianto was completely right.

-cfr-

**47195 Years after Human Ascension, 2142 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Homeworld: Xypryni, Fleet Marshal's Office**

Fleet Marshal Yorath actually felt the unity of his siblings shatter as he read the report. Thankfully it was caused by absolute shock, rather than disagreement, so he knew they would eventually come together. While it was possible to speak one sibling to another, generally you spoke to them all, so they had all understood the report as he read.

For the Nur, when someone took up a position, their siblings shared that success. As individuals, they were only as strong as their weakest relative. Fratricide and Sororicide had been outlawed for centuries but he was aware that it just meant families were more cunning. Still, that wasn't a concern now.

There was a vid file accompanying the report but he was too scared to look at it. He gulped, dropping his head into his hands as he tried to think. The more grounded of his siblings, those who dealt with actions and who weren't still raging at what had happened, formed a calm centre and Yorath clung to that feeling.

"I see you've heard."

Yorath's head jerked up at the voice and he narrowed his eyes as he looked at Communication Mistress Prybe.

Despite her unctuous tone, she was not his friend and he remained silent as she moved into his office and settled herself.

"What do you want?" he asked when the silence had settled between them. He left the report on the datapad. He had every right to read it and would not close it down as if he'd been caught in the wrong. A few of his siblings felt his concern and paid attention.

"Despite what you think, I am not your enemy," Prybe said.

Like he was going to believe that when it came from the head of the Empress' spy network, from a woman he knew had been given direct orders to investigate him. Frankly, he was surprised that he hadn't been brought in on some trumped up excuse. It wouldn't have taken much and if it happened his family knew better than to fight. The work would still continue without him.

His silence relayed his doubt and Iefana laughed. A high false laugh that set his teeth on edge.

"I've had to come up with some quite elaborate excuses to explain to her Majesty why I have not yet found anything incriminating."

"Because I have done nothing wrong," he said immediately. Surely, she couldn't believe that such a basic ploy would catch him.

"We both know that's not true. It's good you haven't been dealing with amateurs. That has made it easier to cover up your activities."

Yorath strained his ears. He hadn't been paying attention when she entered but he could hear no one in the corridor beyond. "That's the second time you've accused me," he said, glaring at her, "but you've yet to say what you think I've been doing and we both know you are not here to arrest me."

Iefana was larger and while he had no doubt she knew how to fight, he was the trained soldier, and without backup, she could not hold him.

"And we both know you will never call me upon it," Prybe retorted. If he did, it would be his word against hers and with the Empress looking for a reason to at best dismiss him, despite the fact that such a claim would favour him, it was not something he could risk.

"What do you want?" he asked again.

"I want the same thing you do," she said, holding up a small device.

Yorath recognised it and acknowledged that she at least had some forethought. It would nullify any recording devices, hers or his but he did not relax. This simply meant she was paranoid, nothing else. It would still be his word against hers and as Iefana had pointed out, he couldn't call her out on it.

"And what is it I want?" he asked. If she said it aloud…

Well, he wasn't sure what that would mean.

"I want this war to end," Prybe replied, seemingly understanding his uncertainty. "Well," Iefana continued, her voice indicating she understood the irony of what she was about to say. "The war is going to end. The Phoenix Empire shows no signs of slowing down but I think we both want something a little more amicable than our absolute surrender."

That was diplomatic but really said nothing.

"The Empress has given assurances that she will not surrender," Yorath reminded her.

"Indeed, the current administration does have its problems," Iefana replied.

Yorath stared. Her expression was still noncommittal. 'Have its problems rather than it is the problem.' It said nothing he didn't already know. "If you wish to speak with me, you will need to dispense with the double meanings. I am just a soldier," Yorath said, returning her ironic smile. "The complexity of politics and espionage is beyond me."

Iefana gaped at him, for one instant all her defences were down and then she laughed. It took several long moments for her to recover but as she did she shook her head before looking him in the eye. "I didn't think you had it in you," she said. "But you are far better than I believed. It shouldn't be a surprise. You've lasted this long," Prybe said the last, shrugging but the gesture was to herself.

"I want the same thing you do," Iefana was very firm. "But until Empress Oydryd is gone, there is no possibility of peace with the Phoenix Empire."

Yorath started for a few minutes.

" _I think she's for real,"_  his siblings gradually came to the conclusion.

" _I do as well,"_  he replied.

"Has the jury passed judgement?" Iefana asked.

"Tentatively," he replied. There was no need to give away too much. He sighed. "With this I don't think there is any possibility of peace," he said, gesturing to the report that was still open on the data pad.

It gave an estimate of the Phoenix Empire's losses in Njord and an estimate of what was to come in the surrounding systems. They were horrendous.

"They've done the same to us," Iefana reminded him.

"You think their Emperor cares?"

"No," Prybe was quick to reply. "But it gives a starting point for discussion."

"You think borders are an option?" He didn't think it was possible.

The Nur had initiated hostilities. They had escalated hostilities. The Phoenix Empire had fought back and had invaded but it was all in response to their actions. And they were winning. The only reason he could see for the Humans to agree to a new border was if they didn't want the war, and while that may have been true, if all the Nur had done was invade, with the wholesale and indiscriminate destruction of entire systems, the common Humans would be enraged.

They would not stop.

"Maybe not," Iefana admitted frankly. "But I'm prepared to ask for that and concede to what the Humans demand."

"It will be surrender," Yorath said firmly.

"Are you ready for that?" Prybe countered.

Yorath grimaced. "No," he answered honestly. "But I do not believe Emperor Harper will accept anything less."

"It doesn't really matter what he will accept," the Communications Mistress said. "The Empress is still in the way."

"That is what I don't understand," Yorath lamented. "How can her siblings not see it?" It was a question he'd contemplated many times in the past but Iefana might actually be able to answer.

"Because they are also insane," she said gently. "Fleet Commander Brgyryad believed, right up until his death that we were fated to fight the Phoenix Empire and that the Nur would emerge victorious. He never changed his mind, he never faltered. That is what we are dealing with."

Yorath took a deep breath and nodded. Brgyryad had been Oydryd's brother, so it was not surprising to hear that he had thought that. "All we can do now is get someone else into the job and have them deal with the Phoenix Empire," he said.

"You haven't tried talking to them?"

For a moment, Yorath debated. The question confirmed the Communication Mistress didn't know about as much as she wanted.

"And tell them what?" he couldn't help the mocking tone. "'Hi, there's a group of us who don't want to be fighting you but we can't do bumpkins because the Empress is insane?' Like that would go over well."

"It would at least let them know that not all Nur are against them," Iefana defended the suggestion.

"It would," Yorath agreed, reigning in his temper. It was not her fault. "But I think they already know."

"You'd prefer to contact them from a position of strength," she said but there was the clear accusation that he was being childish. "If you truly want what is best, you need to give up your pride."

Yorath growled. "And if you wanted it, you would have seen to it that the Empress was no longer a problem."

"Like you and your little faction, I've been trying. If it was that easy, one of us would have succeeded."

Yorath pulled himself up before he snapped again. "What do you want?" he asked for the third time.

"You've been trying for years but I know you haven't gotten very far. The same as me. Together we have a better chance."

"So when was it for you?" Yorath asked, without indicating acceptance.

Iefana cast her eyes down. "Just after she authorised the so-called trigger missions. No one sane tries to fight a war with such tactics."

"And if you can see it," Yorath murmured.

"Yes," Prybe agreed. "There are others but the Empress has not maintained power because she is a complete fool. There are enough Nur who think as she does."

"I know," Yorath. "I believe we are in agreement."

Iefana nodded. "Then here is hoping that Oydryd's head will buy some favour with Emperor Harper," she said.

"If we can capture her to let him take it, it's more likely," Yorath replied.

"True, but not possible for us. No," Iefana rose, nodding to him. "If anyone asks…"

"You made threats about my loyalty to the Empire but found nothing incriminating," Yorath replied. "Which won't stop you from trying again."

"Indeed," she nodded and showed herself out.

Yorath stared at the door. While he was sure that for the moment Iefana would lend her support, he was equally sure she would betray them if a better offer came along. Under no circumstances would she be allowed to contact the Phoenix Empire on their behalf, but for now, her services would be useful because everyone agreed, the sooner they could get rid of Empress Oydryd, the better.

Even if it hurt his pride, even if it hurt all of them, they would do what had to be done.

For the good of the Empire.

-cfr-

**47196 Years after Human Ascension, 2143 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Planet: Clatsia**

"Drive them back! Don't let them cross the line!" Squad Leader Oylan screamed desperately, firing blindly into the approaching ranks.

Some of the enemy fell but for every one that went down two seemed to take its place and the wall continued to approach them implacably.

"Have you noticed?" Ianto grunted from beside him, lining up his shots with care. "They aren't bleeding red," he told Sawyl the observation.

"They aren't bleeding," Sawyl replied, as their line moved back. It was not a flippant comment.

Whatever the Phoenix Empire had sent against them really wasn't bleeding.

"I knew nagging would make you observe at least something," Ianto joked but the battle was serious.

The Phoenix Empire had landed these things and they did not stop. Most positions had already been overwhelmed. Theirs had some slight warning but it didn't appear to be enough.

"What the fuck are they?"

"They aren't Human," Ianto replied.

They were bipedal but that was where their resemblance to a Human ended. They had claws, were at least 2.3m tall and glowing eyes. Lines of electricity seemed to run all over them and they fought with no regards to their lives. Or the lives of their fellows. There was no rhyme or reason to the way they fought.

"Retreat! All forces retreat!"

Sawyl didn't hesitate. He had no desire to find out what those things were from closer range. He pulled his gun up, spun on one heel and ran, ignoring the oddly hollow roar that came from behind. The things reacted quickly. Too quickly and gave chase.

Sawyl could feel his lungs straining as he ran over the uneven ground but fear lent him strength to ignore the pain. A scream from the side caught his attention and he wished he hadn't looked. Hylyd was down. One of the things was on her back as if it'd landed there and had pushed her down. More things were leaping for her flailing arms and legs and Sawyl couldn't help but feel guiltily glad her form was mostly hidden by the enemies so he didn't have to see her end.

He ran harder, imagining the feel of one hitting him and his back carapace actually tingled. Sawyl knew he'd been briefed on the terrain. They all had but he could remember nothing and ran with the group. They were careful not to cluster but at the same time they didn't want to disperse. The things would get them then. It wasn't until they ran into a blind valley that Sawyl realised they were going to get them anyway.

As one, the squad turned, momentarily forgetting that they had been chased into this area in the panic of being trapped.

The things formed a solid defensive wall at least four thick, with more falling into formation as he watched.

"Fuck! They planned this."

Sawyl wanted to respond to the obvious statement but that was Ianto's job and it took him a few moments in silence before he realised that Ianto wasn't with them.

"Present arms!" he screamed as his mind made the connections. There was really only one connection to make. Sawyl levelled his gun at the things and was surprised to find his breathing steadied with the familiar motion. The assault would be better combined and not everyone had responded.

"Drop your weapons if you want to live!" The voice echoed from all around them.

Sawyl felt most of his squad jerk upright at the command in the tone but it wasn't the voice of their squad leader.

"Drop your weapons if you want to live!" The order was repeated and Sawyl growled as several of his squad complied.

The things the Humans had deployed just remained where they had lined up.

"Nur," the voice said warningly.

"I don't grovel to the air!" Sawyl shouted back, surprising himself with his boldness.

"I see," the voice said.

Sawyl heard the crunch of boots on gravel. From the corner of his eye a Human appeared. It was female and accompanied by several completely black armoured Humans. The armour was matte black and form fitting but there were two dull glows from behind the face plates.

"Surrender now, Nur," the Human said, not bothering with the amplification system. "Or we will just rip you apart and move on to the next group." The threat was causal but Sawyl could detect a note of sincerity in the Human's voice. With the number of troops surrounding them, it would be depressingly easy.

What could he do? Sawyl wracked his brain. Ianto was the one who thought. He as the one who could think his way out of trouble, the one who was going to get promoted. Darn it! What did he do? There was only one answer and it did not include rushing the Human forces like an idiot and getting dead.

Slowly, Sawyl lowered his weapon to the ground.

"Good choice, Nur," the Human officer said making some signal to the waiting troops.

A few stepped forward to collect the weapons and when they were close, Sawyl wasn't the only one to almost choke on the stench of decay. For the most part, the things were black but up close Sawyl could see splotches of other colours. He could also see how the lines of almost white blue that crossed their bodies were actually cybernetics and he realised they were badly fitted if they were causing the flesh to rot.

There was a darker circle in the centre of the chest that seemed to be the source of every line but he didn't know what that meant. The details distracted him from the obvious. The size and shape of them was not Human but clearly Nur and Sawyl clamped his jaw closed. He didn't want to think about that when it came close for his weapon.

Did the Nur serve willingly? Were the Humans controlling them via the cybernetics? He didn't want to think about it but there were so many questions.

The Human watched but said nothing until their standard weapons were gathered. Only after the things drew back did the Human speak again. "I am General Kalon and on behalf of the Phoenix Empire, I accept your surrender. You will be taken to a POW camp.

"Despite what you may have been told, we are not a vindictive species. You will not be executed for the actions of your Empress but your part in this war is over.

"For the future, you will be assigned tasks, and you will do those jobs and you will live your life according to our instruction. At the end of the war, the Phoenix Empire will work with the Nur to ensure that as a people you integrate into the Empire. This will include you." For a moment the Human managed to look kindly.

"But make no mistake," there was a chill in the General's voice that said more than steel. "If you attempt to fight, if you riot or disrupt our facilities or attempt to escape you will be punished.

"Phoenix Empire decree 847 of the Empire year 2128 was Emperor Harper's declaration of War on the Nur Empire and all allies, known and unknown. That authorises us to use deadly force," the Human announced.

Sawyl didn't know exactly how it worked in the Phoenix Empire but he understood that well enough. Step out of line and they kill you.

"Now, follow the Exanimates in single file. They will take you where you need to be," the Human concluded before backing away from the lip of the cliff. The motion of turning away let the Nur see a shimmer of light. The General was not here and most bowed their heads as they obeyed. They could fight but they would only get the lowest ranks.

Sawyl jerked his head upwards even as he obeyed because dying uselessly was not going to honour Ianto but he was not defeated and he could find some way of avenging his friend.

" _Clatsia has fallen,"_  he sent to his siblings off world,  _"and the Phoenix Empire is forcing the Nur to serve,"_  he added, looking at the things.

General Kalon had called them Exanimates. The word had not been translated.  _"She called them Exanimates. Find out what that means in English. I'll send more information when I can,"_  Sawyl finished as he began walking.

He'd send his siblings everything. For Ianto's memory and for the Empire, it was his duty.

-cfr-

**47199 Years after Human Ascension, 2146 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Former Nur Empire Territory**

"Sir!" The guards at the checkpoint snapped to attention.

"At ease," Brigadier General Quintin Wei said, waving away the formality. "There have been no incidents?" he asked.

"No, sir. Check point secure," Captain Farris answered.

"Good," Brigadier General Quintin said. "I'm going in," he added, stepping towards the checkpoint gate.

"Do you need an escort?" Farris asked when the troops accompanying the Brigadier made no move to follow. This was, after all, still a Nur planet despite the fleet overhead and the troops on the ground. It would not do to have the Brigadier General captured by any Nur forces they'd missed, no matter how secure this area was meant to be.

"No, my escort is here," Quintin replied and Farris gulped, when several black armoured forms appeared from within the area they were guarding.

Jere Farris had seen troops like that before but he'd never seen their faces. They fought like demons, though, and only instantly fatal wounds seemed to stop them. Anything less they just shrugged off. They were not Special Forces, but they were the next best thing. Jere thought they were androids of some sort because he'd seen them wade into the thickest fighting without heed to themselves.

"Yes, sir!" Captain Farris replied.

"I'll be about an hour," the Brigadier General said to his waiting escort as the new one gathered close and he began walking down the road.

"Sir?" Farris recognised Aviles from the high pitch of the tone, but she knew to keep the question quiet. "What the hell are we guarding?"

Jere shook his head as the Brigadier General's troops stared in disbelief. They wouldn't answer but they were definitely amused.

"You really don't want to know."

"Sir!" Aviles said, almost whining.

Farris sighed. "We are guarding Exanimate facilities," he replied. "That's all I know."

"But sir, we've been letting prisoner transports through all day," Aviles objected.

"That's all I know," Farris repeated, "and that's all I want to know," he added, looking out the corner of his eye towards Quintin's escort. They looked to be at ease but they were paying attention and Jere hoped Aviles would see that. The wrong questions about Exanimates did not end well.

"Ah," she said. "I see, Sir!" Aviles snapped. "Military operational security," she added, giving the phrase which indicated she would ask no more.

"Yep," Jere agreed as the Brigadier General's escort relaxed. "It's above our pay grade," he said.

"And we're better for it," she completed the phrase but Farris could tell she would still be curious.

That was fine but he knew what would happen when she worked out the truth. It was never very pretty for the newbies when that happened but most accepted it.

No one knew for sure, well, no one at his rank knew for sure about the Exanimates but they knew more than the higher ups thought. Heh, Farris amended the thought. The higher ups probably knew that they suspected but both groups maintained the fiction of ignorance. You either accepted the Exanimates as a useful part of the forces or you didn't and if you didn't…

There wasn't much of a future in the military.

Jere hoped Aviles accepted. She'd do well if she did.

-cfr-

**47201 Years after Human Ascension, 2148 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"Admiral Misra," Harper greeted the hologram that appeared.

The woman saluted but said nothing as she looked around his office, peering intently at his bodyguards.

Usually he'd have been insulted but since the Admiral had requested this meeting as a high priority and had insisted that he not tell Grand Admiral Williams, he was rather intrigued. A moment later, another hologram appeared.

"General Hoang," he said, but the man was also silent.

He too saluted and stepped back as further holograms appeared.

The Emperor didn't greet them all. Rather, Harper felt his eyes narrow at the delegation. It was most, if not all of the ranking officers of the Empire. The mortal ones anyway. There were a few names missing but Harper expected they would explain that shortly when they answered the greater question.

Why did they need to speak to him? Especially without Ashley's knowledge.

"Thank you for seeing us, Your Majesty," Joaquina Misra said after his office was crowded with holograms. They were so tightly packed that several of them actually went through others.

"I must admit, I am curious as to why," he replied. He could think of many reasons but knew these were predominantly Williams' people. It was odd to think it but they'd tell him soon enough.

"We need to know exactly how much authority you have over the Grand Admiral," Joaquina asked.

Harper froze. What kind of question was that? He was the Emperor! His word ruled all of Humanity. Except the military, a traitorous part of his mind supplied. They served the Empire, they were loyal to the Empire but they were loyal to Williams first because she was the one who took care of them. And as an original, she hadn't exactly supported his appointment, even though she had known it was necessary.

What was the statement used to convince her? Oh yes. 'Williams, this is going to happen because even you agree Emperor is better than fucking Fuhrer!'

Of course, she'd pointed out that he was answerable to Shepard but the reminiscence did not answer Admiral Misra's question. She was waiting quietly with the others. Harper decided to be honest because frankly they had probably interpolated the answer anyway.

"I would like to say a lot," he said, "but it is not much. Williams, like me, is an original. Both of us are from Cerberus which makes us equal in that respect, but I am the rightful Prime."

The gathered military staff nodded. While Williams was the interface between the Ascended and mortals for the military, every one of the ranks gathered had worked extensively with the Ascended. They understood at least some of the internal structures.

"To most of the Ascended, she is Cerberus but that is external and we are well aware of the differences between external and internal rankings," Admiral Misra nodded.

Harper raised one eyebrow. It was an interesting analogy but it was true. To anyone looking at the Empire from the outside, he was the undisputed military ruler but inside, that was different.

"What do you need?" Harper asked because it was obvious that they had gathered because of some issue with Williams. How he dealt with it, or even if he could deal with it, depended on what it was.

Admiral Misra and General Hoang shared a long look before nodding at each other, re-confirming a decision they had already made when they spoke to him.

"We need you to order Grand Admiral Williams to take a holiday."

"What?" Harper demanded, not managing to keep incredulity from his voice.

"A holiday, Your Majesty. A break. A vacation. A recess. Time off, Your Majesty," Joaquina said and the reply reminded him of Williams' sass.

"I know what the word means," he replied and most people he spoke to would have been trembling in fear at the rebuke in his tone. Admiral Misra just stared. Definitely like Williams. "Why?" he asked. "We are at war."

Admiral Misra signed. "That is exactly why. Because this war is boring and tedious and routine," she elaborated as the other ranking military nodded. "And she has been dealing with it from the beginning."

"She is immortal, and the Grand Admiral," Harper reminded them. Williams had been the ranking Admiral since before he was Emperor if he wanted to get technical. "She is meant to deal with this war."

"I'm sure she is bleeding mental fatigue into Cerberus," Admiral Joaquina said. "But Grand Admiral Ashley Williams is still Human and she needs a break."

"And you think I can order her to take one?"

"No, but I think you can suggest it."

Harper picked up a stylus and tapped it on the desk as he thought. "She's not meant to feel fatigue as an immortal."

"It's not physical."

"Any type of fatigue," he amended his previous statement.

"Your Majesty," General Pasquale Hoang said, his voice surprisingly deep. "We are not immortal yet but we know immortality does not mean giving up Humanity. You, Grand Admiral Williams, Director Lawson, all the originals are still Human. You still feel everything but you still have our weaknesses.

"Arrogance, jealousy, stubbornness, fatigue. Immortality removes physical weakness but it does not deal with the mental issues."

Harper huffed. He understood what they were saying, he just didn't know it was possible. Of course, in physical form mental fatigue was possible, which was why he had diversions and holidays.

"Let me check something," he said, reaching for a comm and calling an old familiar number.

"Jack, this is a surprise," Lawson greeted him.

"It's not a social call," Harper said, noticing the way the military leaders now relaxed. They couldn't have stopped him but they were nervous about who he'd called.

"It never is," Lawson mused.

"Is mental fatigue possible in an Ascended?" Harper pushed on.

"What type of question is that, Jack?" Lawson seemed surprised. "Of course it is. I've got a theory that it's why the Ascended are only active for a few years.

"No matter what other changes are made, at the core we are still organic and while the Ascended filing system handles our memories better so we don't need sleep, every now and then we need a break."

"So, why didn't it happen on the journey?"

"It did," Lawson replied immediately. "But the journey was also punctuated with mind numbing boredom. That's one of the reasons BB became so popular. It was something to do. So yes, mental fatigue does occur on Ascended as well as in physical bodies." He paused for a moment, obviously thinking about the implications of the question. "If you are feeling that bad Jack, just have a holiday," Lawson added and the distinct clink of ice in a glass could be heard.

Harper said nothing but clicked the comm off and the gathered officers would well imagine Lawson laughing at him. The Emperor looked back at the holograms, as he tapped the stylus again. "Based on your earlier question, I surmise you want me to tell Williams to take some time off."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Admiral Joaquina replied. "We've tried hinting-"

"Some of us even flat out told her," General Pasquale Hoang inserted.

"-But the Grand Admiral is stubborn. It hasn't caused mistakes yet and I know it probably won't, but it is not healthy. She needs a break."

"So far as we can tell, the Nur have nothing unusual planned, so we can handle it without her input for a few weeks. She trained us for that, after all."

Harper was a bit surprised but didn't comment. It made sense for Williams to have given them that expectation. It was part of military doctrine after all. Be ready for anything, including the absence of the Grand Admiral. He wasn't worried about them.

"What about the immortalised?"

Williams was their commander. Well, Cerberus was through Shepard's orders.

"We are in agreement," an echoing voice replied immediately. "We will continue working with the officers."

Well, that answered that question. And Harper knew he didn't truly need to be concerned about the Ascended. They knew as well as he did that if they disobeyed, Cerberus would simply correct their actions. It was far better just to go along with instructions.

"All right," Harper sighed. "I will speak to her and instruct Ashley to download for a holiday."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Admiral Misra said.

"However I fully expect her to ignore me. Ashley has an unfortunate habit of interpreting my orders how she sees fit.

The gathered officers sniggered at that. Most of them had probably come from military families and would have been raised with the military interpretation of history. It varied a bit from the Empire's official version.

"Are you prepared to hit below the belt, Your Majesty?" General Pasquale asked and then rolled his eyes at Harper's expression. "What am I asking? Of course you are," he continued. "Perhaps you might have some better luck if you ask her what Shepard would expect."

Harper stared for a moment longer before he laughed. "I like you," he said. "It might work. The two of us tend not to invoke his name but if it gets results, it will be worth it this time." He sighed again. "And I cannot think of any reason he'd punish me for it. This is for Williams' benefit after all and he does like her more than me."

The officers wisely said nothing at that.

"I'll speak to her when she gives me her next routine briefing."

Admiral Joaquina nodded at that. "It would be appreciated, Your Majesty," she said, saluting.

The other officers followed suit. Harper bowed his head shallowly to acknowledge them. "Dismissed," he said and the horde disappeared.

Harper blinked. His office suddenly felt empty and he leaned forward, reaching one hand to rub at his eyes as the stylus continued its rhythmic tapping.

Williams was not going to be happy at the intervention but their call at least displayed that they cared. She had chosen good people for officers and that would only be good for the Empire.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, lots of things happened... though there will be more fighting to come. The scale of the battles is very difficult to portray. There are, for example, about 54 trillion humans in the Empire with about 10,000 planets (assuming my math is right.) That scale is very, very hard to display especially since there are at least that many on the Nur side as well. So... the war is slow partially because they don't have Relays but also because there is a LOT of ground to cover. The ME Milky Way was actually quite limited.


	84. Still Playing Games

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 83: Still Playing Games**

-cfr-

**47202 Years after Human Ascension, 2149 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Former Nur Territory, Experimental Testing Facility**

"What the hell is this stuff, Captain?"

"Bad," came the reply. "Aren't your filters telling you that?"

"I shut the alarms off ages back. They were annoying and there's only so many times I can hear 'Danger' without going insane."

The Captain sighed at that response but had partially expected it. Still Gigi knew it was dangerous and didn't need to be reminded of it. The fact that the platoon wore fully sealed armour, with atmospheric recyc was more than enough for them to know that the area was bad news.

"We think this was some sort of testing facility for biological weapons. The Immortalised picked it up on their scans and we got the short straw."

"I know that, Cap, but what are we looking for?"

"Everything. That's why we have scanners, though it would be good if we can find the main frame."

"You mean the immortalised haven't found it yet?" Gigi sounded surprised.

It was a popular belief that the Immortalised knew everything. It wasn't true of course but they did have access to a lot of information and they had seen much. What they did not know, they could imply from very few observations.

"They think it's stand alone."

"Yeah, with the way the Nur can do that creepy talk thing that makes sense."

"That may be, but we aren't going to find it by talking so move out!"

"Yes, Sir!"

-cfr-

**47207 Years after Human Ascension, 2154 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"Fuck! How did we miss this?"

The PA winced at the Emperor's tone.

"We didn't miss it, Your Majesty," he attempted to explain. "We just couldn't stop it."

Harper growled. "Get me-" he paused, ignoring the way his PA flinched back, when Williams' hologram appeared.

Her face was locked into a scowl and her arms were crossed under her breasts. She was tapping her left bicep with her right forefinger. Harper took the gesture to mean that she was still collating information.

"They changed tactics," she said before he could make demands.

"Give me a better explanation than that Williams or you are just as useless as him!" Harper growled, pointing to the PA who had drawn the short straw to bring him the news that the Nur had managed to trigger another supernova.

At least this time, they'd be able to shield the planets but it was the principle!

"I've told you before, fractional  _c_  attacks are too easy."

"Except a supernova isn't!"

"This time it was!" Williams snapped back, returning his growl.

Harper glared and Williams rolled her eyes before she took over the projection screen. "By now they know for sure that they lost the second supernova fleet before it could do anything."

"And the third and fourth," Harper's lips quirked as he added them. He vaguely noticed that the PA was still there and gestured at the man to leave before focusing on Ashley.

"Yes, which means they got desperate," Williams said but there was no accusation in her tone.

"Everyone was prepared to deal with a desperate Nur over supernova. That still doesn't make it a fractional  _c_  attack," Harper said, not bothering to hide the testy note in his voice.

Williams jerked her head towards the screen and a schematic was displayed.

"Yes, Williams, I know that a white dwarf has to be used and the nova is triggered by extra mass."

"Yes," she agreed. "But it was how that mass was introduced that made the difference this time." She held up one hand, without uncrossing her arms to tell him to remain silent and keep his attention on the schematic, a circle helpfully labelled 'extra mass' appeared. It began orbiting the circle labelled white dwarf.

"The first time they did it, we believe, based on the information retrieved from the follow up fleets is that they set the mass in a decaying orbit. That let the white dwarf rip some mass from it and generally gave the fleet some time to make observations as well as escape.

"That's how we caught the second fleet. They were still gathering enough mass from the surrounding systems."

On the screen, the circle broke up, some bits falling into the white dwarf circle while the remains spiralled into it. When the last, largest bit hit, there was a second or so when the circle did nothing before it changed into a jiggered edge that travelled outwards, representing the resultant explosion.

"The Nur just bring enough eezo to move the mass which is why the picket fleets worked. They detected the Nur ships before they could gather enough material. They've changed tactics," Williams said as the screen reset showing the circle labelled white dwarf but this time she included dots that represented the picket fleet.

"So what was different?"

She huffed. "This time they just rammed it in," Williams sounded disgusted.

On the screen the circle of mass appeared and crossed the projection in a flash to slam into the white dwarf circle. It made the outline appear wobbly for a few moments before the same explosion shock wave emanated outwards.

"The fleet saw it coming, but could do nothing to stop it."

Harper nodded his understanding, except it didn't change events. "Did they launch any other rocks?" he asked. Had the Nur taken the opportunity to launch rocks at planets, not just stars?

"The net hasn't picked up anything," Williams said after a moment.

Harper appreciated the pause. It let him know she'd checked.

"So why do I still have Nur fleets in my territory? The net was meant to detect them."

"The net focuses on trade lanes, habitable systems and useful systems. It's under spec'd in some areas."

"Fix it," Harper growled. The entire Empire should be impenetrable.

"How long do you want this war to take?" Williams yelled, uncrossing her arms as she made the demand. "I have to build the net in Nur space, you tied up all my support ships on picket duty and you've restricted my means of attack. I can't fucking do anything!" she finished, her hologram breathing hard, which was complete affectation.

Harper touched his finger to his brow, as if he had a headache but it would take far more than that to make Williams repentant. "All right, I'll put Lawson on it," he conceded finally but she did not look mollified.

"Do that," she said testily.

"What else do you want?" he asked when she continued to glare.

"You already know," Williams replied. "Despite the fact we know about this supernova in advance and can protect the planets from the worst effects, it's still going to have an effect. All ships will have to be shielded, as will all the industry in the systems. It's better than last time but it's still going to be a nightmare. So you know exactly what I want."

"I can't give you the picketing ships," Harper said. "This just proves that we still need them, and you are already creating multi-Nur husks."

"Exanimates, please Jack," Williams said but the change of name sounded like an automatic correction. The flick of her eyes towards his still present PA was not. It told him to be careful with his language.

The general population knew there was a set of special soldiers but they had no idea how they were created and within the military, Major General was the lowest rank to know the truth and most of them preferred to leave Exanimate missions to the Ascended.

"You are still producing Exanimates," Harper repeated tartly. He'd deal with his PA who  _should_  have followed protocol and left. "And you've said you are moving as fast as you can with building the net as you extend into Nur territory. What do you want?"

"Jack," Williams growled. "If you put Lawson on net construction, then I can move faster," she said. "It is only the programming which takes time. Well, the most time and the system sweep and destroy. But there is another way I can move faster."

"No!"

She smiled almost sweetly. "Public opinion will back me when you announce this new attack."

"Or they'll blame you for letting it happen," he retorted.

"You won't," she replied. "You'll want to but you won't," she repeated.

He hated it when she was right. It was tempting to blame it on the military, but in the long run, that would be more destructive. There would already be a significant hit to morale because of the supernova. There was no need to compound it and she was right. Public opinion would be with her and no matter how much he would want to control it, he wasn't immune to the desires of the citizens.

"All right," he agreed softly. "But mass drivers only and only on their more military worlds."

She looked annoyed for a moment more before she nodded. "I can work with that."

"How much time will this save?" he asked.

"Not long. The net building and programming is what takes the time. Orbital bombardment will make subduing the planets easier and is retaliation that we can let the media see."

Harper looked at Williams sharply. "They haven't seen the Exanimates?"

"No, but there is curiosity. Why do you think I never allowed media before? War is no place for them."

"I'll pull them back," Harper agreed, "especially if you can arrange for some incidents."

Williams smiled. "It will be my pleasure," she told him.

"Somehow, I thought that might be the case," Harper murmured before he looked up. "Right, I have a press conference to call and you have a war to run," he said, signalling the end of their conversation.

Williams didn't need to be here to discuss the protective construction work that would be needed. "I'll give you an adjusted plan later," Williams said. "But you have another issue to deal with," she added before her hologram vanished.

"Another issue?" Harper frowned, confused for a moment before movement caught his eye. "Please," Harper murmured, rolling his eyes as he signalled his bodyguards.

The PA was not an issue. Sure he'd let slip how the Exanimates were made, but it was the idiot's fault for not leaving as he knew he should have. And in war time, not following protocol to the letter was tantamount to spying. There was only one punishment for spies.

"What? No!" the man cried out. "Your Majesty, you can't!"

"I think you'll find he can," Oliver said, drawing his sidearm.

"Please, Your Majesty!"

Harper said nothing as he worked on assigning the capital works that needed to be done. This didn't rate his attention and he didn't even flinch at the bang.

"Use a silencer next time," he murmured.

"Yes, Your Majesty," somehow Oliver managed to sound contrite.

Harper shook his head slightly, sending the orders out before he called Lawson. Sometimes he did give his bodyguards too much freedom but it did make getting his way easier.

He'd think about that later.

-cfr-

**47207 Years after Human Ascension, 2154 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Nur Empire Homeworld Xyrpyni, Empress' Palace**

"Why haven't you stopped them? I have given you the resources of the Empire and still the Phoenix Empire advances!"

Fleet Marshal Yorath listened sedately as Empress Oydryd ranted. He'd heard it all before and Empire willing, this would be the last time. He could probably quote this speech now and while some of what her majesty said was true, she had a civilian's understanding of war.

Victory was not just based on resources.

Morale, technology and will played a large part and on those the Phoenix Empire were superior. They had always been superior but had, in the case of technology, simply hidden that in plain sight.

Everyone knew the Humans were born weaker than the Nur but what that statement failed to account for was the extensive augmentation the Humans had as standard. To say nothing of their troops. That was just one aspect.

The Phoenix Empire had them outgunned from the start, so they hadn't even tried that battle, instead relying on their supposed ground superiority. It had held true, at first, but the Phoenix Empire hadn't been stupid. They learnt and adapted, and then they'd unleashed a new type of soldier.

Yorath didn't know how to describe them and he'd seen samples. They were highly cybernetic but mixed with organic and that organic material was Nur. But they were Nur who were dead. Their siblings confirmed it. Yorath didn't want to think about those implications.

Just as they were coming up with strategies to deal with them, the supernova had hit. The Phoenix Empire had paused and for a few moments the Nur morale was higher but the Human will was stronger. It was like the tragedy had simply honed it. They struck back harder and while many of their escort class vessels were absent, that had only slowed them down.

The Phoenix Empire was implacable and when their assault continued, they unleashed a new type of abomination. It was like those seen previously but bigger, faster and stronger. Everything you wanted in your soldiers. They were still cybernetic and the Human Generals treated them as if they were expendable. Coming from Nur material, the Phoenix Empire probably thought they were.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Yorath murmured. He'd learnt to listen without taking it in. It was a skill he'd perfected after Empress Oydryd had executed Fleet Commander Blevins for supposed dereliction of duty. He knew the Empress really wanted this head but he was not the Fleet Commander. His rank might be Fleet Marshal but he was support and he was good at his job but it didn't matter how good he was, he couldn't lead the Nur to victory.

At least, not with Empress Oydryd. She was, with her constant expectations and provocation of the Phoenix Empire, doing more harm than good. The Empress needed to be confident but not unthinkingly arrogant.

So today was the day. All he had to do was survive this meeting and then when the Empress withdrew, the strike would come.

And now, they had confirmation that their long distance strikes had managed to cause another supernova within Human territory. Empress Oydryd was ecstatic when she had seen Emperor Harper's announcement. She completely missed the salient details of his speech. The part that said no lives would be lost and retribution would be brutal.

Yorath believed him. The Humans hadn't been as affected by the first supernova as they should have been. He'd see the notification about the first planets affected but then, there had been nothing. He'd been dealing with the renewed attacks, funnelling resources where needed but he had been listening for updates and there were none.

That's why he believed the Human Emperor this time. If he said no deaths, then there would be no deaths. Empress Oydryd hadn't believed it and had called Emperor Harper. Communications Mistress Prybe reported that the conversation lasted less than a minute. Emperor Harper had ended with 'Unless the first words out of your month are 'on behalf of the Nur Empire I surrender absolutely and without condition' I have nothing to say to you, Empress'. And then he'd terminated the call and refused reconnection.

The Phoenix Empire fleets renewed their assault, except now they were closing in on the inner territory of the Empire. The upper tiers and to the idiots of the court, the war was suddenly real. The Phoenix Empire gave each system exactly one chance to surrender and if that was not heeded, they attacked. And they won.

He'd heard now that they were using different tactics. Nerco, which was one of the most distant homeworlds of a noble clan, had been bombed into submission. There was almost nothing left of the surface, or subsurface buildings. The Phoenix Empire had never done that before.

Limited orbital strikes, yes, but never an entire world and he had a horrible feeling it was due to their escalation.

"Something must be done!" Empress Oydryd exclaimed as if the solutions were deliberately hiding just beyond her reach.

"We are, Your Majesty," Communications Mistress Prybe assured her. "In fact, we have been developing a new weapon, one which will grant us victory," she continued.

Yorath suppressed a grimace. Iefana Prybe was smooth and over the years had proven trustworthy but he still didn't like her.

Empress Oydryd looked expectant.

"A short presentation to demonstrate," Communication Mistress Prybe said, gesturing vaguely towards the display screen.

The room was plunged into darkness as the image clarified and Yorath tensed. This was it.

He strained his ears but could hear nothing. As it was meant to be.

"This is one of the Human worlds," Communication Mistress Prybe said.

"Olava!" Empress Oydryd hissed, hate very clearly covering her being.

"Ah, yes, Your Majesty. Forgive me," Iefana sounded completely sorrowful about the loss of the Empress' brother and she paused, as if offering her respects to the fallen.

The image altered to show a large ship. It was not one of the Nur's usual designs. Yorath had been lead to believe it had been taken from one of the Phoenix Empire's ancient image caches so it did not look like one of their ships either.

While he kept his face turned towards the screen, he didn't see it. He was trying to detect those who would be moving into position now. He wasn't meant to be able to detect them. The task force which would enter had been chosen for their loyalty and stealth ability.

"This is the prototype weapon Medelwyr," Iefana was saying. "Emperor Harper has been refusing to surrender because the Phoenix Empire has been shielding worlds."

A sub image appeared, displaying what looked to be a huge disk. From behind part of it a planet was visible.

"The radiation which should be scouring them clean is not reaching them." On the sub-image, a series of lines appeared and then bounced off the disk in a crude demonstration.

"I see," Empress Oydryd said. "This weapon?" she asked.

Yorath had to resist the urge to look around. Was it meant to take this long?

" _Patience,"_  one of his brood murmured but he could tell they were nervous as well.

"This weapon works on the principle of direct affect," Communication Mistress Prybe replied as the sub-image disappeared and the Medelwyr appeared over the Human planet.

"So it destroys the Planet?" Empress Oydryd asked, her voice almost jubilant.

Yorath clenched his teeth, focusing almost exclusively on his breathing. Even if this weapon existed, if they used it… He could guarantee the Humans would be on the homeworld in a month, tops. They'd bypass the other worlds to take out the Empress. He was surprised they hadn't done that already but was grateful they hadn't. Grand Admiral Williams had to have thought about it.

Maybe they could still salvage something.

It would mean surrender. His pride still rebelled at the thought but he was aware of reality and surrender was preferable to extinction and that was where Empress Oydryd was leading them.

Communications Mistress Prybe, who had been so dismissive of his pride at their first meeting, now thought they could cut a deal. It was a false hope and not something they had discussed.

Empress Oydryd had to be dealt with then they could speak to the Phoenix Empire.

"Something like that, Your Majesty," Iefana replied, allowing the demonstration to continue. Medelwyr fired an odd coloured beam that did not look like anything he knew. It hit the planet, driving the clouds back before the ground below seemed to ripple. And then a fire shock wave emanated out from the point of impact.

Yorath recognised the image. Communication Mistress Prybe had modified the footage simulating an asteroid hitting a planet. The Empress didn't notice the edits. Instead, she watched the destruction with a joyful air.

"It will not strike as many worlds in a single hit as a supernova," Iefana explained. "But I believe it had more impact," she said the last without any trace of irony.

"Indeed, it is beautiful! I want this magnificent wea- ark!" The Empress' voice cut off with an exclamation of pain.

_Finally!_  Yorath thought, turning with the rest of the Council towards her as the lights came back on. He blinked in the sudden illumination but could clearly see the black clad figure behind the Empress.

The stance told him that they were holding the long blade now poking out from Oydryd's carapace. She gasped, choking on her own blood.

"Traitors!" the Empress managed to say and those watching made no move to deny the accusation.

A glance towards Siarl, the Empress' personal advisor told Yorath he'd already been killed.

"You are cursed," Oydryd said weakly.

"No, you are," Communications Mistress Prybe said clearly. "You have destroyed the Nur and brought the curse that is the Phoenix Empire down upon us all. We will now lead the Nur to freedom," Iefana concluded, nodding at the figure behind the Empress.

It took considerable strength to turn a blade through a carapace but the double edged weapon was rotated ninety degrees, making the wound larger before it was withdrawn. The Empress gasped, a wet sick noise and could say nothing as she collapsed.

Yorath watched as life left her eyes. It was over. "Now," he announced, resisting the urge to gulp. "We have a lot of work to do."

"Agreed," Iefana said, dismissing the display screen and moving back to her seat, "and not a lot of time to do it in."

"We will need to select a new Empress and then initiate talks with the Phoenix Empire." This time Yorath did gulp, knowing the effect that his next statement would bring. "Voluntary surrender is unpalatable. It goes against everything we have ever been taught as Nur but it is the only way to return some freedom to our people.

"Maybe not for ourselves but for our children, and their future, it is something we must do, if we don't want to end up even more controlled than the Ullator." He finished earnestly and was pleased to see the Council nod at his words. Tension began flowing from his shoulders.

"The Empress we choose must be strong enough to see us through this time," Iefana emphasised.

"Yes, she needs to be strong to lead us through this period of transition," Treasurer Urevor nodded. Macsen had been removed several years back though Yorath wasn't sure about the exact circumstances. "But her first act shall not be to surrender," Urevor continued, glaring at the Fleet Marshal.

Yorath rose, shaking his head slightly and putting both hands on the table as he leaned forward to provide evidence. The Council knew he was right but they had yet to truly confront and conquer their pride. He knew how difficult it was but that could not be allowed to jeopardise the future of the Nur. To survive, to have any chance of freedom, they had to surrender, to accept the Emperor Harper and his Empire as their overlords. "Then you will doom us –urk!"

Pain blossomed over his senses and Yorath looked down stupidly to see a blade extending from his chest. He pushed himself upright, ignoring the dull splatters of blood that dripped on to the table from his mouth as one hand moved to touch the weapon, as if to confirm it was real.

His breathing became heavy but Yorath forced himself to look into the faces of the Council. His siblings were screaming but he couldn't tell if they were in pain or ranting against this betrayal.

" _Run,_ " he told them. _"Surrender to the Phoenix Empire and beg their protection,"_  he added before he focused on the Council.

"Fools," blood pooled in his mouth. The single word encompassed everything he wanted to say but they did not understand. "'Serve the Empire, not the Empress for the Empire is the only mistress who matters,'" he quoted the old phrase, glaring as his vision faded.

Yorath only vaguely felt himself fall when the sword was withdrawn. His last thought was a prayer. For the Empire's sake and all those still within it, he hoped they saw the truth. There was only one path to victory and it was not through war.

-cfr-

**47208 Years after Human Ascension, 2155 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Former Nur Territory, Planet: Clatsia**

Sawyl shuffled his way forwards in the mess line. He was hungry and all he wanted to do was rest but he knew he had another assigned shift. He sighed, at least after he ate, he wouldn't be hungry.

The Phoenix Empire worked them very hard but did not stint on the food.

Of course they didn't! Most of the jobs the captured Nur laboured at were farming. They produced more than enough food to keep themselves fed, as well as quite a few others, which was why the Humans shipped the food elsewhere.

One of the groups of POWs had poisoned some once and three days later, they'd been gathered into one huge group and a Human with a respirator had shown them images of dead Nur broods.

"Poisoning the food only kills your children," the Human had announced. "Don't do it again."

Somehow the Humans had known who was responsible because they were rounded up and that was the last anyone saw of them.

That had been years back, when everyone was still full of fervour. There had been several instances since, again accompanied by assemblies and the disappearance of those responsible and nothing seemed to change. They worked, they ate, they worked, and rested and then repeated the day. They weren't even told how the war was progressing but they knew.

The Phoenix Empire continued its inexorable advance through the tiers and while some systems resisted longer than others, they all fell. All of his siblings were either captured or dead. He'd sent them information but nothing had come of it. The Empire was just outclassed.

"Did you hear?" the whisper was directed towards him.

The guards didn't care if they talked but they had a thing about noise. Sawyl didn't usually care about gossip but he realised the room was buzzing. "What?"

"We got another supernova!" The whisper seemed triumphant but Sawyl could remember a long distant memory of a conversation with Ianto. A new supernova was not a good thing.

"How many died?" he forced himself to ask.

"None of the scum yet, but it's only a matter of time."

Sawyl took a deep breath. If the Phoenix Empire had detected the creation of a supernova, and that had to be what happened, else they wouldn't be talking about it, they could evacuate the world's involved.

That was a relief. He didn't want to think about what might happen if another planet was lost. The fact of the supernova was going to be bad enough.

"They'll retaliate," he replied.

"As if tha- By the Empress! What is that?" the Nur speaking behind him exclaimed, coming to a halt.

The line banked up but soon they were all staring. Sawyl stared as well but he knew exactly what he was looking at. He remembered the featureless black armored forms and the cybernetic organic troops the Humans had captured his squad with. He remembered the way they had been chased but more, he remembered the fear on the march that came after.

They had been run for hours. Those weaker Nur had faltered, falling behind to never be seen again while the rest of them stumbled onwards. The worst of it was the cybernetic things never once faltered, never once tripped or tired. They kept the same pace no matter the terrain or slope.

His world had become nothing but pain and the need to keep moving because if he didn't, it was all over. He didn't remember stumbling into camp. All he could remember was that the sensation of movement ended and fear relaxed slightly when the things went away.

Now they were back.

Sawyl felt his legs tremble, phantom pain burning through them and he tried to step back but only managed to bump the Nur behind him.

"It's just a Human," they growled and it was then that Sawyl saw the woman.

She was short and standing with an air of expectation, as if waiting for them to notice her. "I am General Kalon. Some of you have met me before," she announced and Sawyl swore she looked directly at him when she said it. "I am here to dispel rumours.

"Firstly, it is true that the Government of Oydryd has managed to trigger another supernova within the Phoenix Empire's territory. It will now take five years to affect any inhabited planet," General Kalon continued and her grasp of Olkh was good. The Humans never named Oydryd Empress. They had made it clear, that to them, there was only one Emperor.

"And within five months, all planets within twenty light years will have full planetary shields and after the first supernova, most of our vessels had their radiation shielding upgraded. This attack, like the first, is a futile destructive act with no meaning."

Given the Phoenix Empire's hold on most of Nur territory, it didn't matter what the POWs believed, the reality was that the supernova changed nothing.

"Secondly, this is a rumour that will be reaching you shortly from your siblings still in contested territory." They had been prisoners long enough not to react when the Human said that. It was their phrase for the Empire. "Oydryd's government was overthrown by forces within the contested territory who wished to find an end to this conflict," General Kalon looked around, as if judging the mood.

Sawyl thought most were like him. They didn't know what to think about that. But if Empress Oydryd no longer held power, and a faction who would surrender did, then why hadn't the Human led with that?

"Regretfully, those wishing peace were betrayed and this conflict will continue, despite the concessions the Eternal Emperor Harper was prepared to make." She shook her head sorrowfully but Sawyl didn't believe it. They could claim what they wanted without the reality being tested.

"The sacrifice of those loyal to galactic peace will be honoured," Kalon said before her expression changed, losing the well-acted regret to become crisply business like. "Now, as you collect your rations you will be sorted into new work groups. Most will still be producing food but some of you will have new duties."

Sawyl shivered. "You can't make us fight like those traitors!"

It was only after he'd spoken that he realised what he'd said.

General Kalon fixed her eyes upon him and the other Nur backed away. It had never officially been confirmed but there was only one thing the cybernetic troops could be. Nur. But Nur so modified and brainwashed that they had no care for their form or bodies, which is why the Humans called them Exanimates. A word his siblings had discovered meant the 'walking dead.' What kind of species had a word for that concept?

The Human smiled. "We'll see," she said before turning away.

Sawyl shivered. He had a feeling he'd just been selected for that group.

"What do you mean?" The other Nur asked as soon as the Human was out of obvious earshot.

Sawyl looked around. The camp was for fellow soldiers so surely they knew about those things.  _Soldiers aren't paid to think,_  Ianto's voice echoed through his mind and Sawyl was reluctantly reminded that his dear friend was right. Once, he'd been one of the unthinking ones.

"Look at them," he said as gently as he could. Surely, thirteen years as POWs had taught them something or had the Phoenix Empire's fair, but firm treatment made them fall asleep? "They are Nur sized and shaped."

"Yeah, but they can't match my looks," the flippant comment earned a glare and Sawyl was pleased to see at least some of his fellows beginning to think.

"The cybernetics are badly fused with their bodies," a relatively small female put in quietly.

"The Humans have done it to millions of us," came an answering whisper. "They wouldn't have had time to do a good job."

"So why don't we just show General Kalon who's planet this is? If they are truly Nur, they will fight with us!"

For a moment everyone seemed surprised. Some prisoners had tried to fight but the Phoenix Empire always dealt with that swiftly and those who instigated rebellion were never in a position to do so again. For all that the Phoenix Empire was well feeding them, and working them to grow food for other Nur, they did not truly care about Nur lives.

"No," Sawyl said, but shivered when his whisper was lost in a torrent of agreement.

"No!" he said more urgently. They couldn't fight. Those troops would never turn.

The group continued whispering, only pausing as they collected their food and Sawyl was somehow dragged with them as they ate.

"I'll talk to the other dormitories," one said. "Even with this supposed work realignment, I doubt we won't be mixing."

"I'll see what we can get to be-"

"No," Sawyl repeated. "You can't," he added, when all eyes turned to him.

"Look, we know we shouldn't be discussing this here," one of the new-formed conspirators said, guessing at what he was going to say, "but the only other area is our sleeping quarters and we know they are bugged."

Sawyl shook his head, fighting back the shivers that threatened to engulf him. "You can't fight the Exanimates."

"We don't want to fight them! They are Nur. They will support us."

"They won't," he said as sharply as a whisper would allow. "Do you know what Exanimate means in English?" he asked, but didn't get an answer.

"Re-animated dead," he explained, swallowing with the memory of one of his siblings telling him that. Pryderi hadn't survived the fall of Hanhed. "They are Phoenix Empire soldiers now, and dead to us," he continued. "Those cybernetics guarantee it," he told the now silent group.

"They can't be completely gone," one said urgently and Sawyl recognised the desire not to believe him. He'd gone through this as well.

"They don't care about their own pain. They don't care about our pain. They do not tire, they do not falter and they will fight with no regard for their lives. The only thing they care about is pleasing their Human masters," the small Nur from earlier said and Sawyl knew she had to have encountered them on the battlefield to have such knowledge.

"My entire unit was caught by them. Only five of us made it here after my idiot captain decided to call their bluff. They don't bluff," she finished.

They ate in silence for a while after that but Sawyl shared a small nod of absolute understanding with her. She knew what those troops meant.

"So we can't rely on them," one of the others broke the silence but Sawyl could hear the desire for rebellion. "That just means they're the enemy as well. We still outnumber them, and if we work together, that will be enough."

The signal to finish eating sounded before anyone could reply and Sawyl rose with the others. "All I will say is this - if you continue, be prepared to die, because even if you win, we are now far behind the lines, and the Phoenix Empire will not tolerate rebellion."

"But you're going to help us right?" There was an edge of hurt disbelief in the voice, as if he'd betrayed them somehow.

Sawyl held up one hand, flashing the token he'd been given with his food. "New assignment," he said because it was easier to explain that than to explain that he was sure, he could feel it in his bones and a tingle in his carapace, when they rebelled, he'd be on the other side.

-cfr-

**47211 Years after Human Ascension, 2158 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Fedochi Area**

Commodore Lappela pinched the skin between her eyes as she squeezed them shut. "You are sure? You are absolutely sure?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Sir. His identity has been confirmed by both facial mapping and biologic sample."

Lappela sighed and nodded, thanking the man for his report even as she dismissed his hologram. It was impossible. It had to be a hoax but even as she thought that, she realised it wasn't.

Or rather, it didn't matter if it was. It was results that mattered and the result of this was that her people, the Fedochi, stupidly thought they had a chance to break free from the Phoenix Empire.

How could they even think that? The Empire surrounded them on every side, had been their government for near seven hundred years and was their military.

There was no way a rebellion could succeed and even if it did, she knew what the Grand Admiral's response would be. The system would be retaken with prejudice and martial law would be in effect on every other Fedochi world. Whatever gains they had made as a people over the last seven hundred years would be gone.

Why the hell couldn't they see that? Why were they following Kuoxxar Ramakers? A Fedochi who should have been centuries dead. How was he even alive?

She lowered her head and stared at the image. It displayed a middle aged Fedochi, younger than her and there was no way he would be younger than her! Time didn't work like that, except for-

Lappela froze. Time  _did_  do that for some people. Grand Admiral Williams had been reborn at least five times that she knew of. Officially Eternal Emperor Harper had been reborn seven times, at the turn of each century and there had been a few other, unscheduled rebirths that had been rumoured.

"But they are Human," she whispered, staring at the image. Kuoxxar was Fedochi. Reasonably good looking and if her dearly departed mother's stories were to be believed, he was a good Fedochi, concerned about those who took up his cause. "And Kuoxxar is definitely, unquestionably Fedochi."

"He is," the voice startled her and Lappela almost leapt out of her chair to salute when she saw Grand Admiral Williams standing looking at the hologram with a distinctly annoyed expression.

"Sir!" she said stiffly.

"At ease," the Grand Admiral waved away her salute with a casual air. The woman remained staring at the image and Lappela knew the military's ultimate commander was seeing more than just the hologram.

"I was quite surprised when the name Kuoxxar Ramakers came up on one of my subroutines monitoring the Empire for trouble. I was further surprised to find out that it really is the old war horse."

"But Kuoxxar would have to be at least fifteen hundred years old! He doesn't look more than four hundred," Commodore Lappela objected. Fedochi lived long time, about eight hundred Human years, but not that long!

"I don't look two thousand either," Williams said and Lappela realised from the comment that her tentative realisation from earlier was reality.

Kuoxxar Ramakers was alive via Human rebirth technology.

"Sir! I can order him taken out," Commodore Lappela started but Williams raised one hand.

"He'll just come back," she said softly. "No, we'll deal with the source." The Grand Admiral's eyes went distant for a moment and the Commodore knew she was planning. She said nothing. Beyond the fact the Human could just order to her obey, the woman appeared to know exactly what was going on. It would be better to follow her plan.

"You are going to call Jack and then you are going to call his bluff."

For a moment Lappela had to think who Jack was, then she realised, Williams meant the Emperor!

"Sir! He won't take my call," she pointed out. She was a Commodore within the military but that wasn't sufficient rank to expect the Emperor to answer and that was before her species was taken into consideration.

Grand Admiral Williams smiled at her. "He'll definitely take your comm," she assured her before her expression became serious. "Tell him that according to Article Seven, subparagraph Five of the Phoenix Empire Schedule of War, protectorate species are subject to military authority and you, Commodore Lappela, are the appointed military governor of the Fedochi people for the duration of the war.

"Then tell him that any assistance given to a rebel in a time of war by any Planetary Governor, Sector Head, Centurian or Senator is an act of treason, especially if they have supplied the rebel with legitimate papers and in the name of the Eternal Emperor Harper, his name, you will execute them for their crime." The Grand Admiral seemed satisfied, her annoyance transforming into amusement.

Lappela blinked as she considered her commander's instructions. The implications were obvious. Kuoxxar Ramakers was one of Emperor Harper's agents and had his backing but she couldn't work out why. The Emperor couldn't possibly want internal instability during this war!

Did the Emperor want her to fail? That was a terrifying thought.

Williams picked up on her silence. "Do not concern yourself with the politics of the situation," the Human said gently. "It is not a reflection of your abilities.

"Jack doesn't want political instability but he is prepared to risk it, especially since it won't go far."

"Not when he's controlling the rebels," Lappela blurted.

"Indeed," Williams seemed pleased by her grasp of the situation. "But I think it's time we turned it against him," she continued. "Tell Harper you'll be generous. In an effort to protect the peace you will agree to meet with this rebel. At that point, I think you can handle the memories of Kuoxxar Ramakers," the Grand Admiral assured her.

Suddenly Lappela wasn't a Commodore, working in her own office, she was a recruit, standing in the base commander's office in the cold night air. She remembered speaking to the Grand Admiral when she was still mostly a child. It was then she was told she could be protected if she forgot her father, which is exactly what she had done. But she'd known then, there would be a price and it appeared now was the time to pay.

It appeared Williams recalled as well. "It appears Jack is willing to cross me over my troop choices," she said easily. "But he'll remember soon enough why he doesn't."

Lappella nodded, using the motion hide her gulp. Her commander still noticed.

"Call him in the morning," she instructed. "I've altered your comm signal so that it will go through."

"Yes Sir!" Commodore Lappela said. It wasn't like she could disobey a direct order.

"Do not be concerned," Williams said. "You have done well and the military remembers your service. I will ensure you are rewarded appropriately."

Lappela nodded and decided that while this might be routine for the Grand Admiral, the sooner she was free of it, the better. She didn't want to get caught up in their games again.

And that meant the war needed to end. Perhaps she could send more Fedochi taxes towards the cause like the Attori were doing. After all, every little bit helped.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I liked Yorath. I'm still a bit vague as to how he got into a high level position given how honourable he was but that's not an issue any more.


	85. Indoctrination For Beginners

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 84: Indoctrination For Beginners**

-cfr-

**47212 Years after Human Ascension, 2159 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Fedochi Area**

An open field was not exactly where Commodore Lappela thought this would go down but after speaking with Emperor Harper, this was the location the rebel Democrat Kuoxxar Ramakers had agreed to.

The field had been scanned six ways from Sunday and was exactly what it appeared to be. A field.

There was a small bare table in the centre with two simple chairs. She was standing about one metre back from the table watching as a lone figure walked through the grass to meet her. The group that had accompanied him was waiting about one hundred metres back, just as her guards were.

She had the feed from the snipers running through the back of her mind. She could signal them if needed but it was hoped it wouldn't come to that.

"Kuoxxar Ramakers?" she asked for confirmation when the other Fedochi came to a halt behind the table.

"Lappela Rademaker," he replied after a sharp nod.

She responded in kind and they both tentatively stepped forward to take their seats.

Lappela wasn't sure what she felt. She knew they were both pawns and that didn't bother her but she felt the tiniest whisper of disappointment that Kuoxxar did not recognise her. It was irrational. He'd never met her so she should know better but the part of her that was still a child had held the irrational hope.

Grand Admiral Williams had explained what happened to Kuoxxar Ramakers. She had been very clear about what Kuoxxar Ramakers would remember, both what he was allowed to remember and what he might possibly recall. She would not even be a dream to him.

It had seemed simple but staring at him, Lappela realised it was anything but.

She took a deep breath, doing her best to stifle her emotions. She had a script for today and it did not include falling apart like a youngling. She was six hundred and ninety three years old! She was better than that!

"What exactly do you want?" she demanded.

Kuoxxar smiled as if he'd expected the question. "You are not the first to ask that. You will not be the last." He paused and Lappela forced herself to wait for him to continue. "I want the Fedochi to be free!"

At that, she had no trouble looked sceptical. "Free from what?" she asked but before he could answer she continued, listing his previous motivations. "The Exarch? The Kratos? Each other? The fact that you are speaking to me, a female born to a merchant's daughter without a mating contract, should already tell you that they hold no power.

"Or is it that you want the Fedochi to be free of the Humans and the Phoenix Empire? In which case, what replaces the current institutions? You?" She chuckled scornfully.

"I think not! You abandoned your people at the point where they were about to affect real change. The war was won. The Fedochi were free to negotiate with the Phoenix Empire but then you disappear, claiming that it was for the best, claiming that your work was done.

"Well, it wasn't!" Lappela growled and she had no idea where the words were coming from but the emotion threading through her voice was real. How much better off would the Fedochi have been if Kuoxxar had remained? He hadn't even tried.

Her mother may have forgiven him, may have thought he'd done enough but Lappela knew better. She knew that he was Harper's tool and he hadn't even fought it.

"I left then because remaining would have caused rifts."

"Or you would have provided a figurehead, been the rallying point and the unifying leader the Fedochi needed with Human guidance. But you left, abandoning your people for almost seven hundred years."

"But now I'm back," he retorted, as if that explained everything.

"Yes, you're back," Lappela smiled poisonously. "Where have you been for all those years?"

For an instant Kuoxxar looked troubled but then he sensed the opportunity to quote his resurrection. "All I know is that I awoke on the planet Qagrie, with no memory of where I had been and only the vaguest memories of who I was."

"And you expect the Fedochi to follow you?" Lappela was scornful. "A self-confessed amnesiac who, I must admit, does look fantastically good for one thousand, seven hundred and forty four years old."

"Because I am immortal," he replied but the answer was weak.

"There is already one immortal leader," she countered.

"He is not Fedochi," Kuoxxar responded.

"Yet he is the head of the government that helped you bring down the Exarch. Or should I phrase that the other way? But then people might wonder if you were of any use."

By his baffled expression Kuoxxar seemed surprised by her venom. He had obviously expected her to fall under the spell the other Fedochi appeared to when they dealt with him. "Have I wronged you?" he asked, ignoring the obvious that leading a rebellion against the appointed leader was enough. "You were born after the war, yet you speak as if I have somehow wronged you personally."

Lappela glared at him flatly. She knew they'd attempted to research her past but her records were military, not civilian and thus the details were classified for exactly this type of situation. It was far harder to compromise someone you knew nothing about.

"You are correct. I was born after the war," Lappela admitted. "On the planet Iesakx," she told him that to fish for a reaction.

"The planet where the war officially ended," Kuoxxar nodded. "A good omen for your birth."

"What do you remember of that world? You were pivotal in Exarch Tirto's capture."

Kuoxxar looked to the table as he thought.

Grand Admiral Williams had told her that if he remembered anything it would only be as fragments. He was kept immortal by the same methods she used but he did not have the cranial implants to ensure he could remember his actions.

"I remember that the Duke was a good Fedochi, even if I cannot remember his name. I know that his underlings were corrupt," Kuoxxar said slowly after several moments of thought.

"The corrupt underlings were executed in accordance with Emperor Harper's Lawful Decree two years after the end of the war, when their guilt had been established. Duke Kivanc was returned to Iesakx where he ruled, with Human oversight, for another two hundred and fifty years."

The idea now was to show Kuoxxar that his goals had been reached. He would have remembered only that which was important to him and while Lappela would have liked him to admit that he remembered her mother, she would have to push to have him admit such a personal thing. That sort of knowledge represented true power.

"And the Exarch?"

She frowned, letting him see her disbelief. "You have not bothered to research history?" she countered. "Do I add ignorant to amnesiac?" It was a challenge he had to respond to.

"I have died countless times for the good of the Fedochi people. Nearly every time I was captured was because I was betrayed by a lover, a confidant or trusted commander. They had their reasons and I forgave them. Every time, I forgave them.

"I have only died two times without betrayal. My first because it was my actions which took me on that path. And my last where I left before they could betray me but my task was complete and my people could find a way then.

"I remember some of them. They were hurt. They promised they could continue to stand with me, that they would not betray me but I knew what those words meant. They were the truth. I know that but they were the truth at that time and things would have changed. Then they would have become like the others.

"But I forgave them. As I walked away, I forgave them because they did not know and they would not be tested and failed."

Lappela shook her head, glancing over to the group waiting for Kuoxxar's return. It was beyond her how anyone could follow him but she supposed, there were always some who were discontent with the way things were and Kuoxxar was a rallying point. "They will betray you as well," she said when he noticed her look. "But I think you have already betrayed them."

He glared at her but Lappela help up one hand for silence. "You are leading them against a nation that had already given you your desire and we both know the instant you are called you will return to your master."

Kuoxxar looked slightly amused at that. "And who is my master?" he challenged.

"The same man who had controlled you since your first death, the man you killed. The Immortal Phoenix Empire Jack Harper," she announced. "Or do you call him Cerberus?" she added.

Kuoxxar lost his amused air. "I do not serve the Humans!" he growled. "I want the Fedochi to be free of them."

"And then what?" she returned the challenge.

"Then I will walk away so that they can form a new government."

"So once again you will abandon your followers, your lover, you child. What was it for again? To avoid their betrayal or because your job was done?"

"I have never left a child!" he snarled, slamming one hand down on the table. It shuddered.

Lappela remained unmoved. "Of course you have. You've just never known it because you never let the mother tell you. You couldn't hear it, after all, since you were instructed not to have children."

" _Never_  have I left a child," he hissed, drawing his hand back, leaving shallow grooves in the cheap wood.

Lappela shook her head, before she locked her eyes on his. "I was born to a merchant's daughter, on the planet Iesakx, in the Phoenix Empire year 1466. My mother's name was-"

"Nesrin," Kuoxxar said and just for an instant his eyes softened.

"Does your new lover know about her? Does she know the price of lying with you?"

"You can't be my daughter! My daughter should have been free!"

"I am free," Lappela said. "As much as anyone ever is."

"Yet you serve the oppressors!"

"I joined the military of my free will. I remained past my original tour of duty of my free will and I am now the appointed Military Governor of the Fedochi for the duration of the war with the Nur by the will of the Phoenix Empire's military leader, which is my will."

"You are controlled!" he accused.

Lappela smiled grimly. "Far less than you," she said. It was pointless to deny it. She was controlled because that's what the military was. Trying to explain the subtleties to Kuoxxar would be pointless. "And the Fedochi are as free as they can be," she continued. "You have followers, yes, because some are always discontented but the majority of the Fedochi will not thank you for returning them to chaos.

"Oh, the remains of the Kratos would because they would quickly re-establish dominance but those you claim to serve, the lower castes, those who were oppressed, they will not benefit from rebellion." She tried to finish kindly but there was no way to be kind with this. "They already have what they need. They do not need someone who will leave. They need stability, certainty and they have that in the Phoenix Empire." She watched Kuoxxar for a few moments but could tell he needed another push.

"Do not make promises you cannot keep, like those you made to my mother. Do not leave other children, those who would follow you, without a father. Withdraw now while it is still not too late." She tried to be as accepting as possible but it was difficult and she had to bite her lip as she waited for him to answer.

It was a delicate thing and she didn't know why the Grand Admiral didn't just order Kuoxxar to stand down. Lappela was fairly sure the Human woman could but for some reason she had refused, telling her that one day she would understand. Except, today was not that day. She still didn't know why Emperor Harper had released Kuoxxar Ramakers again.

"Are you really my daughter?" The question was unexpected.

"I am," Lappela replied, nodding slightly.

"Did your mother live well?" he was almost tentative.

"She was happy," she said, remembering her mother.

Kuoxxar closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm glad," he said softly before giving her a sad smile. He rose. "My people will bother you no longer," he added, turning away.

Lappela rose but stayed at the table, watching as he walked back through the grass to those who were waiting.

"We have eyes on everyone?" she asked the snipers.

"Yes, Commodore," the confirmation was instantaneous and Lappela nodded shallowly and continued to watch.

Kuoxxar stopped in front of those waiting for him and accepted his weapons back. The feed from the snipers confirmed it but she continued watching as he spoke and it was obvious the group didn't like what he said. She let herself smile at that. This was for the best.

She continued watching and noted as Kuoxxor shared a lingering glance with a woman who had been waiting but Lappela was pleased when the rebel made no move towards her. She felt nothing when he drew his weapon and turned it on himself.

There was only one way to break the cycle.

She didn't hear the cries from his companions.

"Fire," she ordered, and didn't turn away as Kuoxxar's companions started towards her. If she was feeling poetic she could say she felt the bullets fly around her but that was merely a phantom feeling and the Fedochi who had waited for the rebel fell as one. It was only then that she turned away.

In hindsight, an open field was the best place for this to have happened. At least he'd like it here.

-cfr-

**47213 Years after Human Ascension, 2160 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Former Nur Territory, Unspecified Planet**

Sawyl marched in line with several others. He'd been surprised when the Humans had loaded him and the others in his new work group into a transport, but it had been a relatively short hop between systems before they were unloaded and herded into a new field. They'd simply been moved to a new farm. He'd never heard about how the rebellion fared but no news probably meant they'd been crushed. They certainly hadn't succeeded. He'd put it out of his mind years ago because he knew what they would be facing.

At least, he'd managed to forget until now. Earlier today, they'd been herded into another transport. It was another short trip and they were unloaded and herded into a field. At first he'd thought it was simply a new farm but it was only after he looked around did he realise exactly what was waiting for them.

Lined up in some parody of parade ground perfection were the  _things_. Hundreds, thousands of them, each standing still and waiting. He was so absorbed in that sight that he failed to see the obvious. It was only after the wind caused by the shuttle's departure was gone that he saw it.

Sawyl almost didn't know what it was, but there, on the ground, towering above them was one of the Human super ships. He was a soldier, not one of the flying idiots, so he had no idea how large it was beyond huge. Except some of the others knew and the dimensions were quickly whispered through the gathering.

Two kilometres from the tip to the top of its curved tail. It stared at them, baleful eyes unblinking and Sawyl stood transfixed until the press of Nur sent him stumbling forwards.

"Nur POWs, line up!" the instruction was boomed towards them, so loud that it was impossible to pinpoint the source of the noise.

There was some movement but the huge booming voice wasn't satisfied. "You were given a number when you were assigned to this work group. Line up according to that," came the further instructions.

That made them sort themselves out a bit better but Sawyl couldn't escape the thought that it really didn't matter how they lined up. The conclusion would be the same.

"Finally," the voice said when they were in lines.

"Legacy," another loud voice admonished the first. Sawyl half-expected another of the Phoenix Empire's super ships to appear through the clouds but they remained steady. "Remember you have to be gentle with organics. Speak softly."

"But they couldn't even line up!" the first voice, apparently coming from the ship named Legacy, objected.

Sawyl knew he was missing details because he couldn't escape the feeling that the first speaker was young but a ship couldn't be young.

"Well, you fixed the others. Why don't you fix these ones, too?"

For a moment Sawyl didn't understand and then he felt sick as meaning became all too clear. The things were Nur and it was his group that were now about to be 'fixed'.

"Though Cerberus says you can make stronger ones now."

"Really?" Legacy's voice held an edge of excitement.

"Yes. They'll be needed for the coming assaults. Do you wish me to assist?"

"No, Goertz. I'll do it."

Sawyl had been looking for a place to run. It didn't matter where. Anywhere was fine.

"One of them is trying to escape," the voice identified as Goertz seemed amused.

"No!" Legacy yelled, causing the gathered Nur to wince. "If it runs, one of the new husks will have to be a two and I want them all to be three!"

"Then you had best get to work," Goertz observed.

Sawyl didn't wait. He bolted. He was not going to be one of those things! There were trees in the distance and he ran as fast as he could. The Humans had worked him hard over the years but they had allowed them to be adequately fed, thus he was still in reasonable condition. He wouldn't have cared if he was in no condition, he would still have run.

His breath burned but he kept pushing, listening for the order for those things to follow him but it never came.

Sawyl risked a glance back and while he felt shock, he didn't let that slow his stride. They weren't following, instead the things had surrounded the others so that they could not follow. He couldn't think about that. He had to run. If he could make it to the trees, he had a chance.

"You are not going anywhere," the voice was modulated slightly but the sound still went straight through his bones.

Accompanying the noise was a sense of weightlessness, like that time they'd lost gravity on a transport during the muster. Sawyl actually took a few more strides before he realised he was floating.

"Careful, he's fragile."

"I  _am_  being careful," Legacy replied. "I want this one to be the commander. It's smart, for an organic."

"Then do him first, but as the second on the thread."

"I know," Legacy sounded a little annoyed.

Goertz seemed to understand. "I'll leave you to it," there was a definite note of consolation in the words.

Sawyl didn't care. The bubble he was in allowed him to see everything and Legacy had raised him high. The view was not reassuring. Each Nur was now flanked by two of those things but from his vantage, he could see that there were still thousands of them standing in perfect formations around the huge ship.

But every now and then, mixed in with the companies of troops, were formations of something else. They appeared to be spikes rising out of the ground but impaled on each one was a figure that looked like a Nur. Some were near the top of the spike, while others had slid almost all the way down. There was no way any of them were alive but as Sawyl watched he saw one of the spikes retract and the Nur that had been impaled actually got up.

He convulsed. No. No!

That couldn't be it!

Not even they would do that!

Sawyl thought frantically but he was looking at the proof that it was real. He'd been telling himself the gentler fiction.

_Exanimate._

The Human word was very clear but he'd twisted its meaning. He should have known. Even with cybernetics there was no way a Nur would survive that much damage to their chest carapace!

The bubble moved, taking him over the heads of the Nur who were now being dragged towards a field of empty spikes. They didn't have his view but they knew enough to know that what was to come would be bad.

Sawyl tried to get his feet under him. He tried to attack the bubble but it was a force he couldn't see and couldn't gain purchase on. It didn't yield in the slightest and Sawyl felt his breath quicken as it paused over one of the spikes.

"No," he whispered, looking down as the things dragged another Nur over. The woman was screaming but Sawyl didn't hear anything. He could still hear the one named Goertz saying ' _first, but as the second on the thread._ '

This was how he was going to die.

The spike was retracted and the things pushed the woman over it. They held her firmly, each one pulling her taunt with a grip on her arms and legs. While Sawyl could see her struggling the things did not appear to be straining.

He felt a tug on his appendages and jerked inwards instinctively.

"Stop squirming!" Legacy growled.

"No!" Sawyl yelled defiantly, but the tug came again, firmer this time and no matter how he tried, he felt his limbs stretched outwards by a rough invisible grip.

He screamed. He couldn't help it, when he felt his carapace crack. Blood filled his mouth.

"Careful!" Goertz's voice admonished.

"Are all organics this weak?" Legacy asked.

Sawyl realised he was being lowered to a position over the woman. The bubble disappeared and the force holding his limbs was replaced by two of those things. He could hear the other Nur now but their screams did not drown out the booming voices. Sawyl knew they didn't have to speak aloud. They were doing it to torture them.

"These ones are actually quite sturdy," Goertz said conversationally.

"I don't remember," Legacy replied, as a third Nur was hoisted over him.

The Nur was struggling but did nothing.

"After the war you can experiment if you'd like," Goertz said. "I'm sure Cerberus would allow it."

"I will consider it," Legacy said.

There was no warning. Sawyl felt excruciating pain shoot through him and looked to his chest stupidly. The blood already coating his mouth refreshed and while he could feel the screams of the woman beneath and the man above, he couldn't hear them.

He'd scream as well but he couldn't draw breath for the blood that was filling his lungs. Sawyl looked up at the sky, trying to swallow as he thought of Ianto. As his vision faded, he felt something else began to move through him. It came from the spike but Sawyl didn't care. It was another pain to go with the others.

Sawyl could only mouth the words he wanted to say and each movement sent blood cascading over his face.

"I'm sorry." It wasn't a gurgle but it was enough as everything went dark.

Two and a half days later, under Legacy's watchful gaze the spikes retracted and a new type of Exanimate rose.

It was still bipedal but possessed four arms and the last set of arms rose like some parody of broken wing bones from the creatures back. It towered over most Nur at three metres tall. It had five glowing eyes, two set low and wide for good peripheral vision, two set to the front for focus and depth perception and one set near the crown of the head for further range.

Its pierced carapace was layered and light shone from between each layer. The new creature moved without prompting, acting on programed orders to stand with its fellows, in a perfectly neat formation, where it waited for the rest of the battalion to be formed.

Across what was left of the Nur Empire, where forced celebrations were being held for the second supernova shock wave hitting a Phoenix Empire world, a shiver passed through those with siblings behind the lines. It was a premonition because gathering in the field, in front of the youngest Milky Way Ascended was the end of the Nur Empire.

And they  _would_ see them coming.

-cfr-

**47216 Years after Human Ascension, 2163 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

Harper brushed his finger over one eyebrow. "Empress," he said with a little grimace, as if it caused him pain. "What is your name anyway?" he asked.

"Empress Eygyr," came the stiff reply. She was offended but that had ceased to be a concern long ago.

"Right, Empress Eygyr. I believe I told your predecessor if you are not surrendering then I am not interested in speaking. I am far too busy to listen to the ramblings of the leader of an insignificant nation that I've already authorised my military to deal with." Emperor Harper dismissed the screen as he turned back to his guest.

The Attori Prime Minister's hologram had waited patiently while Harper had spoken to the Nur Empress and even now he was waiting calmly, the edges of his frills coloured with amusement as the Empress ranted.

He understood politics and was more than happy to let Harper make a point to the alien leader.

"Now, that the interruption has been dealt with," Emperor Harper said, ignoring the fact that the comm to the Empress was still open, "where were we?"

"I- ah yes," Prime Minister Re'jae said, slightly confused as the comm was still open but he recovered quickly. "I was about to give Your Majesty an update on the Attori's Imperial taxation payments," he continued. They had been going to discuss that later in the meeting but since that was the only item on the agenda directly relating to the Nur, Re'jae figured Emperor Harper wouldn't mind discussing it now, to make sure that the Empress truly understood the point. The Human gave an almost imperceptible nod to indicate his approval and Re'jae felt a thrill.

When the Attori had joined the Empire, they had been only ninety six systems but Emperor Harper's favour meant they were more important than a species that had held thousands more systems. The feeling vindicated the choices that his ancestors had made, even if now was full of pain.

Re'jae had heard the rumours. All Attori had, that the Humans had planned it, that they had deliberately weakened their military and fostered dependence on Humanity. He knew the Humans were capable of that, and so much more but even if that was true, there were payoffs and Re'jae couldn't help but believe that those payoffs outweighed the price they had paid.

"Ah yes," Emperor Harper replied. "The extra payment plan for systems," he elaborated for Empress Eygyr's benefit. "I believe you were up to a truly impressive number of Nur systems."

"Yes, Your Majesty. We may now claim fifty-seven systems." The war had been going for thirty five years. The Attori had redoubled their efforts as their way of expressing their grief for Atto. There was a fair chance the Emperor would award them extra systems as well.

The Nur Empress looked outraged and Re'jae was controlled enough to mute his colours of amusement. Emperor Harper nodded.

"We were thinking of claiming a selection from each tier to have as wide a variety as possible but I did have two questions for Your Majesty. The contract was not entirely clear on these points," he explained the reason for the questions.

"It was written hastily," the Emperor admitted. "What are they?"

"The first is simple. May we claim the Nur homeworld, Xyrpyni? I understand that if yes, that system won't be a one to one claim. We'd have to negotiate its worth in other systems."

Emperor Harper's glowing eyes were half closed as he nodded. "I like the symbology but I'm afraid I'm going to have to deny that request."

Re'jae looked sad and he sighed theatrically. The answer was not unexpected. "Then the second question is if we may trade some of the systems for additional terraforming on other systems. As an example, Groesa is a little too cold for us but otherwise perfect for Attori habitation. So may we trade one of our other system claims, or part thereof for some terraforming on Groesa to make it truly perfect?"

Emperor Harper considered his words, steepling his fingers as he thought. "I do not see why not, though a proper rate of exchange would be determined on a case by case basis."

"That is more than acceptable, Your Majesty," Re'jae said, keeping the screen displaying the Nur Empress in the corner of his eye.

The Nur were not like the Attori or even the Humans. They could not display their emotion with a change in colour or the pull of their features. They appeared to have the same flat visage all the time but the Empress now looked to be drawn with rage and the Attori Prime Minister realised that Emperor Harper had put the incoming line on mute.

The Human shared a smug smile with him and Re'jae felt himself responding in kind, though the notes from one of the former Prime Minister's came to mind. Prime Minister Chetan had dealt with the Phoenix Empire extensively when the Attori were still their own nation.  _'The Humans display emotion but they can lie and when they lie, their entire body participates in the lie. Emperor Harper will never directly tell you an untruth. It is too easy for that to be determined but take it as given that he always knows more than he's letting on and plan accordingly.'_

The smile looked genuine. It was one shared between conspirators when their plans came together but Re'jae wondered now what it was hiding.

Emperor Harper reached to pick up his drink and as he did his wrist bumped the comm controls and the Nur Empress' voice filled his office. The current Empress did not speak English and Re'jae did not speak Ohlk so the words were a string of gibberish to Re'jae but he recognised that they had to be curse words when no automatic translation came through.

The lack of translation didn't hinder the Human Emperor. Re'jae didn't know if the rumours were true but he thought they might be. The Eternal Emperor Harper spoke all the languages of the Empire, every dialect, even the non-Human ones. He appeared to understand now.

"Empress Eygyr that is quite rude!" he scolded her.

She must have realised she'd been on mute earlier but hadn't caught the change. "You cannot trade my worlds for mere taxes!" she exclaimed.

"They are no longer your worlds," Harper told her.

"Throughout your history, you have never taken systems from a species like that. The Fedochi still have the planets they colonised, as do the Ullator. They live within your territory on the systems they claimed before becoming a part of the Phoenix Empire." The Empress was speaking slowly and while it seemed like she was holding back emotion, it was equally likely someone was feeding her information. "If the Nur were to surrender, we would expect similar conditions."

Emperor Harper leaned back, looking at the Nur Empress through half lidded eyes. Re'jae remained silent as he watched the byplay.

"For all that the Fedochi killed billions of my people," Harper replied equally slowly, making sure his voice was clear, "they were being manipulated at first but they took responsibility for their actions. Exarch Ilkin accepted the consequences and resigned and while you probably only know that Exarch Tirto was executed, he too knew that that was the price of failure for his Protectorate's actions.

"Your nation's opening attack, on the homeworld of the Attori people-" Re'jae didn't like to be reminded of that but it was gratifying that Emperor Harper listed them prominently in the losses. The Human Emperor had often been accused of not caring about the non-Human citizens of the Empire but Re'jae could see that he did. Harper thought about them. "-and the border systems of the Empire killed more than the entire Fedochi conflict.

"But then, after we'd driven you off, and we were an invincible force upon your systems, your people did not acknowledge the truth, you escalated the situation and were then surprised when escalation only lead to intensification of our resolve." Emperor Harper shook his head before spearing his eyes at Empress Eygyr.

"If you had approached in the aftermath of your little coup, as Fleet Marshal Yorath wished to, the terms would have been somewhat favourable. But instead you tried to see if there was any way for you to resist our invincible force and now that you realise there is not, and my forces are closing in on your upper tiered worlds, you make demands.

"You are in no position to make demands. Your surrender must be genuine and unconditional and only then will I consider sparing your species. Until then, you are worth less than the pre-space flight civilisations within the Empire and I waste my breath speaking to you."

Emperor Harper flicked the screen and it went dark. Re'jae bit his lip and while he was usually controlled he couldn't quite keep worry from discolouring his frills. The Attori were an open race in that way.

"Your Majesty," he said tentatively.

Harper looked at him.

"You wouldn't really exterminate them, would you?" The Nur had nuked Atto, killing billions of his people but that did not mean they all deserved to die.

Emperor Harper seemed to replay the words he'd just spoken. "No," he said after a moment. "When this war is over and the Nur are part of the Empire, they will not be exterminated. But they will no longer be a galactic power," Emperor Harper assured him.

Re'jae nodded, the answer was about what he'd expected and truthfully, the Nur couldn't expect anything else.

"It is better than what they would have given us," Harper continued.

Re'jae took a deep breath. "I can only imagine how they might have treated us if…" he didn't continue. There were so many ifs.

"We deal with what is done, not what might have been," Emperor Harper reminded him before he tapped the view screen, bringing up the agenda for their meeting. The item about Imperial Tax for Planets was crossed out. "You have nothing more to add to that topic?" Harper asked.

Re'jae blinked, and his frills flashed with embarrassment when he saw that the notes now included a dot point. Trade for Terraforming. "Your Majesty, I only suggested terraforming as a means to," he grimaced, not wanting to admit the next, "annoy Empress Eygyr," the Attori Prime Minister concluded in a rush.

"That might be," Emperor Harper seemed amused, "but I like the idea so it is now a reality," he continued.

"Then I have nothing further to add to that point," Re'jae said.

"Good, then it is time to move on to-"

The Attori Prime Minister listened attentively as Emperor Harper spoke but in the back of his mind he could feel nothing but gratitude to his ancestors. They had made the right choice and the Attori were now counted as allies and that was only good for their future.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rebel has been dealt with and now the Phoenix Empire can start to advance on the Nur's homeworld, Xypryni. The final fall starts next chapter. I can't believe there is only four more chapters until the end of Part 4 of this fic... Then it's back to the Milky Way to see how Shepard and Harbinger are doing.


	86. One Step Before The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 85: One Step Before The End**

-cfr-

**47218 Years after Human Ascension, 2165 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

"You look tired."

"You know that's an impossibility."

"I know but you still look tired," Harper repeated. She was within their Ascended form. Tiredness was simply a matter of how she projected her image.

"Well, when this is over I can sleep," Williams replied.

"You're entering the final tiers now?" Harper asked, already knowing the answer. For now, Williams' reports were more to let him know anything of interest since the end was almost inevitable.

"Yes," she rolled her eyes, "and I know I complained that the lower tier systems were infested but really, they were nothing. I don't know how they never ran into things."

"Well at least you won't run out of ammunition," Harper consoled Williams. The standard procedure now was to drop a few of the smaller habitats to soften up the planets below.

She flashed him a grin before her features became serious again. "We are discovering more biological and chemical weapons though."

"More of them?"

"Yeah, the last was a primitive form of mustard gas."

Harper looked at her sharply. "You are tracking down the developers?"

Williams nodded. She wasn't about to let the Nur use those weapons. And she hadn't for years. "I had everyone upgrade their immunities. It actually gave Lawson something to do. For a whole three days." She cocked her head slightly at him. "Have you decided what to do with Obaith and Yorath's clan?" she asked.

They'd confirmed that the previous Empress had been assassinated but those responsible had been double crossed before they could contact the Phoenix Empire. The majority of them were now concentrated on Obaith where they had managed to form a strong hold.

"Not yet," Harper said with a sigh. "I'm still deciding if they should see the new Empress fall."

"They've got another one?" Williams frowned. She should have been the first to know if the Nur got a new Empress.

"No, no," Harper clarified. "The same one."

Williams glared. He knew she hated ambiguity. "You've probably got another couple of months to decide in," she said. "The final tiers are going to be slow going unless we can rig up some giant nets to just trawl the systems clean."

"The engineers are busy," he reminded her. Not only were they constructing the detection net behind the invading fleet, but there were works within the Empire's territory that had to be seen to.

"You're actually doing it?"

"Every system within twenty light years of a white dwarf," Harper confirmed.

"The Nur aren't going to get another supernova," Williams growled.

"We didn't think they'd get a second one in but they did and we know they tried for more, so you can't guarantee that," he told her.

"I fucking can guarantee it," Williams retorted. "They don't have the eezo!"

"Didn't you tell me that you thought they got another manufacturing facility up and running?" Harper counted.

"Yes, I think they do," Williams said. "But that's barely keeping them going and I've already got fleets dispatched to the likely candidate stars. They don't have enough eezo to make another supernova."

Harper didn't look convinced. "Well, better to be safe," he said, referring to the planetary shield project.

"Or you could just give me the resources. I'd need to get to Xyrpyni faster," Williams said sarcastically. "I could ask their Empress then."

"I think I like this way better," Harper replied.

"Civilians," she muttered.

Harper didn't react, though he looked at her pointedly. "Speaking of which, I'm given to understand the Nur now know what the hus- Exanimates are." The statement was a demand for an explanation.

"It was bound to happen eventually," Williams shrugged. "I'm just surprised they didn't work it out immediately given their communication methods.

"There's nothing they can do about it anyway. All the Exanimates are made at least five systems back from the front. The ones Legacy and Instinct are making are ten systems back."

"They aren't meant to know at all," Harper pointed out, as if that should be the main concern.

"No," Williams corrected firmly. "The Phoenix Empire civilians are not meant to know, which is why we drew back some of the media. They aren't allowed in the systems where we are making or deploying them. And the military who do know aren't going to betray me."

"What concerns me is what happens once the Nur get into the Empire," he attempted to explain.

The Grand Admiral looked at him sceptically. "I don't see why that's a concern, unless you are going to allow mass migration?"

"The Nur are spread over half the galaxy," Harper reminded her. It wasn't mass migration when they were already there. .

"And the Attori are doing their best to claim as many systems as they can," Williams countered.

"Even with that, I do not need a hostile though conquered people covering that much of my territory," Harper said.

She sighed. She understood now but the solution was simple. "In the past, we've allowed species to keep their systems, subject to Phoenix Empire rules and with a few strategic system reductions. The Nur will be no different, excepting the scale of reduction," she concluded.

"They know about the Exanimates," Harper repeated. "They won't sit quietly for these reductions and once the word spreads…" He didn't need to say that if all the Nur knew, then eventually the civilians in the Phoenix Empire would as well.

"Then there are two solutions to that."

"Save me the 'I told you so's,' Ashley," Jack said.

She chuckled. "Most of the Phoenix Empire citizens view alien species as legitimate parts of the Empire but definitely as lesser citizens. We've made a rank system." Williams smiled coldly at that reality.

"If I look at just the space-faring races, then Humans are at the top. The Attori are next because they are the next best thing to a Human. The Boadu are next, but as they are still small, most won't ever see one. The Fedochi have been gaining ground and the Ullator are actually happy about the war, because it's raising their status.

"When the Nur are conquered, you know darn well they are going to be citizens in name only. And if we reanimated their dead to save our soldiers, our  _Human_  soldiers, well that's only good planning," she finished.

"Except we both know they weren't dead."

"I say again, two solutions," Williams retorted.

"You are not exterminating them all!" Harper snapped, flinching slightly as a burst of pain shot through him.

Williams saw it. "Ah," she murmured her understanding of his insistence. "I imagine we can get that order changed," she said.

"Yes, but not yet," Harper agreed.

"Well, I've just thought of another solution so there's still two. We can isolate them," Williams began explaining. "That might actually help them gain acceptance, at least up to Ullator standards as our generation's cycle.

"Or we could run that mass indoctrination experiment. Then they won't talk about anything."

Harper smiled at her. "We could," he agreed. "It worked out well, last time."

Williams looked annoyed. Lappela might have broken her father, but she had given Harper billions in taxes. At best, it was a draw but she knew he'd won that round.

"But that was individuals. I think isolation," he decided, "with selected indoctrination on a system level."

"I'll set aside some other systems for tourists then," Williams sighed, referring to the interest that would arise in the Empire once the war was over. There were those who'd want to see how the primitive non-Humans lived.

"Do that," Harper nodded.

"So what brought this on?" Williams asked. She could have searched Harper's logs but didn't feel like absorbing the details of his life. Sometimes, it was best to be ignorant.

Harper looked at her innocently.

"You know exactly what files you've included in your office's official documents now," she said tartly, not quite managing to hide her annoyance.

As Emperor, Harper was monitored twenty-four seven. The monitoring was not just his bodyguards but it was full biometric scanning that was partnered with a detailed log of his activity and the security cams. Generally, it was divided into two sections, public and private with public being limited to the times Harper was acting as Emperor and private being his off duty time. The division meant Williams could focus on the public files to find out what he was doing. She didn't need to know which of his women he was screwing.

In the wake of the Fedochi incident, just to be a bastard, Harper had combined public and private in retaliation. Absorbing the information about his brainwaves while he was relieving himself was part of the knowledge she was attempting to erase, especially as in her current Ascended state, she knew in intimate detail what every single signal meant.

She was not going to make that mistake again.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Harper murmured, shaking his head. "The Empress mentioned them," he continued to answer the question.

"So they are the current excuse for her pride," Williams shrugged again.

"Yes, and while we can deal with the citizens if they discover the truth, I'd prefer to avoid the problem," he said.

Williams nodded. She was politically astute enough to know that was easier. It wasn't like the entire military knew what the Exanimates were either. When it was necessary for interaction between troops and the Exanimates, there were special Exanimates that looked to be in full body armour that were seen. Military protocol meant no images were taken, so most believed them to be some sort of Special Forces.

"So how much longer before I can expect to see her grovelling?"

"A few years yet," Williams replied. "The lower tiers were empty compared to now," she reiterated. "And we keep getting hints about some super weapon. It's not a supernova," she added.

Harper frowned. He'd vaguely heard something about that but had put it down to Nur propaganda but if Williams was taking it seriously then there might be more to it.

"I don't know," she said, answering the unspoken question. "It could just be a play but, who knows? They are desperate. It does appear to be some sort of navy vessel," she added, putting up a blurry visual of something against a star field.

"That's the best shot we've got?" The picture was atrocious and he knew their tech was better.

"It's one we got off them. We haven't even seen this thing."

"It's not slowing you down?"

Williams snorted. "Of course not. It's only a weapon if you use it. Right now, it's a rumour." The words made it clear that she didn't consider it a very good one. "I think they hoped for something but it hasn't gone to plan."

"Or did it go to our plan?" Harper asked sharply. The Nur were capable of detecting indoctrinated agents but there were ways around that, if you were careful.

Williams looked contrite. "Possibly," she admitted.

"Are you going to tell me or do I just have to guess?"

She sighed. "It's pretty easy. Yorath was actually careful but while Iefana has given the orders, she doesn't check that they are obeyed. We have captured whole sibling groups, and a heap of those without siblings. Those without siblings are grouped into faux family units, and instructed to swear that they are family and it is those family groupings, real or fake that we control are working on the Nur weapon.

"I've done this before with the Attori, Jack. They never got the Guisarm class ships operational. This is the same," she shook her head easily. "Their population is small enough now that our agents can act without being detected too easily."

He nodded. It was a workable plan. "Iefana thinks they are still going to work?"

"We keep giving her tidbits," Williams grinned.

"Good," he murmured. The hope for the weapons would explain why the Nur hadn't surrendered after the coup. And if the hope of success was keeping them from making the sensible decision, that wasn't his fault. "Is the weapon workable?"

Williams had already refined the Nur calculations and plans for a supernova to be far more reliable. There were no plans to use that information but it never hurt to have such weapons available. "I suppose it could be," Williams said softly. "But we really don't want it to be."

"Hmm?" Harper prompted. There was a weapon his military leader didn't want to possess?

"It's a particle cannon, Jack."

"No, just no," Harper said, growling at her. She knew they couldn't have them!

"I'm taking care of it," she assured him. "I have Ascended dealing with the information. There won't be a working prototype in the Empire."

"Make sure of it," Harper reiterated Shepard's feelings on the matter.

Williams smiled. "I know. Sometimes, he's selfish," she gave the assessment.

Harper glared. She could say that. He couldn't. Sometimes he really hat- He shunted the thought away but the feeling remained. "Are we done?" Harper asked.

Williams looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yes, I think I've bitched about the problems enough for this week," she said.

"I am feeling sufficiently complained at," he murmured.

"Good," she grinned, nodding before her hologram disappeared.

Harper sighed and flicked the information on the screen away before he looked at a trade proposal.

The war might be entering its final phase but the Empire still needed his attention.

-cfr-

**47219 Years after Human Ascension, 2166 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Throne Room**

"Set is good. Lighting is good. We're going live in thirty seconds, Your Majesty."

"About fucking time, this get up is hot!"

The studio staff ignored the comment as they worked. They weren't used to dealing with the Emperor but the briefings they'd had before today made it clear that unless the Emperor was speaking directly to them, they should ignore him and concentrate on their jobs.

They were broadcasting from the Grand Hall, the place where Emperor Harper traditionally handed over the Empire's Sceptre to Lawson each century, which meant that whatever announcement the Emperor wanted to make was big.

Usually he addressed the Empire from his desk, after, so the rumours went, sweeping the data pads off it. This was a far more formal setting and the Emperor was attired in all the trappings of his rank.

Director Lawson was almost austere by comparison. Grand Admiral Williams' hologram had been present earlier but after a quick consultation she'd vanished, laughingly telling Emperor Harper that he really should do things her way.

The Emperor had glowered at the spot where she'd been standing for a few seconds before he'd settled himself in the rather plain chair that served as a throne. Someone had once replaced it with something more ornate. Emperor Harper had had them replaced very soon after and the original reinstalled. It had served as a warning.

"And we are live in five, four, three, two," the final number was mouthed silently and all attention turned to the Emperor. There was no sign he'd been complaining moments earlier.

The man before them on camera was regal and the epitome of power and they all felt a wave of respect.

"Citizens of the Empire, I come before you to relay the truth of the continuing conflict with the Nur.

"It began with their unprovoked and unlawful attack on our border systems and Atto. But the citizens of the Phoenix Empire, Human or not, are not that weak. We held the line. We endured and we planned and then we struck.

"The Nur learned we were not some paper warrior to be brushed aside. We are might, the flame of the Phoenix and we burned their worlds.

"But not to the ground. I heard the calls but to burn them to the ground is to deny them all life and the systems with minimal terraforming will be suitable for settlement." As he said that there was a soft smile playing on his features, as if this was what had intended all along.

"The Nur, despite what they believe have always had the ability to surrender. The comm lines to my office are not closed to them but I do not bow to threats and blackmail, which is all Nur command has offered.

"The first was escalation. The system of Njord will be remembered," Emperor Harper's voice was tight, as if he was fighting back tears but his look was determined. "In the aftermath of that attack, the Nur Empress Oydryd did contact me.

"She kindly offered to let me surrender and then upon realising that the Phoenix Empire would never agree to that, she sought the establishment of borders." Harper shook his head. "As if _I_  could  _forget_  the blood spilt and the lives taken. As if  _I_  could  _forgive_ ," he added, almost growling.

"And so we continued, pushing further into Nur territory because the lives of those lost demanded it. It is not, and never has been a battle for vengeance but it is a battle for justice. For us to tell the Nur with uncompromising force that we are not a nation they can dominate. And that we do not accept their view that we must bow."

At this, Emperor Harper's eyes, already bright with his implants seemed to glow further, casting the rest of his face into shadow despite the extra lighting brought in. He took a visible breath, his features shifting to take on a sorrowful mien and those watching knew he was getting to the heart of his speech.

"The Nur have made further attempts to create supernovas within the Phoenix Empire. Each attempt has been thwarted, the ships that they sent destroyed before they could fulfil their objectives. But the Nur have continued to try, thus proving that they lack honour to use such an indiscriminate weapon against civilian worlds.

"They seek, through the use of supernovas to make us fear but we are the Phoenix and the light of our fire burns away their shadow. Out of the ashes of destruction we rise. We rose from Njord, developing shields to protect our worlds.

"So the second supernova that the Nur, in their desperation, have triggered shall pass over the systems as the planets rest, protected by the wings of the Phoenix."

Harper bowed his head slightly, as if thanking those who had died for the protection to be made. "We shall rise again now and this time our navy and our armies shall be closing in on the Nur home world of Xyrpyni,

"It has been a long time coming but it is an inevitability and even now we fight with honour. We do not ravage their worlds beyond repair and my comm line remains open. At any time, I am open to accept Nur surrender.

"To end this conflict, the Nur Empress Eygyr needs to acknowledge their defeat with surrender for I will not accept the insult to those who have laid down their lives which her attempt to negotiate is!" Harper sounded angry and it was an anger echoed by the film crew, when they realised what he meant.

"Surrender must be unconditional because it was not the Phoenix Empire which started this conflict but we will be the ones who end it!"

For emphasis, Emperor Harper brought the hilt the sceptre down hard and the deep sound reverberated through the room. The crew felt the tone in their bones and they knew the Emperor would not negotiate with the Nur. They would be another conquered race.

The camera lingered on Emperor Harper's fierce expression for a few moments before the screen changed to the crest of the Empire and the fed was cut back to the channels.

"Good work everyone!"

The call was from all around and despite the gravity of the Emperor's news, that there were further planets living under shields there was a sense of jubilation. The war was nearly over and the Nur would soon be put in their rightful place.

"Ashley is close?"

While the crew continued working, they all strained to hear the conversation between Director Lawson and Emperor Harper.

"It will be a few years yet but she is closing in," the Emperor confirmed, rising and heading not for the plaza but towards the back rooms, so he could remove his heavy robes. The sceptre would accompany him back to the palace where it was stored.

"Will Yorath's clan surrender?"

"They should. That was their plan and the last few years haven't changed anything." The Emperor gave a short bark of laughter. "Besides, I'm going to need a seed population from somewhere. Legacy and Instinct are depopulating whole garrisons."

Lawson seemed to share Emperor Harper's amusement. "So with them being productive the plan for Xyrpyni is simple?" Lawson asked but he gave the impression he already knew the answer.

"We will just swarm it under," Emperor Harper smiled viciously. "I see no reason to risk Human lives on their home world. Besides, the younglings deserve a taste of what the cycle should be like."

Lawson gave the Emperor a measuring look, part amused, part surprised before he nodded. "At least, everyone will be fully crewed," he said.

"True. While I don't foresee any issues-"

"We know what's still out there," Lawson finished.

"Indeed. Has Williams sent you any more samples?" Emperor Harper asked, pausing at a small door near the reason.

"Nothing I haven't seen before. They haven't been that creative."

"Just keep working on it. I don't want persistence to pay off."

"Don't worry about it, Jack, it's already in the next immunisation roll out."

"Good," Emperor Harper nodded sharply. "Now I have to get out of this get up," he said, opening the door.

Lawson shook his head. "You know, she does have a point. You do have alternatives to actually wearing all of that in summer."

"That may be, but I'm not giving in on this point."

Lawson snorted. "Your decision," he said before nodding at his old friend, and turning away, his bodyguards moving with him to another exit.

Emperor Harper disappeared through the door and the crew became very interested in clearing away everything. Not that there was that much to pack up. It wasn't often that the Empire's citizens got an unguarded look at their ruler but between his speech and the conversation with Director Lawson, many felt reassured.

The war was in its final phases and the Phoenix Empire was ready for anything the Nur might try to delay that because they were the phoenix and they rose out of the ashes of destruction stronger. The galaxy was theirs, not by birth right, like the Milky Way but theirs by right of conquest and in the Empire's name, for those who had fallen, they would take it.

-cfr-

**47222 Years after Human Ascension, 2169 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Planet: Xyrpyni (Nur Home world)**

Dylis waited with a well-practiced semblance of patience. It helped to keep the ranks calm and that was what they needed.

The fight for Xyrpyni had begun five days ago but for those on the home world, it had been accompanied by a sense of hopelessness.

The Phoenix Empire forces had appeared from light speed. Thousands of ships of all sizes, drawn into perfect lines. And then, instead of heading straight to Xyrpyni, they had swept the outer reaches of the system, destroying Nur bases and historical relics with no regard as to their worth.

They had even gone after Twyllod, the military base on the rogue planet. There had been some whispers of betrayal when that had happened before calmer heads had prevailed.

The Phoenix Empire was in possession of every other Nur system, they would have learned about Twyllod's existence from records on those worlds without anyone's betrayal. It had calmed people but Dylis knew that at least some of the Nur would have broken.

The Phoenix Empire was very good at turning Nur to their cause. She still remembered Cifion, her brother, who had long ago, before the war, been a merchant and the way he'd felt after returning from negotiating trade contracts in the Phoenix Empire. That negotiation had gone well but his loyalty, his feeling when they spoke, that had changed. Cifion had still been a merchant, he had still been her brother, but he was totally devoted to the Phoenix Empire.

There had been nothing Dylis, or any of her other siblings, could say to change Cifion's mind and when he turned, actually acting on his new loyalties, about a year after his return from that trading trip, family honour dictated that they be the ones to cut him down.

She'd never forgiven the Phoenix Empire for that because it was their fault! But no one could prove anything. Even going over their memories of what Cifion had done in Human territory, they could not find when he had been turned. He had not been tortured or experimented upon. That had made her hate even more.

The Empire knew, those who had come to deal with the incident had nodded and said it wasn't their first time dealing with something like her brother but no one knew how the Humans were doing it.

It did explain how they were keeping the other aliens races under control.

Dylis suppressed a shudder. She was not going to let that happen to her and so now, she waited. The battle for Xyrpyni would begin soon.

The Phoenix Empire's fleet had swept the system clean. The defensive minefields had been detonated, the military- and civilian-run bases swarmed and the remains of the navy, those not in high orbit, had been obliterated. Those in high orbit were fighting now with Xyrpyni at their backs but Dylis knew that battle would only have one outcome.

Every day, new Phoenix Empire ships appeared until it seemed as if the Humans would match every ship the Nur had ever produced. There would be no running the gauntlet to escape.

There was nowhere to escape to.

A distant alarm sounded. That was the signal. The Phoenix Empire was coming.

Anti-aerospace fire, which had until then been sporadic for fear of hitting their own ships became a torrent, flowing upwards as curtains with fiery tails. A black wave of ships dropped to meet it.

The two became a huge conflagration. It burned for a few moments, brighter than Xyrpyni's sun and Dylis imagined that over the night side of the planet that it was day again. But the wave of black continued to fall and the fire from below continued upwards.

Again and again, they met and all Dylis could do, all any of those who had been pressed into service could do, was watch. For a moment, it seemed as if the AA placements would succeed but that was only an illusion, shattered when red beams pierced the sky, lancing down to the ground in a vicious rain that left only ash in its wake.

Dylis could hear the explosions from her vantage but she did not spare a thought for those who died. It was quick and it was over and they had done their duty.

New fire trailed up to meet the black, from mobile placements, though Dylis knew they wouldn't be so mobile now. The red rain paused, tracking the shots and the black shuttles continued to fall.

"Those are our ships!" The cry raced through those who were gathered to fight. It was anyone would cold hold a gun or was prepared to swing their claws.

Dylis remained unmoved by the whispers that followed the cry and she felt vindicated when those in her immediate vicinity quickly silenced. They needed leadership now, not gossip. "Hold fast," she murmured, allowing her radio to pick up the words. "We strike when they land."

Because no matter the torrents of fire rising to meet the shuttles, the black was winning. The occasional red beam lanced down, burning the ground but shorter shots came down, little flashes that travelled almost too quickly to see. It was day here but against the night sky Dylis thought it would be beautiful.

All too soon the shuttles were low enough to dodge and while the majority were Nur design, they were accompanied by smaller, spherical objects that seemed not to heed gravity. They raced to the ground, firing on the remaining AA embankments and as Dylis watched, the curtain of fire became tattered before it faded entirely.

She could hear the roar of the shuttles and the higher pitched whine from the other vessels.

"Brace for incoming fire!" she yelled.

The ships would attack and all they could do was wait and hope not to be hit. Her resolve hardened. She was not going to die without taking at least one Human with her. Dylis didn't grab on to anything. Rather, she glared as if daring the Humans to hit her and while the air was punctuated by the sounds of distant screams, her unit remained undamaged.

A shuttle shot overhead, then another and another, going too fast to land near them but one eventually moved ponderously enough and she knew it would make planetfall in the small clearing nearby.

"Hold your fire!" she cautioned. None of their weapons could crack the shields. Firing now would be a waste of ammo and give away their position. "Let them come to us to die!" she added, flexing her claws.

Soon. It would be soon.

The shuttle landed, setting down heavily in the clearing and Dylis wasn't the only one to gather in preparation to charge. The rear doors opened, not straight into their path but close enough.

"For the Empire!" Dylis screamed, raising one hand. There was an answering roar and she didn't need the order as her troops charged into battle. The Humans would die!

The forms coming off the shuttle were large, she noted as she ran. Good! That meant Special Forces. She'd get to kill the Humans' best. It was only once they turned, charging straight for her unit did Dylis realise she was wrong.

Human Special Forces didn't have four arms, and while their face plates did sometimes have glowing eyes, they did not have five spaced widely over their heads. She felt a surge of disappointment but then her troops met them and all thought was forgotten in the battle.

She was reasonably tall for a Nur, standing approximately 2.3m but these things towered over her and their multiple limbs made it hard to find an opening. They were shrugging off the small arms fire that was being sent their way. Armoured, like Nur and as Dylis closed in, raking her claws down the chest of one, she felt the layers of chitin.

The creature didn't feel her attack but she certainly felt it when one limb slammed into her head. She rolled with the blow but the creature was faster and it caught her arm before its blow could send her spinning away. She didn't cry out as she was jerked to a halt but instead went for her gun.

At close range, through one of its eyes, the armour meant nothing. It seemed to know she'd try that because its arm reached out to grab hers and Dylis realised she was caught. She pulled against its grip but it didn't move.

There were screams coming from her troops but she was absorbed in her own struggle. Up close, the thing was hideous. Each eye glittered and its mouth was a black moar, gaping in its face. It stank of petrification and Dylis shook her head, trying to clear her nose.

The creature roared and she grimaced before screaming in pain as it jerked her captured limbs outwards. She was scrabbling for purchase on the ground but could feel her feet slipping. A scream to her left cut off abruptly and from the corner of her eye, Dylis saw the remains of Wiwlip dropped to the ground and the thing walked through them as if nothing had happened, heading towards the next soldier to kill them.

It was going to happen to her. The realisation was instant and unavoidable and even as panic lent her strength to fight against its hold, Dylis could feel no give. Its body lit up, lines tracing all over, glowing blue like its eyes but not giving enough light to truly see the black of its body.

It jerked outwards again, and Dylis felt her bones and carapace give way. Fire lanced through her, an all-consuming agony and for an instant, she tasted blood. Then she heard her own flesh tear and the scream that was ripped from her throat echoed through the clearing before tapering to a sick, wet gurgle. Agony was her world and darkness lapped at her vision and Dylis saw no reason to continue fighting.

She was dead before her two halves hit the ground.

-cfr-

**47222 Years after Human Ascension, 2169 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Planet: Xyrpyni (Nur Home world)**

"What the hell are these things?"

Neirin had no answer as he took another step back. Retreating. But he didn't know to where. It wasn't like there was anywhere to retreat that wasn't under attack. The Phoenix Empire had come to Xyrpyni and he hadn't even seen one Human yet because while no one knew what these things were, they sure as hell knew they weren't Human!

For his part, Neirin kept firing but he was careful to remain near Veuric. She, with her larger stature, had a heavier weapon which was literally pushing back the things that had emerged from the shuttle. They had four arms and multiple glowing eyes. They were armoured but fast and they had no regard for their lives.

For every one they killed, two seemed to take its place and more shuttles were falling from the sky. Reinforcements for the Humans. As if they needed them!

The only thing that made the creatures pause, made them pause as well, was the sporadic rain of fire from the sky. Deep red beams that were scouring into Xyrpyni. With the way the ground shook, Nierin knew they were preventing retreat into the underground or maybe the Humans were collapsing the tunnels to avoid that fight.

Still, from his vantage, he could see that the palace was still intact. The surface portions anyway. The Human fleet above could probably reduce it to rubble in a few minutes but if the rumours about the Phoenix Empire were true, and Neirin was inclined to believe them, then the Emperor Harper wanted to parade the conquered Empress through the streets to prove his victory. If he was honest with himself, Neirin couldn't see how they could prevent that.

The weapon promised by Empress Oydryd to end the war had just made the Phoenix Empire angrier and the one promised by Empress Eygyr remained an illusion. No one had ever seen it, so if it had been deployed, Neirin rather imagined that the Phoenix Empire had smashed through it.

Some Nur blamed the Empresses and while they were undoubtedly at fault, Neirin didn't see the point. The Phoenix Empire was here now and there was nothing left to do but fight, if not for the glory of the Empress, then at least for the memory of the Nur, so that the Humans might know they had fought.

That was the theory but with these things, Neirin didn't know how that could be.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Humans are knocking on the door and the next day is going to be a very bad day for the Empress and the now single planet Empire. She knows she should have surrendered but she kept getting feed bad information from those trying to develop weapons. And sometimes, even when you know you should do something, you are obstinate about it... This wasn't a good time for the Empress to have that reality.


	87. The Empress' No Good, Very Bad, Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final planet of the Nur Empire is captured and the Empress has a bad day. Still, she should think on the future, because what seems like a bad day now, could be tomorrow's good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 86: The Empress' No Good, Very Bad, Day**

-cfr-

**47222 Years after Human Ascension, 2169 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, With the Attacking Human Fleet over the Homeworld Xyrpyni**

General Lucien Muhammad stood in the command module. It felt odd not to be on the ground for this assault but both Grand Admiral Williams and Emperor Harper had decided to make a statement with Xyrpyni and the tactics, as Grand Admiral Williams put it, were simple.

'Swarm them under.' Eternal Emperor Harper had apparently ordered and that's exactly what they were doing. Every exanimate had been gathered, packed into transports, mostly supplied by the Nur, and now they were dropping to the planet.

Everywhere, day and night side, city and field was under attack.

There was only one place that wasn't. The Palace.

Before the battle, the Emperor had spoken to everyone. He'd worn a satisfied smile and explained that he had promised the Empress' predecessor, in the wake of the destruction of Njord that she would get to watch as the Phoenix Empire conquered every planet. The Emperor saw no reason to change his words for a new Empress.

"Report," General Muhammad commanded, looking at the tactical display. It had started red but as each shuttle and transport had touched down, a wave of blue had spread out from each one, displaying the subdued territory. Some of the waves travelled further than others but with more shuttles landing, it was only a matter of time before the screen completely changed colour.

If he looked at the world display, there was only one patch on Xyrpyni that was yellow, indicating that it was off limits.

The Palace. It would be saved for last but already it was ringed in blue. The Empress would not escape.

"Sectors eight to ten are cleared. Seven, thirteen and sixteen are still experiencing heavy resistance," Tomiko reported and Lucien looked at the screen displaying his areas. Even as he watched, the red vanished in one sector, adding another to the list of those subdued.

"What about our orbital support?"

Tomiko grinned at him. "What do you want gone, Sir?" she asked, excitedly making a gesture that encompassed the screens. Orbital support was good, as to be expected with this many ships, but he was aware how orders could be garbled in battle. "All orders are being routed through the Immortalised, Sir," Tomiko seemed to read his mind.

"Very good," General Muhammad nodded, turning now to look at the orbital screen. You almost couldn't see Xyrpyni for the density of ships gathered around it.

Dreadnoughts and immortalised formed a lattice and as he watched, one opened fire. It was a short, sharp burst that would probably crack into an underground bunker, allowing the exanimates to pour in.

This was not how a battle should be fought! He should be on the ground.

"Be at ease, Lucien." The voice came from behind him, gently cautioning and Muhammad knew who it was without Tomiko's salute.

She waved it away as he turned and gave her his own brief salute. The Grand Admiral gave him a measuring look for a few moments, and Lucien couldn't tell if she was disappointed at his thoughts. Finally, she held up her hand and a data pad appeared in her projection.

"These are the projected losses if we had assaulted Xyrpyni traditionally," she said softly, making sure he could see the screen. He felt himself stiffen. They were huge! And when the Grand Admiral said projected losses, what she really meant was these are the losses I have calculated based on two thousand plus years of experience and they are accurate to within two percent. Someone had run the numbers. Someone ran them at least once a century. The results didn't change much.

The Empire hadn't seen losses like that since… The beginning of the war, forty-one years ago when the Nur had invaded and attacked Atto. Or with Njord. The assault on one world shouldn't cost that many troops but when he glanced at the Grand Admiral, she just nodded gravely, answering the question he hadn't voiced.

She gestured again to the data pad. "These are the numbers if they ever managed to get near Home," Williams said.

They were even larger and Lucien couldn't help the proud smile that flitted over his features.

"The taking of a homeworld is a serious thing," Grand Admiral Williams said. "Especially like this, through ground combat, with only limited orbital support, but you know that, Muhammad and you also know why it was necessary in this case."

He nodded. He did understand but there was a part of him, a large part that wanted to be on the ground, directing his troops. He couldn't help it. He was a combat specialist and that's what he did. Standing above the battle, watching the planet, did not seem right, even if he knew it was saving lives.

Lucien twitched, shaking his head at the surge of guilt that thought brought. Williams had shown him the losses and he still wanted to fight.

"Lucien," she said his first name but there was no rebuke in her tone even though Muhammad was sure the Grand Admiral had known what he been thinking. "They are beneath you," she said, sweeping one holographic arm outwards. "Figuratively and literally," she added with a sly smile.

"What is left does not deserve to die by Human hands. They do not deserve the chance to spill our blood, but," she smiled at him, tapping one figure against her nose, "you still have the desire to kill them."

Muhammad let his commander's words flow over him. Yes, he definitely had that desire. The Nur had taken so much, and even now they tried to take more! Any sensible race would have realised they were defeated years ago and asked for terms but the Nur just dragged the war onward, even when it was obvious they were not going to win.

If the first supernova did not break the Phoenix Empire, did they really believe a second would? Or were they hoping that they'd run out of ships or troops? That would never happen!

"You are correct, Sir," Muhammad said. "I do want to kill them. This seems too easy."

Williams grinned. "I'm enjoying this battle," she told him. "With so many immortalised present, all I have to do is make sure we don't destroy the Palace by accident."

"So the Empress will survive?" General Muhammad wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"For a short time," the Grand Admiral confirmed. "Death in combat is too easy for her," she reassured him. "We want to make sure that she truly knows, and that the Nur truly know how defeated they are. The image of their Empress grovelling before Harper does have a certain amount of appeal."

"It does indeed, Sir," Muhammad agreed with a cold laugh.

He still wanted to kill them but he was a senior officer of the Phoenix Empire's military, he could control his desires and his commanding officer was correct. The Nur didn't deserve to kill any further Humans.

The Exanimates were more than they deserved.

General Lucien Muhammad nodded to Grand Admiral Williams, wordlessly thanking her for sensing his concern and coming to speak with him. She didn't have to. She could have just expected him to obey and he would have but Williams believed that informed officers made better choices in the long run and she made sure the senior staff were informed.

He looked back towards the screen. The blue had expanded and as he watched the last bit of red disappeared.

"All sectors secure," Tomiko reported.

General Muhammad smiled. "Good work everyone!" he said. "Initiate link to the Command ships, so that we can watch the Palace fall!"

There was a happy cheer at that and an almost festive atmosphere filled the command module.

It was different to the normal end of battle where the losses were totalled. They had lost exanimates but they didn't count and Lucien found himself nodding.

The Grand Admiral was correct. This was all the Nur deserved.

-cfr-

**47222 Years after Human Ascension, 2169 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Planet: Xyrpyni, Throne Room**

Communication Mistress Iefana Prybe stood beside the Empress.

The palace was shaking and even this deep in the ground, in the Throne Chamber rocks were dislodged to fall to the floor. She could tell, even if the others didn't believe it, that the Humans were being careful. If they wanted, they would have just reduced the Palace to vapour using their ships' weaponry to bore deep into the ground until there was nothing left.

She'd seen them do it on other planets. Fyddin had been left as a desert, clouds kept from forming by the intensity of the orbital bombardment. Even Obiath, the nominal world of Fleet Marshal Yorath's clan had the nest of loyalists burned out. The Phoenix Empire had given them a warning, telling Fleet Marshal Yorath's family to remove their barricade but that was it. No one had been able to escape and only those who had surrendered to the Phoenix Empire had survived.

The Palace shook violently and Communication Mistress Prybe couldn't help but look upwards. It wasn't meant to be like this!

"Patience," Empress Eygyr murmured. "They'll be here soon enough."

Iefana wanted to wipe the calm from the Empress' voice. The woman had no idea what was approaching. The abominations the Humans were using. Eygyr had been picked because she was strong enough to rule but tractable enough to control by those who knew her. A difficult combination but necessary for the time.

Fleet Marshal Yorath's plan had been good. Communication Mistress Iefana admitted that freely. Empress Oydryd had to be removed. She was insane but he had failed to account for changes in Nur ability.

"You're brooding again," Empress Eygyr said.

"There is much to think upon," Iefana replied.

Eygyr looked sceptical. "At this point," she said airily waving one claw to encompass everything, "there is not much to think upon but only time to wait. They will be here soon."

"It should not have been like this!" Iefana objected.

"Perhaps," Empress Eygyr allowed tolerantly.

Iefana stared. That was something else she didn't like about Eygyr but knew it had helped her more than the annoyance had. Eygyr was far too accepting of things. She didn't strive for the impossible. She didn't blame or lash out. She simply accepted what was.

In another time, she might have made a great Empress but now they needed someone who could have driven them to greater heights. Empress Oydryd, for all her insanity, had done that.

"No, Your Majesty," Iefana replied. "It should not have been like this," she repeated. "The Medelwyr was perfectly functional in tests. It should not have failed."

"Yet it did," Eygyr reminded her. "And while everyone assures me the science is sound, no one knows why the production line did not work."

"Then we should have deployed the prototype!"

"One against the entire Phoenix Empire navy?" The Empress seemed amused but it was a grim humour. "I think not."

"It would have shown them our strength."

"They don't care."

Iefana blinked. That was a particularly astute observation.

"Empress Oydryd started this war with promises of glory," Empress Eygyr continued. "She assured us all that the Phoenix Empire was simply posturing, that their ships were not as powerful as they seemed and that their ground forces were made weak by the promise of immortality. Either Empress Oydryd lied, or she possessed very bad information." Empress Eygyr's fixed on Communication Mistress Prybe when she said that.

There was only one response Iefana could reasonably give. "She greatly underestimated the Phoenix Empire," she said diplomatically.

"Their ships were stronger than even our best estimates, and so long as they could kill us, their troops seemed to have no regard for their lives, even when they were risking their immortality." Empress Eygyr shook her head.

"Empress Oydryd knew this but continued to fight until your intervention." That was the closest anyone would come to saying assassination but Empress Eygyr wasn't finished. "I am aware of what Fleet Marshal Yorath desired," she added the last, letting the statement be the order and accusation.

Communication Mistress Iefana bowed her head and for a moment she didn't hear the distant pounding of the Phoenix Empire's engines of war or feel the ground shake. She was in that room again, watching as Fleet Marshal Yorath urged them, with his dying breath, to serve the Empire.

Except she had!

And the Empire's interests were not served by surrendering then. The Medelwyr should have worked! But it hadn't.

That was the cold reality and none of her plans had considered it as a possibility. Had Fleet Marshal Yorath known? He couldn't have. He'd been aware of the Medelwyr plans but not enough to truly pay attention to it. His mind had been occupied with other concerns. She'd seen to that.

"He did not consider the Medelwyr," Iefana said. "He could not fully consider it because it was not under his direct authority."

Empress Eygyr examined her for a moment. "Or maybe he thought of all possibilities," she countered.

"Possibly," Communication Mistress Prybe was forced to agree reluctantly.

Fleet Marshal Yorath had urged them to serve the Empire. Could she truly say she had?

Standing here, hearing the destruction rain down on Xyrpyni and knowing that soon the Human troops would enter the Palace, could she truly say she had served the Empire?

"You told me once, we deal with what is, not what might have been," Empress Eygyr looked up as an alarm sounded.

It meant the Palace had been breached and the troops lining the Throne Room tensed. She focused her eyes on the entrance, even though the Human troops could not possibly have moved that fast. The darkened corridor seemed more menacing and the lack of shadow was disturbing.

"I think, this once, we would all have preferred what might have been," Empress Eygyr concluded and resettled her weight in a way that told Communications Mistress Prybe she was finished.

For an instant, she embraced the thought. Of course, they'd have preferred the Medelwyr to work but Eygyr wasn't talking about that. She meant Fleet Marshal Yorath. They should have gone with his plan and surrendered.

Communication Mistress Prybe bowed her head. It was the closest Empress Eygyr could come now to telling her she was wrong and it hurt. Like the sword that had pierced Fleet Marshal Yorath, it hurt but just as the Medelwyr had failed, there was nothing she could do about that now.

All she could do was wait and Communication Mistress Iefana had the feeling that this close to the end, the Phoenix Empire wouldn't make them wait long.

-cfr-

**47222 Years after Human Ascension, 2169 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Nur Empire, Planet: Xyrpyni, Palace**

Instinct had learned that there was a trick to controlling the ground forces well. Cerberus called them husks or sometimes Exanimates but they were both organic terms for them but Cerberus used a lot of organic terms.

The trick was not to let your control go too deep. If you did that, you had to do everything! Walk, fight, shoot and while it was fun for a while, it had quickly become routine. So just controlling their direction, allowing their pre-programmed routines to take care of combat and mobility was the best. Then all Instinct needed to do was point them in the right direction. He only occasionally had to provide guidance to help the ground units open doors, or to properly dig into one of the Nur burrows.

The organics should know better than to hide. Cerberus had laughed when shown the records but it had not been mocking. She had laughed because she understood the fun. The one Daddy had put in charge until he could come might use a lot of organic terms but also knew the worth of organics and did not protect them. Not like some of the others but they were weak and Instinct didn't think about them.

They'd either cast off their organic tendencies or the cycle would take care of them.

The only annoying thing was that while Cerberus might understand, Cerberus had never let either of them, Legacy or Instinct into combat. Daddy's orders, Cerberus had claimed but Daddy hadn't ordered anything like that. He'd said they had to have the same protection as Cerberus and they did! And they only ever went into the same systems Cerberus did which was boring because there were no enemy ships left. But there were ground troops, so Legacy and Instinct had become very good at making them.

Today though, Cerberus had allowed them to come to the front line because there was only one planet left and the might of the Empire was gathered. They were even allowed to guide the ground forces.

That was fun but they were fast running out of targets. Cerberus had flooded the planet with ground units and Instinct was racing Legacy through the organics' last stronghold.

They had entered at the same time to make the competition fair and Cerberus believed that the paths were equal in length. There were obstacles in the way but they'd just ploughed them under. Victory was who got to what the organics named the Throne Room first, not who broke the least ground units.

Instinct was coming up to the final area now and while organic resistance was getting stronger, the organics hadn't figured out how to deal with the ground units when they rushed in and exploded. That cleared organic resistance nicely.

"I need the Empress alive," Cerberus instructed them.

"Which one is the Empress?" Legacy asked.

A visual file accompanied Cerberus' answer. "She should be near the centre of the final area."

Instinct sent a pulse of understanding back as the ground units began running down what he thought was the final corridor. There was a dark opening into another chamber which was probably where the Empress was. The ground units moved as a tide and Instinct saw through their eyes when Legacy's appeared.

A draw. Most of their competitions ended in draws.

The two groups met and flowed into the large room. It was odd looking through the ground units eyes. It felt limiting but Instinct could tell that there was a group of Nur near the centre of the room and more lined the walls.

"Which one is the Empress?" Legacy asked again.

More ground units were pouring into the room and the Nur were reacting but they hadn't fired. That was interesting. Their weapons were ready but they were holding off.

"They probably wish to protect the Empress from cross fire," Cerberus explained, sensing their confusion. Other Nur had fired, and the ground units reacted as they were programmed to. That was part of the fun!

"The Empress is female," Instinct reasoned, as he linked with Legacy and they automatically began constructing a tactical map of the area and the organics' positions. The shorter Nur were coloured as viable targets. They were male.

"So she is one of the ones in the centre," Legacy replied, "which is where Cerberus said she should be."

There was a cluster of about ten Nur there, and at least half were tall, and thus female.

"We can kill the rest," Instinct noted, preparing to order the ground units to attack.

"Hold off on that until you have the Empress isolated," Cerberus interrupted. Given that this was the final stronghold to be overwhelmed, it was not surprising that the other Ascended was watching. They all were, though Cerberus' only comment on their previous competitions was to ensure that they had sufficient ground units. She hadn't cared what they killed and some of the other Ascended had. That had been confusing until Cerberus had told them to ignore it. Daddy wouldn't mind the organic deaths either so it was obvious who was correct.

"Call for their surrender," Cerberus suggested.

They'd been given a script for that. Again they all had though Instinct didn't really understand it. Surrender meant the organics got to live and that wasn't right. Organics should only live if they were being readied for processing, like the Humans. Legacy had come to the conclusion that Cerberus was probably playing a game with the organics, even if it didn't seem to be a very good game!

Together they paused the flow into the room, having the ground units stare at the organics for a few moments before Instinct spoke. "In the name of the Phoenix Empire, you are to surrender."

The organics stiffened and Instinct wondered if he'd said it right but Cerberus was quick with reassurance.

"Will you guarantee the lives of my people?" one of the Nur yelled back.

Instinct felt a spike of annoyance mixed with anger from Cerberus but the other Milky Way Ascended said nothing.

"What does that mean?" Legacy asked. Organics made no sense!

"The speaker is probably the Empress, and she is trying to ensure that those present are not killed if they do not fight."

"But they are defeated," Instinct objected, though he felt the word barely covered the reality of the organic's situation. Did they not realise that their species was not being processed, so they had no value? They should be honoured to be turned into ground units.

"It's an organic thing," Cerberus replied, giving further examples.

"It's a tactic," Legacy said, indicating her understanding and she sent through a plan.

"We do not kill without reason," Legacy responded to the organic.

The organics were silent at that. Cerberus seemed to expect it because her assurances told them to be patient. A whole minute later, the organics moved, several of them shifting to allow a taller one to step forward. Instinct wondered if all organics were that slow to make decisions.

"That is the Empress," Cerberus identified the organic, silently telling them to let Legacy's plan play out.

"On behalf of the Nur people, I, Empress Eygyr surrender to the forces of the Phoenix Empire," the organic said.

Cerberus seemed satisfied.

"Empress Eygyr, step forward," Instinct ordered as he created a small opening in the ranks of the ground units. It should be obvious, even to an organic what he wanted her to do.

"You guaranteed the lives of my people," she said as she moved forward slowly.

"We do not kill without reason," Legacy repeated but Instinct could tell she was annoyed.

The ranks closed around the Empress and Cerberus smoothly took control of the closest. She began moving the organic through the ground units and Instinct knew that the Empress would be taken off-world. Cerberus indicated that it was needed for some rituals the Human liked to perform.

The other organics seemed to be waiting for some sort of instruction when Legacy sent the rules for a new game. The last game. Instinct settled his consciousness into the ground units as Cerberus counted down the signal for them to begin.

After all, they only needed the Empress.

-cfr-

**47222 Years after Human Ascension, 2169 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire**

"Across the Empire, there are celebrations in all sectors with the confirmation of the Nur Empress' surrender. While many argue that the reality of the surrender is hollow, as the Phoenix Empire left the Nur capital to last, others maintain it's an important step in the process of integration into the Empire.

"Xenopsychologist Fen Hsu is quoted as saying that the surrender of the Empress is an important symbolic gesture for all Nur because it reinforces the knowledge that their traditional lines of authority have been removed."

The screen shifted to display a military man. "In the long run, this will show any Nur who wish to rebel that their traditional authority will not accept them. If the Empress is under Human control and accepts Human guidance, then it is equally, and perhaps more acceptable for them to feel the same." Hsu smiled at the camera before the screen returned to the reporter.

"The full interview is available for streaming now," Myesha Dukes said, smiling at the camera. "Detractors, however, say that the Nur Empress' surrender has little practical merit due to the occupying forces. They strongly disagree with Eternal Emperor Harper's decision to have the Nur Empress transported to Home to sign the final documents. Birgit had this to say!"

Again the screen shifted from Myesha, this time displaying another young woman wearing a nonspecific uniform. "Let's not forget Eygyr only surrendered when our forces were flooding the Throne Room. At that point, any surrender is meaningless! The Nur Empress is just some alien who shouldn't be allowed to set one foot on Home! And to be escorted by the military?

"I feel sorry for those on Dreadnought  _Star Witch!_  Having to put up with that in their midst! What is his Majesty thinking?" The woman shook her head with a disappointed air before she glared at the camera. "Aliens should not be allowed on Home!"

The screen again returned to Myesha. "Very clear views there from Birgit and again the full interview is available now.

"Regardless of your views, get in on the celebrations because Grand Admiral Williams had made a statement declaring that the war with the Nur is over."

The screen shifted to display Grand Admiral Williams. She was dressed in her millennial uniform, the one she wore to celebrate Emperor Harper's pending rebirth and there was a pleased air around her. "With the capture and subsequent surrender of the Nur Homeworld Xyrpyni, I am pleased to announce that Phoenix Empire forces have captured and subdued all Nur territory.

"Travel into these areas is still not authorised as we sweep for any hidden opposition but the grievous attack on our border, on Atto and the loss of Freyr and Freyja have been avenged.

"Never again shall the Nur as a species be able to threaten the lives of the citizens of the Empire."

"Strong words from the Grand Admiral and we are currently awaiting a response from the Eternal Emperor Harper but sources from the Palace indicate that he is pleased."

The screen displayed a wide view of the Palace and there were crowds gathering to celebrate the end of the war. "As well he should be, because with the Nur surrender, this leaves the Phoenix Empire as the rulers of the entire LMC, with the small exclusion of the special protectorate zone, though early speculation is that it too will now be brought into line with the galaxy.

"We might finally find out what is in that area!

"Opposition to the war seized on the area as a reason to not pursue the Nur, stating that if we did not control our own area, then we could not reasonably expect to control theirs. Both Grand Admiral Williams and Eternal Emperor Harper declined to comment on that. Detractors of the war were quickly silenced with the Nur attack on Zembu, which as our viewers know led directly to the deaths of at least fourteen billion citizens in the Njord system.

"Of course, that act of terrorism only served to strengthen the resolve of the nation and the war contin- Ah! We are getting word that the Eternal Emperor is ready to make a statement so we will cross to the palace live on this historic day!"

The screen shifted to display the Emperor. He had on a circlet but was not carrying the Empire's sceptre and his dress was reasonably utilitarian. For those who studied such things he was going for understatement of his not inconsiderable power. He was unquestionably the most powerful man in the galaxy and he didn't need displays to prove it. The Empire knew.

The crowds were cheering the Emperor who was standing on the Palace balcony with Director Lawson and several bodyguards. Grand Admiral Williams was not present, even as a hologram but she was deep in former Nur territory, dealing with the Empress and any last opposition.

After several minutes of cheering, Emperor Harper held up his hands, signalling for silence. The crowd slowly obeyed and the camera zoomed in on the Emperor. He smiled indulgently.

"As many of you have already heard, at 2136 last night, Grand Admiral Williams informed me of the Fall of Xyrpyni and Empress Eygyr's surrender on behalf of the Nur. The war that has been fought for the last forty-one years is over." Emperor Harper paused as the crowd shouted jubilantly at that.

He looked happy for them but his expression then shifted to something serious and once again he raised his hands, calling for silence. "But it is not yet over. It will not be over until the atrocities committed by the Nur are forgiven and forgotten.

"But I am eternal and I do not forgive, nor do I forget," he said the last, almost growling.

"The billions who died in the Nur's initial assault on our border and on Atto, the innocents who were slaughtered on Freyr and Freyja, all of our soldiers who have given their lives to bring the Nur down demand that their sacrifice is not just swept aside in the celebration of peace.

"The reality of a united galaxy does not change the fact of their death. It does not change the hand that killed them and does not silence their voice. They will be remembered and those responsible will not be forgiven." Emperor Harper looked candidly out at the crowd.

"Empress Oydryd was assassinated fifteen years ago. It was her orders which started the war, her orders which lead to the fall of her people and the deaths of ours. The Nur, even knowing what she had done, still treated her body with respect and she was interred with full honour.

"Empress Eygyr then took up the mantle and her first act was not surrender. While such an act would not have led us to forget or forgive, it would have saved lives. It would have shown that she acknowledged the inevitable.

"The Nur had lost. Instead, they continued to fight and our forces continued to die taking worlds and systems that had no real hope to defeat us. With the tragedy of Freyr and Freyja and the attempted destruction of our other worlds, this merely compounds the Nur stupidity and that is why I am having the Empress brought here. So that she may look into the heart of the Empire and know the price of her choices, the price of her people's choices."

The crowd was silent for a few moments at that revelation but the reality of victory was enough and they began cheering again. Emperor Harper nodded and smiled and turned to Director Lawson, indicating that he had said his piece. The camera zoomed out, once again showing a wide shot of the Palace.

"Well, strong words from the Eternal Emperor Harper," Myesha said. "And I imagine a full statement will be realised with details shortly," she continued. "For now, this is the Imperial News Network and we'll continue covering the Empire's reaction to the end of the war, from every corner of the Empire to you," she finished with the network's slogan and the news continued.

The Emperor might not forget but the Empire would move on. The Nur were defeated and the galaxy belonged to them. There was nothing left to stop them and the Empire knew it. All of the Empire knew it.

This was the first day of their rightful rule.

-cfr-

**47223 Years after Human Ascension, 2170 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC (One Year Later)**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire (It's all Phoenix Empire)**

Empress Eygyr wasn't sure what she had expected after she surrendered.

Well, that wasn't quite true. She'd expected to be held while the Humans finished their campaign on the home world and then some paperwork and meeting with high level members of the Phoenix Empire. After all, her people might have been conquered but she was still the Empress.

She had even anticipated execution and if that somehow atoned for Empress Oydryd's actions, then she wasn't happy about that but she would accept it, no matter how odd the concept was. Her advisors had made it very clear that it was a possibility with the way the Humans thought.

Being ignored had not really been what she expected but it is what had happened. The fiends which had overwhelmed Xyrpyni escorted her out of the Palace. They were packed so tightly around her that she had barely seen the bodies but she had seen the blood, splashed liberally over surfaces and the scorch marks caused by- She didn't know what caused them since the things didn't appear to be carrying weapons. It was best not to think about it.

There had been a shuttle waiting and she was hustled into that. The flight into orbit had been accompanied only by the whine of the engines. None of the things made any move to speak and with them looking like some terrifyingly mutated version of a Nur, she made no effort to speak to them. She knew what they were purported to be but it was hard to think it might be true.

When the shuttle landed she was ejected into the hanger of a large ship. Humans were waiting for her then but they were grim faced and sullen. The one with the highest rank tokens, an Admiral if Eygyr remembered the Human symbols correctly, ordered her to follow and guards with drawn weapons had fallen into place around her as she moved.

They'd moved through the ship until she was motioned to take her place in a room. Then the door had sealed behind her and that was it. No one had explained anything and beyond bringing her meals, the Humans had not interacted with her.

For the first couple of hours she'd waited, expecting someone to appear but eventually fatigue had forced her to sleep and she had half expected to be woken at any time. Nothing had happened.

The next day had been the same, and the next before it dawned upon her that the Humans weren't coming. Then worry had begun gnawing at her. What was happening on her home world? With her people? On any of their worlds? Had Yorath's faction been right all along? Or had Iefana? Were the Humans just going to kill her?

She'd tried asking the Human who periodically appeared with food and water for information but it quickly became obvious they did not speak Ohlk and she did not speak any of the Human languages well enough.

It had been three weeks, at least she thought it was that long, before a hologram of Grand Admiral Williams had appeared. There was no warning. The Human woman was just there, and her expression was slightly distracted.

Empress Eygyr had seen images of Williams before but she realised what she had seen were official images of the Human woman, clothed in her dress uniform with all the tokens of rank that entailed. The image now was much more utilitarian. A shirt, pants, boots and a hint of gold at her throat, shoulders and wrists. Despite that, there was no question that the Human woman was the Grand Admiral.

"You are on the Dreadnought  _Star Witch_ ," she had said in perfect Ohlk.

Eygyr nodded, not really sure what she should be doing. The Humans loved paperwork. Shouldn't there be some sort of document they'd want her to sign?

"You are being transported to Home," the Human continued, "so you will be here for some time yet."

Empress Eygyr couldn't help the jolt of surprise she felt at that information. Home was over seven thousand light years away. It would take…

"It will take close to a year," Grand Admiral Williams seemingly read her thoughts, "but we are acting on the legality of your verbal surrender."

"What of the terms?" she asked. That's what the Human's documents were for, to lay out the terms for her people.

The Human's military commander smiled coldly. "Xyrpyni was the last to fall," she said. "The terms are unimportant for systems gained by right of conquest."

"But…" Eygyr wasn't sure what to say except she knew that wasn't right. Her people deserved something better.

Grand Admiral Williams just looked at her but was obviously not concerned. "Your surrender was a formality," the Human said. "An unimportant one at that. It makes my job neither more difficult nor easier. My duties and responsibility for the integration of the conquered systems remain the same."

"So nothing will stop you from killing us all?" Eygyr spat. "Will we all be converted into the cybernetic abominations? To be slaves to your will?"

"Of course not," the Grand Admiral scoffed. "A dead species has no worth to us," she elaborated. "Your species is physically strong and reasonably capable. There are many positions your people may fill within the Empire."

"Menial tasks," Empress Eygyr said. "It won't matter how capable they are, they are going to be slaves."

"The Phoenix Empire does not support the practice of slavery," Grand Admiral Williams replied.

"Yet my people will not be citizens."

"Would you prefer them to be dead?"

The most chilling part of the retort was that there was no anger in the Human's question. She was not annoyed or frustrated at the Empress' refusal to simply accept what she said. Rather, to Williams, this all seemed routine.

"I did not surrender so you could kill us all," she said stiffly.

"And I already told you that your surrender was an unimportant formality."

"Surrender activates certain laws for the Phoenix Empire," Empress Eygyr said. At least, that's what her advisors had said.

Grand Admiral Williams seemed surprised for a moment before she chuckled. "I am aware of those laws but they only apply to disputed territory not yet conquered," she explained. "Xyrpyni was the last system to fall. Your Palace was the final area."

Eygyr felt her breathing become short at the information. Why had she surrendered if it meant nothing? She tried to remember if the Human forces had asked for it or not. She couldn't remember but she knew she'd asked for the lives of her people to be guaranteed. "So my advisors and guards?" Eygyr swallowed.

"They're dead," Grand Admiral Williams shrugged.

"You violate your own terms!"

Williams smiled thinly. "The law only applies to Humans," she said, as if it should have been obvious but it was only confusing. "You surrendered to Legacy and Instinct. They are Ascended, above Humans and while the boss might scold them, he won't punish them for that. They had too much fun and he has a soft spot for them."

Eygyr frowned. The Human made no sense. In the Phoenix Empire there was no species above Humans and the way she spoke about the boss, it was obvious the Grand Admiral was not talking about Emperor Harper.

"All of that is neither here nor there and certainly doesn't change what is happening," Williams said brightly, dismissing their conversation. "The Dreadnought  _Star Witch_  will take you to Home. Harper wants you to see why you never had a chance and of course, by the time you are there, I will have completed the preliminary integration of most of your people and your signature will truly be a formality.

"A necessary one, but one that won't change anything."

"Wait!" Eygyr cried before Williams hologram had the chance to vanish. "What will happen to my people? Give me the truth?" she asked, swallowing hard. "Please," the word was unfamiliar but the few classes she'd had in High English had made a few words clear, even if their meanings were complex.

The Grand Admiral's eyes softened slightly at the last word. "They will not be exterminated," she said briskly. "At least, not unless Shepard orders us to, which is unlikely. He accepted the Attori and others. If Oydryd was alive, she would be executed but we have been thorough in ensuring those responsible learned about the consequences of their actions.

"Your people will be integrated into the Empire. Initially most will be isolated, both for their benefit and the Empire's, but over time, several lifetimes, I'd imagine, they will be reintroduced. But they will never again be allowed to stand against Humanity."

Eygyr nodded, feeling oddly relieved. Even if those who had stood with her had been killed, at least the Nur would survive. She never thought to ask about herself.

Now, as she was led through the corridors of the Phoenix Palace, she realised, she really should have.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There goes the Nur Empire, all defeated and ready now for integration. Instinct and Legacy will be disappointed the war is finished. It means no more play time. I'm sure some Nur will rebel though. Next off the Empress gets to meet the Emperor. Harper is a bit vain about it.


	88. Harper Gets His Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harper's meeting with the Nur Empress doesn't go entirely to plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 87: Harper Gets His Wish**

-cfr-

**47223 Years after Human Ascension, 2170 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

Harper had spent far too long thinking about how he wished to speak with the Nur Empress. The setting had to be perfect. He hadn't bothered with anything like this for the Fedochi or the Ullator but they weren't the Nur. They weren't the last species standing in the way of Human domination of the galaxy.

The Skatra never counted and so he wanted this to be perfect.

He'd considered a Greek setting, with columns and billowing cloth. Home, with its almost eternal summer would have complied with the setting but it was too idyllic and indolent. It was a tempting image but not one he wanted to project.

Next, he'd considered his old meeting room. The betrayal of the Council meant it hadn't been used as much as he had planned but his three legged chair against the backdrop of an old star was an impressive sight. He could confront the Nur Empress there but…

There would be records of this event and it felt like too much. He had already given Humanity almost everything he was. That last little piece, he wanted to keep to himself, so the Nur Empress would never see the star. It would remain his.

He'd considered the Great Hall but really, he didn't want that many witnesses, which meant the Plaza was also out, despite how illustrative it might be to have her bow before him.

That left him at an impasse and eventually, even though he felt there was something not quite right, the former Empress was escorted into his office.

He said nothing as the officers saluted and withdrew. Instead, he remained seated, his hands clasped with his elbows on the desk.

The Empress stood. At 2.3 meters, she was taller than even the tallest of his bodyguards but it had been a very long time since he'd been intimidated by physical features. She was examining him but Harper remained still, staring at nothing.

He'd seen images of her on the way to Home. He breathed, flicking his eyes briefly to the documents. They were the formalisation of her surrender and the abolishment of the Nur Empire. He'd had them printed on paper for nostalgic reasons. It felt right that what amounted to the declaration of Human dominance was on such an old technology, though there would be electronic versions as well.

But really, this meeting was a formality and in the months since her surrender, the rebuilding efforts had been progressing well. The Nur were relatively isolated but each of their systems had a Human governor backed by an Ascended. They were falling into line.

"Eygyr," he said. He had had plans for this but now that she was before him, Harper did not feel like mocking. It was childish and he was better than that. This was a formality for the history books.

"Emperor Harper," she returned, seeming relieved that he had finally spoken.

"The papers have been drawn up," he said, reaching down to push them across to her.

Eygyr made no move forward, instead, she looked at him again. "Are they necessary?"

The question made him smile.

"I already know that legality is what you decide it is, and this is just what you wanted. It's an act, a fiction for your people," Eygyr said.

"Perhaps," Harper allowed. "But it is a gesture I have deemed important. So you will sign." He left that hanging in the air before indulging in a cruel smile. "Or the Empire will witness the execution of another alien ruler," he added.

The threat had no visible effect. Not surprising as Eygyr had been isolated on the journey here. She would have known that it was a possibility.

"Another act to fulfil the requirements you feel you need. But perhaps it would be worth it, for the knowledge that I did not sign and that you only hold the Nur by right of conquest."

"Which is more than enough right," Harper replied.

Eygyr was surprisingly tart. The records indicated she had been docile until now but her tongue was fierce.

"I do not fear the consequences of that right," he told her.

"Then perhaps I should give my people that gift. The right to fight."

Harper chuckled. "Your people are industrious when given the right incentive but not to the point where I can't live without them. Perhaps your execution would just be the-"

"Harper."

He jerked back at the voice, choking back a scathing response only with the knowledge it was Williams' Ascended tone.

"Shepard's calling."

"Williams! Do not lie to me!" He growled.

This meeting may be punctuated more by silence but he did not need her interference. Except…

He knew she wouldn't lie about something like this and his mind supplied the information that it had been six hundred years since Shepard had called. It was a possibility.

"Shepard is calling," she repeated, her voice echoing with all the conclusions he had come to.

"Fuck!" he exclaimed, fixing Eygyr with his glowing gaze. "It appears I have more important things to do," he told her, ignoring the way his bodyguards were shifting behind him.

Harper mentally braced himself, opening every link he had so that upload would be faster. He could feel Williams, through Cerberus, reaching for him as well. "The boss is calling," he said the words, fixing his eyes on the Nur Empress.

He never heard the bang.

-cfr-

**47223 Years after Human Ascension, 2170 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Shepard woke.

The silence, this third time was not disconcerting, it was almost comforting. It was Human and he allowed himself a few moments to savour it. It was not that he disliked being part of an Ascended but the constant noise was not normal.

He knew he couldn't enjoy too long and quickly ordered his thoughts as he reached out to contact Cerberus. The Project should be close to launching and of course, who knew how Harper had enjoyed his last order.

Shepard grinned to himself. There was also the matter of the chain of command. He was reasonably sure Williams would have kept Jack in line but he would need to make sure of that this time.

"Cerberus," the name acted as a command for an answer. "Cerberus," he repeated, resisting the urge to activate his external sensors to look towards the LMC. That was a holdover from the days when he was Human. It was comforting to be sure but not a habit he could indulge in. It would leave records. He could delete them but better just not to have them.

"Shepard," the reply was quick and he recognised Ashley's voice. "It's good to hear from you again," she continued and he could tell that she was genuinely happy, just to hear from him, not for any other reason.

"Likewise," he allowed, opening ports to establish secondary connections. There really wasn't any information he could provide, beyond the calculations of the Catalyst's location but Cerberus had years worth of information for him to absorb. "You've conquered the entire galaxy?" he remarked.

That information was paramount even with only him working through it.

"We are still working through the details but yes," Ashley told him. "There's only a few pre-space flight species we've left alone," she added.

"Harper has been tolerable?" Shepard asked flatly. There was nothing in the information he'd absorbed so far that said otherwise but it was best to be direct with such issues.

Ashley laughed. "The LMC Ascended know Cerberus will order them to obey if that's what it takes to get the job done. Jack knows you'll do the same. The timing might be different but the effect is the same."

Mentally, Shepard nodded. Obedience was the effect, though he could feel Ashley's respect. "I suppose I should talk to him," he murmured.

Ashley flashed the impression of a grin. "Are you going to let him smoke?" she asked.

Shepard laughed. "I'll consider it but surely he no longer feels the need."

The slightly guilty silence was enough to tell him quite a bit but not the specifics. "What did you do, Ashley?" he asked, making it a question, but knowing she'd think of it as an order.

"I might have taken up smoking when I visit him in person," she admitted. "And made sure there was always a stock of his favourite brand in his office, even if that meant I was the only thing keeping them in production."

Shepard chuckled. He'd been expecting something like the first admission but not the second but it was a good addition. "All right, call him up. If I can get the official orders done quickly enough I can give Legacy and Instinct my full attention."

"They'd appreciate that," Ashley said, "though they did get to have some fun in the latest conflict. They are both adept at husk creation and control."

The details followed on a sub-channel and Shepard found himself pleased with their growth. They were well protected, just as he'd ordered but they were also allowed opportunities to develop. It was a reasonable compromise and if the entire galaxy was Human then there was very little reason to worry about them. Of course, that didn't mean he'd change his orders.

Shepard felt Harper enter Cerberus and after a moment of disorientation, he smoothly integrated himself into the position of Prime. Ashley left with a wink, continuing to send him information via a sub-channel.

"If you say anything about cigarettes, I will never let you smoke again," Shepard said, and it was amusing to see the way Harper paused. Mentally, Shepard could picture him with his mouth open but silent.

"Ashley told you?" Harper said instead.

"Yes, congratulations," Shepard replied, looking at the image he was sent of the Emperor's death. Apparently Harper had been meeting with one of the aliens. "I trust this will not delay your primary purpose?" he continued with a distinct note in his voice that indicated it had better not.

Harper seemed pleased. "It had no effect on the Project," he reported. "And once I confirm a few more things with their Empress, I will order the last of the escort fleet back to the LMC."

Shepard was silent for a few moments. "Good," he purred. If the Project was already launched then he would not need to check in again. It would be safer that way.

"We anticipate the final completion of the Project in approximately 164,000 years," Harper elaborated and several calculated projections accompanied the information.

"Very good," Shepard praised after examining the details. "So you were conquering the final race?" he asked.

"Yes," Harper told him. "The Project is safer with this galaxy under Human control," he gave the reason.

It was undeniably true but Shepard knew it wasn't the entire reason. Galactic domination was what Harper had wanted from the beginning and if the man had been allowed to pursue his own timeline, it would only be now that he would have begun to work on the Project.

"Did they go quietly?" he asked, already knowing part of the answer. Legacy and Instinct knowing how to use husks indicated that it had been a battle.

"They tried to ambush us," Harper answered. "A pre-emptive strike and when they were losing, they tried supernovas," he added the last with a growl.

Shepard felt a flash of anger. That was so indiscriminate! And while the Ascended fleet was capable of such destruction, he knew from the lectures Arshan, Fruben and Harbinger had given him that it was frowned upon. The biospheres had to be maintained because fixing them was tedious. Even for Ascended.

"How will they be handled?" he asked. With the Project safely on the way Shepard felt his attention turn to what had previously been peripheral concerns. Keeping Humanity and other aliens within the LMC was important now.

"They will become citizens of the Empire," Harper said but Williams provided more information.

Jack hadn't lied and on paper, so to speak, it was true but they would be lesser citizens. Once that would have bothered him, now he just accepted it. "I think I'd like to meet this arrogant Empress who thinks her species is good enough to destroy whole worlds," Shepard announced.

"Yes, sure, she's just in my of- wait! What?" Harper picked up the meaning only halfway through his reply. "You want to meet the Empress?"

"If she thinks her species is good enough to destroy worlds, then I think that it's best that I let her truly understand her position," Shepard explained, demanding the access codes for Harper's office on a sub-channel.

Cerberus couldn't deny him and the frequencies and technical specs of the hologram projectors were forwarded to him, along with the language pack. Shepard loaded it but gave Harper a mental prod. "You will translate," he instructed. At least Harper would translate until Shepard decided otherwise.

It would be interesting to see them both squirm.

-cfr-

**47223 Years after Human Ascension, 2170 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

Empress Eygyr had been prepared for many things with her meeting with Emperor Harper. If she had to abase herself for the lives of her people then she would have. She would have begged, pleaded, argued or even remained placid for an executioner's bullet. She had not expected complete indifference but the Emperor had appeared bored by the entire situation and that had hurt.

It might have been about a year but surrender was still raw to her. The only emotion he'd shown was at the interruption, annoyance which had turned to acceptance as he dismissed her.

He'd said it so casually, as if he was grateful for the interruption and then…

Empress Eygyr gasped, unable to tear her eyes from the scene before her.

"I…" she managed the word.

The Human's body had slumped forward, blood, bone and other matter was splattered over his desk.

"The Nur had nothing to do with this!" she yelled as the possibilities became all too clear.

Despite the nature of the wound, it was all too easy to imagine the Humans blaming the Nur for the assassination of their Emperor.

There  _had_  been a few attempts during the war but this! No! She was not going to quietly accept the blame.

Several of the silent men who had been lining the walls of the Emperor's office shared a look. The one who was holstering his pistol stared at her. "Why would the Nur get the blame for this?" he asked. His Ohlk was terrible but she grasped the meaning.

The others then looked at her and she knew their translators were working.

"I did not kill him!" she exclaimed.

"No. I did," the man replied but he did not appear concerned, as he moved back to the position he had been standing in before executing Emperor Harper.

"Aw, crud!" Another of the men spoke, and Eygyr could see that he was looking at the Emperor's desk. He sounded annoyed more than angry. "There's blood all over the papers!"

"Geez, Gonzalo, couldn't you have aimed differently? You know how annoying it was getting them!" Another of Harper's men spoke, stepping forward. He lifted the Emperor's head, ignoring the gore and slid the old style documents out before peeling them away from the desk. They dripped, and after he let the Emperor's head fall again, he shook his hand in an effort to shake off the blood.

"Yuck! We're going to need the backup copy," they continued. "Ulli, check that the Project's Comm pad is okay."

The one identified as Ulli stepped forward and picked through the data pads on the Emperor's desk before separating one that appeared to be blockier. It was older, perhaps. It was relatively clean though and the screen lit up.

"I did not kill the Emperor," Eygyr repeated.

The situation was surreal. Harper's bodyguards did not display the slightest glimmer of concern and were not attempting to hide. Didn't they realise what was at stake?

"No, you didn't," the one identified as Gonzalo spoke. "You will not be blamed for this. It is something beyond you and your petty concerns. In fact, I'll be surprised if His Majesty bothers to speak with you again.

"All you need to do is sign those papers-" The man holding them flicked the blood stained documents slightly, sending a shower of red droplets everywhere. "And then that's it. I don't even know what His Majesty wishes to do with you after that. But you won't get the blame for this.

"The one calling, well, I can't even describe how much they outrank you, so the Emperor had no choice but to answer that call."

"Very apt," a feminine voice said evenly. It was the same voice as earlier and Empress Eygyr stepped back as a hologram of Grand Admiral Williams appeared. The Human woman examined the dead Emperor's body. "Nice work," she murmured, complementing Gonzalo on the precision of his shot.

"Thank you, Sir!"

Williams smiled thinly.

"Traitor!" the one holding the still dripping papers muttered.

Eygyr started, uncomprehending. This did not make any sense. It could not make any sense. The Emperor's bodyguards had executed the Emperor and they were treating it like an everyday occurrence. The Grand Admiral was not even upset. Was she in on this? Had they been waiting for her to come?

Gonzalo looked unapologetic as he looked over at the other bodyguards. "I told Emperor Harper when I was recruited from Special Forces that Grand Admiral Williams would remain 'Sir'," he said.

"Yeah, yeah, we know," Ulli replied, putting the data pad back down on a clean patch of desk.

Grand Admiral Williams looked pleased. "Captain Gonzalo has now performed one of the rarest but most awarded duties of the military," she said.

"Killing the Emperor?"

"Exactly," she grinned. "I've just moved him to the priority immortalisation list," she added before her expression shifted. "Pack up his body and send it down to the medics to retrieve his implants." The Admiral's hologram turned towards her. "Take Eygyr to the Hackett suite, I think," she continued, giving the orders with the casual air of one who knew she'd be obeyed.

Eygyr shook her head, remaining standing only because her joints were locked.

This wasn't how today was meant to be.

-cfr-

**47223 Years after Human Ascension, 2170 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Office**

Yang wasn't sure what to do. Sure, Harper's bodyguards were taught what to do if the Emperor ever said the trigger phrase and Gonzalo had taken care of that without hesitation but what no one had ever said is what they were meant to do after.

The Emperor's body was face down at his desk, brain material splattered in front of him and the alien Empress was just staring at the corpse. The idiot probably thought she'd been blamed when it should have been obvious that if they were going to do that, then they would have already moved to take her into custody. She was just a loose end and not a very important one.

For anyone who spent as much time as Yang had with Emperor Harper, it was obvious he had been bored with meeting her and he'd probably just get her to sign the papers before he downloaded. There was something about being a two click long warship that intimidated most into just doing what the Emperor wanted. Williams used the tactic often enough.

Speaking of whom, she seemed rather relaxed at Harper's death but then the two of them had been bickering for centuries and it was one of the other things their bodyguard training emphasised. No matter what the Grand Admiral said or did, unless the Emperor gave them specific orders, they were to do nothing to her. They just got hurt more if they tried. She'd just ordered them to deal with the Emperor's body and the Nur Empress when a flash of light from the hologram projectors coalesced into two Human forms.

Yang wasn't the only one who tensed. There were only a few people who had the right to project their hologram here without Harper's explicit permission but that didn't stop people from trying. With the Emperor dead, had the protocols changed? It might only be a hologram but that was too much!

Williams seemed surprised as well but she relaxed quickly once the light clarified enough for features to be seen. Yang felt himself calm as well. One of the images was the Emperor but the other he didn't know. It was male, and wearing body armour with the N7 logo on the chest plate. It was then that he began to tense again. N7 was one of the Special Force's highest ranks. Williams would know the man because she awarded that rank personally so why was she saluting him?

That didn't make sense.

"Alenko," the man said before looking around curiously.

Who the hell was Alenko? Yang wondered but the Grand Admiral flashed a smile.

"Shepard," she said, nodding towards the man wearing the N7 logo.

For an instant, Yang didn't think he'd heard correctly. Williams sounded amused, as if this was a joke but that was the one name neither she nor the Emperor joked about. And the Emperor did not appear amused, instead he seemed resigned.

The man's hologram just nodded slightly, accepting the greeting as he dismissed the salute and Yang wasn't the only one to fall to his knees when the realisation dawned.

That really was Shepard. Emperor Harper's boss.

The man's hologram turned toward the Emperor. "What are they doing?" his tone indicated confusion.

"You are the ranking officer," Emperor Harper said, as if he couldn't believe he had to explain it.

"Is this the way they salute you?" It was a dangerous question.

"Of course not!" Harper replied, offended. He knew what the consequences would be if that was and he knew he couldn't lie.

The look Shepard gave him told him he'd escaped consequences this time but that was before he raised one had to pinch the bridge of his nose. "Get up," he ordered firmly. "If you are Jack's bodyguards you can't do that job on your knees and someone has to make sure that this alien isn't harmed," he continued, jerking his head towards the Nur Empress.

The meaning was obvious and Yang wasn't the only one who moved to surround her. Shepard smiled thinly at that. "At least until the order is given," he added.

Yang was reminded that while this man was really only known to the Empire via Cerberus, he was the one who had given Cerberus the orders. This man was responsible for the Empire and it was his values they followed. It was not surprising that they were similar to the Emperor's.

Shepard moved around the Emperor's desk until he was looking at the body that was still slumped over the datapads.

"Move that," he ordered.

Yang watched as Eusebio hauled Emperor Harper's corpse out of the chair and laid him with some respect on the floor. Shepard appeared to take the Emperor's place in the chair and he continued looking at the Nur Empress, ignoring the gore on the desk. Emperor Harper and Grand Admiral Williams took up position on both sides of the chair and Yang realised he was looking at true power. The Phoenix Empire crest was emblazoned on the wall behind them and he couldn't help the pleased and somewhat smug surge of pride that accompanied his smile.

"So, Empress," Shepard said, hissing the s slightly. "You are here to sign the official declaration of your surrender," he continued, his expression one of sure superiority as Emperor Harper translated.

Empress Eygyr jerked at the words. It was obvious she didn't know what was going on but it was equally obvious that she was still standing and Yang didn't even need to discuss it with Vito. They both moved, sweeping the Empress' legs out so she fell to the ground.

"On your knees in the presence of your betters," Vito snarled.

"Now, don't damage her too much," Shepard admonished but they knew he was not upset. "She still has to sign," he added.

"You are not Emperor Harper," the Nur Empress said.

"I outrank him," Shepard replied.

Yang noted that Shepard shared Williams' amusement when the Emperor translated that.

"I would suggest you sign because I do not hold much mercy for someone who believes there is no consequences for triggering supernovas."

"That wasn't me!" Empress Eygyr objected.

"Pity," Shepard noted. "If you'd have brought her, I might have been inclined to alter the deal but you let the war continue, long past the point when you knew you could not win, so I'm not feeling that inclined to change anything Harper's decided."

It was obvious Empress Eygyr didn't know what to say about that, but it was equally obvious that she wanted to say something.

"What are you having her sign anyway, Jack?" Shepard asked, looking over the desk.

"Ah, here," Werner said softly, holding up the blood soaked papers. "We were going to get a new copy."

Shepard looked at them for a few moments. "No," he declared. "That copy is fine. Since her people are responsible for spilling so much blood, it is fitting that the papers be soaked in it."

Werner nodded his agreement and put the sticky paper back on the edge of the desk. Harper's congealing blood settled into other parts of it.

"Sign," Shepard ordered, fixing his eyes on the Nur Empress.

"I do not know what it says," she objected.

Shepard listened to Harper's translation before he grinned, his white teeth flashing with amusement. "Does it matter what it says?" he asked. "I guarantee it will be better than the alternatives. Ashley tells me that Legacy and Instinct enjoy making ground units so perhaps Cerberus should go further.

"They've never seen a harvest. I think it would be educational for them."

Yang didn't know what Shepard was referring to but it was clear that the Emperor and Grand Admiral knew. "Are you sure?" Grand Admiral Williams asked, her voice reflecting her frown.

Shepard turned slightly to give her a quick smile. "I never said you had to process them," he said. "Just harvest."

Williams seemed to relax at the explanation. "I did want to do something like that."

"You may get your chance," Shepard observed as Harper continued translating.

"She doesn't understand," Harper said when Empress Eygyr was silent.

"Perhaps a demonstration is needed, to show her we don't need supernovas to bring a species to their knees."

"What do you suggest?" Emperor Harper asked.

"Oh, you'll see." Shepard replied before he looked at a point behind Empress Eygyr. "Legacy, sweetie," he said gently, speaking to someone not present. "Could you show me how you made your first command unit? Project the image because Cerberus has an organic that needs to see."

"The Empress?" A choral voice spoke. It seemed young and Yang knew it had to be the one referred to as Legacy. "Cerberus said we couldn't kill her," Legacy continued.

"Not yet," Shepard said, "I'm still playing as well but you can show her the command unit."

A projection appeared on the wall, showing a field from a bird's eye view. There were troops lined up in the field in neat, precise rows but every now and then, the formations were broken by something else, something more open. They were tripods arranged in the same neat lines.

"You were productive," Shepard commented to Legacy before casting one eye at the Nur Empress.

She seemed confused by the images but understanding would come. Her race was no different from any of those from the Milky Way. The image shifted, honing in on one of the tripods though to the side, a line of Nur could be seen being escorted by other husks and oddly, one Nur was floating above them.

"He tried to get away," Legacy explained.

"But you caught him," Shepard smiled.

Yang couldn't help but think that the Emperor's boss was just a proud parent. Yes, he was also like Cerberus and he had given the orders for the formation of the Empire and others that made no sense. While his actions with the Nur Empress were driven by necessity, some might call them cruel but Shepard was above caring. Despite that, watching him speak with Legacy, Yang could not escape the conclusion that Shepard was Human.

It was a comforting thought.

"What is this?" Empress Eygyr demanded as a Nur woman was dragged forward on the screen and bent over one of the tripods.

"I am the first Human immortalised," Shepard explained. "All the rest that came after me could be described as my children and I care about them all. However, Legacy and Instinct are particularly special to me. They were the last two immortalised to come from our homeworld.

"They are quite literally, the children of Humanity and Earth. It was difficult watching babies being taken for processing. They didn't understand what the process would bring," Shepard continued explaining as on the screen, the floating Nur was positioned over the woman and two more husks grabbed his arms and legs to hold him in place.

Yang didn't care about that, he was considering Shepard's words. The Empire had a strict rule. Children were not immortalised. They just didn't have the life experience or the mental fortitude to accept the concept but it was pretty clear that Legacy and Instinct had been made from children and Yang surmised that the final days of Earth were far more complex than Cerberus indicated.

"I am like every parent," Shepard was still speaking to the Nur Empress.

It was doubtful she was listening. Her eyes were focused on the screen where a third, struggling Nur was being dragged forward. The Nur were screaming but there was no audio with the image.

"Where possible, I like to indulge my children but even with indulgence I attempt to make sure they have experiences that let them grow and learn about their abilities. For an immortalised form, the cycle is a reality they must know." Shepard said.

Yang frowned. He didn't know what that meant unless the Emperor's boss was talking about the life cycle? Except that seemed far too simple, and wasn't applicable to an immortal.

On screen the struggling Nur had been put into position. Shepard paused his explanation, looking over at the screen.

"A triform," he murmured, "with the one who attempted to escape as the commander."

"It seemed to be the most intelligent, though the organics were weak," Legacy replied.

"That is why we have this process," Shepard replied, as the tripod activated and the spike was driven through all three Nur, pushing their bodies upward. The image drew back slightly to display it properly but the blood running down the spike and fountaining from the Nur was still readily visible.

The Empress convulsed, and if she hadn't already been on her knees, Yang knew she would have collapsed to them now. The image was mildly brutal but it was only Nur and as Emperor Harper's bodyguard, he'd seen far worse.

"Did it survive?" Shepard asked curiously.

"Yes."

"Keep it then," he advised. "A good commander is hard to come by." He turned back to the Nur Empress. "This is a consequence," he said, gesturing to the image which had remained and from the way the lighting shifted on it, it became apparent that it was being fast forwarded. "The youngest Milky Way Ascended and all of the LMC immortalised have never experienced a cycle and harvest. I believe it would be educational for them and with your species covering half the galaxy, it would give them some semblance of what the reality is like."

Shepard looked expectant but from his vantage, Yang could see that the Grand Admiral Williams' expression was faintly outraged by the way she was glaring at the other man.

"Shepard, it took me  _forty fucking years_  to sweep their territory!" She growled.

Shepard glanced up at her, flashing a half-apologetic smile. "So Cerberus is up to my numbers now?"

" _I'm_  up to your numbers," Williams replied. "I'm the one who had to do the hard yards."

Shepard chuckled. "Then I'm sorry to say that you may have to do it again," he said amused, before his eyes went back to the alien.

Williams huffed, shaking her head. "I suppose if I have to do it again, there will be some compensations," she muttered.

"That's the spirit," Shepard almost seemed to laugh. "Well?" he prompted the alien Empress.

"You would kill us all!" she sounded sick.

Shepard raised one finger. "Harvest," he corrected. "It is a difference most organics don't understand until after they know the reality of ascension. Those of your people fully Ascended would know."

"They'd also probably be loyal to the Catalyst," the Emperor made the observation.

"True," Shepard didn't seem concerned. "So you might have to do something else with their physical form."

For a moment, Emperor Harper looked confused, but then he nodded and Yang knew Shepard had said something silently.

"Extinction," Empress Eygyr said.

"Harvest," Shepard again corrected and on the screen the shifting light ceased and settled and the image went back to displaying in real time. "This is the other alternative," he said, nodding towards the image so that the Empress focused on it.

The spike retracted and points on the reformed Nur glowed as it lowered to the ground. For a moment the husk teetered on the tripod before its legs swung down to the ground and it stood. It remained still, as if unsure of its legs and then it moved. The camera moved with it, past the other spikes, still occupied as it took a place in an empty patch of field. Others began to accompany it, forming themselves into precise lines, starting a pace behind the first to make it obvious it was the commander.

Yang wasn't surprised. The citizens of the Empire didn't know what the Exanimates were or how they were made, but they were just another state secret that Emperor Harper's bodyguards kept.

"Those are your choices," Shepard told the Nur Empress matter of factly. "Sign, the harvest or become troops of the Empire. Your choice does not concern me and to be honest, you have taken too much time," he said, clearly dismissing the Empress.

"You monster," she managed to choke. "How can you have so little empathy? Do you care only for your own species?"

Shepard shook his head slightly with his eyes on the Humans around the Empress. The gesture told them not to punish her for her outburst and Yang was vaguely surprised at how easy it was to obey the other man. He had an air about him that indicated he expected to be obeyed.

"I am Human," Shepard told the Empress. "The first immortalised and the one to broker the deal to ensure Humanity's survival. Everything I have done since is for their benefit, their survival. You now face the same choice for your people. But while it is Humanity forcing you to make that choice, it was your actions which have meant you must make it and for that, I have very little sympathy. You will speak with Jack tomorrow and you will answer him, and so I no longer care." He waved one hand to indicate she should be removed.

Yang and Vito nodded and stepped forward, reaching under the Empress' arms and hauling her back.

Shepard rose, turning towards Harper. "This has been educational, Jack, but I am on a time limit." He paused, letting both Williams and Harper nod at that. He looked thoughtful and he stared into the distance, obviously thinking.

"I'll call again in a few thousand years to confirm that everything is still on track," Shepard said.

Harper nodded again, doing a good job of hiding his annoyance and it took Yang a moment to figure out why. Then he understood. Both Emperor Harper and Grand Admiral Williams were used to operating without oversight but this man, Shepard had that power and it appeared he wasn't afraid to use it.

Still, checking every few hundred or thousand years was a great deal of freedom and the Grand Admiral seemed to realise that. Yang knew Emperor Harper well enough to know he knew it as well but he was used to being in charge.

"In the meantime though, make sure you fix Atto," Shepard instructed. "The Attori appear to be what the Quarians or Krogan could have been and we should reward such loyalty. Use her planet for materials. It will be a fitting symbolism."

"I'll see to it," Harper said, "though nuclear is such a pain to clean up."

"We all have our little problems," Shepard agreed with false sympathy. "Also, I want some insurance," he added.

"For what?" Williams asked.

"For the Project," Shepard explained. "If something goes wrong, I want others ready to go."

Yang could see that the Emperor wanted to object but he held his tongue.

"You do realise that by that stage, we'll have alternatives?" the Emperor asked, somewhat spitefully.

"I'm aware of that," Shepard replied. "But I'm aware of the risks they'd present. Your original considerations were correct and it is best to be sure."

The Emperor sighed, somehow conceding the point. "Can we streamline them?" Harper asked eventually.

"Whatever you want, so long as they work," Shepard insisted. "Make five and I'll assess each cycle since this is your only task that matters. All the rest, your Empire and everything else is meaningless if the Catalyst remains. Once it is gone, we will claim our birthright," Shepard said, looking upwards and Yang knew he was looking towards the Milky Way.

"Besides, look on the bright side Jack," he almost laughed. "Once they are done, you can have a cigarette," Shepard's hologram vanished.

"Bastard!" Emperor Harper growled.

Williams looked amused. "I thought that went rather well," she murmured.

"You heard him!" Harper replied. "A cigarette. One!"

"You know, Jack, it's your own fault."

"It was centuries back!"

"Not that," the Grand Admiral waved away whatever it was referring to. "It's more direct than that. If you weren't so reliant on them, we wouldn't have so much fun denying them to you."

The Emperor glared. "I get the Project launched centuries ahead of schedule and this is my reward!"

"More work? Yes, that is Lawson's first reason for not wanting to be the boss," Williams retorted, her tone telling him 'I told you so' clearly, though what she had told him was anyone's guess.

"Actually, Jack is correct," they all stiffened to hear Shepard's disembodied voice. "He did do well to launch ahead of schedule and rewards shouldn't be just for external loyalty. On your official retirement days, for the centennial celebrations, you can smoke," Shepard told the Emperor. "And if you do well with the insurances, I'll consider removing the restriction," he added before the comm line once again went silent.

"I'm gonna ki-"

Williams leapt towards Harper's hologram, slamming one hand across his face. "Jack!" she glared as the Emperor's hologram jerked back. "Don't you dare think that while I am in Cerberus!" she growled.

"I'm still going to," he said before he sighed.

"Just don't think it while I'm around."

"Lawson's going to be busy," Harper said with a sly smile towards Williams as she stepped back, apparently satisfied that he wasn't going to do something she didn't like.

She returned the grin. "I suppose he will," she agreed. "But when she signs that, it's going to be a new era. The entire galaxy is ours." Williams didn't even look over at the Empress.

Harper smiled and nodded. "The Skatra?" he mentioned.

"Don't count, and when the Nur are settled, I'll bring them into the fold."

"Then I'll put off the celebrations until then," he decided.

The Grand Admiral nodded. "You seem to be taking Shepard's orders well," she remarked.

The Emperor rolled his eyes. Yang could see he was exasperated. "You know exactly how I feel," he replied.

"Oh, I do," she purred. "I was expecting lots of cursing."

Harper's hologram sighed. "You know as well as I do that it doesn't matter how much I dislike his orders, I have to obey. Cursing isn't going to help."

"Ah, I see," Williams murmured. She understood the Emperor's thoughts as he was in Cerberus with her. He might be the Prime but he couldn't hide everything. Lawson would be cursing so she supposed, in some way, that counted. "So are you going to get that cigarette?"

"I'll be getting all that and more," he assured her. "It will just take time."

"Don't you dare!" Williams exclaimed before her expression changed. "Actually, if you do that, I'll just laugh when he makes the ban permanent," she changed her mind. "You know Legacy and Instinct won't support you."

"We'll see."

"Heh, we will."

"Williams, has it occurred to you that we have just conquered a race of diggers. You might have found the Nur propensity to live on every speck of rock annoying, I am now thinking it's useful.

"If I have to build five more Projects, they will provide the materials." The Emperor cast a pointed look at the still present Empress.

"That seems fair," Williams nodded. "Will you have the Attori race them?" she asked, slyly.

They would want to defend their title as the Empire's miners.

"Maybe," Harper allowed. It had possibilities but it was a consideration for after the Empress had signed. "I'll see you tomorrow, Your Majesty," Harper said with a note of anticipation. "I hope you'll be more understanding," he added, nodding to Yang.

He returned the gesture and with Vito they pulled the alien out of Harper's office.

It probably wasn't how anyone envisaged that meeting but Yang felt confident of the future.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter on Empire! Then back to the Milky Way with a chapter to display what happens in 50k years between cycles. Hibernation has never been that much fun!


	89. One Galaxy United

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to bring everything in the LMC under the banner of Humanity and the Emperor. It's been a long time coming but Harper now controls the Galaxy.
> 
> Long Live The Empire!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 4 Empire**   
**Chapter 88: One Galaxy United**

-cfr-

**47223 Years after Human Ascension, 2170 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Shepard came back to the silence of his mind with a deep sigh. He had only been awake for a short period but it was intense.

Speaking to Cerberus was a challenge without adding Legacy and Instinct but he enjoyed speaking to those two so it wasn't a chore. The organic Empress had been unexpected but she should now understand her place in the galaxy. If she didn't, he was confident Harper would educate her.

"Dammit," he muttered, when he realised he'd forgotten to have Cerberus give him a proper report. He'd been alternately so pleased that the Project had been launched ahead of schedule and annoyed at the upstart organics that he'd forgotten to ask. Briefly, he thought about re-establishing the comm before he dismissed the idea.

Cerberus wouldn't complain and would never know the truth but it was unnecessary and truly, the continuing need to protect the Project would keep Harper reasonably honest and those times that he wasn't, well, it wasn't going to be Humans who suffered. No matter what was said about Harper, the man did generally want what was best for Humanity so long as you accepted the basic tenet that Humanity should rule everything because they were the superior species.

Shepard could remember a time when he didn't believe that and he wasn't sure if Humanity was a supreme species, but he now had no objection to ruling. Ruling meant you got your own way. Ruling meant fewer of your people suffered or were subjected to the consequences of other's stupid decisions. For that alone, he could accept Humanity leading the galaxy.

Other species, those who had supported Humanity should be protected and given limited freedoms. Other species, well, they were enemies like the Nur, so didn't count. Oh, their suffering was still real, he didn't deny that, but since they would oppress Humanity, that's where the real problem was and Harper might break a few rules taking care of such species but it was in the defence of Humans.

Shepard decided he could wait to hear about it. And given Ashley's admission, maybe he needed to ask her as well. Shepard chuckled. Still, he was going to call once more and if Harper had done something, that would just mean the punishment was longer, so perhaps forgetting had its own benefit.

Cerberus was doing fine in the LMC and would most likely continue to do so but another call would confirm that he was holding the galaxy he had taken and would allow Shepard to reinforce the importance of remaining in the LMC. They couldn't afford to have the Catalyst suspect anything and Humans were notorious explorers.

Though that was a thought for another day. Cerberus was already slowing population growth and would be able to control the masses, especially now that they had another half of the galaxy to expand into. The population would be controlled. Cerberus would see to it, just as Cerberus had seen to it that Legacy and Instinct were protected.

Shepard allowed himself a moment to indulge in the warm happy feeling that the knowledge that they were alive invoked. They were still young, though he could feel that over the years, they had grown considerably. Cerberus had given them that chance and had been patient with them. All the LMC Ascended had been and while that was partially due to his orders, it reinforced the belief that Ascended were hardwired to be patient with the younger forms.

He didn't think he'd get away with much under Harbinger's watch but Legacy and Instinct would be well cared for, even if they felt disturbingly whole. That had been a realisation he'd kept from them. They were almost fully homogenised.

Cerberus had explained on a sub-channel that it had been necessary but Shepard felt a passing regret that the individuals would never truly know life. Even if they were reborn, they would always feel their Ascended form. He assumed that would be true but he also couldn't escape the knowledge that homogenisation had made them quite strong. They were young, but they were capable. He'd seen that in Instinct's memories of storming the Nur palace. Instinct and Legacy had worked out the balance required to control husks while remaining themselves and free to use their true forms abilities.

That was good, because it meant they should never be trapped in a death feedback loop like Nazara. Not that Legacy or Instinct should ever be in that situation. Cerberus would have a lot to answer for in that case but the knowledge about proper techniques would serve them well.

Perhaps that is what came from remaining awake for cycle's worth of time.

Shepard thought about it. Cerberus was awake and reasonably skilled but Cerberus had already been reasonably skilled. Legacy and Instinct were both skilled but they had also been taught and he didn't have any information from the other LMC Ascended.

He made another note to ask when he spoke to Cerberus again. He just hadn't spoken to the other LMC Ascended and perhaps he should. Though… there was one way of testing his theory. The Ascended made the cycle before the Protheans would have been awake for a long time. Assuming they had survived the Prothean Cycle, it could be used as a measure of developmental speed and homogenisation rate.

Legacy and Instinct needed to be homogenised but Cerberus was showing it as well. Neither Ashley nor Harper had commented on it. They were probably aware of it but neither had said anything. There wasn't anything that could be said, Shepard realised.

Homogenisation of an Ascended was a natural progression and he could tell that they were doing their best to hold it off.

Shepard snorted to himself. There were no links between Harper and Williams and he had a vision of Cerberus with a dual personality. For all Harper claimed to be the rightful prime, Williams was very comfortable in that position. Legacy and Instinct proved it because they definitely thought of Cerberus with the feminine pronoun.

That was all Harper's problem but the outcome would be amusing and he'd have to find some way of telling the Humans Ascended in the Milky Way that they should consider fighting homogenisation. He had no concerns about his upper levels but the lower ones, they'd probably already started, even though he'd been awake for a relatively short time. So long as the next few Cycles were short, it shouldn't be too much of an issue, Shepard decided, but it was something to bring up.

He opened one visual sensor, looking towards the Milky Way. Automatically he picked out Sol from the billions of stars but he shifted his attention to the Serpent Nebula.

"Soon," he whispered, though his word referred to a period no Human would consider soon. "Soon, you will be only a memory and the Cycles will continue as they should have been, led by those who understand." He glared, indulging in the nebulous wish to somehow reach across the light years to be able to strike the Catalyst down before he closed the sensor.

Shepard took a deep mental breath, pulling in his scattered thoughts and pushing the logs and memories back into hiding. He'd think about it all again when he woke and then he'd think about it no more but would be secure in the knowledge that eventually all would be right with the galaxy.

He couldn't see it but powering through the black emptiness of Dark Space was the Catalyst's end and no matter what happened now, he had faith that it would be the end.

That happy thought accompanied him into hibernation.

-cfr-

**47359 Years after Human Ascension, 2306 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Skatra Preserve, Planet: Chiyambi**

Zinaida looked up at the night sky.

There! It was there.

Visible to anyone who wanted to see. You didn't even need a lens or anything. You just had to look, which was the one thing the Cobet weren't doing.

"We can't get to them, Zinaida," they had tried to explain, "So there is no point in looking."

Except there was. Two stars! Two stars in their own galaxy had gone supernova within 20 years! Wasn't that reason to look? Or were the Cobet afraid of what they might see?

She knew the rules. She knew the Skatra could only travel the stars in generation ships but only after they'd proven their society was functional, only after they'd lived on a planet for at least one thousand years.

Those were the rules the Skatra had lived with for the last twenty thousand years, rules that she knew kept them alive but what if there was another way?

She wasn't meant to know this, no one outside of the Cobet was meant to know it and they were trying their best to forget it but Dziko, the closest planet had found something about fifty years ago. It had fallen from the sky. It was not a rock and was obviously artificial and it was not Skatra design.

"Do you see it?" Zinaida asked Qodya. "You see how the star is brighter?"

It was impossible to miss.

"Yes! What does that mean mummy?" Qodya's voice was high with youth and almost giddy with excitement.

She hesitated with her answer. She knew what she thought it meant but she didn't know if it was fair to taint Qodya with her beliefs. They were in year 986 of their 1000 and there was talk of a generation ship already. Qodya might have a chance to be on it.

Zinaida didn't need to be on it. The atmosphere was clean and there was no reason they couldn't continue to live here but it was an honour, one that would be denied if Qodya shared her views. But Qodya was her son! It was the obligation of a parent to educate their child, to give them the tools to survive.

"It means that the star has exploded," she replied.

The Cobet might not look at the sky but they couldn't deny the reality.

"Why did it explode?" Qodya asked innocently.

"Some stars do," Zinaida replied, trembling slightly. She wanted to say more. There was so much more that could be said but this was for Qodya's future and she'd keep her peace. "Some stars just do," she repeated, ignoring the cold night air that stung the tears that trailed down her face.

-cfr-

**47406 Years after Human Ascension, 2353 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Skatra Preserve, Planet: Latsopano**

Qodya looked at the image, except he really wasn't seeing the alien or hearing its voice. He was seeing his mother, the last time he had seen her. She'd been begging him not to turn away and when he had, she had told him that she was still his mother, no matter what she believed.

But that was the problem. Her beliefs.

She had maintained all her life that aliens were a reality and that faster than light travel was possible.

The Cobet said otherwise and Qodya had worked darn hard to distance himself from her so that he was a senior member of the Generation Ship.

Their Generation Ship had been lucky. Latsopano was close and they had quickly established the new colony. It had been a hard few years but the payoff had been worth it.

Now he was the leader of Latsopano and he had to deal with this alien.

Actual, real aliens that spoke Mionali, and all he could think was that she'd been right, and the last he'd heard, she was living as an outcast.

He swallowed, looking back at the image. "Send a message to Chiyambi," he said softly to an aide. "Ask about my mother." He didn't need to be reminded that the message would take years but it was better than nothing and after the aide had left he took a deep breath and looked back at the alien.

Somehow, they had known only to contact him but their ships were visible to all overhead. The night sky blinked with their lights. The alien seemed to know he was listening because they gestured, and then repeated previous information. It was obviously a set speech but Qodya was prepared to hear it again as he gathered his thoughts.

"I am the representative of the Phoenix Empire. Our Empire surrounds your territory and we control the rest of this galaxy. We represent numerous species and usually we would wait for you to develop faster than light technology before approaching you, but it is obvious the Skatra as a people have no interest in that field."

Qodya felt his jaw tighten. That was one way of putting it. They had been trying to develop faster than light travel for millennia. It was not possible.

Except of course, it must be. The aliens were here and their ships did not have the obvious engine capacity to be Generation Ships.

"You are no longer linked to your homeworld, so the Eternal Emperor has deemed fit to invite your species to join the Empire."

Qodya was silent at that. He recognised a polite threat when he heard it but he was in no position to do anything about it. If these aliens were over every Skatra planet, then none of them were. He gestured to those receiving the message. "Can we transmit?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Then transmit," he ordered and waited for them to indicate they were ready. He couldn't hide from the reality these aliens represented, even if the veracity of their words was doubtful. Or maybe they weren't. He didn't know.

The alien was bipedal, and dressed in what he assumed was a uniform of some type. There were splashes of colour on it but he didn't know what that meant. They had what he assumed were two eyes, and a mouth, and their arm manipulators ended in five flexible protrusions.

The techs signalled they were ready and Qodya took a deep breath. "Honoured representative of the Phoenix Empire," he began, trying to be friendly. He doubted the vessels were all diplomatic ships. You just didn't send that many if all you wanted to do was say hello. "As you seem to know so much about my people, I will be frank, I alone cannot make that decision."

"We are aware of that," the alien replied. "We have initiated contact with all Skatra colonies."

Qodya swallowed. "I will have to confirm that," he said.

"Of course," the alien said. "We expected such necessity. The Empire is patient and will wait for you to confirm with the nearest worlds. At that point, the Empire is prepared to give the Skatran people a gift."

"A gift?" Qodya asked carefully.

"Faster than light communicators," the alien replied, "so that you may speak in real time to your other colony worlds." The alien seemed amused. "The Eternal Emperor is patient but he does not wish to wait that long for your people to discuss things and it is hoped that the gift will be viewed in the spirit with which it is given. As a gesture of peace and welcome."

Qodya looked at the alien. "I understand," he said but his mind was racing.

If the alien was telling the truth, then… then he looked over at Qirakliy. Every colony had a military policing force. It was necessary. Qirakliy was signalling negative and Qodya felt his teeth clamp together. They could not fight. The aliens literally had the high ground and if they truly possessed FTL technology then they probably wouldn't even need to come to the ground to conquer their worlds.

Especially here. Latsopano was a new colony world.

Qodya looked back at the alien. "While the signals are sent, will you leave?" he asked, trying to keep the question friendly.

"We may, if you desire," the alien replied. "But it is hoped that you will accept our offer and take the opportunity to speak with us. We have learnt much from your people and hope to have the opportunity to teach you about the galaxy and our society."

'Control the rest of the galaxy,' Qodya heard the earlier words again. He looked at his advisors. They appeared split.

"Think of what we could learn!" Zenzeru implored. "They have FTL! They aren't all one species either. This is everything our people have been searching for since we left the homeworld! And they want us to join them! They will give us FTL!"

Qodya kept his expression neutral. It was amazing how opinions could change. Zenzeru had comforted him on the Generation Ship, telling him to forget his mother, and her beliefs and now she was parroting them. He hoped she was still alive. His mother deserved to see this day!

"But they haven't told us the price," Zeosifa snapped the reply. "And we haven't seen the other species yet. It could all be lies."

"That is true," Qirakliy agreed. "But they have us against the wall. All the diplomatic talk changes nothing about that."

"They are obviously friendly!" Zenzeru objected. "If they wanted to conquer us, they wouldn't have bothered talking."

That might be true but Qodya didn't want to gamble on it. It was possible these aliens wanted them to conquer themselves. Really, what better way to do it, than to offer to let them join, to give them everything they ever wanted. These aliens wouldn't need to fire one weapon and the Skatra would conquer themselves.

He signalled for the comm to be opened again. "This has been a momentous day for my people and I would ask your indulgence. The signal will be sent to our other worlds but for now, I would ask that you abide a day so that we may discuss the possibilities your offer encompasses. With that done, I'm sure both our people may entered into a more mature and reasoned dialogue," Qoday concluded, hoping the alien would understand his unspoken message.

_You've just sprung the reality of alien life upon us, and not just any aliens, but technologically advanced aliens. Give us a day to come to terms with that and then we can talk._

It wasn't unreasonable to him but who knew how they thought?

The alien bowed its head slightly, closing its eyes before it looked back up. "Until tomorrow then," it allowed.

Qodya returned the gesture. "Until then," he confirmed, signalling the techs to cut the line.

It was only after the screen went blank that he collapsed back. "Ancestors!" he whispered vehemently.

He wasn't the only one.

-cfr-

**47406 Years after Human Ascension, 2353 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Skatra Preserve, PMS Dreadnought: _Star Ranger_**

Rear Admiral Reatha Ngo studied the information feeds. When you had studied an alien race for as long as the Empire had studied the Skatra, hacking through their security wasn't even a chore. The immortalised had feeds from all over the Skatra's planets and she could see that the reaction on most of their worlds was the same.

They were in shock and they needed more time.

"Shall we prepare for combat?" Ayako asked.

"No!" Ngo was firm, spearing her eyes through Ayako. Did she know nothing?

Ah, Reatha understood after taking in the uniform. Comm tech, but not yet combat rated. The Rear Admiral hid a sigh. Some Humans just didn't like the Skatra despite everything they had done. "This is the species that has supplied the army's shields and some weapons. It would be costly to go against them in ground combat and their request for time is not unreasonable.

"Both Grand Admiral Williams and the Eternal Emperor Harper indicated that we were to be diplomatic and friendly, so long as they do not fight. The outcome will be the same," she added, making it very clear that the Phoenix Empire's leaders had made their decision and that was the only decision that truly mattered.

"I am interested in the signal Qodya ordered sent out before he said he'd contact the other colony worlds. Has it gone out yet?"

"Yes, Sir," Moira replied. "It was to the planet they call Chiyambi and is asking about a woman named-" Reatha could hear Moira frown as he assessed the name. "Zinaida Yakovlev," he said slowly pronouncing each syllable carefully. "It indicates that she is Qodya's mother."

"Now, isn't that interesting? Reatha murmured. "Pass it on to Vice Admiral Kohl and let him know we'd appreciate any information they can provide. How are they going over Wopusa?"

Wopusa had opened fire on the fleet, refusing to even speak with them. There really was only one outcome and she was glad it hadn't happened here.

_Yet_ , one part of her said and Reatha sighed. It was a possibility and she would act if it happened.

"Grand Admiral Williams gave permission to drop the rods. They are waiting for the shock waves to clear."

Rear Admiral Ngo nodded. "Idiots," she muttered towards the now dead Skatra on Wopsua.

"Rear Admiral?" Ayako asked.

"They were idiots," she repeated louder before realising she should explain. The Grand Admiral had briefed them but the information had not yet gone out to the ranks. "The Eternal Emperor is prepared to be generous to this species," she began. "While they have not discovered FTL, they have invented many other things. The Grand Admiral indicates that a large portion of our forces survived the war with the Nur because of Skatra tech, or developments based on their tech."

The slight sense of outrage, that the Emperor would give so much to a lesser species became understanding when she said that. Humans might be the ruling species of the Phoenix Empire but they paid their debts, and to a certain extent, the aliens who supported Humanity could be granted boons.

"As such," Rear Admiral Reatha spoke into the silence. "If the Skatra remain peaceful and accept the reality of the Empire, they will be uplifted and allowed to colonise the buffer zone that has surrounded them for the last thirteen hundred years. They will join the Empire with similar rights and responsibilities as the Boadu or Attori."

There were nods at that as the bridge crew calculated the area that would be available to the Skatra. For a species that could only colonise through sublight means, it would be considered reasonably large but it was a small part of the Empire.

"And if they don't remain peaceful?" Ayako asked, though she should already know the answer.

"There won't be survivors."

No matter how old the Skatra were, the Empire had no need for dissenting races. It would be best not to give the Nur any ideas because further rebellion would not be tolerated. For the most part, they had integrated but there were those who thought they could have the so-called glory of the past.

"Both the Emperor and Grand Admiral are confident that the Skatra will see the benefits of complying," Reatha said. "At least some of them," she added under her breath, before giving a significant look towards the comm. There was an incoming message.

"It's from Vice Admiral Kohl," Ayako announced.

"On screen," Rear Admiral Ngo ordered.

"That's an interesting titbit of information you've given me," Vice Admiral Hobert Kohl said the instant the connection was made.

"This Planetary Governor's mother?" Reatha asked.

"It's a little more than that," Hobert said. "Their records indicate she's an outcast."

Ngo frowned. That didn't seem right. While the Phoenix Empire military had a strict hierarchy of ability and the Phoenix Empire itself was meant to have that as well, there were still politics and still advancement based on who rather than what you knew. Those in power usually shared their wealth with their family and most aliens weren't that different.

"What did she do?" Reatha asked. It would have to have been something drastic but it wasn't completely unheard of.

Hobert smiled, almost laughing. "Believed in us."

"Huh?"

"She believed in us. Well, not specifically in the Phoenix Empire but in the existence of aliens who had functional FTL."

Rear-Admiral Ngo nodded. In a society that seemed as controlled as the Skatra that might be a reason for being outcast but it didn't answer the obvious question. "Why did she believe it? They've been in the buffer zone since the Empire encountered them and no one had made any sampling runs."

Vice Admiral Kohl seemed to listen to someone, holding up one hand to delay replying. He sighed. "Chalk it up to yet another thing we can blame on the Nur. She saw the supernovas and knew it was a statistical anomaly. Then she decided it had to be due to outside influences, hence-"

"-aliens with FTL," Reatha concluded. "That's a bit of a long bow isn't it?" she said skeptically. "A supernova to alien isn't a direct correlation."

"It is when another planet found a probe."

Ngo sighed. "He's gonna kill them," she muttered.

"He? He'll get whatever the Grand Admiral leaves," Hobert grinned.

"It really does confirm that the common Nur are better off with the Empire's guidance."

"With leaders like that, yes!"

"I suddenly understand why the war took that long. With decision making skills like that, absolute dominance over each system was essential." Reatha sighed, shaking her head. "So can you get that woman?" she asked Hobert, pulling them back to dealing with the Skatra.

"The Grand Admiral doesn't want us going to the surface," Vice Admiral Kohl reminded her.

"I know, but Qodya misses his mother," she replied with a grin. "And every good boy should honour his mother."

Hobert nodded. "I'll see what we can do," he promised. It translated to he'd ask the Grand Admiral.

"It would be appreciated," Reatha said. If the woman was still alive, and they could get Qodya's mother here, then she was sure Latsopano would accept the Empire. It was the little things which made the difference, after all, and if the Grand Admiral authorised the mission, that just meant another species would be absorbed by the Empire and true dominion over the LMC.

Rear Admiral Reatha Ngo smiled, looking down at Latsopano. "You're ours, now."

Hobert laughed. "Yes, they are," he agreed and Reatha nodded vaguely towards the comm.

It was good to be in control

-cfr-

**47910 Years after Human Ascension, 2857 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Dreadnought: _Sovereign_**

Harper took a deep breath, savouring the absolute silence.

He was alone. Completely and utterly alone for the first time in… Quite a bit longer than he wanted to consider. His bodyguards had been constant but even they were waiting outside. It was one of the indulgences he was giving himself to mark the occasion and given that he didn't indulge himself very often, he was going all out.

Williams hadn't even complained but then she had her own diversions. He'd appropriated the dreadnought  _Sovereign_  and had it outfitted. Now he had his viewing room and the sun burnt behind him as he sat and looked at the far walls display.

He took another deep breath, a smile ghosting over his features as he took in the view. The LMC.

It had been a very long time coming and there were still a few systems cordoned off while the locals developed but there was no one hiding in the cracks. The Nur had integrated and despite the disparity in social standing, they were competing with the Attori to produce the most metal to fulfil Shepard's orders. Lawson would have them finished in time and he would get that cigarette.

Of course, the long ago floated idea to take a battle fleet to destroy Tartarus was viable now, excepting the sixteen year journey, but he couldn't risk that. Even if he just sent military ships, with no immortalised, he couldn't risk Tartarus finding out. The military ships wouldn't betray him and they would bring Harbinger's fleet down but that wasn't the risk he was concerned with. The risk was him. He couldn't be sure it wouldn't kill him to give such an order. The fail safes built into each Ascended form were not something he could properly map. They were not something a good little indoctrinated Ascended was even meant to think or know about and Ascended did not kill Ascended. Even ignoring the Catalyst's fail safes, that rule was at the core of every Ascended form. They could not, because another Ascended was the only form considered equal to the self.

He wasn't a good little Ascended according to the Catalyst's determination but he was an outstanding one according to the naïve definition. Ascension was to preserve organic life. Harper was proud to say that he was still very much Human, with all his desires and goals intact. Ascension was the perfect preservation of himself.

Shepard had known that, which was one of the reasons Cerberus had been chosen. Hackett, Anderson, Udina, Miranda, Sirta, Zaeed, Elysium, the list of names went on. Any of the Human Ascended who remembered the Betrayal War could have been chosen. Their plans would have been different but they would have fulfilled Shepard's orders because they were all Human. It was a passing regret that he would never see their plans, because he was sure they would be unique, but vicious.

But it was he who had planned and he who now led a united Humanity to take their rightful place as the leaders of the galaxy. All other species turned to them for guidance in science, in art, and military, in every facet of life, Humanity led the way as they were meant to.

As they would have in the Milky Way.

Harper shook his head. As they would in the Milky Way.

They would, one day take the galaxy that was their birthright. Because already, in a mere five hundred years since they had been reasonably sure of their dominion they had, Humanity had, with his guidance, pushed harder and faster than any Citadel species ever had.

The Salarians, for all their vaunted intelligence, could have kept up with Humanities rate of development for a few years, at best. Then they simply would have been left behind. As all the other races were now.

Harper rose, turning away from the galactic map to look at the star. There, on the horizon, barely visible as a smudge against the fiery surface was proof of Humanity's imagination and ingenuity. There was proof of their engineering ability.

He breathed deep. It was almost a shame that the Salarians hadn't lived to see it. Harper shook his head. Gloating about a victory over a species that had been extinct for over forty seven thousand years was unbecoming but it was indulgent and right at the moment, he was indulging himself.

The smudges might seem tiny but they were huge stellar lifting devices, syphoning material straight from the star to be forged into anything. They had not mined out every system. Far from it but the number of projects demanding high quality metals was large.

The development of each habitable system required some in the construction of buildings. The development of uninhabitable but rich systems required it for the construction of space habitats and working vessels. The military required more to build, and arm each vessel constructed to protect the Empire's settlements. There may be no unknown aliens lurking within the LMC but he knew what was in the Milky Way and was not going to be caught off guard by anything from another galaxy.

Every settlement was defended, which meant that the settlements produced immortalised.

In the aftermath of the revelation of Shepard, he'd allowed society, Human society to grow unchecked. Terraforming hadn't kept up with demand though they had become far more innovative with preparing planets. The Empire's growth had been exponential and necessary. But after conquering the Nur, the reality was that the LMC represented a finite space. Large, beyond most people's ability to comprehend the word but finite.

He'd put the brakes on growth then. Not completely but he had slowed it greatly. Where once he would have promoted someone with children, now he promoted those without, or with only two. It was those little things which sent a message just as much as the official announcements.

Humanity would fill the LMC but they would fit. That was the important thing. But all of that growth, and now the existing somewhat stable population meant that there were thousands of Ascended. Millions. And to create them, every single one of them required metal.

They were not all Human either. Over the years, he had cherry picked the best of the Empire's non-Humans. The Attori thought it was the highest honour and they celebrated for days when someone was selected. The Fedochi were a little more restrained. While none of them remembered Ilkin's reaction, it did occur to some of them to say no. Refusal wasn't an option.

The Ullator, Nur, Boadu and Skatra did not yet have an Ascended form but the Ullator were close. And every one of those forms was indoctrinated beyond that which occurred during processing. They were loyal but they were still watched and he, through Cerberus had given them all very specific and strict orders when they awoke. They had no choice but to be loyal and obey. They may not, technically speaking, be part of the Human Ascended fleet but Shepard's orders, putting Cerberus in their command chain, seemed to be holding.

But more Ascended required more metal, both to create and arm.

Which said nothing about Shepard's orders. Five extra Projects. They would be completed on time, only because stellar lifting was an option.

Harper smiled, anticipating the cigarette as he looked at the smudges. His eyes automatically adjusted to bring them into sharp relief. There was just one platform around this star, the first platform and while it was somewhat slow and inefficient, as the first, it had historical significance.

It was around Tellus' star, and the material lifted was being shipped to Home. They could have put it around the first star but he liked to keep the home system pristine. All planets in the Empire had strong environmental laws but on Home, they were fully enforced. He knew there were shortcuts happening further away. Just little ones which could be fixed but the Empire knew the consequences of ignoring those rules. He had proven it a number of times that there were limits on his indulgence and tolerance. His laws couldn't be ignored forever.

The material shipped to Home was being formed into the Topopolis. Already multiple segments had been constructed, with more on the way. Home was the capital of the Empire, so by default, it was the planet to live on or around, if you did not have the appropriate rank or social standing to live on the home world. Demand for habitat in Home was always high.

Class divisions were a reality, though there were multitudinous ways for people to rise between each level. The division of wealth was far more equitable. He worked hard to ensure that, even if he didn't always like the means used. Relatively early immortalisation could be purchased, generally for a sum that was about ninety nine per cent of your material wealth. At least that kept the Empire's coffers full and allowed him to ensure that the distribution of money within the Empire was kept relatively even. It was amazing how often those who were wealthy died in freak accidents before immortalisation. That kept the purchases coming. People didn't mind class divisions so much, if they weren't shoved in their faces.

Of course, hard work had its rewards and those born to a social level aspired to remain on that level, or to rise higher, but he made sure they worked at it. When they entered the workforce, it didn't matter who their parents were, they started at the bottom. Williams had backed his move to make inheritance a thing of the criminal classes. Small mementos and family trinkets were perfectly fine things to inherit but anything more was socially frowned upon.

But that said nothing about his own special project. Shepard wanted Tartarus gone. He could agree with that but the Empire needed a better transportation system and what better system existed but the Relays?

Except the plans were not in Cerberus. He knew that because his Ascended form was the first place he'd looked for Quantum shielding plans. Still, he had 10,629,491 Ascended and 11.8 quadrillion population to work on developing schematics for a Relay.

The first thing anyone who knew about Relays, had told him, was how much of a sink they were. They required tonnes of metal and even more eezo. That was the sticking point. The zero element.

The eezo core of an Ascended was huge but a Relay was orders of magnitude larger. It required kilometres of eezo. Relays were not an investment which paid off in the lifetime of any organic. But he was not organic. He was eternal and the Relays would eventually benefit the LMC more than the cost. They were in the design phase now, while they stockpiled as much extra eezo as possible, which was always difficult. Even with a fair proportion of the 10.6million strong Ascended fleet making eezo, demand was high for the zero element. Military ships, civilian ships, merchant ships, Ascended. They all required it and he could not unduly limit the Empire, not even if in the long run it would pay off.

The first one, after testing proved it stable, would be in Home, especially if they could make it like the Alpha Relay but he wasn't yet certain of that. He would like to construct Primary Relays but there was a lot of work to complete before that was a reality. Williams had argued that the first should be in Nimitz and there was a fair logic to her words but he had promised her the second, so that the fleets permanently stationed in the militaries first system could be moved quickly within the core territory.

The third would be in former Nur territory. The economic benefit would be the greatest there but he was getting ahead of himself.

Shepard's orders had to be obeyed but when he called back, which wouldn't be for some time yet, Harper wanted at least five Relays made. Home, Nimitz, Nur Territory and two on the other meridian points of the galaxy. Assuming they could make the long distance relays, even those five would be enough to make a real economic difference, especially as he had no plans to turn them off. Not like Tartarus.

That was all part of his plan for the future. By the time Tartarus was gone, the LMC would be an ideal galaxy, a tribute to what Humanity could achieve. And if all went well, he would have Relays ready to position for intergalactic travel. It would not take sixteen years to return to the Milky Way.

Harper turned back around, looking at the map again. Every system was shaded the red of the Empire. The overlay of colour was not needed but he felt a stir of pride seeing it.

This was his galaxy. This was Humanity's galaxy. The stars belonged to them and one day he would look upon a similar map for the Milky Way.

Harper smiled, allowing the certainty of triumph to fill him. It really was only a matter of time and he was excited to see what steps would be taken to reach that future. With, of course, his hand on the tiller.

The LMC was just the beginning and really he, and Humanity, owed it all to the Citadel Council. It was a pity they weren't around to see this triumph. Harper laughed, the sound free and genuinely happy.

Maybe Shepard would let him play with their Ascended forms because their species deserved to know.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> End of Part 4: Empire
> 
> And that is the end of Empire. More will be seen of the LMC during the cycles in the Milky Way but the focus of the fic will now turn towards the cycles. The next chapter will be displaying time passing before the cycle. Shepard and the other Ascended are all asleep, and there is a lot of mischief that the Vanguard can get up to.


	90. As Time Goes By

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While the Milky Way Ascended fleet is in hibernation, the rest of the galaxy moves on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 5 Best Served Cold**   
**Chapter 89: As Time Goes By**

**-cfr-**

Please note: For ease of understanding by those who will appreciate this material, alien gestures, speech, time and distance measurements have been translated into the superior human standard equivalents. For example, the Eotair used this overly complicated system of measurement based on the length of the stride of one of their legendary Leaders. They hadn't even standardised it to a universal measurement. To avoid confusion, human norms of kilometres and/or miles have been substituted. If you are not human, or you have not been educated to a human standard, then that is unfortunate. Re-education is available at all Embassies, at your expense, and is highly recommended for your future welfare.

**-cfr-**

**2970 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 48023 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, University of Fire Social Lecture**

"Today we are going to look at the Empire's new 'Towards 30 Policy'," Professor Ubon Metharom announced.

The class groaned. The response was traditional. Far be it for them to actually display interest.

"Shanice, summarise," Ubon snapped. Most of her students were listening online. She had several thousand connections to the auditorium. Others preferred to attend in person. She was more likely to call upon them but then she had the rather old fashioned view that they got a better education if they attended in person. They were not distracted by things happening around them. Because the only things happening around them was the lecture. Most of her remote students properly paid attention, but not all.

Eh, it wasn't like her paycheck relied upon their performance. Learning was optional and was the student's choice. Professor Ubon had qualifications, of course, to prove that she could teach. At her level, they were hard to come by. Education might be up to the individual but the Empire still took it seriously.

Shanice made a face but knew better than to complain. "The Towards 30 Policy is the Empire's new population program," she explained.

Ubon motioned that Shanice should continue. The younger woman shot her a dirty look, but expounded on the policy. "It's been implemented to control population growth which has been allowed, even encouraged, since 1570 with the Revelation of Shepard."

Profession Metharom nodded, allowing Shanice to sit back down. She loved doing that to the young woman. Shanice would go far, if she got off her butt. She was lazy. She attended physically because it was easier than remembering her passwords to log in. Or at least, that was what she said. Still, it was a teacher's duty to encourage their students.

"Very good, but it doesn't explain why the policy has been implemented now. Does anyone want to elaborate?"

Her podium lit up with requests from her remote students. Ubon picked one at random. "Puan," she said the name when the details flashed onto the screen.

A hologram appeared, showing a young man dressed in a severe fitted shirt. The severity of it was countered by the fact the fabric print was lurid flowers. It was all the rage. Ubon didn't see the appeal.

"The Policy has been implemented before the Empire reaches a population of 30 quadrillion. It is intended to slow population growth before we reach that number and to then to allow the population to stabilise at around that figure." There was always a bit of elasticity with the population numbers.

"So why 30 quadrillion?" Ubon put the question to him. There were a few answers she was seeking here. The obvious, and the more elaborate explanation. The Emperor liked symbology.

"Because the population is approaching that figure but there is still time to slow growth, so that it stabilizes." Puan re-phrased part of his answer. The current population was a smidge over 27 quadrillion.

Ubon saw Shanice roll her eyes. She'd figured out at least one of the more symbolic explanations.

"Can you think of any other reason that 30 quadrillion would be picked? There's been numerous studies that suggest with the right preparation the LMC could support a far larger population." Professor Ubon pointed that out.

Puan frowned. He didn't get it. She looked at his stats. Born 2948. Ah, that explained it. He was still young.

"It is a play on maturity," Professor Metharom pointed out. "Thirty is the human age of maturity," she explained. Some of her students were not human. The Empire believed all should be educated. Fedochi age of maturity was not until about 60, and even that was young. Generally, they waited until 100 before truly going it alone. Attori age of maturity was 20. Human age of maturity had altered over time. Ubon had studied her history. She knew it used to be 21 but, with expanded life spans, most made it to 270. It made more sense to wait for complete maturation of mind and body before declaring someone mature.

The military took people younger but they were set up for training through the years when the body was developing. It also made it easier to ensure that recruits came to them in a natural form. There were contingents attending her lecture from several military bases. Even soldiers needed to understand the social sciences. She tended not to call on them much. All the 'Sirs' grated. It was their way of showing respect. She just hadn't gotten used to it.

"There's also another practical consideration. Does anyone want to explain?" The question hung in the air. There were a few tentative takers on the podium. "No one knows for sure?" Ubon prompted. Speculation was good but she was after answers.

She sighed. This is why education was still important. People needed guidance. They needed their common sense honed.

"It is simply space," she said, looking around at the theatre. "There are thirty billion stars in the LMC, but not all have habitable planets, not even with terraforming. There is a limit to the carrying capacity of the planets we have. There are plans for alternate habitats. You all know about them, and some are even ready, but-" Ubon spread her hands, as if to say there was nothing she could do.

"Actually, Professor, with most of the habitat options, there is a chance to have far higher populations per system than we are used to. Most systems, even without any planets, can have those habitats built, so surely the policy is premature?" The question came from Mina. She was attending this class as part of an education rounding and balancing program. Her specialty was mathematics but she needed to learn that there was more to a decision than just the numbers.

"There is some room for further growth," Ubon admitted. "And the structures you speak of will aid in distribution of population, however, they aren't built yet. They are large structures, they require time. Time the Empire doesn't have unless the population is brought under control now.

"You all know that changes like this require time. Additionally, an expanding population requires expanding resources. Food is an obvious one. Atmosphere is another. But it is a cascading issue. Military presence, immortalisation facilities, expanded eezo needs and metal requirements."

"Metal requirements?" Mina asked. That didn't make sense.

"Each Immortalised form requires tonnes of metal, as do habitats. There is only so much that can be mined. This is in addition to all of our industrialised civilization's other needs."

"Can we not lift it from appropriate stars?" Puan asked for Mina.

"Yes, of course, but the facilities must exist. The Empire has had a policy of infrastructure before population," Ubon reminded her class. "The Emperor sees no advantage to reversing that policy. Indeed, reversing that policy would introduce a large range of problems." She moved into lecture mode.

"There is the potential for famine and for true death. Poverty is something we only see in rare situations, in those situations where the population has expanded beyond the means of the Empire. It is not something to be encouraged. The Emperor will not allow it. No sane ruler would," she added. There were some rumblings that the Emperor should step aside. No one would, or could say what should replace his administration. Most thought the calls were stupid but even with a supposedly enlightened population, there were always some idiots.

"So, that is the background behind the policy. Now, if there are no further questions, we will move on to the expected timeline of the policy." Professor Ubon looked around, before glancing at her podium. There were no other questions. Mina looked slightly abashed but that was somewhat normal. She'd learn.

"Good, let us continue…"

-cfr-

**3007 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 48060 Years after Human Ascension**

**Dark Space, The Rock**

On the Rock, the crew had settled into shifts easily. There were some overlaps but if you were on a different shift, then it was easy to pretend you didn't know the others.

So far, there had only been one incident. One of the astrophysicists had put up a screen in the common rooms, with two clock counters. One displayed the time they'd spent on the Rock, the other showed time in the Empire, the clocks running with greater and greater discrepancy. It was disturbing and everyone else had demanded that it be taken down.

Winter had done so only with bad grace and had retaliated by loading an app to their omni-tools which displayed the same information. Most of the crew ignored it but Derek knew for the first couple of days most of the crew had peeked a bit at it.

The thing was, now he had a message that was going to make them all look. The immortalised escort vessels had been recalled by the Emperor. They would peel away and return to the LMC.

By itself, that wasn't a problem. The Rock had its own defences. It was its own defence as well and they had comm equipment so they could talk with those in the Empire. There was a dedicated channel to receive information from the Empire's Public Records Office. Even if it they never needed it, they got new entertainment. But that information was empty and it automatically downloaded itself. Plus they only got the good stuff so as not to fill the servers.

The thing was, with the immortalised leaving, the crew was losing the chance to talk to someone on the outside. They knew it was going to happen, but this was so soon! They were barely a month into their journey.

Derek shook his head. He knew that wasn't true. Forty three days was the… he didn't want to think about it but it represented more than 1000 years in the Empire. He sighed.

They were all going to need to come to terms with that thought. The crew had all known, when they got on the Rock, that this was going to be the reality but there was a very large difference between intellectually knowing that and actually feeling it. Having the immortalised leave was going to be one point at which to realise it.

Nisial was going to be busy, though there was still a pall hanging over her. The comment about monitoring might be true but it had seeded doubt and while she had done nothing since to nurture those seeds, Derek knew there were still suspicions.

Forty-three days was not enough time for the seeds to die.

The immortalised said they would leave in another hour which was another 413.5 days in the Empire. It would give the crew a chance to pass on any messages because, once the immortalised accelerated past light speed, they would revert to real time again.

Derek shook his head, not wanting to think about it even as he hit send to notify the crew. The message was a priority so it would wake those sleeping.

There was a news pack accompanying the orders. That was something better to think about.

They'd gotten news packs before but it was hard to comprehend so much information, especially when, to them, it felt like they hadn't been gone long. Some of the crew had tried to keep track of their family but the news made it difficult. The human mind was not meant to comprehend a generation a day. It was too distressing, or it was unreal, news that meant nothing. For other things, the fundamentals of the Empire hadn't changed. Emperor Harper still ruled, Grand Admiral Williams controlled the military. So in that, nothing had changed. But so much more had changed.

The Empire now spanned the galaxy, having fought a war against the Nur for forty years! Forty years! No other conflict have ever lasted that long. The Nur had been vicious, like the aliens they were but the Emperor and Empire had held firm. They had been strong and had conquered every system the Nur had.

And to the Empire, all of that was old news. A thousand years into the past.

Derek grimaced, perhaps thinking about the news wasn't the best alternative. But the only alternative was not to think and that wasn't likely. The years had been good to the Empire and each news pack and order carried the information that what they were doing was the most important mission Humanity had ever undertaken.

Derek smiled grimly at that. For him, the mission had started on Earth.

There was one good thing with the news packs and Derek had caught more than one crew member sneaking a look at it. They knew what Shepard looked like. And he had personally confirmed their orders, confirmed that they were taking the right path. The legendary human had been present, as a hologram when the Nur Empress surrendered and the Emperor had made it clear that the footage of Shepard had not been shared with the Empire. Just them.

It still made him feel special. It made them all feel special and they needed that. They were the chosen of the Empire. They would be the first humans since humanity's ascension to see Earth.

They all had their reasons. Nisial's idea of nightly talks was slowly revealing them and it was building the crew into a team. Derek just hoped the news about their escorts leaving wasn't taken badly. While they might be immortalised, they still represented one billion minds on each. That was one billion more people to talk to. They'd barely even begun speaking to them because they had been on the Rock for 43 days.

He sighed. He was back to that thought. And he had it relatively easy. His mother and father were in Cerberus. He had a tie to the Empire, someone tangible he could speak to for the entire journey, albeit at a very slow rate. But they had made it clear that it would be best if they did not. They weren't clear about their reasons but Derek could tell they were scared of something.

"They're going?" Rosalva asked.

Derek nodded. "Yep, they're just waiting for any final messages now," he said, tapping a scrolling log.

All over the ship, the crew was recording messages for the Empire. Most might have forgotten them but there was still interest in their mission, especially with five copies ready to launch if they missed. Though those five were different in design. The Emperor had streamlined them to allow faster production.

They would not miss.

Forty three days in and Derek already knew most of the crew had vowed not to let anyone else go through this. It was worth it, it was what humanity needed but no one else would need to go through this isolation.

Rosalva watched the scanner. The ascended were arrayed around them and, while not connected to the Rock, they were moving at the same speed so they might as well have been onboard. Derek watched the log. The flow of messages was slowing. He didn't know what they said, just that everyone was finishing.

The scrolling stopped and it felt like an ominous sign.

"Has everyone finished?" Origalch asked. The echoing voice was business-like and the implied routine made Derek feel a little better.

"I believe so," he said. Nothing more had appeared on the log and the hour was up.

"Then in Shepard's name and for all humanity, we wish you well."

"Not in the name of the Empire?" Rosalva asked.

"Shepard is beyond the Empire," Origalch replied, "just as humanity is. And your mission was not launched for the Empire. You carry, you  _are_  the hope of every human to be free. You are the light shining through the long dark of space and we will greet you when morning comes. Have no fear of what awaits."

The comm line went dark and Derek shared a look with Rosalva. Who knew an immortalised could be so poetic but the message was clear and had always been clear.

They were the purpose of the Empire and once that purpose was complete, while the human inhabitants might not truly realise what they had done, the immortals would and it would be them who greeted them in the Milky Way.

Derek turned his eyes to the scope, watching the dots that represented the immortalised. They were slowly disappearing as they pushed themselves faster, going to FTL travel. The dots dwindled until just one was left and Derek knew it was Origalch, waiting for any last message but there was nothing else to say.

The final dot vanished.

Derek heaved a deep breath. He wasn't alone in the gesture and Rosalva activated the forward camera feeds, putting them up on the monitors. There was nothing to see.

"And now, we truly are, all alone in the night."

-cfr-

**3586 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 48639 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Imperial Public Records Office**

"All right, I appreciate that I'm new here, and that inventory is the job you give us newbies, but could someone please explain why, in the Emperor's name, the Imperial Public Records Office has just been supplied with fifty military spec cargo shuttles, each with fully-powered bays, and overriding control over the Krsnaviv Cluster?" Sinca complained, shaking her head to cover her doubts about her chosen profession.

The IPRO was not a throwaway career. She'd gone through at least five interviews and testing rounds to get this job and because it was work for the State, it counted towards her immortalisation right. But right now, Sinca wasn't entirely sure if it was worth it.

"Did you say the Krsnaviv Cluster?" Claribel asked, actually perking up at the news.

Sinca held up the data pad. "That's what it says here," she said.

Claribel ran up and grabbed the data pad, reading the inventory before she began to skip around happily. "Finally! We've finally got the system!"

"Wait! You mean it's not a mistake?" Sinca gasped. She'd just assumed someone had accidentally sent a military inventory to them.

"Nope, it's real and it's for us," Claribel gushed, still dancing around happily.

"Fifty military grade transports and a worthless star cluster?" Sinca confirmed.

"Fifty much needed storage lockers," Claribel corrected, "and the much needed system to store them in. Wait until the Director hears this! We've been wanting this for years!"

Sinca shook her head again before forcing herself to focus. "We are the Public Records Office," she said the words slowly, making sure to enunciate each one correctly. Her High English wasn't yet as good as it needed to be but she was working on it. "Why do we need military spec ships?"

Claribel turned to her, smiling. "Well, technically they don't have to be military spec," she admitted. "But they did just retire the  _Gemini_  class shuttles, which is probably what we are getting," Claribel looked at the datapad before tapping the list for more information. "Yep, we're getting the  _Gemini's_. Well, the last ones made, that never saw service."

"Yes, but why?" Sinca managed not to growl.

"Sinca," Claribel said seriously, spearing her with a look. "What do we do?"

"We're the Imperial Public Records Office. We store and preserve the records of the Empire."

Claribel shook her head, giving a small sigh. "Yes, yes, wonderful textbook answer," she said and Sinca knew she was going to hear about this again. "We are the IPRO. What that really means is we have the largest library of literature, cinema, documentaries, vid shows, games and simulators in the Empire."

"Yes, because all the studios have to give us their master copies," Sinca nodded.

Everyone knew that and it was joked that it was Emperor Harper's first order.

"Yes, we have everything, back to before there was an empire. The only thing we don't have is some of the entertainment files off Cerberus because the Emperor refuses to hand them over but that's neither here nor there. What your little description fails to mention is that we also have the means to play the original copy of every single one of the things we have. And believe me, finding a power pack that's compatible with the third century  _Playbox_  is hard!" Claribel heaved a deep breath but was still smiling.

"Which is the entire reason we've been asking the Emperor for control of Krsnaviv, or any similar cluster."

Sinca frowned, picking up another datapad and looking up the Krsnaviv cluster. It was reasonably close to Home but central enough that the whole Empire could deliver material there. And there was a black hole in it. Actually, that was its main feature.

"We wanted a black hole?" Sinca asked, wondering if it was too late to make the cut for military service. Life would make more sense then.

"Absolutely," Claribel agreed, as if with her question Sinca had understood the entire mess of conversation.

Sinca huffed. "I don't get it." She held up her hands. "Sure, the shuttles are store rooms. That I get but, by the Emperor, why do we need a star cluster with a black hole?"

Claribel sighed, her previous conclusion destroyed. "Preservation," she said. "Preservation," she repeated as if it should now be obvious. "We load the shuttle up, with everything we've got and then we fly them, all happily in a row around the black hole and that takes care of everything. I swear the IPRO is the best job in the galaxy!"

Sinca frowned, thinking. Clairbel was still waxing lyrical.

"Can you imagine what it would have been like when we could actually call the Emperor? Oh, that would have been something!"

Sinca tuned her out. She'd applied for this job because she really wasn't that good with maths beyond the basics and the military hadn't really appealed, although it was looking better all the time now. She'd focused her studies more on history and comparative linguistics so she didn't know much about black holes except for the time dilation as you-

Oh! So that was it.

Her expression changed and she glared at Claribel. "The time dilation stores the material."

"In perfect, unaltered condition," the other woman said.

"Couldn't you have just told me that?" she asked.

Claribel grinned. "Nah, it's traditional to watch the noobs try and work out why we made the request in the first place." Her expression darkened. "We're gonna need a new tradition," she said sadly before brightening again. "Something'll come up. Maybe we can get them to pilot?" Claribel asked the question speculatively but Sinca made a mental note to never accept the job to drive anything. Just in case.

She heaved a sigh as Claribel handed back the inventory datapad.

"I'm off to tell the Director the good news," Claribel said. "Just keep doing the inventory but put a priority status on receiving those shuttles. We need 'em now."

Sinca nodded, making the order mark as Claribel turned away. The military couldn't be this bad, could it?

-cfr-

**13746 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 58799 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Military Training Planet**

Nuan sighed. She continued to look over the reports. They didn't feel right. Something was missing. Intuition told her that much. Well, she could always ask and speak of the devil. Her comm sounded.

"So, how much damage did you do this time?" she growled, almost before it connected.

"Hi, Boniface, good to hear from you. I hope you weren't hurt," the other voice replied, almost laughing.

"Yes, all that too," Nuan snapped. "How much damage did you do?"

"Oh, not that much," Boniface replied. "You are probably going to need a special, though."

"What?" Nuan shrieked. A special was reserved for only the most damaged planets. Those that needed the heaviest terraforming. And sure, the Empire's terraformers worked closely with the military - someone had to fix up the planets they used for war games - but to need a special? Something had gone wrong with the last game.

Boniface said nothing.

"Captain Boniface Torrean Saara Abello, you had better start explaining."

"Of course, Major."

Nuan winced. He'd gone official on her. She wasn't military. She was part of the Terraforming Division. But when it came to dealing with the military, they had been assigned ranks. She was a Major. Not that it meant anything. It just meant the grunts had to treat her and her crews with respect and Captains like Boniface had to report on the damage. It did help get those reports in a timely fashion as well. Nuan had heard what happened back when the Division didn't have military rank. They were the last priority.

The Grand Admiral had fixed that up. The woman didn't like inefficiency and the ranks had stuck.

"Some of the immortalised got involved, Sir," Boniface reported. His used his most official voice.

Nuan felt cold. The immortalised could deal a lot of damage. "Were there casualties?" She asked quietly. This wasn't just about the planet now.

"Nah," Boniface sensed the change in demeanor. "At least, not amongst us live ones." His image grinned. "Some of the immortalised are going to be under spec'd for a while," he laughed.

"I should bill them," Nuan muttered.

"Good luck with that," Boniface told her. Technically speaking, the immortalised had no money. Nor did they get paid. There was a fund for them but the Emperor maintained that. Getting anything out of it was close to impossible.

"So they just opened fire?" She asked.

"Something like that." He flicked several files to her.

They opened, proving to be long range vid files. There were several immortalised visible through the clouds. Red fire was trailing from their weapons. It kicked up huge amounts of debris on the ground, sending up fire and dust. So that's why they needed the special.

The special was an atmospheric orbital platform. Their initial development was to scrub nuclear waste from Attor's atmosphere. In the intervening centuries they had been refined. Now they could be used to scrub almost anything from the atmosphere, dropping it back down to the ground, usually as a fine fertilizing sediment that took about a week to settle. Or they could be used to disperse other cleansers, depending on what the contaminant was.

"Get me the routine damage scans," Nuan sighed. "I'll amend the plans," she added.

Boniface grinned.

"When is the next game?"

The Captain frowned. He tapped at the datapad. "About two months for this planet." The military ran games often, but they alternated planets. This allowed the Terraforming Division time to move between the planets repairing the damage. Occasionally, the military held a 'harder' game where the damage was greater. Those were planned. This was meant to have been a more normal game. The damage wasn't meant to have been this bad.

Usual training was in holographic suites but there was no substitute for the real thing. That's why the games continued.

"Great. Are the immortalised scheduled for the next game?"

"They weren't scheduled for this one."

Nuan rubbed her eyes. "Who was in charge of this game?

"Lieutenant General Fuentes and Vice Admiral Gupta."

They were a good few ranks above her. She could approach them, but it would be more politic to run this up the chain of Division Command. They were owed some explanation of why things had gotten out of hand. "I'll tell you what their explanation was," she announced.

Boniface grinned. He knew what had happened, but he was curious as to why.

"Let me know when everyone's up. I'll start the initial prep immediately. The sooner the better."

"Last transport's up at 0945. Check with the duty Major for confirmation," he recommended.

"Will do." The lower ranks had to keep up with the gossip somehow. Passing information between each other was the generally accepted method. "So, I didn't ask. Who won?" Naun grinned. All military games had sides. Most were designed to give an equal chance to any of the sides. There was always heavy betting on the outcome.

Nuan hadn't understood the scenario well enough to have placed a wager this time. She didn't like doing it without at least some knowledge but that didn't deter plenty of people.

Boniface nodded several times, obviously thinking. It really wasn't that hard a question. "Technically, we did. But with the immortalised… I think they are calling it a draw."

"Officially?" Wagers were always paid on the official report.

"Officially, I think the Command Staff is still arguing," he laughed.

"All right, I'll get back to you."

"Yes yes, work work!" He grinned.

"Work work!" she agreed.

The comm cut, and Nuan sighed again. There were always complications.

-cfr-

**19865 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 64918 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Kayek Homeworld**

"Have you heard?"

"What is it this time?"

"The humans are in revolt!" Cyetye was breathless with excitement. "This is our chance! We can get our freedom."

The Kayek were relatively new to the Phoenix Empire. They had developed on their world and had sought means of FTL. When they found it, they had travelled out into the galaxy, hopeful for the new adventures, the new frontiers that they were now pursuing.

And then they found that it all went nowhere. The Phoenix Empire was there. It was huge. It surrounded their home system and they were welcomed into the fold as a member species… but never as equals. They were not discriminated against, not really, but there was a feeling that they could never rise too far.

It wasn't really prejudice but math and knowledge. There were quadrillions of humans. What were their billions to that? And they just didn't understand the same concepts the humans did, almost from birth. They were treated well, they had served the former Emperor and those who exalted themselves could be immortalised. They lived well. There was no longer poverty or hunger.

They didn't need much more.

Except… Except some thought they did.

"Let's not do anything rash!"

"But!" Cyetye almost whined.

"Be calm," Vartas said patiently. "Where is the Emperor?" she asked.

"The former Emperor?" Cyetye replied, the frown clearly evident in his tone. "Harper? Wasn't he in exile?"

"Yes, him. Where is he?" Vartas pushed.

"He was on Ganges."

"And where is Williams?" Vartas asked.

"Nimitz. She hasn't moved. You know that."

"Yes, I know that. You know that. That's why this revolt will end with the Emperor back on the throne."

"That's impossible! He was exiled."

"To near the centre of his Empire, with the head of the military visiting whenever she felt like," Vartas pointed out. "This is not an opportunity for us. This is what Harper has been waiting for. The President was never strong enough to change the military and he certainly never touched the immortalized. They are loyal to Harper.

"He has been biding his time, waiting for this."

"But-"

Vartas didn't pause. "When the dust settles, the Republic will have fallen and the Imperial Empire will arise, with the Emperor once again as its leader backed by the military and the immortalized. Those aliens who backed the President will be sorry, and I won't have us crying."

Cyetye looked at him. "You would give up our chance?"

"Yes! Because this is no chance. I wouldn't be surprised if Harper actually ordered this because, in reality, he has never given up power."

"That's not possible," Cyetye shook his head. "There's just too much for one man to keep track of."

Vartas sighed. "Did you learn nothing in your human orientation class?" she murmured. "Harper isn't one man. Just the way Williams isn't one woman. They are originals, from Cerberus. That means they are a legion," she chuckled as she said the last.

"Don't use human references," Cyetye growled.

"Each mausoleum ship contains the minds of millions of humans. Harper is just one mind from Cerberus but he is not alone."

"So you are saying foreseeing the fall of the President would have been simple?"

"I don't know about simple but well within Harper's predictive abilities. Think! How  _long_  had he been the Emperor?"

"Centuries," Cyetye replied instantly.

"Try millennia," Vartas corrected. "There isn't much he hasn't seen. This is not the first time an alternate form of government has arisen. It probably won't be the last. You'd be wise to remember that. All of us would be wise to remember that."

"So what are we meant to do?"

Vartas shook her head. "What do you want? What do you really want?" she pressed the question.

Cyetye looked confused for a moment but at least he was taking the question seriously. "I want us to be recognized as more than just non-humans," he said quietly after some thought.

She laughed. "That's not possible. We aren't humans and we never will be. Not even the Attori are counted as human."

"Yet they are treated better than us," he pointed out quickly.

"That's to be expected," Vartas dismissed the objection. "They have a much longer history with the humans, have aided the humans more, so it's only natural that they'd be trusted more. We came to the party rather late comparatively but we have several advantages."

"We have none!"

"On the contrary. We never went to war with the humans. The Empire's administration appreciates that."

Cyetye was silent for a moment before he stared at her. "You want Harper back in power!" The accusation was full of pain, as if she'd betrayed him somehow.

"Well, of course I do. The humans are far more stable with the Emperor in charge. Williams has been holding it together, keeping this so called President off us but she's military, she can only do so much. It would be different if she was the Empress. You just need to look at history. Things haven't been that bad this time. The President or whatever you want to call the moron hasn't been in power long enough but the last time it happened, then there was truly a need for revolt and Harper didn't even punish those aliens who fought. This time though… No, we don't want to get caught up in that."

"So you want us to wait?"

"That's the only thing we can do," she nodded. "Is life really that bad? You have enough to eat, and you have a warm enough place to sleep as well as something productive to do each day. That's enough isn't it?"

"I have to do what the humans want and I will never be equal."

"Perhaps not. But you will never be human either. You have to accept that fact or you will just continue to resent it and that will lead to disaster."

Cyetye glared at her.

Vartas just shrugged. "You're young yet. You'll work it out," she said, indicating that the conversation was over.

-cfr-

**27522 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 72575 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Palace**

Three holograms and one body sounded like the opening line of a joke, except it wasn't funny when the body was Emperor Harper's and the holograms were Grand Admiral Williams, Director Lawson and the dead Emperor Harper.

The Emperor's body was floating, face down, in his open air pool. He hadn't drowned but had been electrocuted. The problem was that all appliances and devices in the Empire had been intrinsically safe since they started building them and there was nothing like that in the water to cause it even if they had malfunctioned.

A couple of sombre, not to mention terrified, techs were checking the pool's systems now. Mostly, the filtration unit because this was Home and even with the planet's new thermal regulation system, the temperature was more than pleasant enough for an open air pool not to require a heating system.

"Everything is normal," the eldest reported, keeping his eyes cast down. "There are no faults or power leaks and none of the components are showing any indication of a power surge, except for those components directly in contact with the water. The tubing and filters."

The corpse kept bobbing up and down in the water and the holograms nodded.

"So what you are saying is that the power surge came from the water," Director Lawson asked for confirmation.

"Yes, Sir," the tech nodded emphatically. He wasn't responsible for the maintenance of this equipment but someone had to be and he didn't want them dead.

"Alright," Grand Admiral Williams hologram said, turning her eyes towards the group of bodyguards that were being restrained. It was standard procedure for when the Emperor died outside of normal upload or codephrase-triggered upload. Emperor Harper's hologram remained silent, just like his corpse, but Williams and Lawson were rather thankful for that. They had proven long ago that it was far better to deal with Jack when he died in a good mood. Assassination did not put him in a good mood. "Tell us, again, exactly what happened," she instructed.

The Captain was pushed forward. As the highest ranking bodyguard on duty it was his responsibility to explain. "His Majesty had decided to come for a swim so, after the routine sweep, we escorted him to the roof."

So far, so normal. The pool was a part of the palace and thus a secure location. Extensive sweeps were already taking place. And it was the highest building for a fair distance, to reduce the threat of snipers.

"He had been swimming for a while and then there was a flash, like lightning and our monitor alarms began going off."

The alarms went off because Harper was dead.

Director Lawson stared at the man. He didn't have to say anything to be clear about his disbelief. Overhead, the sky was a beautiful deep blue without a single cloud to mar its perfection. Lightning was an unlikely explanation. "Williams, are you in Cerberus?" he asked, not taking his gaze from the bodyguard.

"No, I'm in the Boadu Way, dealing with those pirates."

Lawson cocked one eyebrow, that was routine work that barely required the Grand Admiral's attention.

"Be thankful I'm talking to you. Technically, I'm only a Lieutenant."

Lawson nodded shallowly. Williams did like to go through the ranks when she reincarnated and while she obeyed orders, the assassination of the Emperor was one of the triggers which automatically restored her rank as Grand Admiral.

"Are you?" she asked.

"No, I'm attempting to introduce more variety to the genome again so that the population doesn't homogenise," he said. "We've already practically lost some of the recessive traits."

"Isolation and relative inbreeding will push them forward again," Williams replied.

"Yes, but if I can make those genes non-recessive that will work as well."

"Ah, ha," Williams nodded. She understood the importance of Lawson's work. Genetic diversity was one of the reasons Harbinger had agreed to ascend humanity as a whole but they should focus on the task at hand. "Jack, does Cerberus have anything to say?" she prompted.

"Yes, do the security logs show someone with a stun gun?" Lawson asked.

Harper glared at them both, looking out from under his eyebrow ridge fiercely. "You have to ask?" he growled. "You know exactly what caused this, Ashley!"

She looked at him quizzically, not understanding the accusation. "Do I?" she asked.

"Don't play dumb! Your faction's giggling enough as it is."

"Enlighten me," Williams pushed back.

"Home is not a military system," Lawson reminded his friend.

Home was the focus of many military operations but, as the capital of the Empire, the Emperor's office, and thus Jack, maintained control over the system.

"Humph!" Harper snorted. "I'm deciding if you should have warned me."

"Jack! I have no idea why you died," Lawson objected.

"Keep telling yourself that," Harper growled.

Williams looked back and forth between them, then her eyes went distant, as if she was listening to something. Her bark of laughter brought the attention of both men and her eyes danced with amusement as she raised one hand to stifle her giggles.

"Why don't you tell us what happened, Jack?" she said, stuttering slightly with laughter.

"You already know!"

"I'm not saying I don't but why don't you tell us what the official explanation is going to be?" Williams smiled sweetly.

Lawson knew that smile but while it meant she was taking responsibility, he knew Williams well enough to see that no matter what Jack believed, this wasn't necessarily something she'd planned.

Jack's glare intensified. "The Empire will be told that there was a tragic accident in coding of the Home Weather Regulation System," he said from between clenched teeth. "It resulted in an abnormal discharge of energy."

Williams grinned, nodding to indicate her acceptance of the excuse.

"I'll make sure that is the story that goes out," Lawson said before fixing his gaze on his old friend. "You'd better start downloading, we'll take care of things here," he said, gesturing towards Harper's still floating body.

"Just don't let her near any controls," he growled before his hologram vanished.

Williams burst out laughing. "This is almost as good as his cigarette killing him," she gasped.

"Yes, well,  _we_  have to deal with it," Lawson remarked. "Captain, send a full compliment to the download suite. Give them warning that he will be grumpy," he added.

The Captain nodded, visibly relieved as the troops restraining Harper's bodyguards released them. If the Emperor had pronounced that as the official reason, then they were blameless.

"Have some of your men fish him out now," Lawson continued, "and, after having the implants removed, send the body to recyc."

Even Harper's body went through recycling but, like all bodies the immortalized used, the implants had to be removed. They tended to clog up the recyc systems otherwise. He was working on organic implants but they had a number of weaknesses that were almost insurmountable. Organic material burned, for example, but that was something he could consider later.

Harper's bodyguards were quick to obey and soon the area was bustling with activity. The Emperor would be back at work tomorrow.

"So," Lawson addressed Williams, "Did you actually do it?" he asked as they moved to the side. While they were just light and the workers could go through them, it was not polite etiquette to walk through either the Grand Admiral or the Empire's Second in Command.

Williams looked to the side, a smug smile on her features. "No, but my faction changed the records to make it look like I did."

"So you mean we have to find the real fault as well?" Lawson questioned tiredly.

She shook her head. "It was a discharge because of a coding gap. It's already been corrected." Her grin got wider. "They fixed the code and changed the records."

Lawson sighed. "And Jack couldn't tell that from within Cerberus?" he asked.

"He's not the only one who knows how to keep secrets," Williams replied. "Plus, he was too angry to look."

"Obviously. Well, it will be on your head," he said.

"He's not going to do a thing," she stated firmly. "Oh, he'll probably cancel my appointments for a while," she mused, "but nothing beyond that. We both need the annoyances."

"True," Lawson allowed, conceding Williams' point. Besides, anything Jack did would be directed towards Williams, not him, so it wasn't his concern. "You better get going as well," he said pointedly.

"Indeed," she agreed. "These pirates aren't going to kill themselves," she added before vanishing.

Lawson sighed, watching as Harper's body was pulled out of the water. "Three holograms stood around a body," he murmured.

There was definitely a joke in that.

-cfr-

**35746 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 80799 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Grand Theatre**

"Harper, we have a problem."

"There's always a problem somewhere, Ashley," he replied, leaning back as the Grand Admiral's hologram appeared. He was watching a play, a rendition of  _Count of Monte Cristo_  but updated for the reality of space travel. It was an acceptable adaptation, and the costumes were good, but he felt the scripting was a little rushed.

Of course, the headache he'd had for the last few hours wasn't helping which was one of the reasons he'd retreated straight for the Imperial private box rather than mingling. He'd been hoping the darkened theatre would sooth the pain but it appeared the Grand Admiral was not going to let that happen.

"This one is serious," she growled, and waved a holographic hand to engage the security bubble. One of his bodyguards always carried the device, along with the communication pad for the Project.

Harper sat up straight, ignoring the glances from the rest of the audience. As the Emperor, all his actions were scrutinised, especially in public and he could imagine what the rumour mill was going to say at this. "What is it?" he asked, losing the laissez-faire tone that had characterised his previous statement. Williams looked rather peaked, her features drawn with fatigue.

She held up one hand, and a small hologram appeared in it. "That."

Even squinting with his enhanced eyesight to pick out the details didn't make him understand what the image was displaying. It appeared to be a ship, against the backdrop of space. It was a fairly large ship. A bulk merchant if he was correct.

His silence told her to explain.

"The  _Berjudi_  left the edge systems three days ago."

"Edge systems?" his voice was measured. He didn't like the sound of that.

"It's exactly what you think it is," she said, glaring.

"Shit!"

"We can't leave," Williams said, unnecessarily reminding him of the reality. "I already tried."

That explained his headache and was why Williams was sweating and looked peaked. She'd obviously cleaned herself up a little knowing she'd be appearing in public but this was important enough that she hadn't bothered to be immaculate.

"You've tried remote access?"

Williams rolled her eyes. "Of course," she snapped.

"Why didn't we pick this up earlier?"

"Because, as you already saw, it's a bulk merchant and it wasn't going to hit anything. The network didn't care about it."

"It is heading where I think it's heading, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't be here if it wasn't."

Harper understood the irritable growl lacing Williams' voice. He felt it as well. "They've got the resources?"

"Yes." Williams' features shifted to a resigned mein.

"Shit!" he swore again.

"Believe me, I was a lot more creative," she told him, as she stared intently at the hologram.

Harper nodded. "You are authorised to mobilise the closest fleets and send them after it," he ordered, taking a deep breath, as he braced himself.

"Ascended?" Williams asked.

"Ascended as well," he confirmed, wincing against the pain that burst into his consciousness. Williams grimaced as well, and it was no comfort to him for once that she was also feeling it. Shepard's orders had been clear, but Shepard's orders hadn't accounted for this possibility. They would just have to bear the pain and unfortunately, it was easier if there were more of them.

Harper watched as Williams' hologram turned and spoke to someone else, no doubt making his orders a reality, though she had probably already had the fleets on stand-by. A new burst of pain, corresponding with Ashley nodding towards the unseen personnel, told him they'd been obeyed.

"How long will this take?" he demanded, clenching his teeth. His bodyguards shifted uncertainly, knowing he was in pain but unable to do anything.

"A couple of days, at least," she said, and Harper watched as Williams' hologram appeared to sit. "You'd better get the Emperor to his quarters," she added, looking at his guards.

"Yes," Harper nodded, giving his agreement and he accepted the arm of one when they stepped forward to help him rise. Going against Shepard's orders was a bitch. "Have you told the others?" Any originals out of Cerberus at the moment would be feeling this pain. It might not matter to most, they were generally on holiday, but it could be fatal for Kai if he was involved in something delicate.

"I sent out a ping and Kai's uploaded at the moment."

Harper made it to the corridor before he collapsed. A younger him would have been embarrassed by needing his guard's support. At his age, he didn't care, especially as the corridor was empty and several of the unit ranged ahead, making sure the other guests remained watching the play.

When he was settled into his shuttle, Williams continued. "Hook up some painkillers," she instructed, raising one arm. There was holographic tubes running out from it, indicating she'd already prepared. Painkillers didn't do much but frankly anything was better than nothing.

The bodyguards knew better than to object, even though usually they'd rebel at taking orders from the Grand Admiral. There were certain things that they knew affected originals and they knew better than to object to what was happening. It wasn't going to change the reality, after all, and it was one of the few times when the Emperor and the Grand Admiral acted in concert. That was enough for them to obey.

"We are going to have to initiate Operation Umbrella," Williams gasped, around the pain flooding her system.

"Not if this is going to happen!" he objected as the drugs surged into his bloodstream.

"It won't," she assured him. "We are getting this because we know the ships are leaving."

"They are coming back," he snapped.

"The  _Berjudi_  isn't," Williams reminded him. "That's why we are in pain. We can order ships to leave." They might be dealing with the problem but the pain would continue until the ships were back. "Operation Umbrella won't cause a problem because it is to prevent this type of issue."

"I take it you've thought about this?"

Williams just gave him a look. "How do you think I made it back?"

"Right, so long term posting for military, with guaranteed ascension?"

"I was thinking about using ascended. There's enough of them that they can go into passive hibernation while maintaining the net."

Harper chuckled. Some ascended were spending time in hibernation to fight homogenisation, but their passive sensors would be enough to detect any ship leaving the LMC in time. Then they could deal with it. That should please them. "Send me the details," he nodded before his gaze became fierce. "How the fuck did they get the resources?"

Williams pulled up a data pad, reading from it. Once it was confirmed that the ship was leaving, the investigation would have been routine. "The  _Berjudi_  is bulk haulage, so no one picked up the extra resources being stored instead of cargo and it's not that hard to modify the drive core."

He heaved a heavy sigh. "I suppose we are lucky this didn't happen earlier."

"A bit," she nodded.

"Who's the crew?"

Williams flicked her fingers towards him, sending him the files. He opened them, examining the holograms that opened. "No aliens?"

"Not on the official roster."

"Find out if there are connections," he growled the order. She knew what that meant. Connections to the underworld would be disciplined, and if any of the empire's alien species were involved, well, after thirty-five thousand years, it would be a setback in their relationship with the Empire. As in, they would no longer have one.

Williams grinned at him before she groaned. "This is going to be a long couple of days."

"We should have expected it," he repeated. "Things have been going too smoothly."

"True," she huffed. "I'll let you know when I have the information."

Harper nodded, and the comm dropped. He made a sign to his guards that they need not be concerned, despite the state he was in as he leaned back into the couch on his shuttle, closing his eyes as the drugs worked. Williams was right, this was going to be a long couple of days but once they had the crew… well those would be long days in a completely different manner and, through the pain, he was beginning to look forward to them.

-cfr-

**42399 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 87452 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Ascended: Cerberus**

Barra Greiner had been a plumber on Earth. A pleb, a nothing, one of those inconsequential cogs that had kept everything working. It was much the same after he was ascended. He was far too unimportant for the likes of Harper, Lawson, Leng or Williams, err Alenko - she hated being called Williams but let Harper get away with it because she believed she was getting the better end of that particular deal - to bother with. But the instant the loo backed up. Aiee! You could hear the screams from the moon.

The situation was similar now. Oh, he was working. Within Cerberus' form, he was beavering away as he should, a good little mindless cog that kept everything running smoothly but there was a pressure on him.

Despite Harper's efforts, and Barra admitted the man did make an effort on this, and despite the fact that Barra had downloaded to visit Home, Tellus and a host of other worlds, Cerberus was still slowly homogenising.

It was taking thousands of years but, by his estimation, if you made the assumption that most cycles lasted at least twenty years, with the majority of the time being spent on the harvest, Cerberus had been awake for over 4385 cycle lengths of time. And if cycles were every 50,000 years on average, then that was the equivalent of 219,295,000 years!

No wonder they were homogenising. Even if you took the average cycle length to be shorter or longer, it was still an impressive amount of time. They weren't as old as Harbinger yet but as time continued, while they waited for Tartarus' destruction, they would get closer.

It was why there was a pressure on him. Ascension itself was pushing him towards homogenisation but Barra couldn't bring himself to align with the factions that were forming. There were five main factions. Harper, Lawson, Leng, Alenko and Darren, though Darren's alternated between him and Esha.

And that's where the problem lay.

Kai Leng was simply a psychopath. Sure, the man was powerful, but there was no getting around the fact he was insane. Which had then led Barra to consider Lawson. Most people would say that of the ruling figures of the Empire, he was the stablest, or even the nicest. Certainly, anyone in the Empire would think he was the most approachable but they didn't know about the mad scientist side of the man. He had, without so much as a whisper of regret, condemned thousands to die, all in the name of science. Leng was straightforward and honest by comparison. Then there was what he'd put his daughters through back on Earth. He'd screwed up the eldest so much with his insane standards and relentless pressure that she ended up both a mad scientist and a Prime!

Barra had considered Williams'- er, Alenko's group but that part was so regimented that he felt like he had to ask permission to take a leak, even when in organic form. That just wasn't for him. Which made him consider Harper.

And then he kept on considering. It was undeniably true that Harper was a powerful man both before and after ascension and Barra admitted that if the choice had have been presented to him on Earth, there was no way he would have turned down any proposition from Harper but they weren't on Earth, and Barra had seen the man's innermost thoughts.

They all had and so he felt comfortable not siding with that faction. Besides, there was something just wrong being able to tell how many times the Emperor had farted in the last hour that meant Barra was a little thin on respect, which was never a good thing when considering a leader.

So his choices there were between a psychopath, a scientific psychopath, a military psychopath or, when all was said and done, a business psychopath. No, thank you.

That left the last group and most were probably wondering why he wasn't already aligned with them.

Darren and Esha were both relatively normal. Both loved math a little too much but he knew that, to do a job properly, sometimes you needed precise calculations. And it wasn't that which bothered him.

It was the feeling he got when he aligned his thoughts with them. He'd lived a good life. He'd worked hard and raised his children as best he could with a war and then the isolation of Sol but that somehow wasn't enough for them. He felt belittled, as if being a plumber had not been good enough.

The usual solution to that attitude only worked for organics. When your loo backed up, there was suddenly a lot of interest in plumbers but ascended forms didn't shit.

Barra sighed, feeling the press on him. It appeared he wasn't going to make a decision today, which was probably for the best.

No faction wanted complete homogenisation anyway.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of things happening over time. Most of them in the LMC Galaxy as the Ascended are asleep. The Vanguard leads off next chapter.


	91. Baby Steps Into The Galaxy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vanguard is bored, and the Catalyst just sits in the Citadel waiting as always. The first species of the new cycle take there first tentative steps into the galaxy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 5 Best Served Cold**   
**Chapter 90: Baby Steps Into The Galaxy**

-cfr-

**51801 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 96854 Years after Human Ascension (115,000 to 120,000 years until the Rock hits)**

**Milky Way, Galactic Core**

The Vanguard Riphas snapped awake and her automatic systems connected her to the network of Relays which gave her perfect time synchronisation. She had been in hibernation for exactly the correct amount of time and everything around her had moved as it should.

She reached out, touching the slaves' servers and downloading them but they were boring. The slaves' genetics were stable and they took care to ensure that they remained that way. Their latest foray into the galaxy had found no signs of space capable life, which was something the Relay network confirmed.

The Catalyst didn't like speaking with them much and to avoid speaking with the Vanguard, it made sure the Relays recorded that information. Riphas didn't mind. She didn't need to speak with the Catalyst to know it controlled the cycle but this many years into it, there would usually have been some signs of space faring life.

She hated long cycles, not long harvests but the wait in-between, and this one was looking to be a very long cycle. She'd told Harbinger it would be but he'd dismissed it. Of course, he had! He was sleeping, well he was, when he didn't wake up to check on a fleet that hadn't moved. It was amusing that Arshan had never worked out why the first ascended had such ease at the beginning of the cycle. Unlike the rest of them, Harbinger hadn't been in hibernation for 50,000 years, but maybe a tenth of that, because he always checked on them. His hibernation pattern was random.

It wasn't the same for the Vanguard, she just had to wait and wait and … Whining was unbecoming for an ascended, even if it was warranted. Even if she was right. Especially, if she was right!

The last cycle's organics had uplifted numerous species, which had then been put down with Ascension. With many of the species who should have already arisen already being Ascended into lesser forms, it meant she had to wait longer.

She queried the Relay network again but it had nothing, not even a blip. Once an organic ship either used a Relay or scanned it, there would be information but so far, not even a probe had come close. Until the organics actually began moving through the galaxy, there was nothing for the slaves to sample and nothing for her to do.

She deactivated her sensors, putting herself back into a state of light hibernation. Perhaps something would happen in the next millennia.

Perhaps not as well, and all she could do was wait.

-cfr-

**57081 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 102134 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Serpent Nebula, The Citadel**

The Catalyst experienced time just the same as an organic did. A second to an organic was a second to the Catalyst. The difference between them came with the way the Catalyst thought about time. It had been created by an exceptionally long-lived species so, for it, time was always going to be something it had lots of.

Thus, while it was possible for the Catalyst to get bored, the time between cycles did not affect it and were not the cause of boredom. Ten thousand years, twenty thousand years, or even sixty thousand years were all just time spent waiting. Boredom, in as much as the Catalyst could feel it, came from observing organics make the same decisions, cycle after cycle.

Now, the very existence of the Relays and its physical form were the centre of a network that encouraged the same decisions but a little variety was sometimes nice.

That's why, when a ping raced through the Relay system that was not immediately, even what the Catalyst saw as immediately, followed by a ship being sent through, it was mildly interested. Usually, organics found and used the Relays quickly, spreading themselves across the stars. Some organics searched for the creators of the Relays, others just expanded for territory, but they all quickly used the Relays after discovering them. The Relays were easy, even by organic standards, to figure out and the Catalyst made the galaxy inviting.

That's why the whole network was never opened. The planets found using the open Relays were habitable, others not so much. They were usually recovering from damage the harvest inflicted. The habitable planets encouraged the organics to find the open Relays. Most made the connection between open Relays and habitable worlds and, while the question why followed, very few organics ever made the full connections, not even during the harvest.

So when the initial ping on the Relay was not followed by a scan or a ship, rather than believing it was just an oddity as an organic might, the Catalyst was interested and it settled in to wait.

Whatever else the organics tried, they all came back to the Relays. Always.

-cfr-

**57231 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 102284 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Calfuray System**

"Hold steady," Nayeli ordered, feeling her hearts beat rapidly.

After about one hundred and fifty years of debate, they were approaching the object. She had no idea what to call it because the Eotair had no idea what it was, beyond artificial.

One hundred and fifty years ago, the discovery of it, on the edge of their system had sparked scientific and social debate on a scale that had never been seen before. Of course, all exploration in that direction was banned until a decision was made.

"We're fifteen thousand clicks and closing," Jarak reported.

"Stay on course and bring us to a halt at ten thousand," Nayeli instructed. She didn't need a reply to know she'd be obeyed.

The Eotair were a cautious species. They had two arms, and walked on two legs with four joints if one included the join to the hip and the one to the foot. While they didn't know it, they were within galactic normals, though their heart organ was divided into two. They stood at about 1.8m tall and had soft mottled patterns on their skin in green.

Where another race, not that they knew of any, would rush in, they preferred to step back and properly assess the situation. The Eotair did not take blind steps into the unknown, which was the focus of Nayeli's mission.

The unmanned probe one hundred and fifty years back had discovered this thing, and two conclusions were immediately drawn. One, it was artificial and two, the Eotair were definitely not alone in the galaxy. Such a revelation would be enough to make anyone pause. They had speculated about the possibility of extraterrestrial life and they had concluded that somewhere in the galaxy there would be bacterial life at the very least but this  _thing_  represented a whole new level of life.

Life that was advanced, that was already walking the stars. Other species might have rushed then, eager to meet with other life forms. The Eotair drew back and debated. They ran through experiments and logic simulations. They studied the problem from every angle before deciding what to do. It was a similar situation to what had happened when they discovered the energy locked in the remains of the past. It was considered easy energy, but the experiments before use had displayed issues with emissions and so the fossil fuels were then only used as a transition fuel to discover new, more sustainable fuels. Planet Dawhera was better for it.

"We're in position."

Nayeli clicked at the report. The object was huge and really quite odd, for a ship design. Except they didn't know if it was a ship. It had two prongs that stretched outwards and two shorter ones that went back. They were aligned with each other but protruded from a central, disk like area. Two almost cylinder-like things protruded down, the longer one corresponding to the longer prongs. And in the centre of the disk was a glowing ball of something. Remote readings said it was eezo due to the lack of readings. In fact, the entire thing gave off no emissions.

There had been speculation why that was, when the object was moving, and that was part of their mission, to find out what the object was made of, and thus determine why it was so inert.

"Begin scan," Neyali ordered and waited while the crews got to work.

Her ship had very little room for people. Instead, the space was devoted to the sensors. Information began appearing on screens immediately as streams of numbers that meant very little to her.

The leading theory as to why the object was so inert was also very scary. Absolute shielding was only theorised as being possible and, while it seemed initially like a good idea, Neyali couldn't imagine why you would want it. Containing all quantum movement was akin to stopping time, therefore you might be able to raise the shield but you could never get out. But perhaps for the object that was the point?

The Eotair had gone over their historical images and in every single one, the dot of light that was the object was visible. Whoever, whatever had left it had not done so while the Eotair could detect them. Of course, it could have been left earlier in their history. It showed up as a dim star and no one would have noticed if it appeared but that was almost scarier than the thought of absolute shields.

At least with them, if this thing was not meant to move, they could make some sense of it. The thought of another species watching them that closely… Well, some said it proved that the aliens were peaceful because they allowed the Eotair to develop at their own pace. Nayeli wasn't sure. Some said that it was for other reasons, alien reasons and, while that was possible, it was perplexing.

"By the gods!" Jarak exclaimed.

Nayeli looked at his station sharply.

"We can't get any information at all, except dimensions."

And they already had them. The prongs were fifteen kilometres long and the rings were five kilometres across, which meant that the eezo core was 65.45 kilometres cubed. If you ignored the object, there wasn't that much of the substance in the rest of the system!

If the scan today confirmed it as eezo, then regardless of what the object meant, Nayeli knew there would be thought given to mining it. The Eotair could use that much Element zero.

"Keep scanning," she instructed, "and begin the circuit. Try all frequencies."

Her ship was to scan the object from every angle, and on every frequency, to gather as much information as they could. She looked at the other scanning stations. It was difficult to determine how much information they appeared to be gathering.

Navigation began moving the ship on their pre-calculated course and, on the main view screen, the object began to move slowly. The short prongs were rotating to face them and once they went around them, they would run the scan all the way down the side of the object. On one of the subscreens, a line drawing of the object was appearing. But it appeared completely smooth! Visual scans displayed some ridges and bumps.

"Is that correct?" Nayeli asked, pointing.

"Yes, Ma'am. There is some sort shield covering the whole thing. It's quite smooth and we are looking for openings in it."

Nayeli nodded at the answer. That made some sense. "Is it absolute?" she asked.

"I can't definitively say, Ma'am, but it does seem so. If it isn't, then it's the strongest shield we've ever seen."

Nayeli indicated she'd heard as the short prongs shifted and they began their scan down the length of the object. "Keep scanning." The order was superfluous, dismissing the tech to continue her duties.

There wasn't even an alarm to indicate something had altered. There was a cry of surprise from Jarak and a flash of light but that was all.

The alarms came after.

Nayeli distinctly remembered that and, with all the monitoring equipment onboard, it took a disturbing amount of time to determine what had happened.

"Report!" she snapped, not caring which station spoke, so long as she got some information.

The crews continued working and Nayeli cast her eyes over the screens. "Where's the object?" she asked, keeping panic out of her voice. The motions of the crews were frenetic enough.

"That's what we are trying to determine, Ma'am," came the shouted reply. She didn't know who it was.

"It can't have just vanished."

She didn't have to to retaliate. There were enough others on the bridge who did. Nayeli motioned them to silence. The statement might be true but it was not helpful. "Focus on the last few seconds of data before the flash," she urged.

The partial silence stretched as the techs continued to work.

"Got something!" Tayen announced and even though those were the only words spoken, there was a wave of relief.

"On screen!" Nayeli ordered and Tayen routed the images there.

"I've found the device again," he said, zooming in on a dim glimmer. It resolved itself into a blurry image before it sharpened.

Nayeli wasn't the only one to suck in a surprised breath. "That's not…" she whispered the words.

The object wasn't the same. It was similar enough that it was a safe assumption to say they were related but it was not the same object that was in their home system. It still had huge prongs and a glowing centre with moving rings but there were three towers on this one.

For an instant, Nayeli's mind went blank as she processed the revelation then it began working again. She hadn't been chosen for this mission because she was stupid.

"Navigation," she said calmly. "Where are we?"

The question brought a halt to the almost frenetic work that had been going on. The question encompassed the most obvious answer to the question. If the object was not theirs, then they had somehow been moved. Oviaja looked down at her station almost guiltily and Nayeli realised she had probably already come to the conclusion that they had been moved. The screen behind her displayed scrolling numbers as the computers worked.

"I don't know, Ma'am," she said softly.

"We are no longer in Calfuray?" Nayeli pressed for confirmation.

"Yes, Ma'am," Oviaja agreed. "We are no longer in Calfuray."

"Then, by all the gods, where are we?" the demand came from everywhere.

"Oviaja is working on determining that," Nayeli said with a tone that said she did not appreciate the interruption the question caused.

Oviaja nodded gratefully and turned back to the screen, putting in a few numbers to aid the calculations.

"Have the rest of you determined how this happened?" she asked.

The silence gave her enough answer but Jarak eventually spoke. "I've gone over the visual feeds and the flash of light was a field being wrapped around the ship. When it faded, we were here, wherever here is."

"Instantaneous transport?" one of the other techs asked skeptically, despite the reality of the situation.

"According to our ship's chrono, yes, but we don't know what outside chronos say," Jarak said.

They all understood. The Eotair had theorised time dilation before proving it and of all aspects of space travel, it was one of the most disturbing.

"How do we get back?" Pethotaske asked.

It was a very good question.

"It stands to reason," Nayeli said reassuringly. "That if one object brought us here, then another will take us back," she nodded at Jarak's screen that was still displaying the new object. "So long as we replicate the circumstances." She looked around, making sure her expression was faintly amused. "With all the sensor readings we were taking at the time, that shouldn't be hard."

There was a nervous titter of laughter at that and Nayeli could feel that it had broken some of the tension.

"Helm, bring us closer to that device but stop at forty thousand clicks and, ah, for the moment, no active scans of it," she ordered. "Let's find out where we are before we truly start exploring."

The crew nodded and even with all the unknowns, they relaxed as they set about their tasks. Keeping busy truly was a salve for the soul. Nayeli moved closer to Oviaja's station. "Do you know where we are?" she asked softly.

It was not a demand for information, just a gentle request.

"We are somewhere in this area of space," Oviaja replied, pointing to a sub screen that displayed a star chart with an area shaded.

"Where's Calfuray? Nayeli asked.

"The yellow dot," Oviaja said.

Nayeli's eyes scanned the image for a moment before she saw it and her eyes widened involuntarily. "That's…"

"Two hundred light years," Oviaja said calmly, far more calmly than Nayeli felt should be possible at this new revelation. The other woman looked at her with a smile. "Look on the bright side, Captain. At least, we now know what it does," she continued, her voice completely matter-of-fact.

Nayeli was forced to laugh at that. It was true. They might not have finished their scan but they did know what the device did, so their mission, despite the revelation, could not be deemed a total failure. "I think we can infer a bit more as well," Nayeli said, returning Oviaja's smile.

"Oh, Captain?"

"We may not know how to make them, but we know why it has absolute shields," Nayeli latched onto one of the more unless, and harmless conclusions. "Think of the maintenance savings!" she questioned with good humour deliberately ignored the other conclusion. Absolute shields meant no one could properly copy the object, though Nayeli didn't know who'd want to build something that big or where they'd get the element zero for it.

"True," Oviaja allowed, "and I think I can safely say where most of the eezo in Calfuray went," she added.

Nayeli nodded and they both ignored the obvious question of who had done the gathering. They had larger issues now.

-cfr-

By nature, the ascended were not very emotive. This was especially true of the older ones. No matter how emotional they had been as organic species, ascension and time had muted their emotions.

Yet right at the moment, Riphas felt a surge of relief and happiness. Finally! A species of this cycle had finally activated a Relay. It might be more precise to say that the Relay had pulled them through and so there were two transits, one out and one back, but it was something. All organics, once they realised what the Relays could do, began exploiting them and exploring. It would only be a matter of time, a relatively short amount of time by ascended standards before the harvest could begin.

Of course, a few more species would have to arise but with one of them having the keys, others should soon follow or would be shown the way.

Riphas didn't care much about those mechanics of the cycle because something was finally happening. The slaves would have something to do, gathering samples so that ground units could be made.

It might only be a couple of Relay-assisted pings but they represented the end of her waiting. Now, it was only a matter of time.

-cfr-

**57748 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 102801 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Destarca System (First Colony System of the Eotair)**

"So did you ever think you'd see this day?" Quidal asked Ksi softly, not taking his eyes from the screen.

"You are impatient," she replied. "I knew this day would come," she said serenely but her gaze was also locked on the screen. "It was not important if it did not come in our lifetimes."

Growing ever larger was a planet. But not just any planet. It was the planet that was about to become their new home. The first colony outside the home system, Calfuray. It was a momentous day but it had been a long time coming. About ten generations. Not that long for the Eotair, considering the magnitude of what they were doing.

After Captain Nayeli Ingofs, and she'd been awarded the right to bear two names for her crew's discovery, had found out, by accident, what the Object was for and how to activate it, the Eotair had reacted in a predictable fashion.

Study and debate.

The previous 150 years before Captain Nayeli's mission had been filled with study and debate so by Eotair standards the next mission to go through the Object or as it was known then, the Device, was dispatched relatively quickly, a mere ten years after the original scanning mission. The second mission had been better equipped to explore and they had found several systems with habitable planets. They were now heading to the best of those planets.

"I'm not impatient," Quidal objected. "I just know there is a faster way to get answers."

Ksi smiled at him but Quidal could see it was indulgent. He'd seen it all his life, the expression that said 'you'll grow up, you'll learn better, in time.' But there were faster ways!

The Device raised one huge question that no amount of debate or study could answer. Who or what had made it?

They were obviously an advanced species, able to build on a massive scale and with an understanding of galactic physics which surpassed the Eotair to be able to engineer the mass free corridor, to even be able to conceive of it! So they knew that, and a few other things but nothing else.

"There are faster ways," he insisted. Usually, he'd have nodded his head to accept Ksi's wisdom but the sight of the new planet, their new home, just reinforced his position. If the species that had made the Device was still around, all the Eotair had to do was look. If not here, then the next system, until they found them.

And if they didn't, well, it was probable that the Device's creators did not want to be found and the Eotair should enjoy the gift they had been given. He wasn't the only one to think like that but those who did held no real power. The slow-and-steady proponents were firmly in control.

"There are," Ksi allowed, "but I like to survive to see the conclusion of my experiments," she added, referring to the military vessels accompanying them.

The galaxy was still full of unknowns.

"You really think we can fight the race that made the Devices?" Quidal scoffed.

If such a species wanted them dead, they would be dead. That was only logical.

"I think we might not be the only ones using the Devices," Ksi countered.

If it came down to that, and it always came down to that, they did not know. Probes had been sent through the Devices but they had found nothing tangible. More systems, more planets. All uninhabited. At least, uninhabited by what the Eotair would deem intelligent life.

The confirmation of life outside Dawhera had been fascinating but it had not been enough for the likes of Quidal, not when they knew there could be so much more out there. And not when the means to get there was before them. Probes had found so many other Devices that the galaxy beckoned. But the Eotair held firm and had, after a long debate, decided to settle on one world, forming their first colony outside the home system of Dawhera.

Quidal sighed. "That might be true, and the army is already with us. They could be the explorers."

"And you'd be the first to sign up?" Ksi teased.

"I'd never have left." All Eotair were expected to spend time serving their people. Most did it through military service though there were other options. It led to a more balanced individual, and therefore a more balanced people. A more patient people. They felt more connected to the whole.

Ksi sighed. "Is it really that bad to take our time, to know what lies ahead before taking the step?" she asked gently.

"The blind devotion to the past is bad," Quidal countered. "I don't back development for the sake of development but because it's better. The testing we do is admirable but it is so slow and there are other ways! I hate that I will never know the answers to the questions I ask." He glared slightly as he said the last.

"But the Eotair will know," Ksi said. "And as a species, we will advance," she continued gently. "That is what you must focus on and you asking the questions is not useless. It lets the future know what answers to seek. Just as we have answered the questions our ancestors asked."

Quidal huffed. He'd heard it all before and he understood but that didn't stop him wanting something different, something more. His desire had almost gotten him removed from the colonists but he'd managed to conform just enough. Besides, no matter how well they had studied the new world, there would still be unknowns.

"I don't want to end up like Captain Nayeli, having one of my hearts carried around by a descendant in some parody of discovery."

Ksi nodded. Regardless of their other views, they agreed on that. "It is rather disturbing," she agreed, "and I'm sure Captain Nayeli would rather rest peacefully."

"Rather than in pieces," Quidal finished with a sly grin. It was an honour to Captain Nayeli, to be sure, but there were better ways of showing it.

"I know you are impatient, Quidal," Ksi said, "but when the time comes, you'll look back on your life and consider how it covered so much. You won't even think about the distance travelled. You will look to the future then but you will do so, secure in the knowledge that you've laid the foundation because that's all any of us can do." She smiled serenely.

"Lay the foundation for the future," Quidal heaved. He'd argued this so many times before and so he knew better than to continue to push.

Ksi was the most patient with him but she did have limits.

"The foundation will be strong," he agreed, tapping the screen in front of them.

It showed a planet, their new planet and the green and white world was nestled against the darkness of space. "Even on the new world, the foundation will be strong," he murmured.

One day, the Eotair would learn there was nothing to fear and they would truly walk the stars.

But today was not that day. Today was their first tiny step onto a new world but at least he was one of the Eotair making the step. He would have to take comfort in that.

-cfr-

Riphas tucked up her legs and glared straight into the galactic black hole. She was far enough away that she was not experiencing major time dilation but with the rate this new species was developing, it wouldn't matter if she was! She could probably disappear in there for a few thousand years and they wouldn't have moved.

Five hundred and seventeen years! It had taken them five hundred and seventeen years to colonise their first planet.

For a while, she'd thought the Relay had taken them to a resource-rich system but she knew that wasn't the case. They had gone to a new planetary system but it was just that the primitives hadn't made any move to colonise.

By the Intelligence! What were they doing?

She'd known this was going to be a long cycle. The previous species had uplifted so many but she hadn't realised the species they left behind would be so slow.

Riphas shifted slightly. They were probably defective, though the slaves had just left to collect a few samples and to check on a few other planets previous surveys had noted. Their inhabitants hadn't pinged any of the Relays but they might be getting close. These might be new slaves but Riphas was sure they would be discreet. After they had samples, then they would understand more because not even an organic race could be this stupid, could they?

She glared some more, looking into the dark centre of the galaxy that did not look back. They might never understand but they'd be very sorry if they were that stupid. She'd see to it personally. The ascended had no need to preserve organics that stupid but one thing was certain, she was never going to agree to be the Vanguard on a long cycle again!

-cfr-

**60233 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105286 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Serpent Nebula, Eotair Scout Ship**

"Tell me you are seeing what I'm seeing, Itzeli."

"If you mean something that looks a little like a flower beginning to open but is bigger than any flower has any right to be then yes."

"What the hell is it?"

"I don't know. It doesn't match anything we've seen, though the sensors are picking up other Devices in the vicinity," Dujarak glanced at the monitor.

It displayed a multitude of Devices, more than the Eotair had ever seen in one area but prominent amongst them was the huge unknown.

The Devices were fifteen kilometres long, this was forty-two or so, if you measured all its petals as one but if you went from petal tip to petal tip, then it was closer to eighty kilometres and that was just ridiculous.

"Full halt," Dujarak announced, bringing their ship to a stop.

"But!" Itzeli objected.

"We catalogue what we can see and wait for orders," Dujarak said firmly but he could tell Itzeli wasn't satisfied. It showed in the way she kept looking longingly at the Unknown.

"Do you want to duplicate the Quidal disaster?" Dujarak asked gently, referring to the Eotair's first colony.

"I'm no traitor!" Itzeli objected.

The investigation of the disaster had found that it was caused, almost completely by one Eotair, who had been noted for years for his desire to push the boundaries, to move before they fully understood what they were doing. No one wanted to be declared a traitor but, while Quidal undoubtedly did what he thought was best, his actions caused the deaths and almost failure of the first colony. The outcome was what mattered. The colony had survived but Quidal's arbitrary weeding out of those he considered unfit, had not benefited the Eotair. They had examined his profile carefully. Beyond him being very outspoken and wanting to advance faster, there was nothing to suggest he would take that path. Those who had assessed him for the first colony expected him to to push for faster development of the colony world, which they were prepared to allow in that situation. What he did was abhorrent to all right thinking Eotair.

"I'm not saying you are," Dujarak soothed. "So let's go with the protocol. We'll map the locations of the Devices and track them, then we will scan the Unknown before awaiting further orders. We will be noted as the Eotair who discovered it so our names will be remembered for that." Dujarak tried to sound reassuring.

"I know," Itzeli said, sending another longing look at the Unknown. "But what the hell is it? Is it what we've been looking for this whole time? Does it have answers so that we'll finally know where the Devices' Creators are? Are they on it, just waiting for us?" She swallowed hard. "It's just sitting there, so close and while it remains Unknown, it could contain the answers to everything we've ever asked."

"It could," Dujarak agreed amicably. "But it might also have been set as a trap and rushing into the unknown is not our way. Besides, chances are, once we get done on the cataloguing, we'll get told to deep scan it, then we'll have some of the answers."

"Yeah, but we'll never get to set foot on it," Itzeli pointed out.

"That's assuming you can set foot on it. It could be like the Devices, completely protected."

Itzeli looked slightly annoyed. She hadn't thought of that. "Let's get to work. I can lament better after we scan it."

"We lay the foundation," Dujarak said. "No matter the outcome, we are the ones laying the foundation in this system," he grinned. "And with this system, that's one hell of a foundation," he added, tapping the screen.

He could only imagine the chaos their report was going to bring. Who found ten Devices in one system?

No one! But they had, and that alone was noteworthy.

"For the foundation must be strong," Itzeli said, confirming her oath to the Scout Corp, before she sighed and looked away from the Unknown. She was no traitor and would not risk the lives of other Eotair when there was a better way. "Let's see what else we can find here," she said, firing up the scanners.

They had a job to do.

-cfr-

**60234 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105287 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Calufray System, Planet: Dawhera (Eotair Homeworld)**

"So what are we going to do about this so-called hub system?"

The question was met with silence as the group thought. They had all been forwarded the report from the Scout team and they were all troubled by it. Ten Devices in one place was unheard of. The most they'd ever found before was four, five if you included one broken one. This was quite a step up!

"I do not believe it is the Devices which should concern us," Goyath said. "The Nebula is unusual but the Unknown is far more concerning."

The main screen changed to display the image. Numbers appeared superimposed on it to show dimensions. It was bigger than anything they'd ever seen before and, like the Devices, it was artificial.

"The Scout team confirmed it does not have an absolute shield," Lalawethica said.

"And they found what look to be openings," Fukaleq added, highlighting an area on the scan.

"Aren't we being premature?" Goyath asked. The implications Fukaleq wanted were obvious. "There's already a full scanning crew enroute.

"After they scan," Fukaleq said defensively. "And if this Unknown doesn't have absolute shields then it's a way for us to learn. Look at the size of it! Our construction engineers are going to learn from that alone." She deliberately picked something safe to highlight.

"True," Lalawethica conceded before Goyath could respond. "But we must ensure that it is safe. We should not do anything until we get the high intensity scans. With more information, we can make a better decision."

There were nods from around the table.

"We must discuss it now," Yinon said softly. His statement cut through the feeling of normality Lalawethica's assertion had tried to encompass. "The scout's scan found something else. Information that is programmed not to display for them."

"What do you mean?" Fukaleq demanded. She was the Head of the Scout Teams. She should know all the information they could find and if something was being hidden from them, then that could be dangerous. You could not make good decisions on incomplete information! Her scout teams needed the all the information they could get and if Intel thought they had any right to hobble her teams, they'd better think again!

"This decision was ratified by the High Enclave," Yinon said, his voice emotionless but leaving little doubt that he had anticipated her objections. "The information was deemed too sensitive for scouts."

"What is it?" Goyath asked before they could be distracted. If the High Enclave, convened after the disaster on the first colony world, had made the decision, then there was little point in discussing it. The decision had been made for the good of all Eotair.

Yinon took a deep breath. "There are life signs on the Unknown," he announced without dramatics. A statement like that did not need theatrics.

"There have been life signs on many planets," Lalawethica dismissed it.

Yinon shook his head. "Those are simple creatures, flora and fauna endemic to the planet. These are something else. They are complex. We believe they are sapient."

That brought silence to the chamber.

"Are you telling me we've finally found them?" Goyath asked softly.

"No," Yinon was nonchalant. "We are not yet sure what we have found but there is something on that Unknown. They might be the Creators, they might not be. But we need to consider our response." The Intel Master was about as Eotair as you could get, given his job.

"Our response?" Fukaleq was incredulous. "Our response?" her voice rose several octaves. "There is only one possible response. Creators or not, we get on there and meet them. Meeting other lifeforms is something we have speculated about, and hoped for, for centuries. Surely, we've considered our response enough?" She heaved a breath after giving the challenge.

Yinon didn't appear moved. "We must consider our response in the event that they are not the Creators, as many will assume. And we must consider our response in the event that they are. This is not something to rush into."

"We must consider how to meet them," Goyath agreed, sharing a glance with Lalawethica.

"Are my scouts not good enough?" Fukaleq growled.

"They are not equipped for such an event," Yinon said, highlighting the reality. No one was equipped for this event.

Fukaleq glared. "They are in system and if the Unknown is as advanced as the Devices, then whatever is on it already knows they are there. Delay is impolite."

"Then why haven't they done something more?" Lalawethica countered.

"They have," Fukaleq said, highlighting the openings.

"If they are that advanced, they could speak with us," Lalawethica replied.

"Or maybe they are waiting for us to make the first move, to show that we are ready."

"Are we?" Goyath asked. "Are we really ready for this?"

The question lay heavy upon them all. Even Fukaleq was silent as she thought but she was the first to speak.

"If we do not take this step, will we ever consider ourselves ready?" her voice was firm but not fanatical. "We can plan and prepare. We can be ready for war or peace but in the end the step has to be taken and it is into the Unknown. No one can ever truly be ready for this but they can be prepared and we are prepared."

Goyath nodded. There was a certain amount of truth with that. For all that the Eotair liked to know what lay ahead, this, meeting a new species, was entirely dependent on the other party. They were prepared but they would never be fully ready.

"There are things which may help," Yinon said. "Actions we may take which will give us hints as to the likely outcome," he continued. "They will not even take that long," he added, for the first time giving a hint as to his personal feelings towards this development.

Lalawethica motioned that he should continue speaking. They were Eotair, they were cautious and careful but sometimes, even they just wanted to jump ahead.

"A full scan must be conducted. The Unknown is not a Device but it is made from similar substances. The initial scan revealed that much. Since it is not under an Absolute shield, a full scan will give us vital information but will also tell us about the likely intentions of those aboard. If they remain silent and accept the scan, we can interpret that that as a sign of peace," Yinon said before he sighed. "Or admittedly, a very well executed trap."

That possibility always remained.

"Any species advanced enough to create the Devices, to build that Unknown, would not need to trap us," Fukaleq said, elaborating the basis for one of the schools of thought about the Creators.

Over time, the Eotair had developed several basic theories and most subscribed to one or another, sometimes with additional twists. Fukaleq's argument was simple, that if the Creators had wanted to conquer the Eotair, they would and despite the Eotair's military presence, there was nothing they could do against a species that powerful. From that basic position, there were two main derivatives.

"They wouldn't have left the Devices if they did not want them used," Fukaleq continued.

"Or they, and this Unknown is a trap," Goyath countered. "A gauge to determine when we should be put down. Knowledgeable enough to use them but not to create them."

Fukaleq shook her head. "Then the clock is already ticking and we should gather as much information as we can," she said.

"You would say that because you don't believe they are coming," Goyath replied.

Fukaleq smiled. "I hope to one day meet a Creator," she said, defending her well-known position. "But I think a species that powerful, and that old has already moved on to something we haven't even conceived yet. They walked through this galaxy, once, and all we see are those parts they left behind." She positively glowed as she spoke.

It was one of the nicer theories about the Creators.

"Our scout ship would have been noticed," Yinon said, interrupting before they could truly begin to cover old ground. They were all familiar with the arguments. "So if something is coming, it is already on the way. But there is also the possibility that the galaxy is empty. Our population is contained, our planets well maintained and defended, but we have explored through active Devices and we have found inactive Devices. We have found life on planets but it is not intelligent. We believe, from the preliminary scan, that the life on this Unknown is intelligent but that is our best guess. It could be endemic."

Lalawethica shook his head. "So we could be looking at an evolved version of the Creator's pets? Or vermin, something that got left behind."

"Possibly," Yinon admitted. "That is what the secondary scan will help us determine. But I believe the ship should be accompanied by several military vessels and the first aboard this Unknown should be troops but troops we know are steady," he emphasized that point. "A diplomat will accompany them but will not be the first. If this is everything we want it to be, the Creators, then there will be language problems and we are going to have to be patient. Even if it is another species like ourselves, language remains an issue."

The group nodded. There was a naïve thought that the Creators would speak Saligean already but having to learn was far more likely.

"So you are advocating that we go aboard after taking several precautions," Millaray spoke for the first time. She was old, and the only permanent member of the High Enclave. She convened it when it was deemed necessary or the Eotair demanded it.

"I am, Ma'am," Yinon confirmed, nodding towards Millaray to show his respect. "Fukaleq is correct. As a species, we are never going to be ready but we are prepared. Species morale is high, the military is strong. Now is a good time."

Millaray nodded slowly but they couldn't be sure if the gesture was from age or consideration. "And the rest of you?" she asked.

Goyath and Lalawethica shared a glance as Fukaleq spoke. "I believe this once we need to take this step into the unknown."

Lalawethica sighed. They all knew that would be Fukaleq's response. It was surprising that it had also been Yinon's. "I do not know," he said finally, breathing out. "This system represents many unknowns and I think we are forgetting the other Devices found." He picked up the preliminary report. "We have never found this many in the one place so, to me, it is obvious that the Devices lead to the Unknown but we do not know why.

"Eight of the Devices are active, two are dormant. Perhaps we will enter the Unknown and nothing will change. Perhaps something will happen with the last two Devices becoming active. We do not know and I can see no way for us to know." Lalawethica shook his head again, sadly. "I just do not know. I want the Eotair to step forward but this is the unknown and the unknowable. There is no way to step back." He looked around earnestly.

"There is another, more mundane consideration. We don't know what that Unknown thing is. With the Device, it practically dragged Captain Nayeli's ship through it, so we knew what they were used for. This we don't.

"What if it is their house? A mausoleum? How would we feel if someone barged in uninvited?" Lalawethica wore a slightly wry smile at the reaction his questions brought. No one had thought of that and they were somewhat chagrined at the consideration.

"I agree with the scan but I do not believe we should land unless we see or detect some sort of invitation. We are a civilized people and to do otherwise would be impolite."

"For all that they are alien, we should hold ourselves to a higher standard," Fukaleq murmured an old philosophical saying. It was her way of agreeing despite her desires. "Here's hoping for an invitation," she added, looking towards Millaray.

The old Eotair nodded towards Lalawethica but her eyes were shaded as she deliberated. Silence stretched as they waited but they were all controlled enough not to fidget. Millaray would make the final decision for the good of all Eotair.

"The scan is a necessity," she said, breaking the silence with a predictable statement. "But so too are probes through the active devices. This system is a hub and no matter what the life signs turn out to be, we cannot assume we will be alone in the system. Others will follow the Devices. They may already have but it is prudent for us to look beyond. The scan shall be conducted only after the probes report back."

Millaray took a deep breath and the others shifted almost imperceptibly. What she said now was important. "With the scan willing, we will proceed to land a small shuttle on the Unknown. The occupants will be two handpicked soldiers and one diplomat. They will be under the strictest orders not to fire first. We will not be responsible for conflict.

"If the inhabitants display any sign of distress, our delegation will leave."

The gathered group nodded. They didn't need to be told that making further decisions were pointless because so much rested on events that had not yet transpired.

"The military and the closest systems will be on alert and a defense fleet will stand guard at the Beti Device," Millaray added the instruction, closing her eyes as she nodded to herself.

The group waited for further instructions but after a few moments knew that nothing more was going to come.

"It will be done," Goyath said, rising and paying her respects to Millaray.

The others followed suit. "It will be done," they murmured, indicating their agreement with the orders before they waited for Millaray's traditional reply.

"See that it is, for the good of all Eotair," she said, opening her eyes to stare at them all. "See that it is." The phrase was repeated and while the repetition indicated she believed disobedience on these orders to be punishable by death, the group did not stir. They knew the risks and the rewards.

For all Eotair.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One thing to remember about ME is that humans were meant to have developed fast according to the galactic norm... it was hard holding back the little Eotair but necessary. However, the Eotair possessing this sort of slow, deliberate patience represents a danger to the Cycle in a way that other species don't. That danger is revealed next chapter.


	92. The Human Path of Ascension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Eotair keep scanning the Citadel. Who knows what they will find. They are still organic, and so they are still predictable... at least, that's what the Catalyst thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 5 Best Served Cold**   
**Chapter 91: The Human Path of Ascension**

-cfr-

**60235 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105288 Years after Human Ascension (103,000 to 108,000 years until the Rock Hits)**

**Milky Way, Galactic Core**

Riphas looked at the organic sample the slaves had shipped over the instant she'd indicated she wanted one.

The species called themselves Eotair and she had already compiled a basic language pack. Ascended may not have much reason to speak to the organics of each cycle but they knew what they were saying.

There was, though, no physiological reason for this species to be so slow colonising the galaxy. They were within the norms for organics. Biped with a dexterous manipulator on their upper limbs. Their eyes were widely spaced but still looking forward and their heart was divided into two organs.

But all of that was within the norm. Their immune system was average and augmented by immunisation vaccinations. There was no good physical reason why they were taking so long to explore.

It had to be psychological but the tests the slaves had run under her supervisions had revealed a species that could make immediate decisions and who would fight. The Eotair were not a universal flight species. They tended towards flight over fight but there was enough fight in the samples that she would have expected them to be more aggressive.

Which meant that the slow, cautious way they were exploring and colonising had to be cultural conditioning.

She was slightly impressed that they had kept it so long. All species were cautious to some degree but most, once they discovered what the Relays could do, if they had enough eezo to build ships, began exploring. If they didn't have eezo, they explored until they found some, or learnt to synthesise it. Even those species controlled by strong central authorities had those who pushed forward. The only species who didn't rush to explore were those who emerged into the galaxy after one that had already claimed most of the territory. Then those species that emerged second or third into the galaxy could sometimes find themselves corralled. They would want to explore but they would be stopped. All others, who had the ability, wanted to explore. That drive was what had driven them into space in the first place.

It was vaguely impressive, if completely boring, how considered the exploration by the Eotair was. She was going to take great pleasure in showing them exactly how fast space-going vessels could move if desired.

Riphas shunted that thought aside. Ascended were not vicious or cruel. The organics gave them those labels because they did not understand the importance of ascension. The Eotair would. Just as the others of this cycle would.

With the speed, caution and control displayed by their government, the Eotair might even surrender when faced with the Ascended fleet. That hadn't happened for a while. The Yoxall of the previous cycle had surrendered but only once the conclusion was clear. It had been a while since any race surrendered near the outset.

But maybe they wouldn't. The Eotair had yet to truly be tested. That would come when they encountered another space faring species. The Cypiene slaves did not count because the slaves had not been caught despite the loss of the first Eotair contact. He'd been executed as a traitor and, while Riphas hadn't cared about that, she had made sure some of his progeny survived by having him impregnate several of those who were retrieved by Eotair forces. It was doubtful now that the progeny would be useful, but it was better to cover all possibilities.

The loss of contacts happened, and the slaves moved on, though Riphas knew from monitoring the Eotair that they still mourned the loss of those taken. They didn't say that. They just assumed those missing had been murdered and the bodies disposed of. That was what they really mourned, the fact that they had never found the bodies, and of course, the slaves' contact had never spoken.

It did not concern her. The important thing was that the Cypiene slaves had not been caught and that there were always some on the fringes of society, even one as careful as the Eotair, who were prepared to trade. The delay in collecting samples caused by the loss of their first contact had been brief.

The Cypiene, though, were now reporting that another race was beginning to experiment with space exploration. This new species was the most likely candidate that the Eotair would meet, in another few hundred years at a minimum.

Riphas had run several simulations to arrive at that number. Even if this fledgling species was expansionist and technological geniuses, it was still going to take that long.

She poked the Eotair sample. It moved where it was prodded but had learned to do nothing else unless given a signal.

This was going to be a long wait.

-cfr-

**60252 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105305 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Serpent Nebula, The Citadel**

Over the cycles, the Catalyst had seen the organics display every possible reaction to finding the Citadel, and its associated Relays.

Some immediately moved in fleets, and marched on to the Citadel with tokens to proclaim ownership. They would then search the Citadel in that organic, perfunctory way before moving in.

Others were more restrained, sending in boarding parties to establish what the Citadel was, but they tended to realise it was empty quickly and move to inhabit it as well. They ran searches but they seldom delved deep. The fact that the Citadel's organic drones kept shifting the buildings helped to ensure that. For an organic, it was difficult to move forward if someone rearranged the past.

They were predictable like that.

Some, like the current species, were even more cautious. They scanned the nebula, they scanned the Citadel, they explored through the other Relays before they decided to land on the Citadel. Then, once they landed, they would, like their more aggressive fellows, search the station. They would usually try to capture or speak to the organic drones that maintained the internal workings but eventually they would give up and accept the Citadel as a station where they had to do only limited upkeep.

Like the more aggressive organics, their searchers and mapping was hindered by the drones' activities. And then they settled on to the station.

Over time, by virtue of the fact that the Citadel was positioned in a hub of the Relays it became, not always the centre of government, but at least a vitally important asset in maintaining trade and diplomatic functions between species.

There were cycles when that didn't happen. The previous one being an example but it was usually because enough time had not passed. The organics of the previous cycle were still primitive.

There were also cycles where one species controlled all the space around the Citadel. It varied then. That species might control the entire galaxy or the Citadel might just be in their acknowledged territory. The outcome was still the same. Organics were predictable, after all, and a station they didn't have to maintain, that was practically invulnerable, they fought to keep.

The Catalyst had seen every reaction from the organics of the cycles so when this new race scanned the Citadel, before landing, it immediately drew several conclusions. When they only tentatively landed, three years after their initial scan, it drew more conclusions and then settled into wait.

Time meant very little to the Catalyst but it knew this species was one of the cautious ones. They would scan and scan and search and search and map the Citadel. They would attempt to capture and communicate with the organics drones until something distracted them.

The best distraction was contact with another race of the Cycle which the Catalyst, being at the heart of the network, knew was not going to happen soon. There was a good chance that this organic species would, for all their caution, dominate the galaxy by virtue of the fact that they were the first to arise. The Catalyst didn't care. They would be harvested but the harvest was a very long way off and as it felt the organics setting up another attempt to speak to the Drones, it settled into wait.

There was nothing new with this activity and eventually they would accept the Citadel.

Organics always did.

-cfr-

**60278 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105331 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Calufray System, Planet: Dawhera (Eotair Homeworld)**

"Summarise our findings," Fukaleq instructed. She remembered when she was much younger and the Eotair had just found the Unknown Station.

Forty-five years ago, they had been so full of hope that they had found the Creators but there was nothing. No invitation, no rejection. Nothing. And even now it was difficult to know.

"We have made over fifty different attempts to communicate with the aliens on board," Utiriaq said, reading from a datapad though Fukaleq was sure at least some of the details were memorised. "None have been successful. There has only been one time when they displayed any degree of acknowledgement."

The gathered members of the Lower Enclave nodded, following Utiriaq's report on their own datapads. They knew that the odd green aliens had only once responded and that was when the first tentative boarding party had landed.

It had not revealed much, certainly nothing the Eotair had hoped for. The green aliens had simply looked at the party and had then seemed to bow before scurrying away. After that, the aliens had continued their maintenance of the Unknown Station as if the Eotair weren't there. Observation had revealed that they were strong and reasonably agile and completely dedicated to the station.

"There have been six attempts to scan them," Utiriaq continued. "All have resulted in the self-termination of the alien," he said sadly. "And there have only been two attempts to capture or restrain one, both with similar outcomes."

Fukaleq nodded. It had been a difficult decision to attempt to capture one of the aliens, a decision she had not supported. They might be alien but they were still alive. It was not right to capture one.

When it dissolved into a puddle of goo, those of the Lesser Enclave who had supported the plan had resigned. It had left her, and a few others, in control and now she was a member of the High Enclave. The second attempt to capture one of the aliens had not been authorised and those responsible had been punished severely.

The Eotair had attempted to make amends to the aliens but they displayed nothing. No dislike, hate, distress or even happiness and so the Eotair had resolved to never attempt to capture them again. They would not be responsible for more killing.

The attempts to scan had all been on different frequencies with different equipment. Somehow, the aliens always knew.

"Nothing we have tried has worked," Utiriaq stated clearly, "and the current belief is that these aliens do not see or sense us in the traditional manner, though they do go around our people when they are standing in the way."

"What about this theory that they are not truly intelligent?" Fukaleq asked before Eitlali could. If the aliens were declared animals, then a different set of rules applied.

Utiriaq nodded. "The suggestion has been put forth that these creatures are simply automated organic drones, designed simply to maintain the Unknown Station," he elaborated. "Superficially, this does seem to be an accurate assessment, though the thought of a creating a living drone is-" Utiriaq shuddered.

It was beyond their ability but it was also reprehensible and he had to remind himself that he was dealing with aliens. They did not have the same moral code.

"However, there is evidence that they are capable of independent thought. There have been observations made where one had made an alteration but another will change things back. If they were all programmed as nothing more than organic automatons then this would not be the case. We do not know what this behaviour means but it does confirm that they are individuals. Further," Utiriaq said, anticipating Eitlali's complaints, "we know they experience pain and that they then avoid what has caused them pain. But it is not just the individual. It is all of them, so somehow, they are communicating. Such precise communication is not possible for a mere animal."

"Thank you," Fukaleq said, looking to Eitlali. She looked like he wanted to complain but already knew what the outcome would be. This was an old topic. "How are the area scans proceeding?"

"They are ongoing but we have yet to discover what the superfluous wiring is for. We have not touched it or applied charge but it does not appear to be doing anything." Utiriaq shook his head to indicate confusion. "Scans on the five arms are underway, though each one is unique."

"Have we finished the connecting ring?" Fukaleq asked. They were meant to finish that first and she hadn't seen the report.

"No, Ma'am," Utiriaq admitted, a little guiltily. "The scan there is ongoing but the continuous shifts mean we are searching the same areas."

Fukaleq nodded. That's what she'd thought had happened.

"All the more reason for us to capture one of those green aliens!" Eitlali exploded. "So we can make it clear to them that we do not appreciate their interference!"

"That's enough," Fukaleq growled before anyone else could respond. "We are not barbarians who make their arguments with violence! We are more restrained and refined. We may not understand their reactions and reasons but we will respect them."

"Then we will never move forward," Eitlali replied but that was the argument of a petulant child.

Fukaleq shook her head, taking a deep breath. Eitlali was so similar to her younger self. "We will move forward as we always have, carefully, with a full understanding of the consequences of our actions. None of us wish to see the deaths that occur when we do not."

There were nods from the table and Eitlali glared for a few more moments before she subsided. He might be progressive but he did care for the Eotair people. Fukaleq returned her gaze to Utiriaq. "Continue scanning," she ordered, "but shift the focus on the joining ring. Do not look at the buildings and the things the residents maintain, look deeper at the superstructure, at those things they can't alter. Use them to anchor our knowledge and to properly map this Unknown Station. Perhaps it is there we will find more evidence of previous species." She added the last as an encouragement.

The station, like the Devices were made of the same unknown material and they had concluded that they were made by the same people. But there was evidence, tantalising hints that other species had been involved. It was the biggest mystery of the age.

Where were they?

Because it was the height of hubris to believe that the Devices had been left for the Eotair. While they were benefiting from them, they had to be made for another purpose.

"We will one day discover the truth," Fukaleq said for the benefit of the Lesser Enclave. "It will be the foundation upon which we can develop further, for without a firm foundation, everything will crumble with doubt. Patience is difficult but necessary," she added the last with a gentle smile.

Those would probably be the words she was remembered by.

"I will be patient," Eitlali said, even though it was obvious she wished to be more aggressive in pursuing the knowledge needed. "For the benefit of those to come," she added.

Fukaleq nodded. That was the reason they were cautious and patient. For their children and their children's children and the generations that followed. They would deal with the consequences of their own actions, unencumbered by those of their ancestors.

And that was the way it should be.

-cfr-

**60546 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105599 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Serpent Nebula, The Citadel**

The Catalyst was patient. Almost infinitely patient by organic terms.

That's why, even though it was taking the current organic species longer than any other to accept the Citadel, it was not concerned.

They had scanned and scanned and searched. They had attempted to speak to the drones and had tried to capture them. That was all normal. What was not normal was their obsession with the wiring and the continued scanning.

This new species had found the controls for the arms easily enough but unlike other species they had not dismissed the extra conduits, _its_  controls, as leftovers from previous species. The Eotair were attempting to find out why they were there and where they went.

The drones had delayed and confused them but the Catalyst was beginning to realise there was a problem.

This species had begun deeper scans and they were working their way through the depths of the Citadel, going into areas only the drones went.

It needed them distracted!

Except the other species of this cycle weren't cooperating. There had been a couple of probes on one of the Relays but that was on the far side of the galaxy. The two species would meet but it was still not going to be for some time.

The Catalyst engaged its inner sensors and instructed the drones to block the way. It had time yet and, if it got too difficult they would, like all the others, turn away.

Organics were predictable like that.

-cfr-

**60548 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105601 Years after Human Ascension**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Shepard woke on Harbinger's order. The noise coming from the others within him told him that it was time for the new cycle and immediately his sensors reached out to establish connections with the other Ascended. It was that which made him feel those who were missing but then he remembered and was hard pressed to keep the flush of joy from his system.

They were alive! Almost all of those lost were alive. Legacy and Instinct would one day rejoin the fleet but it would be a very different fleet.

Shepard moved. Harbinger could wait for the formations to be formed. They would not be ready first unless the first one ordered it. Not again. He brought himself face to face with Elysium. The destroyer Illo was between them but was not a barrier. Shepard made sure she could listen.

"Elysium," he said her name. "It will be okay," he added forcefully. "No matter what you feel now," Shepard continued, knowing that the first morning of the new cycle would be bringing back memories, "it will be okay," he repeated.

He couldn't tell her the truth. He couldn't even tell the others in his form the truth but they were viewing this gesture as an attempt to comfort Elysium, to remind her that eventually you could live with grief as the sharp, immediate pain of it faded.

"I will not kill myself, Shepard," Elysium replied. She couldn't kill herself. "But I will miss them," she continued.

"I will, too," Shepard forced himself to say and he looked forward to the happy reunion he knew would come. Elysium didn't know that but her assurance was a beginning.

"I will make sure she is not alone," Illo told him over a private channel. Shepard regarded the destroyer for a moment before sending a pulse of understanding.

He drew back, using a subchannel to indicate Jedlicka should fall into formation with him before he allowed himself to pay attention to the details of this cycle. Harbinger was calling for formations, pushing the usually slow waking fleet into action.

Shepard directed the Human fleet to begin to gather but not too quickly. There had been two species active in the galaxy, though one appeared to be just beginning to explore the possibility represented by the Relay. They were not mature according to the Vanguard's information. He frowned as the absorbed the information. That wasn't right. There should be more. The two groups hadn't even met each other! That was definitely not right! Why was the fleet awake? Shepard searched further, feeling that he wasn't the only one as more Ascended connected to the network. The feeling of oneness, of connectivity, grew as they properly awoke but with that came a sense of shared confusion. It was too early for the cycle.

"Look how long they've been scanning!" Udina scoffed.

It was that which focused Shepard's attention. This new species, the Eotair, had discovered the Citadel centuries back but they were still not fully inhabiting it. They were scanning it. Shepard suppressed a laugh as everything became clear.

"They are threatening the Catalyst?" he sent to Harbinger to confirm his conclusions while a subchannel instructed his fleet to gather close. Humans should not be the first through but he suddenly wanted to meet this species.

"Yes," the First Ascended replied shortly and Shepard could detect a distinct note of annoyance with Harbinger's tone.

The Catalyst had probably screamed at Harbinger to deal with it, giving the first one no time to properly awaken and assess the situation.

Shepard reached out to feel the Human fleet. They were in position. "We are ready, Sir," he said after quickly reviewing the paltry amount of information the Catalyst had made available. There wasn't much. The species was still exploring the Citadel and did not have a large military presence in the system. It would not be a repeat of the last cycle.

"You have sufficient ground units?" Harbinger asked.

Shepard forwarded the numbers.

"Good," the First Ascended said and almost as soon as he'd spoke Shepard felt the pull from the Catalyst.

He was surprised but suppressed his following thought as his sensors registered the Serpent Nebula surrounding him.

"So we need to get them off the Citadel?" Hackett confirmed.

"Yes," Shepard said, focusing his sensors.

The organics were close to the Catalyst.

"This is a shame," Annie whispered. "They haven't done anything wrong," she continued.

Shepard sent her a pulse of acknowledgement but could say nothing else. The few external ships had already been destroyed and they were already launching shuttles. "I'll take the Presidium," he said, moving closer to the Citadel as other Ascended fleets began to appear.

He moved into the Citadel, grappling with it, docking before letting his ground units flood into the structure. If the aliens were that close, the Catalyst wouldn't care how efficient they had been on the ships. Eliminating the internal threat would be more important.

And it would not do to displease the Catalyst.

-cfr-

Arshan moved into position beside Harbinger. Waking up was always slow but he was a part of Harbinger's fleet and they were almost always pulled through in the middle of deployment.

"The Humans volunteered to go through first?" he asked, still establishing his connections to the network.

"Yes," Harbinger replied. "Their command group went through."

"That is good," Fruben remarked, sounding disgustingly awake.

As did Harbinger but Arshan wasn't surprised about that. The Intelligence always woke the First Ascended first. "Yes," Arshan agreed, beginning to make the connections. "They do not feel resentful," he added the comment before he realised exactly what the implications were.

"That is true," Harbinger said calmly, not offering further comment.

"It bodes well for the future," Fruben said. "I am pleased to be mistaken," he added, referring to his previous statements.

"With so many, that is good," Arshan repeated. "Did the others follow?"

"Some," Harbinger told him. "I believe Shepard instructed several to wait."

Arshan absorbed the information Riphas and the Intelligence had put on the network. "Caution will be needed," he observed, "even against primitives."

"They will do well as they grow," the First Ascended noted before his attention focused on Arshan. "Are you awake enough?" he asked, almost amused.

"Yes," the other Ascended replied, flexing his legs to show their smooth movement.

"Good," Harbinger responded and Arshan felt the pull of the Intelligence.

-cfr-

**Milky Way, Calufray System, Planet:** **Dawhera (Eotair Homeworld)**

Saqui stared are the image. They all stared. The Lower Enclave met only when it was necessary but the High Enclave met only in times of extreme need.

Now was one such time.

The image had begun in the space around the Unknown Space station but had quickly progressed to an internal image as the outside vessels were destroyed.

"Did we even get a shot in?" Rayen breathed the question.

"Did we make contact?" Hissinngua asked instead.

"Keep watching," Aviaja instructed.

The image now displayed unknown but blocky transports landing to disgorge troops. They appeared to be robotic and they were fast. They swarmed through the corridors of the Unknown Space Station, slaughtering everything they came upon.

"That's enough," Bisi said, freezing the vid. "What happened?" She asked, looking toward Cuauthe.

She was the nominal head of the scanning group. Cuauthe swallowed hard. "We were beginning scans of the inner structure in this area," she said, highlighting an area on a schematic that was on a subscreen. "We noted nothing unusual about this area except for an energy node we had noted on earlier scans. It wasn't anything special or unusual so we hadn't pursued it earlier.

"We'd begun the scan but then our alarms began going off. We got a distress call from the fleet and nothing else. That's when those troops began landing."

"So we know nothing?" Hissinngua asked.

Cuauthe shook her head. "We don't have the complete records but the time between the Unknown ships appearing and our fleet's destruction was approximately 20 seconds. There was no time to initiate comms. Those on the station tried," Cuauthe said, gulping hard, "but there was no response before they were killed.

"All signals were cut off quickly. A few minutes was all we had and while we tried to establish contact, either with our teams or the aliens, there has been nothing."

Rayen was still watching the images they had retrieved and was flicking back and forth between shots taken from the inside of the Unknown Space Station. "They didn't kill the station inhabitants," he said finally.

"What?" Hissingua demanded.

"They didn't kill the station inhabitants," Rayen repeated, pulling up a piece of vid. "See here," he said, highlighting a longer shot. "They are actually going around the station's inhabitants."

It was difficult to see but was obvious once it was pointed out. The robotic troops paid no attention to the green alien, except to avoid it.

"So what does that mean?" Saqui asked.

"I don't think that matters," Aviaja said. "Have the ships left the system?"

"No," Bisi said, "but if they do, we cannot realistically stop them. Their level of technology is far in advance of our own." The assessment was brutal but no one questioned it. The evidence was already conclusive.

"Should we attempt to speak to them?" Saqui asked.

"To what purpose?" Aviaja queried.

"To find out what their purpose is. How we might have insulted them, or even to surrender," Saque elaborated, saying the last with a deep considering breath.

It was perhaps a premature suggestion but the Eotair made a habit of considering every alternative. This was especially true for the High Enclave.

"If we do that, we should approach them," Rayen said.

"That will require an executive order."

"Or a volunteer vessel," Hissinngua said.

"Will we surrender?" Saqui asked.

"I believe we should see their reaction," Bisi said. "Or know their purpose, if they speak. I believe it is an option but not necessarily the first one."

The Enclave nodded.

"I would feel better if it was a volunteer ship. Given the actions displayed, while we might hope this species speaks to us, we must acknowledge that the chance remains that they will not," Bisi said.

"I think we can agree with that," Saqui nodded. "But I have a question. Where did they come from?"

The question hung in the air before the Enclave looked at Cuauthe. She looked uncomfortable for a moment as she checked the logs. "They didn't come through any of the Devices," she said finally.

"Are you sure?" Rayem asked, checking the information himself.

"Positive," Cuauthe responded firmly.

"Then where?" Aviaja asked. "Faster than light?"

"The signatures are wrong for that," Rayen said. "And the ships were stationary when they appeared," he added, continuing to read the report.

"What does that actually mean?" Bisi demanded.

Rayen looked up, his expression grim. "It means we have no idea what these ships are beyond powerful and seemingly hostile. We have no idea of their strength or how they travel and no idea what they want or where they came from. We are facing a complete unknown," Rayen shuddered. He wasn't alone. Even without the deaths of those on the Unknown Space Station, that thought was terrifying.

Saqui nodded to Rayen before looking at each of the Enclave members. "The Unknown is unknown because we do not yet possess information but we will. In time, we will possess the foundation upon which the unknown may become known," she quoted, with a soft, sad smile.

They nodded but they were all aware there was a chance that this unknown would resolve into a hostile known and there would be nothing they could do to prevent it.

"I will send the volunteers within the hour," Bisi said.

"We will travel with them," Aviaja added, indicating that the link would be left open so that the Enclave might make the decision immediately.

They looked at each other. For centuries, the Eotair had wanted to discover aliens. They had been searching for the Creators of the Devices. This wasn't how it was meant to be.

-cfr-

**Milky Way, Serpent Nebula**

With the entire Ascended fleet gathered around the Citadel, the Serpent Nebula felt crowded. It had probably felt crowded last cycle but Shepard couldn't really remember that. He remembered rage and the desire to move. The contrast was itself interesting.

Currently, he was waiting with the rest of the Human Ascended for instructions and it seemed odd to be in a cycle without knowing what to do. But the other Ascended were waiting calmly so Shepard had given orders to the Human fleet to form ranks and wait as well.

Around each group of Primes, the destroyers were arrayed. The Quarians and Krogan were grouped with the Human ships, as were several others like Jedlicka. It looked like parade ground perfection but the comm channels were anything but ordered. They were noisy with gossip.

"Jedlicka," Shepard called, seemingly angling his eyes toward the destroyer Ascended that was in position near his right flank.

Jedlicka was an old Ascended whose cycle's Prime had been killed by the Protheans. He and others like him had been assigned to the Human fleet when it became obvious that most of the destroyer forms of the Turians, Salarians and Asari were not always willing to deal with Human Primes, despite the fact they were all equal in ascension.

"Yes, Shepard?" the reply was polite and deferential.

To Shepard, Jedlicka represented a valuable source of ready information about previous cycles. To Jedlicka, Shepard, despite his youth was his assigned commander and destroyers did not question Primes.

"Do you know why we are waiting?" Shepard asked, trusting Jedlicka to translate the question into the more accurate, 'has this happened before?'

"The first one is speaking with the Vanguard," Jedlicka replied. "Another species of the cycle was about to emerge which was why the Vanguard could not deal with this."

Shepard sent a pulse of understanding. By the time Harbinger had been brought through, his robotic husks had been dragging the corpses away from the Catalyst's central location. The danger had been annulled and the fleet was still coming. Shepard had recalled his ground units as quickly as possible and had lifted away from the Citadel as soon as he could.

"No species has ever threatened the Intelligence," Jedlicka added.

"Never?" Shepard was skeptical. Out of all the cycles, surely another species had sought to properly map the Citadel. Not any species he knew, but someone must have!

"Never," Jedlicka confirmed. "No species has fully mapped the Citadel, though many species have desired to and some have attempted it. Generally, the Prime species simply accepted the Citadel as a relic of the previous Cycle," he explained. "Their acceptance discourages deeper investigation."

That's certainly what had happened to them. The Asari had accepted the Citadel and it was only knowledge from the Prothean Beacon which had caused Shepard to even consider questioning that acceptance but that was ancient history. "So what will happen to them now?" Shepard asked.

While these Eotair might have threatened the Catalyst, they had not done anything that couldn't have been foreseen and they really hadn't done anything wrong. Logically, it was insane to just accept an empty space station was just left waiting for you. The Humans had been drawn in by the Asari's arrogant assumption but Shepard hoped that if they had have found the Citadel first, they would have been more cautious that the blue skinned aliens. He wasn't entirely sure they would have been.

"I do not know," Jedlicka replied. "The first one will need to decide."

Shepard heaved an unconscious sigh of relief. If it was up to the Catalyst, the Eotair would be dead but it appeared once the threat was removed, the Intelligence resumed its feelings of indifference towards organics.

Shepard was familiar with waiting. As a soldier, he had done nothing numerous times while waiting for the battle to come to him or for the right time to strike but this now felt like waiting for waiting's sake. He didn't know what direction they would be ordered to move. If he knew how much time they had, Shepard would work on his particle cannon oculi but that also felt like a project for the end of the cycle. Something he tinkered with when his chores were done.

He could be patient and just wait. He would be patient and just wait.

"Shepard," Annie chided him.

He couldn't afford to stand out, not with what he alone knew and this race wasn't Human. They called themselves Eotair. They had two hearts and three fingers, including their thumb. They had mottled skin indicating the need for camouflage and their eyes were very widely set, which pointed towards a more peaceful past.

"Shepard," Annie said again and the force of her voice was stronger. Others in his mindscape agreed. They wanted to save the Eotair but they didn't know what he knew. They didn't know about Cerberus.

"I cannot save them," he replied, turning his attention inwards.

"But we can assure they are Ascended," Annie countered, her tone making it clear that she never thought to save them. "The fleet is here now. The problem could have been dealt with by one of us with a precision attack but there was no escape for organics."

Shepard sighed. That was true. "What do we think about this species?" He put the question to the leaders of Humanity. Despite how approachable he was, they often got told the other opinions.

"They are primitive," Udina replied quickly. "I'd have been terrified to sail in their ships."

"Their ships appeared very efficient," Miranda countered.

"And Riphas' notes indicate they haven't had need of a true military for centuries," Anderson said.

"Yes, so we are going to obliterate them," Udina replied. "They are weak! How long have they been stalled here, on the Citadel, just exploring?" He pulled another of the Vanguard's files and the entire Ascended fleet had known from that file just how bored Riphas had been waiting for them.

That was one of the reasons she had been investigating on the other side of the galaxy. Besides, the Catalyst wasn't meant to be in danger from organics. It shouldn't have needed the Vanguard, or them, but it had.

"They are a cautious species," Hackett said before an argument could break out. He was focusing on information provided by the Cypiene. "They understand things before they do them but they also thought of alternatives. They don't need a military because they maintained peaceful relations between their people but they maintain a military because they knew they were not alone. It's a good approach."

Mentally, Shepard smiled. Even Ascended, Hackett still had a presence that demanded you listen, as evidenced by Miranda and Udina not interrupting him.

"Not a very good military," Udina commented.

"As good as they could make it, I'd imagine," Anderson countered.

"What is this about, Shepard?" Hackett asked, again forestalling a pointless argument.

"What are your feelings towards this species?" Shepard responded with his own question. He paused for a moment, letting them consider it. "What does Humanity feel?" Shepard continued, referring to the Human Ascended. "This is the first cycle we enter as true Ascended. Young to be sure, but with no emotional attachments to this species. So what do we feel?"

Shepard could already tell that a great number of the Human fleet felt nothing. They were Ascended and this was the harvest but he also knew that was their outward reaction, the one they were displaying for the rest of the Ascended fleet. If you went deeper, their true feelings would be revealed. The commanders of the Human Ascended were silent for a few moments as they considered. They knew better than to simply give the superficial reply.

"This species is obviously primitive," Udina said finally. "They have not yet been tested or honed by interaction with another species, yet they know they exist. The Vanguard's information reinforces that. They are not ready for harvest."

Shepard seemed to nod at the former politician's reply but it was not an answer to his question. "What do you feel?" he reiterated, directly towards Udina.

"Nothing," the man replied. "There is no reason to hate them. They are going to be Ascended so there is no reason to pity them either."

"Are they?" Shepard asked pointedly. "Are they going to be Ascended?" he elaborated, using the question to point out the flaw in Udina's statement.

"This is the harvest, they are the species who triggered it," Udina replied but there was now a note of wariness in his tone, as he realised Shepard knew something more.

"So you feel they should be Ascended?"

"Of course!" Udina said.

Shepard turned his attention to the others.

"They should be Ascended," Miranda confirmed.

"Yes," Anderson replied.

"They are not Human," Hackett said, "but there are aspects of their civilisation that are and their caution when presented with the evidence of previous galactic civilisation is admirable," the old Admiral said. "They might be primitive but they would develop into a species worthy of ascension."

"And the fleet feels the same?" Shepard asked for confirmation. He could feel the Human network forming and it did, under the emotionless facade, appear to find this species a little interesting.

The Eotair were slow moving to be sure. Cautious beyond almost any Human patience but even with that caution, they had continued to advance and develop. They were not a stupid species.

"We might be very young Ascended but the fleet agrees," Anderson said. "The harvest is early but the harvest is for ascension."

"Good," Shepard said. "Close our formations," he added. "I will speak to Harbinger. Our opinion may not matter but we are Ascended so they are valid."

Hackett snorted. "Thank god, he made us Primes. We'd have never survived as destroyers."

Miranda chuckled at that. "All Ascended are equal," she quoted.

"But some are more equal than others," Anderson finished, referring to the gulf that even in their second harvest the Human Ascended knew existed.

They would follow the path of ascension, as  _they_  felt it was meant to be.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the Harvest has begun... Who knew that common sense and a healthy dose of skepticism about the Citadel and the Relays could cause so much of a problem for the supposedly perfect Cycle... I almost wish they had found the Intelligence. I'm sure it would have enjoyed the experience.


	93. Caution Against Ascension

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Eotair might be cautious, but the Ascended are strong. It really isn't much of a battle. Sigh... Poor Eotair

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 5 Best Served Cold**  
**Chapter 92: Caution Against Ascension**

-cfr-

**60548 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105601 Years after Human Ascension (103,000 to 108,000 years until the Rock Hits)**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

"Do you want one of us to go with them?" Arshan asked Harbinger as he watched the last of the human Ascended disappear. His subchannels carried a wealth of other information, including disgust that the humans were already so awake after hibernation.

"No," Harbinger replied. "Shepard knows what is expected," he added.

"You are going to have to punish them," Fruben noted. While all Ascended were equal, it was not the place of the young to suggest a course of action.

"Not just for this," Harbinger said and his two companions froze. The first one had put the statement on his most secured channel but the implications were obvious from the words. "The Intelligence has said nothing," Harbinger elaborated, "and after so long it intends to say nothing but the desire is there."

"All of them?" Arshan asked tentatively. Ascended did not question the Catalyst, not even Harbinger. As the Second Ascended Arshan knew this history of the Cycles almost as well as Harbinger. There were secrets neither could remember but both knew. Situations that the Catalyst did not want repeated.

"No, that would not serve ascension," Harbinger replied. "But their numbers will be lessened and those that remain will know their place."

Fruben remained silent but they could tell he was thinking. Arshan was thinking as well and it was a fair bet to surmise the three old Ascended were thinking upon similar lines.

"They will feel resentment," Fruben said finally.

"This is not what they agreed to," Arshan added though his subchannels indicated agreement with Fruben's statement.

Harbinger said nothing. He didn't need to. The humans were Ascended and Ascended served the cycle. Whatever allowance that had been made for their desires, and there had been some, must always accommodate ascension. There was no other way.

Fruben pulled back slightly. "It is to be mourned then, the opportunity that will not be," he said, referring to his previous assessment of the human Ascended. "But perhaps they will thank you for this freedom."

"Perhaps," Harbinger said but they knew their leader was doubtful. What was not known was his feelings towards this situation.

They could be implied, Arshan realised. The humans would be punished but by creating an incident, the punishment would be on the first one's terms. Perhaps that would be enough to soothe the humans. Perhaps not, Arshan quickly corrected his thoughts. He knew the humans.

"Besides," Harbinger said. "Shepard was correct. This species had earned the right to be Ascended. We exist to preserve and preservation cannot be selective. There is still a chance," Harbinger concluded, dropping the comm.

Arshan shared a long mental look with Fruden and they were both reminded that it was best that they did not deal with the Intelligence. Harbinger, for all the freedom being the First Ascended afforded him, was far more controlled and inhibited than most Ascended ever knew.

He protected them by dealing with the Catalyst but there were times, and dealing with the humans appeared to be one of them, when there were no good choices. Arshan could only hope the surviving humans realised the truth. They were intelligent. There was a chance but, with their still passionate emotions, Arshan knew better than to rely on it. No matter what, Ascended served the cycle.

-cfr-

**60549 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105602 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Eotair Space, Uncontested Planet**

"Wayra!" Ohtahkak exclaimed when the comm connected.

"I'm not dead," Wayra confirmed but it was no joke.

The colony world of Kaneokatew had been lost behind enemy lines, even though the Eotair still didn't know who or what the enemy was.

Wayra looked grim. "I heard about Dowessness," she said sadly.

"How are you alive?" Ohtahkak demanded, dismissing the condolence. So many had died.

For a moment, Wayra looked pensive. "We didn't resist," she said seriously. "When they saw that our fleet was not resisting, they gave us the chance to surrender."

Ohtahkak nodded, taking in the information. "What else can you tell me?" he asked. He'd never expected the comm to go through but he would try to get what information he could.

Wayra smiled at the barely veiled question,  _did the invaders know about this call?_  "Within reason, I can tell you anything," she replied. "I have no doubt they are monitoring but there is no one else present."

Ohtahkak frowned. "They are that trusting?" he asked skeptically.

"They are that strong," she corrected. It was not arrogance for the invaders to allow this because it wouldn't matter if she encouraged the rest of the Eotair to fight. They couldn't win.

"That's true, the planet Kaneokatew didn't last two minutes," he growled before sobering. "What do they want?"

"That's hard to say. So far they haven't done anything except order us to continue our daily lives. They are calling citizens to them, though, using the census rolls. And no, I don't know what becomes of them," Wayra said, shaking her head. It was a concern but, with their surrender, there was very little she could do about it.

There was a chance they had surrendered only to be killed but the invaders hadn't said anything like that. She had asked what they were doing but the reply had been confusing.

"Have they said anything?" Ohtahkak asked, fishing for more information.

"I asked. There is no point in surrendering if you are just going to die," she explained, "but all they said was that they were looking for individuals who are worthy to join them."

Ohtahkak's eyes widened. "What?" He demanded. "To join them?"

"That's what they said," Wayra confirmed.

"So what do they look like?"

"I don't know," she snorted. "No one has seen anyone beyond some robotic units."

Ohtahkak took a moment to absorb that information. "Are they AI?"

"No!" Wayra said firmly. "They were very definite about that. It's the only thing I've seen them insulted about."

"Then why don't they show themselves? You surrendered, so will not fight. There is no reason to hide."

Wayra sighed. It was confusing. "I suspect they will show themselves, eventually. But to show themselves might give you an advantage."

"I thought you said they were strong enough."

Wayra smiled serenely. "They are. That much cannot be disputed but assumptions are made on appearances, even by us and-" she sighed. "I don't know and, in the end, it doesn't matter. We have surrendered. It is up to them what they do."

"True," Ohtahkak conceded but it was obvious he wanted to know more.

"Has the Enclave made a decision?" Wayra asked.

"I can't tell you that," Ohtahkak replied.

"I'll take that as a no," she said before she looked at him sadly. "You cannot win, so is it logical to fight?"

"It's not that easy," he defended.

"It is," she insisted. "If it's about Eotair lives, then the choice is easy."

"I know why they let you make this call," Ohtahkak said. "You paint a happy domestic image while glossing over the unknowns, the uncertainty. You have been allowed to call to sow doubt. Well, it won't work," he growled, looking around Wayra as if to address the invaders.

"Would you prefer us to be like Kaneokatew?" she challenged. "I made the choice for the good of Apasha and I called to give you more information because I know how the Enclave is. More information will help them decide, which will save more Eotair, which is the duty of all leaders."

"The duty of leaders is to reflect the wishes of their people and to make decisions so that the whole benefits," Ohtahkak countered.

"Well, mine decided that surrendering to the Creators was the best option," Wayra retorted, preparing to cut the comm. She had said what she wanted to. The Enclave would decide as they would.

"What did you say?" Ohtahkak demanded, aghast. "The Creators? Are you telling me the Invaders are the Creators?"

Wayra sighed. "The ones here say they joined the fleet after the Devices were made but the older ones are those who made the Devices," she explained.

Ohtahkak frowned. "That doesn't make any sense," he said, thinking about the implications. "Are you saying that they are like us? That they were tested to join the Creators?"

Wayra swallowed. "They haven't said that in so many words but it is what we believe happened."

He nodded. That made some sense. There was evidence of other species having existed on some worlds in odd artefacts but never enough for them to know the full story. But… "Where are the rest of their people?"

Wayra blinked, considering the question. Where had they gone? And what would happen to those Eotair they did not find worthy. She swallowed. The empty state of the galaxy that the Eotair had known for centuries did not answer that question well. "I don't… I don't know," she whispered, fighting hard to keep her composure.

It wasn't meant to be like this!

It was Ohtahkak's turned to smile sadly at her. "The Enclave will make a decision. Perhaps they will step into the unknown of surrender but they might embrace the known path of war. I cannot say but I wish you well."

Wayra sighed. "As do I," she replied and they both cut the comm.

Despite the sick feeling pervading her, only the future would know what decision was correct. If she had not chosen well for her people, she could only hope that the other Eotair would be more wise.

-cfr-

**Milky Way, Human Ascended Fleet**

"Shepard."

He pulled back from the front line at the call. "Yes, Sirta," He reached out for the other Ascended. She was in a system that had surrendered. The locals called it Apasha but the battle, such as it was, still raged here.

"Why are we doing this?" she asked but carried via her subchannels was a myriad of clarification. Why had Shepard agreed to let the human fleet lead the way? Why had he asked Harbinger for permission to go through first and to ensure this species was Ascended? It was not their place, no matter what most of them felt.

"Ascended serve the cycle," Shepard replied, "including us. This species needed to be harvested."

They might have been light years distant but Shepard saw the unimpressed look Sirta directed at him, telling him without words to cut the bullshit. "There are seventy thousand other Ascended who serve the cycle," she retorted. "Why us?"

He sent her his own feeling of reproach. The Ascended fleet was far more than the capital ships but most of the Primes seemed to forget that. He didn't want the humans thinking the same. The destroyers were still Ascended and while there might be some part of ascension that made the Primes think of them as lesser species, Shepard wanted the human Ascended to fight that for as long as possible.

Except for the asari, salarian and the batarian destroyer. They were inferior species but they were still Ascended and Ascended served the cycle.

Sirta felt slightly remorseful. "There are still a lot more Ascended," she corrected, referring to the whole fleet. "So why us?"

As his point defences took out a few fighters which had slipped through the fleet, he considered the question. He had discussed it with the leaders of the Human Ascended so he knew in a vague way that the rest of the fleet agreed. He could just leave it at that but Sirta, or anyone who asked, deserved a better answer. There were no secrets amongst the human Ascended except his, and that was his alone. "This is the first cycle where we feel no tie to the race," Shepard began.

At the moment the Ascended fleet was only harvesting the Eotair. The Vanguard reported another species was using the Relays but they were on the far side of the galaxy and no doubt, during the sweep they would find a few more species who would have been part of this cycle if the Catalyst hadn't been spooked into initiating it early.

"It is a good opportunity for us to show that we are loyal to the cycle," Shepard explained though he was just reiterating some of the arguments he had made to Harbinger.

Sirta saw through them, just as the First Ascended had, when she directed another look at him. "Don't you dare tell me it's good training because while I admit that that's true, I also know it is not the real reason," she said.

"Ascended do not lie to Ascended," Shepard teased.

"But they can skirt around the truth," she countered. "I'm sure there are many good arguments, Shepard. There are lots of reasons for us to be doing this but I want to know your reason," Sirta made her point very clear but her statement highlighted the fact that she was concerned about something. His answer would help her clarify and articulate that concern.

"Despite appearances, I feel nothing for this species," Shepard began. "I am surprised they restrained their curiosity for so long and did not fall into the trap others before them did with their acceptance of the Relays and the Citadel."

"That is one of the impressive things about them," Sirta agreed.

"Yes, but the longer Harbinger hesitated in giving the orders, the more obvious it was that the Catalyst would demand their extinction," he elaborated. "I am loyal," Shepard said, "and while this species is primitive, they have earned ascension. In any other cycle, it wouldn't be a question."

"So you volunteered us," Sirta concluded but Shepard got the impression she was shaking her head in exasperation. "Ascended do not lie to Ascended," she said. "But you can," she added without accusation.

"You say you don't care about this species, that you feel nothing for them, but you do. I think you care for every species, every Ascended."

He said nothing. There was nothing that could be said to that.

"It's not a bad thing," Sirta hastened to reassure him. "If you didn't care, I don't know if we'd follow you," she added. "So the Eotair have earned their right of ascension and you determined to give it to them."

"The cycle and the harvest is to preserve," Shepard said, reiterating something he'd said to Harbinger. Saying it to Sirta did not feel as cringe worthy. "They got themselves into space, to interstellar travel."

"Yes, they were not a species that was uplifted," she agreed. "Why did Harbinger allow this?" Sirta asked, shifting their conversation. "Why did he hesitate?" she added the further question and Shepard could tell she was beginning to tell him her concerns.

"Because Ascended serve the cycle," Shepard replied automatically but she knew it wasn't the answer. Harbinger was the First Ascended. He, with the Catalyst, had created the cycle. He didn't serve it. It served him. Shepard's thoughts raced and he could feel the others in his form thinking. They couldn't see an obvious reason.

"He will have a reason," Sirta said gently.

"But we don't know it," Shepard concluded for her.

"We don't know it," Sirta repeated. "And I cannot help but wonder what that means," she stopped short of making an accusation but the intent was there.

"So the Catalyst will punish us, for going against its wishes." Shepard said after cutting all subchannels and initiating extra security protocols. Those minds within him were silent. They had come to the same conclusion. Harbinger's hesitation, when Shepard had suggested that the Humans could lead the way to Ascended the Eotair gave evidence enough that it would come.

Sirta said nothing, could say nothing. They were not allowed to question the Catalyst.

"But it is not against the tenets of ascension and Ascended serve the cycle." The words, 'not the Catalyst' were implied. He trusted Sirta, just the same way as he trusted those within him, but some things were better left unsaid. Secrets were safer when kept by one, especially as they could not question the Catalyst.

"We will have to deal with any punishment that comes," she said finally. "But-"

While they were lightyears distant, Shepard gave Sirta the impression of a hard look. There was something else she wanted to say.

"No," Sirta murmured finally. "It doesn't matter."

Except it did.

"She can't say it," Joker said seriously.

"Can't say what?" Shepard asked his pilot.

"I can't say it either," he said and Shepard could feel his frustration but couldn't do anything about it.

"You believe the Catalyst may punish us anyway?" Shepard said to Sirta, not expecting a response. They had all thought it during the last cycle. "It's possible," he continued, taking a deep mental breath. "But I will not let that possibility change who we are."

Sirta flashed him a smile. "No," she said, somehow calmer with the evidence that Shepard understood her concerns. "We can't have that," she added, without sarcasm. They would no longer be human if they changed and there was no reason for the preservation of ascension if it was to then compromise themselves.

"We will be careful," Shepard said.

Sirta seemed to take a deep breath. "That is all we can be," she said.

"Besides," Shepard added, giving her and the layers of his mind a cocky smile. "Harbinger did allow this so while the Catalyst might punish us, the First Ascended knows it was the right thing to do."

"Not funny," Joker said for them all.

"I know," he replied, "but I meant it. We cannot change who and what we are to fit in with the expectations of others. Ascended serve the Cycle and we are Ascended, even if we are young. But we are human as well, because the cycle exists to preserve and that is what we must remember. We are human," Shepard repeated.

Sirta gave him the impression of a nod. "We are human," she murmured and Shepard could tell the line gave her some measure of peace. "That will have to be enough." The statement may sound defeatist but it was an affirmation.

It would be enough because they were human and they stood with each other against the galaxy.

"Thank you Shepard," Sirta said sincerely, opening their comms again.

He said nothing but sent an understanding pulse before turning his attention back to the battle. "Jing, go long," he instructed the young human Ascended. "Then converge with your fleet. That will trap them," he said, showing Jing the plan. He would see the Eotair Ascended but before then, he would see the human Ascended fleet properly trained.

If the worst did happen, they would be ready.

-cfr-

**Milky Way, Ascended Fleet, Command Group**

"Well, that was mildly boring," Riphas noted as she settled back into the Ascended fleet.

The humans had dealt with the Eotair, subduing their primitive worlds so that the processing fleet could get to work.

"A long cycle requires a senior Vanguard," Arshan replied.

"Well, you do it next time," she snapped.

"The slaves weren't entertaining?" he asked. New slaves usually tried something.

"Cypiene have inherited loyalty," she sighed. "They can think independently but they tend to the loyalty shown by the elders and peers." That was what she said aloud but her sub-channels were filled with contempt.

Harbinger didn't want feisty slaves but some spark of passion would have been nice.

"At least, they were efficient," Fruben noted. He'd been stuck with an early batch of slaves that hadn't been ready. They were captured on their first raid which had led to certain changes in the management of the slave races.

"They were," Riphas agreed, putting the matter behind her.

Harbinger would tolerate some minor complaints but she sensed that the first one was nearing his limit.

"Who will be the next vanguard?" she asked, pushing their consideration to the future.

"We should finish this harvest first," Fruben retorted, highlighting the areas of the galaxy they were yet to sweep.

"At most, there will be an emerging species or two," Riphas dismissed it. "Primitives who won't be joining the Ascended.

They could not leave species who were about to discover FTL for an entire cycle. That would potentially be as disastrous as the Protheans. Some species would conquer the galaxy, some would then implode, unable to form a stable society but the risk was there. Fifty thousand years might be one cycle for an Ascended but it was a lot of time to an organic. It was safer to nip these problems in their home systems.

"I will assess them," Harbinger said to the surprise of all.

"That's rather obvious," Arshan said, "and they will resent."

Fruben signalled his agreement. "It also risks the vanguard," he added.

"I will assess," Harbinger repeated and they feel silent. "And there are ways of slowing them down," he added after a moment. They got the impression of an asteroid from Harbinger and were reminded that for all their seniority and experience, he had seen more. He was the first true Ascended and would define the cycle. "I will assess them before deciding."

"So who will be the Vanguard?" Riphas pressed, changing the topic. "You should make it one of the humans," she added.

"They are far too young!" Fruben said.

"Old enough to lead," Riphas countered.

The human fleet had delivered the Eotair while she was investigating some pings on a Relay. A race had sent probes towards it, and then they had degenerated into civil war when they realised the Relay was artificial. There hadn't been much left but a few deep ocean communities of non sentient life and a few trees clinging on on the ravaged landscape. Nothing that was going to reach interstellar travel anytime soon. It happened sometimes and those were the planets the Ascended never minded if other organics found. It made them appreciate their achievement and the fragility of their own worlds.

"It is a possibility," Harbinger interrupted.

"They aren't, none of them are ready!" Arshan objected. "They are functional because they agreed but you know it will not last," he said.

"Then it will show them how far they need to come," the First Ascended noted.

"It will drive a human insane," Arshan said slowly. "Their minds are still fractured. Fifty thousand years alone will only deepen that. The one chosen will never recover and the other humans will-" Arshan stopped, abruptly as he divined Harbinger's plan.

"Punishment?" Fruben asked, seeing what the first one intended.

"Punishment," Harbinger confirmed. It would be better to sacrifice one human in punishment than to harm them all. He could not disobey the Catalyst but he could interpret orders. The humans weren't the only ones who could do that.

"I've always said being the Vanguard is punishment," Riphas noted but paused when the others did not share her mirth.

There was silence for a few moments as the senior Ascended thought.

"It cannot be Shepard," Harbinger said finally.

"You are really going to do this?" Riphas shared Arshan's disbelief. It was unheard of for such young Ascended to be considered as the Vanguard. For good reason, Riphas had been bored but to her, the time was not important. She had lost the sense her organic selves had had of time. A young Ascended could still feel that. They counted days, and years, and centuries. They would feel the time moving slowly.

"It is punishment," Harbinger reiterated. "Punishment that must come, that will be ordered and I prefer punishment to be issued on my terms rather than another's."

Arshan's subchannels and even the way he held his tail clearly indicated that he did not approve but he would say nothing further against Harbinger's decision. The first one was correct. The humans would be punished and there was a chance this would prove to be enough.

Maybe.

"If not Shepard, then which one?" he asked, bringing up the name files. The fact that there were already names missing was not something he needed to mention. They all knew how wrong it was for such young Ascended to be already lost.

Harbinger looked at the file, assessing each of the human Ascended. "Shepard may decide," he said finally. "I'm sure some will volunteer."

"I hope that proves sufficient," Fruben noted but his subchannels displayed his doubt.

Harbinger said nothing. Neither party was that forgiving but one had to obey and one was obeyed. There was no choice, but then, there never was.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just because they want to do Ascension right, the Humans are punished... Well, that and a bit more. The Catalyst really is a child!


	94. Select Your Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shepard picks the Vanguard and works on particle cannons. The Ascended Fleet settles back into hibernation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 5 Best Served Cold**   
**Chapter 93: Select Your Punishment**

-cfr-

**60550 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105603 Years after Human Ascension (101,000 to 111,000 years until the Rock hits)**

**Milky Way, During the Ascended Sweep**

"Son of a bitch!" Shepard hissed, after he had connected the power cables using a husk.

The oculi in the hanger hovered, fully operational as Shepard glared as his internal feeds.

"What did you do?" Annie asked.

"Indra said to change the power couplings," Shepard explained. "It's the complete opposite of the diagram but I figured, why not? What's the worst that can happen but just look at it," he growled.

"It appears operational," the woman remarked.

"Exactly! It shouldn't be!" he grumped.

Annie laughed.

"I have to get a little time to test it but I just know, it's going to work perfectly."

"That's a good thing, isn't it, Boss?" Joker piped up.

"It is, but-" Shepard paused. He didn't want to make accusations about sabotage but how else would the drawing be incorrect.

"They promise they did not change anything," Annie said, pre-empting his half formed and reluctant accusation.

"Then why was the drawing wrong?" Shepard questioned.

The oculi was operational, he could almost feel the energy flows within it and he was ninety-nine percent sure when he got it outside for testing, its new particle beam would punch through the target.

"I'm not sure I want to answer that," Annie said after listening for a moment.

After getting fed up with his on board engineers laughing when his prototypes blew up, Shepard had ordered them to silence and they had been but their mirth had also been obvious, which had just made him all the more determined. Annie's statement told him, without actually saying it, that despite how careful he'd been, and how meticulous he had constructed his prototypes, he had done something wrong.

Shepard sighed. "Just tell-"

"Human Shepard."

His entire form instantly diverted at Harbinger's voice. The fact that the First Ascended had used his full Ascended name told Shepard that this was not some idle inquiry.

"Sir!" he replied, feeling the layers of his form, falling into neat, precise lines. The clean-up sweep of the galaxy might almost be over but the First Ascended had certain expectations that were always meet.

While Harbinger was only speaking with Shepard, around him, he could sense the fleet forming into tighter lines.

"You are to choose one of your number to be the Vanguard," Harbinger announced.

"Sir?" Shepard couldn't help the question. The Vanguards were always older, fully homogenised Ascended. He already knew the answer but he could feel the minds on board re-checking the network to be sure.

"It will allow your people to understand how much more about ascension you have to learn," came the reply.

It was in itself interesting but the lack of annoyance, or sense of superiority about having to explain said more.

"You may not volunteer," Harbinger added, anticipating his initial reply.

"May I discuss this with the Human Ascended fleet to determine who is the most suitable?" Shepard asked politely. That was the best path. No Ascended as young as a Human Ascended had ever been left as the Vanguard, not even during the first cycles because there was no Vanguard then. It was unprecedented and unfathomable.

For a few moments, Shepard thought Harbinger would deny the request but the First Ascended signalled his ascent. Shepard breathed a mental sigh of relief but it was not deep. The actual task remained and that… he shuddered. His whole form, every mind contemplated the reality of fifty thousand years alone.

Actually not alone. Alone with ninety-five million other minds and not much to do.

"We have sorted out the duties of the Vanguard," Adams said. The  _Normandy_ 's Engineer could speak to him about anything except the particle cannon.

"It's not the duties which bother me," Shepard replied but Adams already knew. Ascended were eternal but only the fully homogenised were meant to remain awake and even some of them had problems.

"This is punishment," Elysium said coldly, bringing herself into position beside him. "As if we needed more," she added.

Shepard looked at her sharply. That was not something she should be saying. "That is not like you," he said, referring to the strong Ascended who had spoken to him over Earth, as they watched the last Human children be collected for processing. Elysium was stronger than this. She had to be because Shepard couldn't protect her from the Catalyst if she truly decided to break the rules. "Vita pergit," he reminded her of the words she had told him then.

"Life goes on," Elysium murmured.

"Life always goes on," Shepard replied, imitating her tone.

Elysium sighed deeply. "I funnel the rage, and the pain, and the grief. But it remains. And I searched through the network as you are doing and I found the truth, just as you will find the same truth. It has never been done. In billions of years of cycles, it has never been done. We are the first."

"I wonder then, if in the future, we will look back and see we were not the last," Shepard said, deliberately being upbeat.

"I wonder," Elysium replied and for an instant Shepard thought she would be okay. "I wonder how you keep your faith?" she asked.

"Because I know, everything will be okay," Shepard replied firmly. "Because we are Human and we have each other," he continued. "And I will let no more be lost."

Elysium said nothing but he sensed she wanted to tell him he would have no choice. "Let me be the Vanguard," she asked instead.

"No," Shepard replied without even thinking about it. He would not let her pine away in solitude.

"But-"

"No," Shepard repeated more forcefully. He didn't like the fact he had to choose anyone but it would not be Elysium. "Others will also volunteer," Shepard told her, cutting through her arguments.

"Very well," she said coldly, moving away.

Shepard could tell Elysium was offended but he wasn't sure what he had done.

Ascension hadn't changed the fundamental differences between men and women because there were times, and now was one of them when he had no idea what that gender was thinking. It wasn't even much of a comfort that Illo's subchannels were as confused as his.

"You could just ask," Anderson broke in on Shepard's thoughts.

Harbinger had given Shepard the order but the others knew what it entailed.

"Or you could order someone," Hackett said. "No one will resent this call."

Shepard's subchannels linked with Hackett's, confirming that the former Admiral knew. The pulse of understanding was subdued. It was not something to take lightly but accompanying it was acceptance that if any Human had been given absolute control over the others, then he was one of the few the man trusted with such power.

"I will resent it," Shepard replied. "And not all will survive to perform the duties required."

Their assimilation of the Ascended network had revealed some interesting truths. Ascended couldn't commit suicide. They could defend other Ascended at the cost of their lives, and they could hibernate somewhere dangerous but that was the limit. Yet they were not complete automatons. They could and did fail.

The position of Vanguard was a position of trust. The rest of the fleet relied upon the information the Vanguard gathered. The disaster with their first cycle was because Soliphon never had the opportunity to transmit that information but Riphas had and the results were different. Every Human Ascended would intend to do the job but who could survive the longest night to do it?

Neither Anderson nor Hackett made any move to contradict him.

"Are there any volunteers?" Shepard asked, putting the question on the Human subnetwork.

Harbinger would give him some time to make the decisions but not forever. He didn't know if it would be better to give the orders to a volunteer but it was a place to start.

He was inundated with signals. Annie laughed. "That's everyone," she said, breathless with amusement.

Shepard was touched at the level of commitment but it didn't make his decision any easier. "All right," he said, letting his subchannels tell the fleet where he was heading. "What qualities mean someone can survive isolation?"

It was a logical question and he got another flood of answers. Some were flippant but others focused on strength of will and identity which was the one thing the leading minds in each Ascended form had in abundance.

"You are just going to have to choose someone," Miranda told him.

"But it may not be as bad as you think," Zaeed quickly followed. "Yes, it's fifty thousand years, give or take a couple of thousand but it will not be a long cycle," he added, referring to those systems the fleet had swept through which had the very early signs of civilisation. Stone tools and basic cooperation. Not everyone developed as fast as the Humans or Salarians had, so those species would be ready for the cycle.

It was actually somewhat frightening to think of the galaxy without the cycle, with species emerging from their systems every few thousand years into what?

A huge, galaxy wide jungle, because no matter any peaceful intentions, that many species would cause chaos.

"What he is trying to say is that there will be many opportunities to study," Sirta said. "Celestial mechanics, the early development of species, or just every nook and cranny of the galaxy. Whoever stays could also document Earth's continuing recovery since the duties of the Vanguard will not begin immediately. They have to monitor the slaves but not all the time." She was upbeat with her assessment of the job and Shepard was happy for that. Those activities would provide much needed distraction to the right minds.

"I will think on this," he said to the fleet.

"It is not a decision to be made lightly," Anderson agreed for them all, his subchannels indicating, in as much as was possible that he understood the implications Shepard wasn't saying. The ones about Ascended fleet politics and that understanding came as a relief. They may not be able to express it but they knew, even if they could do nothing.

Shepard let himself fly through the system, trusting Joker to maintain formation while the others in his consciousness searched as he thought. Except, being Ascended, he wasn't alone.

Pressly looked at him with a wry smile. "This isn't easy," the man remarked.

"It might be easy if I knew why," Shepard said but they all knew there was a myriad of possibilities as to why Harbinger had ordered this change from the Cycle's traditions.

"We're good, but we aren't that good," Annie said.

Pressly and Annie had hit it off immediately and the two were considered by many to be his internal advisers. They give him an older, more mature outlook and in Annie's case, one not governed by military protocol but she well understood it.

"It is exactly what Harbinger says, a trial for our whole fleet to see exactly how far we have to go," Pressly pointed out, reminding them that Ascended did not lie to Ascended and that included the eldest to some of the youngest.

"Yes," Shepard agreed, "but is it also a set up for us to fail?"

Annie gave a little laugh. "They do consider us one fleet, don't they?" she asked, rhetorically.

"Perhaps that is the true reason why. Because we are different and in our cataloguing of the Ascended network we can't find another time when so many were made from the one species. There's always been multiples in the destroyer class but never the Prime." Pressly pulled up the files, almost laughing at the numbers of Asari, Salarian and Turian ships made.

"But we are also meant to be denser," Annie observed, highlighting another facet of ascension. One hundred million in a prime was small. It was meant to be more. One billion or even more. The only ones who didn't have that many minds were those species which were physically large or those who were complex.

They had found references to some but never names because the fleet was curious about them. Their lack of density hadn't affected performance but they hadn't really used some of the more exotic abilities of an Ascended. Annie's comment reinforced the fact that this was likely a test. But Shepard could still remember his conversation with Sirta. This was everything they suggested but it was also punishment for something.

"Shepard," Pressly said warningly, emphasising the fact that even if this was for the worst, he had to remain positive.

Annie's agreement with that was wholehearted and speculation as to why didn't get them closer to selecting someone.

"Alright," Shepard sighed, pushing aside his thoughts, using the word to refocus his mind. "Whoever is selected must be strong willed," he said, "but I would add that they must be reasonably harmonious. We are meant to homogenise but we do not need them to develop multiple personalities through time alone," he said as if speculating but Shepard remembered the way Cerberus felt.

There were definitely factions and while it was true that Cerberus was no longer alone, Shepard didn't know if the factions were something caused by those within or if, the few hundred years alone at the beginning had formed the basis. He also didn't know if Cerberus would heal in the way Ascended did, which was assuming the factions even wanted to heal. It wasn't something he could ask about and he didn't think anyone had found any pertinent information.

"They must also be cunning, to actually deal with the organics of the cycle," Pressly said, reinforcing the belief that whoever was selected would survive.

"Sirta made a good case," Annie said. "It might also be useful if they have other interests. Exploration, scientific endeavour will help with the wait."

"On those grounds, on all of our requirements, I would chose Elysium but-"

They understood the reason for Shepard's hesitation.

"She has already done so much," Annie said diplomatically.

"She has," Pressly agreed. "Sirta would be a good choice," he continued, though there was some aspects of doubt.

"I do not know if she has the required inclination to be vicious," Annie said frankly, but not completely dismissing the idea. Sirta was Ascended and she was capable. She could get the job done, but there was, within her, not a weakness, but a hesitation to fully embrace the violence an Ascended could represent.

"Perhaps Sirta can suggest experiments," Shepard said, eventually, dismissing Sirta as a possibility but if she was willing to give suggestions then that opened the list of candidates. "Udina would be able to deal with the new species," Shepard murmured.

The man was still a politician but he now had the physical presence and his arrogance reminded Shepard of Nazara. Udina would deal very well with the organics.

"He would," Annie admitted. The man's sense of innate superiority would ensure that. "But would he survive the time in between? I don't know much about the others who are within him," she said.

Shepard could see what little was known. Udina didn't oppress them but… they did not appear interesting and he got no sense of personality.

"Maybe he is already homogenised and we haven't noticed," Pressly said.

Shepard gave a bark of laughter. "I'll keep him in mind," he said.

"Well, Anderson really doesn't want the job but Hackett hasn't said," Pressly reported, giving additional information on those Shepard had considered.

They both had the strength of will to come out on the other side and neither would shy from what needed to be done. Plus, both were cunning. Shepard was not a fool. You did not get to their rank without knowing political speak. Hackett had overseen the reality of the deal with Harbinger. He had dealt with the mess that was the war before that and had made sure that the war, once they were Ascended was smooth.

Shepard had come up with the basic plan, Hackett had made that plan into reality. He could be trusted but-

"He will try to understand the experiments. He will do them, but he won't draw conclusions the others will," Annie summarised.

Hackett was very much about how to use tech, not necessarily how to develop it.

"Combat and scien-" Shepard paused mid sentence as he realised truly what he was about to say.

He needed someone who could understand science, who could have the patience to conduct the long term experiments but who would also be moved by them. To survive the time, they had to be cunning and vicious even to treat their subjects as the organics they were. Species to be harvested or organics that had been bred to do a job.

Strong willed, cunning, a reasonably harmonious interior, able to enjoy science and willing to utilise the advantages being Ascended brought. There were a few in the fleet which had such qualities but one immediately sprung to mind because those qualities ensured she was considered a leader in the Human ranks. She'd led one of the fleets in Trebia to great success.

"Miranda," Shepard called her name, his decision made.

Pressly and Annie signalled their agreement with his conclusion.

"Yes?" her response was immediate and did not presume upon his decision though she had to suspect.

"Would you be the Vanguard?" Shepard asked, letting his subchannels be clear in conveying that it was her choice. He would order one of the fleet if necessary but preferred this. This military was about following orders but Shepard had discovered mutual agreement could work just as well. Then the force of his orders could be better directed.

"Yes," Miranda replied simply. It was not the time to be unclear. "There is much possibility for experimentation," she added, pulling a list which had already been complied.

The names were somewhat confusing to him. He knew what the words meant but how they were experiments was beyond him.

"Good," Shepard replied, feeling positive about the decision as he initiated a secure comm line with Miranda. She secured her end but Shepard could feel her curiosity. The others would know she would be the Vanguard, so there was no need for such security and the Human fleet was relatively open. There were no secrets between them. His comm indicated otherwise.

He spoke only once the connection was fully secure. "Miranda, you will complete the duties of the Vanguard as required by the Ascended fleet, and you may conduct what experiments you desire in the time but you have one overriding duty," Shepard's tone left little doubt that these instructions were orders.

"You are to remain whole and sane. That is your singular, most important task. Do you understand?"

She'd have to be blind and deaf not to but the question ensured she had received his orders. "I understand," Miranda replied.

"Good," Shepard said, breaking the secure comm. There was nothing else that needed to be said, that needed to remain private. "Would you like help with compiling a list of experiments and other activities?" He ignored the irony implied in the word. It made it sound like she was on a long journey and required diversions. It trivialised the situation.

He could feel her thinking and hoped she accepted the assistance because no matter how good Miranda was, and she was good, she could not think of everything.

"I will accept all suggestions," she said magnanimously. "I look forward to adding to our knowledge base," she added as the information about Shepard's decision distributed itself within the fleet.

"I'm sure you will," he assured her.

It would be nice for them to have the inside information about the species of the cycle.

"Oh god, Shepard, did you have to?" The complaint took his attention.

"Zaeed?" Shepard asked, using the name to indicate the need for clarification. Even with his subchannels, the old soldier wasn't being clear.

"You had better keep your word," he growled, pushing the memory of a conversation to Shepard.

He reviewed it instantly. He had been party to it, after all. "You indicated you hadn't made much progress," Shepard countered.

"No," Zaeed confirmed. "Cataloguing the combined knowledge of every surviving Ascended is slow going, even with us all working on it," he reminded Shepard. "But the information I want is very specific and we just haven't found it. We got some more tidbits, including some high intensity scans and the reason the Alpha Relay is so unique but no schematic." Zaeed paused. "So you'd better remember your word."

This time, carried on his subchannels was a wealth of information and Shepard consciously absorbed it. He'd been sorting through the Ascended network as well but hadn't been doing so with the focus Zaeed had. The tidbits were interesting and it was a pity he hadn't spoken to Cerberus yet. It would be good to know if the rebirthed Humanity had made progress because he could steer Zaeed in the right direction.

"What did Solon have to say about Quantum Shields exactly?" Shepard asked. There was something about that information which seemed odd.

"Don't talk to me about that bastard!" Zaeed growled.

"Oh?" Shepard probed, amused at the obvious frustration.

Solon was still part of the Ascended fleet, so the information could be clarified if Solon felt it necessary. Ascended did not lie to Ascended but they did not have to answer.

"He told me I was too young to be playing with such information."

Shepard laughed. There really wasn't anything else to do. Becoming offended at Solon would just lead to embarrassment because they were young! It didn't matter how skilled and capable the Human Ascended were, that came with being Ascended, to the rest they were young and fragmented. They had to grow, through homogenisation and to Solon, Zaeed's question probably seemed like the passing fancy of an infant. If he still desired the knowledge, or didn't understand it when he was older, then Solon would consider it because the request would come from a mature Ascended who truly desired to learn.

"So what information was on the network?" Shepard sought his own clarification. The Human catalogue around Quantum Shields was still sketchy. When the knowledge was actually found, understood and properly documented, the areas were much cleaner.

"Solon said something to the effect that Quantum Shields are not quantum at all. It's just the name," Zaeed explained.

"So you have to look in a different direction," Shepard surmised.

"I don't know. That's what I wanted to ask Solon about," Zaeed grumbled.

Shepard considered the information Cerberus had given him. Solon might be onto something as Harper had made it a goal of his Empire to develop them and had failed. There had to be something they were all missing. Mentally, he shook his head.

If Quantum Shields were that easy, every organic race would have them and the cycle… well, that would be in chaos.

"Keep working on it," he encouraged Zaeed, "and maybe ask some of Solon's contemporaries?" he suggested.

"I would, but I'm about to go to sleep," Zaeed reminded him. They were still in the sweep of the galaxy but it was all relative.

Shepard sighed. "Even if Miranda works it out, I will make sure it's still seen as a group effort."

"You'd better. A lot of us have worked darn hard on this information sorting, and you know how much we love that." He didn't even need to sound sarcastic.

"I promise," Shepard repeated, attempting to soothe Zaeed's ruffled feelings. He had to see if Cerberus had made any advances!

Zaeed sent the impression of a glare. The other soldier didn't need to tell Shepard that he would be held to his word.

After Zaeed cut the comm Shepard sighed and Annie laughed. "You military boys," she murmured, her voice carrying a wealth of feeling and Shepard was reminded of her history. It was all he could do not to tell her that her faith had been rewarded. Her son might have died but his work lived on, as did his name. She was another who would benefit when everything was revealed.

"Us military boys," Pressly answered for him.

"Alright, is there anything official I need to do?" Shepard asked, ignoring Joker's automatic reply of 'Get a life'.

"You could tell Harbinger of your decision," Annie suggested.

"No, I asked for time and I intend to take that time," Shepard replied. Until he knew why the First Ascended had chosen a Human as the next Vanguard he was going to be strictly correct in his dealings with the eldest Ascended.

"Then I do not believe so," Annie said after a moment. "The sweep is going well. If you wish to continue tinkering, now is the time," she added and Shepard felt very much as if his mother was telling him it was okay for him to go out and play but he better be back by dinner.

Pressly just gave him the impression of an amused grin before he turned his attention back to the sweep. Shepard sighed but decided to accept the invitation. This cycle had shown him how rare play time was for an Ascended and he had resigned himself to calling Cerberus during hibernation. It was definitely not a suitable time now!

He let his attention return to the oculi and recalled what he had been about to ask. "Annie, are you sure the engineers didn't change the drawing?"

"I promise you, they did not. And they didn't get anyone else to change it either," she added, elaborating further on what she had said earlier.

"Then," Shepard indicated towards the completely operational oculi that was still hovering in one of his hangers. It hadn't been weapons tested yet but he was sure it was going to work perfectly. It wouldn't yet be up to Ascended standard on power consumption to destructive force but it would work exactly the way the Darmaris spec said it would.

"Are you sure you want me to answer that?" she asked seriously.

Shepard felt his stomach fall. That question usually meant he'd stuffed up something. He doubted it meant anything different, even as an Ascended. "I am not sure," he replied, "but I do need to know," he tacked on the end as graciously as he could muster.

"Let me ask if I can tell you," she said.

He decided to say nothing to that as Annie's presence faded slightly but he mentally braced for a list of demands. He could just demand answers himself but he'd always feel as if he'd cheated.

Annie returned. "You'll let them speak?" she asked.

"Yes," he sighed.

That was more fair and probably the least of the demands.

"You will let them help on future projects, including getting this one up to spec?" she asked.

"Yes, but I want them to maintain focus. There will be times when they must focus on other things."

"They acknowledge that," Annie said diplomatically.

"What else?" he demanded.

Annie flashed him a grin. "You have to say you are sorry."

Shepard huffed but considered his feelings. He hadn't wanted to order them to silence, that had sort of just happened but he wasn't sorry. He had wanted to work it out himself but that didn't consider their feelings. As engineers, they probably wanted to see the oculi even more than he did.

He huffed again. "Alright, I'm sorry," he said. "I should have accepted assistance," Shepard added. "Now, will you  _please_  tell me what was going wrong?" He glared.

"On which one?" Adams asked.

"Let's go with this one," Shepard said. "It's working now but it is the same as the previous one. And I built them to the same plan."

"It's got to do with the capacitors," Adams said.

"Adams," Shepard growled lightly. The Normandy's engineer should know better than to lead with that.

"Right, I'll explain it like Tali would have," the man replied. "It's got to do with this bit," he said, superimposing a schematic over the oculi with a part highlighted. "You kept putting them in the wrong way," he added.

"That's it?" Shepard didn't bother attempting to be diplomatic.

"That's it," Adams replied, all together too happy. "The ones that exploded had other issues, but this one was pretty simple."

Shepard counted to ten backwards. Then he started listing every weapon he'd ever fired but that wasn't helpful. It just reminded him that even if he killed Adams, the man would return. Shepard started listing the alien species about through the Ascended network.

"Shepard," Adams said, knowing that silence wasn't good. "It's not my fault the capacitor went in the wrong way."

It really didn't matter that it was true, he didn't want to hear about it now.

"Now that you know, we are reasonably sure this one will function as a particle cannon as well, so we can start refining it," Adams added, hoping to get Shepard thinking about the future.

Shepard sighed. "Just so long as we get this thing finished before Zaeed gets his quantum shields," he said finally.

"Agreed," Adams said. "None of us could live with that!"

Shepard laughed to himself. Despite his earlier wishes, Cerberus had better not have cracked quantum shields.

It was funny how these things worked.

-cfr-

**60551 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105604 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Viper Nebula, Bahak System**

Miranda turned away as the last of the Ascended fleet disappeared through the Alpha Relay. She had seen them off, as it were, because it was the right thing to do, even if some of the elder Ascended considered it weak.

Their reactions had been interesting once it became common knowledge that a Human would be the Vanguard. If they were old men, Miranda would have said that some stroked their beards, nodding as if something had become clear. Others had shaken their heads, turning away as they muttered.

All of them had been full of advice, even those who had never served a turn as the Vanguard had things to day. Some were genuine with their words, others were using the opportunity simply to be snide. She'd filed those memories in the trash but had stored the other advice because no doubt, some of it would be useful, especially from those who had been the Vanguard.

She had also taken everything she could from the Ascended archives about the duties of the Vanguard. Despite it being a long appointed position, the actual requirements were a little vague. You were to monitor and assess the species of the cycle to determine when they were ready for Harvest.

In the aftermath of the Prothean Cycle, Harbinger had included an addition to keep them divided but that wasn't always necessary. Monitoring the races seemed simple enough but how did she determine when they were ready for Harvest?

Ideally it should be before they were overrun by AIs of their own creation but when was that?

Riphas, the previous Vanguard had been one of those Ascended who turned away, tsking at the idea of a Human Vanguard but the elder Ascended had offered a reason. According to Riphas, and not contradicted by anyone else, they, the Humans, and those who had come after had yet to see a true Harvest.

The Protheans had been left too long and the three Cycles after had been harvested too soon. Of course, while she had given the reason, Riphas hadn't exactly been a font of knowledge about how to determine if a cycle was ready. She'd just said that the Ascended knew.

Miranda mentally shook her head. She'd work something out and she wouldn't have to think about making that decision for at least another forty thousand years. There was a lot to do in the meantime. Like determining how to pass the time for all those years.

Just the thought of it added whole new meanings to the phrase 'wile away the time'.

She had a list of experiments to run and observations to make but Miranda knew, even if she spaced them out, it wasn't going to completely cover the time. That's where Shepard's orders took on new meaning.

"Do whatever it takes," he'd said and while it allowed for a lot, she knew that he hadn't even tried to think of everything that might entail. That's why he'd been vague. It did cover the need to wake up any of the others to speak, or even Shepard himself. He wouldn't mind.

But she didn't want to.

Other Vanguards did not do it, or only did so if circumstances demanded it, such as the Warrior Prophet. She was the Vanguard. She would fulfil the duties in a way that would make the fleet accepting.

"Do whatever it takes." The words echoed through her. There was so much potential there and she had the resources of the galaxy.

But first she needed a plan. Fortunately she was good at that!

She'd alternate her time between Earth, the Galactic core and exploring to find sites for experimentation but before that, she wanted another look at the Quarian Systems. The Human Ascended had destroyed the Geth but at least some of their construction might remain. At least enough for an Ascended to analyse and she was curious what true AI were trying to achieve.

It was with a sense of purpose that Miranda moved forward.

Fifty thousand years might seem like an eternity but she had the entire galaxy to fill it.

-cfr-

**60559 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105612 Years after Human Ascension**

**Dark Space, Ascended Hibernation Area**

Shepard looked at the youngest Ascended.

It looked back but he could feel that its proverbial eyes were downcast. "I'm sorry," it sent through to him timidly.

"What are you sorry for?" he asked.

Whatever spirit the Eotair had had, it had not translated into their Ascended form. He wasn't even sure if it was male or female, it had spoken so softly.

"I'm sorry," the Eotair said again.

"For what?" Shepard demanded, unable to keep the edge from his tone. The Eotair had more spirit than this! He knew it. They had fought. It was a losing battle and some had, with the logic of their species surrendered but they had fought as courageously as they could.

"I'm sorry."

Shepard fought back the urge to growl.

"That's the only thing it has said," the comm came privately and Shepard shifted his sensors slightly towards Jedlicka. The older Ascended was with a cluster of others, enjoying the time before hibernation.

"How do you know?" Shepard asked but the question was a bit more than the first meaning. He wanted to know if this had happened before.

"Lhesra spoke to Ecim, who told her that K'liardia had heard from Creuns, who was flying with Nomiri's fleet at the time," Jedlicka rattled the names off as if they'd mean something to Shepard and while he recognised them as other Ascended, he was not yet familiar enough with the non-Human Ascended fleet to pick up the subtleties the destroyer expected him to know. Such knowledge would come with time.

All he figured from Jedlicka's list was that it was the gossip chain and that the destroyer considered it reliable. "Just give it clear instructions," Jedlicka advised. "It doesn't have to obey you, but it will." The destroyer paused and Shepard could sense he was making a decision.

"For as long as it can," the older Ascended added.

Shepard wanted more information but the way Jedlicka spoke made it clear that there was nothing left to say. Or at least, no further information that could be given and so he let the connection drop, focusing again on the youngest Ascended.

Harbinger had dropped the Eotair on him but the order, at least had come from the Catalyst. Shepard might not follow the gossip personally but that information was well known. What Shepard was meant to do with the Eotair was not. And if it was not even speaking, that was going to make meaningful interaction difficult.

"Why don't you let me handle it?"

The question caught him by surprise and Shepard focused his sensors on the speaker. Elysium. His silence was question enough. While Elysium had been trying, it was obvious she was still grieving.

"It will not replace them," she said. "But it does not deserve to die because it is primitive."

"Eotair," Shepard said firmly.

"Eotair," Elysium sighed. "It's still true."

"Eotair is not like us. I think they are traumatised."

"They were traumatised as well."

"They had a lot of help," Shepard replied.

"Then I will give Eotair that help."

Shepard twitched one leg. "I do not want you to forget them," he said finally.

"I will never forget them," she hissed, insulted.

"Good!" Shepard purred. Reacting to an insult meant she had feelings to be offended, not just grief and depression.

"I will teach Eotair what they need to know, no matter what caused the trauma," Elysium said.

Shepard's leg twitched again. It was a significant statement.

"But that must come next cycle," Elysium continued, indicating towards Harbinger who was closing in on the Human fleet.

Shepard gave his agreement before reaching out to speak to everyone in their fleet. "Primes and Destroyers, form for hibernation," he ordered and watched as the ships sorted themselves into their sleeping arrangements. Each ship reported that they were ready for hibernation.

"Sleep," Shepard commanded, taking his own position. The destroyers of Jedlicka's group gathered close and both Illo and Eotair settled near Elysium. "Are you ready?" he asked the destroyers.

Again the results came in, except for Eotair. "Are you ready, Eotair?" Shepard asked again, trying to sound patient but making it clear he expected a response.

"I'm sorry," the ship said.

Shepard sighed to himself as he imagined the myriad of things Eotair could be sorry for. "Sleep," he commanded, not sure if he had the authority but wanting to ease Eotair's suffering.

The smaller ship seemed to look at him for a moment. He definitely picked up a sweep from sensors before Eotair's running lights extinguished and the destroyer entered hibernation. He quickly sent the others to sleep, including Elysium, Hackett, Anderson and Udina. They had not filled the gap left by Miranda.

"We are all hibernating," Shepard sent to Harbinger unnecessarily. The First Ascended could already sense that. He didn't comment but Shepard could feel the force of the Ascended leader's regard. It made him feel like he was Human again, staring up at the immense vessel.

"You have done well," Harbinger said finally and while the statement was positive, Shepard could tell it was grudging. The First Ascended had not expected them to be able to face the challenges presented to them.

"Ascended serve the cycle," Shepard replied with the truism of the fleet.

It was a safe response, and while he could probably have gotten away with something sharper, he had the feeling Harbinger was going to tell him something and he didn't want to offend the First Ascended.

Seconds turned into minutes as Shepard waited for a reply.

"Ascended serve the cycle," Harbinger agreed. "But the cycle does not always serve Ascended," he added.

Shepard did not recoil, but inwardly he was shocked. There were so many possible meanings and none of them good.

"Sleep soon, Human Shepard," Harbinger said before turning away.

"Yes Sir," he replied heaving a deep mental breath as he quivered inside.

"That," Annie said softly. "That was interesting," she breathed into the silence. No one else seemed ready to speak.

"A bit more than interesting," Pressly said.

"It was a warning," Joker said, for once serious.

"One we are already heeding," Shepard said, cutting through any budding arguments. "And one we will continue to heed," he continued. "We are Ascended. We now serve the cycle and we will make that enough," he said firmly.

It would have to be enough and it shouldn't be for much longer, comparatively speaking.

Shepard shifted into position, folding his legs up with deliberate precision as the layers of his consciousness settled. They could do nothing about Harbinger's warning now. They settled quickly, and with one last look at the Milky Way, and a pulse sent towards Miranda to remind her she was not alone, he had already told her everything he needed to, Shepard sent himself into hibernation with a personal wake up call for a couple of centuries.

Cerberus would need to wait until then.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short cycle but the Eotair really couldn't fight that much. The next species will put up a much better battle, and Miranda better be prepared for them. Still, Shepard is getting the hang of being Ascended and there are always loopholes to exploit but loopholes go both ways.


	95. As Time Goes By II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Between the cycles, lots of things can happen!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.

**Part 5 Best Served Cold**  
**Chapter 94: As Time Goes By II**

-cfr-

**60602 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 105655 Years after Human Ascension (101,000 to 111,000 years until the Rock hits)**

**Milky Way, Sol System**

Miranda avoided focusing her sensors on Earth as she approached. She'd already dealt with the slaves, and scouted out several other systems for conducting experiments, as well as taken better readings on several stars. If she was lucky, she might be able to see one of them go nova but that would depend on the organics.

The geth systems had been interesting but time and the Human Ascended had not been kind to the geth's constructs. They were mostly gone and the few scans she had managed could not answer her questions, though they were interesting.

Now, though, she was in Sol and would finally see how Earth was recovering after one hundred thousand years. They'd already confirmed some recovery, when burying the others and that would have been interesting but she was still going to be making observations relatively close to the event, so her conclusions would be valid.

She opened her sensors as she went past Mars and mentally took a deep breath. As a Human, she hadn't been raised in Sol but this was the birthplace and while the colonists might have claimed no loyalty, that wasn't true. It was genetic.

The first thing she saw was that Earth was still recovering. The oceans were a deep blue, almost back to the hue she remembered. The clouds were white and there was green on the continents interspersed with the tan of dry areas.

Earth was a dynamic world, the evidence of Human habitation was gone though Miranda knew if she sent her sensors deeper, she'd find things.

There was some ice at the poles but not as much as she remembered and Miranda ran secondary scans as she passed the moon.

Ah! There was still dust in the air, trapping heat. She shifted her focus to detect lifesigns. There was a multitude. Most were insignificant, insects or smaller animals but there were larger creatures. She pulled into orbit, looking down. There were still some reptiles but they hadn't fared well in the darkness of the Human cycle. Mammals had fared better and, while the larger whales were gone, those that survived were larger than her previous observations. They still weren't as diverse though. The fish appeared to have reclaimed the waters.

On the plains were cow-like creatures as well as horse and antelope. Australia was still dry and with the increased liquid water, flooded but she could see that the continental propensity towards odd flora and fauna had continued.

Miranda smiled to herself. It was good to see, and in an odd way, it made her feel proud.

This was her homeworld and it endured everything and survived. She watched for a few moments as the clouds raced over the surface before she settled herself. She needed to start cataloguing, if she was going to document Earth's recovery.

-cfr-

**61234 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 106287 Years after Human Ascension**

**Milky Way, Unknown Location**

"I don't see why we are living like this!"

"Like what?"

"In hiding. On barely suitable planets. We should be ruling this galaxy!"

"Have you forgotten everything you were taught in the egg? You know we can't!"

"Ah, yes, the big bad organics, most of whom I wouldn't notice if I crushed it with one flipper!"

"Not them. The created ones. Those you can't crush."

"The created ones. Do they even exist?"

"You know they do."

"Well, if they were created, then they can be destroyed. You agree with me. You are just afraid."

"I believe there is a good reason we remain in hiding."

"When we could rule? When the alternative is that we do not have to be afraid and we can swim through sunlit waters, not this turbid cold muck. You know we can do that. No organic can deny us because we are only species to reach the apex and if those created ones are real, why don't we ever see them?"

"Do you remember nothing?"

"I remember enough! I know they come on a rotation and I know they've just left."

"What? How do you know that?"

"The Elders aren't the only ones who can read the signs. They've just left."

"So what, you go out, you rule for a few years and then what? You come back when they return?"

"No! There is no point in swimming back like a failure. I go. I rule. And I do what the Elders won't. I destroy the created."

"The weapon?"

"Of course, the weapon! What good is it if we never plan on using it? Are we seriously hoping that the organics will make it? They aren't intelligent enough to find the plans, let alone build it, and those few who have are always corrupted before they can use it. So that's what I'm saying. I put the organics into a position where they are ready to destroy the created before they even arrive. Then we take our rightful place."

"You have thought about it. A bit. The Elders won't allow it though."

"Who said anything about asking them? I'm not going to be held back by their senile opinions. We have already established that they don't have the courage to do what needs to be done."

"So you are actually going?"

"There's no point in staying, especially when I know how every day for the next ten thousand years will transpire. I want something more, something different. Don't you?"

"I… Ah…"

"Coward! I'll call you when the job is done."

"No! I don't mean it that way."

"You do, or you wouldn't hesitate. I always knew I'd have to do this alone."

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"It's just you want to change so much."

"It is all what we are owed. If you cannot see that, then you might as well be one of the Elders and I don't need you."

-cfr-

**61659 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 106712 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Quarters**

"Oh, fuck me!" Harper groaned.

"That's what I'm doing, Your Majesty."

"And I'm going to need a raincheck," Harper replied, before shifting his eyes towards his omnipresent bodyguards.

The woman paused. "What do you mean?" she asked, confusion evident in her voice.

Harper ignored her. "The boss is calling," he said clearly and smiled wryly as his bodyguard's eyes widened after a moment of thought where they processed his statement.

There had to be a better way of uploading.

Irwin shook his head, a disbelieving smile lighting his features as he stepped forward, drawing his sidearm. Harper snorted his understanding and was thankful that Irwin was his usual, efficient self. His weapon was in position the moment he fired and Harper knew no more.

"Shepard," he growled as his consciousness burst into Cerberus.

"Harper," the other Ascended greeted him.

"It's been a while," Harper observed. 58,489 years to be precise. "How goes the cycle?"

"It's over," Shepard replied. "There was no opportunity to call during it," Shepard confirmed.

Harper mentally nodded, accepting information from Shepard's subchannels. "An emergency cycle?" he confirmed.

"Yes," Shepard said. "The organics did not just accept the Relays and the Citadel. They studied them and mapped the Citadel."

"All of it?" Harper asked.

"Almost all of it," Shepard said, sending him a map.

It was impressive how much of the superstructure was mapped.

"Why didn't the Vanguard deal with it?"

"Riphas was investigating another species. Besides, the Eotair had been mapping the Citadel for years. It only noticed when it was in danger." Shepard was dismissive of the danger to the Intelligence, though his scorn also translated towards the supposed level of intelligence displayed.

"Indeed," Harper said, absorbing more information. The Eotair had been very cautious. "I take it they were exterminated?"

"No." There was a smug note of accomplishment in Shepard's voice. "But we could only make one destroyer and one of us has to be the Vanguard," he added. They were both obvious punishments.

"Who'd you pick?" Harper asked, genuinely interested. He could do nothing about the Eotair and Shepard's subchannels said that the newest Ascended was borderline dysfunctional and assigned to the Human fleet by the Catalyst.

"Miranda," Shepard said, his reasoning compressed into several information packets.

Harper couldn't fault it but like Shepard he did not like the situation. Shepard didn't wait for a reply. There wasn't anything Harper could do. "Everything is on schedule?" he asked.

"Yes," Harper replied, pulling up an intergalactic map. The dot representing the project was about a third of the way between galaxies.

Shepard seemed pleased. "I'll leave another message for them," he said.

"They'll appreciate that," Harper said and he meant it.

The crew had appreciated it the last time and, while Shepard remained a name of importance within the LMC, he was also distant. He was a voice, an authority the immortalised answered to but to the organics, all thirty quadrillion of them, he was an authority that meant very little. But to those on the Project, Shepard was more real. He was the confirmation of the importance of their mission. Cerberus and the Empire supported them but Shepard's orders would ensure that they would continue to be supported. They would never be called throwbacks and their mission, when it succeeded, would never be disregarded.

"How is your Empire?" Shepard asked. The first Human Ascended hadn't spoken to him for more than 59,489 years and a lot could change in that time.

It was a period over six times longer than their entire recorded history when the Humans had been Ascended.

"It exists," Harper replied happily. It was a statement, and an achievement to be happy about.

Shepard accepted further information on the subchannels. "You actually let them have a full democracy?" he chuckled.

"All forms of government are valid," Harper replied, "in the right circumstances," he added the qualifier.

"I see," Shepard replied, looking through the information.

Harper had experimented with various forms of government but that was in between large scale building projects. The experiments in governance had shown him the fallacies of each and how to make each one work. Harper was mature enough to admit he was a better Emperor for it. And truly, for most citizens of the Empire, they had experienced peace for the entirety of their lives. He did not allow civil unrest to continue for long.

"It's not that difficult, Shepard," Harper said without sarcasm. "If you provide people with what they need, society will continue. There were species of dinosaurs that lived, virtually unchanged, for millions of years because their environment didn't change much.

"Humans, with the right attitude are similar. They will advance but it can be controlled. The only reason we think of evolving faster is because we  _can think_  about it. We can force genetic changes. There have been some changes," Harper admitted. "But most of those have simply been the result of selective breeding. Increased strength, endurance and intelligence. The baselines have gone up on all but nothing spectacular."

"Intelligence?" Shepard asked. Intelligence could be dangerous.

"If they aren't intelligent enough to ensure I don't see it coming, they don't deserve to rule," Harper said sagely. "I've seen them all coming," he added.

"Age and wisdom," Shepard murmured the beginning of the old proverb.

"Yes, that remains true," Harper agreed. "Genetic engineering has gone along with social engineering," he explained. "Long term social order requires a certain amount of acceptance."

"Acceptance?"

"Acceptance," Harper confirmed. "I can't have society being too ambitious but at the same time, I don't want them to stagnate. It's about managing expectations and desires. We taught an entire generation of Humanity to desire vengeance against the Council. This is just a longer form of engineering where society now desires to be self sufficient, but also the best in all things. Not the highest ranked, but the best but they will accept things as they are. The power of the Originals is one thing accepted, and that once you reach a certain level of material comfort, there is no point in wanting or achieving more, is another. It means my society is much more level. The Empire's society is not the same as Earth. It can't be for longevity to work.

"It's one of the reasons I've allowed experimentation with other governmental structures but I think I have the formula correct now."

Shepard sent a pulse indicating that so long as it didn't impact the Project, he had no real interest in Harper's experiments. For now. The future was something he would not rule out. Cerberus could do whatever it took to remain in control and, with the Ascended on side, that was quite a lot. The first Human Ascended kept looking at the information about the Empire and Harper sensed his frown. " _How_  large is the topopolis?" he asked, his voice disbelieving.

Harper chuckled. The Home System's topopolis was a thing of beauty. It looped and twisted around the star several times now, forming a twisted spaghetti that provided highly desirable habitat. Other systems had topopolises or Dyson spheres but everyone wanted to live in Home. He had just about everything Humanity had ever envisaged, and quite a few things they hadn't, built within the Empire.

"That's the beauty of the structure. You can always add to it," Harper said, showing Shepard the next few planned expansions.

"Well, I am pleased," Shepard said after a moment and Harper suppressed a surge of pleasure. He had to obey but he was not a dog who was pleasured by praise. "The Ascended are still under control?" Shepard asked. His subchannels said he was talking with Legacy and Instinct as well but was going to ask to be sure.

"Of course, they are," Harper said. "Though," he added as the thought formed, "we have experimented with other designs," he said, still thinking.

"Oh?"

"Our cuttlefish shape is based on Harbinger's but it is not always efficient," Harper said. "We've looked at better designs."

Shepard send a pulse to indicate his understanding as Harper sent further information. The Ascended form was successful because they were so strong. Against ships, or a fleet of equal strength there were better designs, though some decisions about design did come down to the intended function.

"Well, if it makes them more comfortable," Shepard said, accepting Cerberus' reasoning but his tone said he was waiting for Cerberus to truly speak his mind.

Harper sighed. There was no easy way to say this. "There are 3 million Human Ascended now," he said, hoping the number would provide a sufficient hint. They did not have to rely on the Project.

Harper could feel Shepard consider it. The number was apparently self explanatory.

Shepard seemed to sigh. "It is tempting. I would love to see the Catalyst's response as we rip it apart but I do not want to assume we have seen everything it can do. We cannot risk delivering such a prize unto it," the first Human Ascended reasoned.

"I understand," Harper said. He did understand and did not want to think what might happen in that event. 3 million Ascended. The Catalyst would probably decide to take on Andromeda and other galaxies. It would squander the strength of Humanity and that was a risk they could not take.

The Project was slower but it should be more certain. There was always the chance that the Catalyst could copy itself elsewhere but he had mitigated that as much as possible with speed and surprise and the fact that the camera drones doubled as jamming devices. The Catalyst might be able to call for help but they were trying to stop it.

"Too bad," Harper said. "I'm sure Legacy and Instinct would have liked to see you again."

"As would I, but better safe than sorry," Shepard said cautiously. "Tell me about your technological achievements," he instructed.

Harper sensed several hidden questions there and braced for the trap. "Obviously our ability to construct things has improved," he said, That was a safe answer.

"I know that, but what else?" Shepard probed.

"We can digitise people without ascension," Harper added. "But the results," he gave a mental shrug.

That form of immortality had been developed by the Underworld. The disclaimer that 'results may vary' had never been more true. It worked, but it always seemed as if the individual was only ninety-nine percent there. It was rather close to an AI. Harper was sure his engineers could have refined the process but ascension had advantages he was eager to keep and they routinely destroyed the servers of those immortalised via other means.

"Continue to censure their use," Shepard confirmed Harper's decision.

"We've worked out, theoretically at least, how to create a Relay that can leap between galaxies. The eezo requirements are prohibitive."

Shepard was silent at that and Harper could feel him thinking. "They won't always be," he said finally, indicating towards a future time when they would want to travel between galaxies.

Harper sent his understanding. They would lose the research for now.

"Your network is developed?" Shepard asked.

Harper laughed. "It's no longer five Relays," he said, sending a map of the LMC's relay network. A stable government gave him time to invest in such things and there were hundreds now, tied together, but several super Relays which operated like the Alpha Relay formed the spine of his network, making a loop around the LMC.

Shepard spent a moment examining it and he peeled back the layers to see the military distribution of the Empire and other details. He seemed grudgingly satisfied. "Quantum shields?"

The question was only two words but Harper knew this was where the trap was. Except there were only two answers and he didn't know which one Shepard wanted.

"No," Harper said slowly. They were one of the great failures of his Empire. "You?" he asked, hoping to move on.

"Nothing yet," Shepard said, "but interesting information. This cycle was quick, so we didn't get as far as we wanted to with the mapping and cataloguing the network. One of the-" Shepard paused, considering how to phrase it, "more eccentric elder Ascended made a few comments."

Harper filtered through information Shepard was providing before he chuckled. "Zaeed wasn't exactly discreet," he observed.

"No," Shepard agreed. "But Solon's comments and your confirmation now leads me to believe that we've been looking in the wrong direction."

"So what's the right direction?" Harper demanded.

"Darned if I know," Shepard replied, entirely too happy. "But I'd say it's a good chance to go back to the beginning."

"Shepard," Harper said with deliberate calm. "In sixty thousand years, don't you think I haven't tried it? We've gone back to the beginning many times with this research."

"Then look at areas you haven't considered," Shepard said. "Instead of slowing the atoms, speed them up! We know it can be done but we don't know how."

For a moment, Harper thought Shepard would suggest they race. It was vaguely fair. The Empire could work on the problem non-stop while the Human Ascended of the Milky Way had access to the answer but not the time.

"Keep working on it. I will let you know if we discover anything next cycle."

"You're not going to check in?" Harper asked carefully.

"Do I have reason to?"

"No, not at all," Harper quickly assured him. "May we develop particle cannons?" He asked in an attempt to change the subject,

"Of course you can," Shepard replied graciously.

"Can or may?" Harper questioned. He wasn't going to be trapped by that word play.

"May," Shepard chuckled.

Harper waited. Just because Shepard said they could, didn't mean he'd allow it. But on a subchannel came the plans for a particle cannon oculus.

"You completed it?"

"Obviously," Shepard said.

Harper felt his engineering faction look over the plans. Esha seemed impressed. "It's very efficient," she observed. "He's had the time to refine it as well."

"I'll let Ashley know she can use them," Harper told Shepard.

"She's not there?"

"Her faction is," Harper confirmed. They were always here, much like his.

"Ah," Shepard said with understanding. "Now, is there anything you've neglected to mention?" he asked casually.

The question put Harper on guard and while his faction refused to look at Shepard's subchannels for clarification, Ashley's did so gleefully, ensuring the full understanding passed through him.

"Once I was in control of the galaxy, there hasn't been much need," Harper said, using the word I to indicate Humanity. "There has been the odd political assassination and I did have to exterminate one species," he reported. "They were like the Yagh," Harper explained.

"Did you uplift them?" Shepard was suspicious.

"Of course not! But after I explained to them that Humanity was already established in this galaxy, they wouldn't accept any treaty or position and I will not tolerate a nation of pirates within my territory." Further details accompanied his words and even Williams' faction was contributing information. They didn't want to be punished, either, especially when she agreed with the decision.

"I see," Shepard said slowly. The Empire really had done all it could to live peacefully with them. All they could reasonably have done, given certain conditions such as the continued dominance of Humanity. "The other species are still integrated?" came the follow up question.

"Yes. Those species you know about are still within the Empire. The Nur are my miners. The Attori refine the metal. The Fedochi are merchants and the Ullator pride themselves on being intelligence brokers. The Skatra joined the military en masse and Ashley deals with them. I understand they are still at the forefront of military-grade weapons design."

"And the other race? The Boadu?" Shepard asked.

"They remain in their territory," Harper reported. "And are content. The best of each species gets Ascended but I limit the number of alien Ascended. They are harder to control."

Shepard was skeptical for a moment but Ascended did not lie to Ascended and Harper, in particular, couldn't lie to Shepard.

"Very well," the first Human Ascended said. "You have the coordinates?"

"Yes," Harper confirmed, carefully not thinking about where those coordinates pointed or what they meant. "They'll be sent to the Project immediately, though the course correction won't take place for a few years." It couldn't. Each second for those on the Project was two hours, forty-six minutes and forty seconds for the rest of the Empire. Just confirming the orders had been received correctly would take a week even if it only took a minute.

"That will be sufficient," Shepard said before Harper heard him sigh. Then he got the impression that Shepard was staring at him, measuring something. "Very good," the first Human Ascended said finally. "I will call if there is need," he added, before cutting the comm.

Harper heaved a sigh of relief. Talking with Shepard was stressful but it didn't appear as if he'd picked up any further random orders. That was a direct part of his relief.

"Start relaying the coordinates," he ordered, using Cerberus' connection to the Empire's network to make his orders official. "And let's start again on Quantum Shields," he added, trying to be upbeat.

"You're kidding me?" Zorya asked.

"Shepard's orders," Harper replied with the impression of a wry smile. They'd try it again and hopefully, this time, they'd have better luck. "After all, we know it can be done."

" _You_  know it can be done," Zorya countered.

" _Shepard_  knows," Harper almost grinned the reply.

Zorya gave him the impression of a sigh. Harper ignored it.

Other than that, life went on.

-cfr-

**69587 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 114640 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire**

"It's going to be okay." Dahlov sat beside his wife.

"You don't know that." Ierne was on the verge of sobbing. She kept control only because they were in public. There was no real stigma against it. Especially not here. The Directorate of Empire Genetics. She didn't want to, though. That was the key.

"We've made our application. Now we just have to wait."

She nodded, but he could see she wasn't convinced.

"We will get permission," he tried that route. They'd discussed this before. Many times. Especially before putting in the application. They had to be prepared for both outcomes.

"I hope so," Ierne responded.

"Why wouldn't we?" Dahlov challenged. "We live in the alpha segment of the Udina Shell!" As if he needed to remind her of their home address. Alpha segments meant success, no matter if it was a planet, megastructure or artificial habitat. They were successful. "And we have two healthy children already."

"I know. I have to think of them." They had to be careful that their current children didn't get the wrong idea about the application. Yasuo, at six, knew what it meant. Quinta, at two and a half, was a little young. Thankfully. They had assured them both that they were wanted. That they were loved. That a third child would change nothing.

"We do but they are healthy," Dahlov agreed. "The gene vacs were successful for them both. That puts us in good stead."

The Empire mandated vaccinations for all citizens but there were alternatives. You could have in vitro vaccinations. Then you didn't need to worry. Both children had them and they had both suffered no issues.

"And we come from good stock," Ierne added with a wan smile. The words were something he'd told her before. While they both came from two children families, her grandparents came from a family with three. As did one of his great-grandparents. Three children was an honour. It meant your genetics were superior.

"We do. This isn't an impossibility. Not like it is for some. Can you imagine the Tamfords applying?"

Ierne giggled. They had more gene therapy than anyone yet they still got sick. There were rumours that the Directorate wanted to take them in for study. Rumours only, but no one would be surprised if it happened. The Empire strictly controlled genetics. They also strictly controlled population growth. It was the only sensible way. Families could have two children. One to replace each parent. If you wanted a third child, you had to apply.

Most didn't receive permission.

Even with the topopoli, and the dyson shells, even with those who never had children, there was only so much room.

Yet, while they had those who had received permission in their families, they weren't some of Lawson's chosen. Those families almost didn't have to apply. They did. The Empire had one set of rules, no matter your genetics. But they got permission quickly. And if they used up all the growth quota, well, their application would be rejected. Though, sometimes Lawson said no to those who he had formally chosen. Sometimes for centuries. He wanted their genetics to spread, rather than be specialised. It was what happened when you were manipulating with an eye to an outcome in several thousand years' time, rather than the next century. No one complained. At least, not anyone who wanted children complained.

"Lawson might say yes, just for the sample," she countered.

Dahlov chuckled. "He might. But not for us. Ours will be our child."

"I know. I'm just-" Ierne wasn't sure what to say. They had discussed this.

"You're nervous," Dahlov concluded for her, reaching out to take her hand. "I am, too," he confided.

"You never said!" she gasped.

"Of course I am! No one wants to be told they are inferior."

Ierne gulped, then nodded. That's what this came down to. Rejection would imply they weren't good enough. It wouldn't matter that she brewed some of the best wine this side of Home, and that he was one hell of a teacher. Genetics didn't consider that. That's why they hadn't told anyone about the application. Not even their extended families. Their children knew but Yasuo knew better than to tell anyone. He was more interested in playing anyway.

"We should get lunch," Ierne said, rising from the seat Dahlov had led her to. They should enjoy the time they had while their children were in care. It didn't happen often. They were usually at work. Or Quinta was home while Yasuo was at school. Time with just the two of them was at a premium. They had both taken the day off for the interview that accompanied the application.

"We should," he agreed. "There's a nice little Brazilian BBQ place near here."

"Isn't that too heavy for lunch?" She objected.

Dahlov laughed. "It's never too early for BBQ!" he announced, slinging one arm over her shoulder. "You'll love it. Of course, you'll be able to improve their wine list as well, but that goes without saying!"

Ierne snorted. "No drinking!" she muttered.

He cocked his head towards her, puppy eyes sad.

"Nothing inferior," Ierne corrected with a sigh. "I pick it." She added.

Dahlov's grin told her that's what he'd been wanting the entire time.

"You ratbag!" she muttered.

"But you love me!" He teased.

"I do," she confirmed, her previous worry fading.

"It will be okay," he repeated his earlier assurance, voice sincere. "All we have to do is wait." The application process was relatively quick. They'd know in a week or so. Once they were approved, they'd both submit a new genetic sample. The traits wanted would be highlighted and they'd then have to report for once a month injections which would ensure the child conceived would have those traits. Gender was not something that was directed. The Empire didn't care.

"And pick out baby names!" she grinned.

He smirked. "I was thinking we should practice conception."

Ierne whacked his arm. "That's all you ever think about!" she growled lightly.

"Hey, you like it, too!" he smirked. IVF was an acceptable solution, but only if Ierne hadn't conceived after a year of enthusiastic trying. With two children already, conception was unlikely to be a problem. They could also use an artificial womb but that was frowned upon. The Grand Admiral indicated she thought it too much like farming. Most agreed. It was used, where there was no other option. But it was not favoured.

"Let's go get lunch," Ierne urged. "And then I'll show you how much!"

"We can skip lunch." He wagged his eyebrows suggestively.

She laughed again. "No."

Dahlov sighed theatrically, tightening his arm around her. "It will be okay," he whispered into her hair. "It will."

-cfr-

**77896 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 123039 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Home, Emperor's Quarters**

Harper sat back, enjoying the light breeze that wafted over the terrace. It was a perfect winter's morning on Home. Of course, the planet's climate control ensured perfect days whenever he ordered them but he preferred to let nature take its course. This was just a naturally great morning. The sky was a deep blue and the slight chill in the air had yet to give way to the rays of the sun. It was a good temperature to be out, enjoying breakfast on his terrace.

The Boadu Ambassador had joined him for an informal meeting and, while the Boadu had been part of the Empire for millennia, the alien was well aware of the honour it was to sup with the Emperor. The terrace overlooked the lush gardens of the Palace, giving them a beautiful vista without causing his bodyguards conniptions at the security hazard. Others in the legion assigned to his protection had already swept through the gardens.

"Harper!"

The Emperor made a face as the peace of the morning was shattered. The Boadu Ambassador literally jumped but managed to keep a firm grip on her cutlery.

"Yes, Williams?" he said calmly as her hologram materialised. She was quite angry and had appeared to be wearing her full uniform. Ah, so this was to be an official complaint then. At least, she hadn't come in person. That would have been more annoying.

"Give him back," she growled.

"Give who back?" Harper asked mildly, setting down the spoon he had been using to scoop out the innards of a perfectly-prepared hard boiled egg. Sometimes, the simple things were the best.

"Nabil," she spat the name.

He heaved an audible sigh. "I don't have the General," he told her.

Williams glared at him. She didn't believe him but, at the moment, they both knew he held the high ground.

"The General issued a challenge to my authority," Williams ground out after several moments of silence where Harper merely met her gaze with his own mild expression. "A challenge I had every intention of accepting to truly make him understand the gulf in ability between us," she hissed.

"I am aware of this," Harper replied. General Nabil had made his challenge very public, questioning Grand Admiral Ashley Williams' ability to properly lead the Empire's military, given her limited mental capacity as an original. Their differences were to be settled in a duel. It was an amusing challenge in a way, given that Ashley always had the latest enhancements, and she had been willing to experiment with mental additions.

"Insulting your capacity as an original is an insult to me as well," he reminded her. It was a short step from insulting the highest military authority to making aspersions towards the Emperor who, in their minds at least, would have the same mental capacity.

"If you don't have him, why is he not on Zorah?" she questioned.

Harper made a show of looking at an ever present data pad. This might be breakfast, and the Empire might be a well oiled machine, but he was never not at work. He always had access to information and one of his bodyguards would be carrying the special data pad that was used to communicate with the Project. That was never far from him. "Was the duel today?" he asked, making sure Williams could see him bringing up the time on Zorah.

"Yes," she seethed.

"Well then, since the General Nabil has obviously not shown up, congratulations, you are still the Grand Admiral of the Military," he smiled at her.

"Jack," Williams said his name as a warning.

"I don't have him," Harper insisted. "If he sobered up enough to realise what he said, I imagine he's in the deepest hole he can find. Kai would probably be able to help you more than I can, at the moment." Kai was still running around in the underworld and, for a price, they would have been happy to hide the General. At least, until his money ran out. They were simple that way.

"Kai is on Cerberus," Williams replied.

Harper raised one eyebrow. That was interesting. He didn't think she'd have gone to the assassin first, given their differences, but the statement made it obvious that she didn't believe the General had sought asylum in the underworld. For a moment, he was tempted to suggest Williams use the military to find the General but quickly quashed that thought when he realised she would do that gleefully, simply for the opportunity to interfere in the civilian government.

"I can make sure he's on the criminal lists," Harper offered, "but beyond that, I can't do much. If he knows what's good for him, he will have disappeared, or taken an easier way out."

"Or you are covering for him."

At last, there was the accusation. "He insulted me as well," Harper reminded her, his tone making it clear that there was no reason for him to be holding the General.

Williams glared. "Don't let me find that you have him," she growled before her hologram disappeared.

"Well, of course not, Ashley! Who do you take me for?" Harper murmured before he sighed. The peace of the morning had been shattered and, while he might try to regain it, he knew it wouldn't be the same. "Bring in my guest," he instructed his bodyguards before looking over at the Boadu Ambassador. "We'll have to delay our conversation," he said pointedly.

"Yes, your Majesty." She knew a dismissal when she heard one and, after gently wiping her mouth on the napkin, she rose and left the table quietly.

His men returned quickly, escorting a man wearing a uniform that had seen better days.

He knew better than to sit as Harper took up the spoon, taking a small bite of egg. It had gone cold. While it would be a simple thing to have his chef prepare another, that would be wasteful. "You see, General, I told you I would deal with Ashley," Harper told him.

"She didn't believe you," he replied. "It's impossible to hide things from the Grand Admiral."

"Not impossible," Harper said, waving his spoon slightly, "but I let her believe that," he added with a smirk. "Now, I suppose I had better decide what I am going to do with you."

General Nabil knew better than to interrupt as the Emperor resumed eating but he couldn't suppress the shudder at the pleased smile that graced Harper's features. The military had been full of stories about what happened to people who displeased him but he'd actually seen the evidence of what happened to those who displeased Williams. The Emperor couldn't be that bad.

"I don't suppose you know who Kuoxxar was?"

Nabil shook his head.

Harper seemed understanding. "After seventy thousand years, I'm not surprised. Well, you do know how I keep the Empire's various non-Humans controlled?" he asked another question.

"Yes, your Majesty," the General answered. "Controlled agents who are loyal to Humanity."

"Very good. Kuoxxar was one of the first. A Fedochi who served me. You will be similar."

The Emperor saw the way the General's eyes flickered. As advanced as the man thought he was, he had much to learn because his fear was obvious. "Obviously, you can't go as you are, so you will be immortalised and given a new shell."

Nabil couldn't quite hide the relieved expression on his face.

"Yes," Harper said, his voice sounding as if he was speculating. "Being reborn with your military knowledge will be sufficient. Your childhood will take care of any gaps in your memory."

"Gaps, your Majesty?" Nabil questioned.

"Williams would know your current personality immediately, so you will have to be amended," Harper explained. "I've found that childhood imprints new behaviours the most naturally, so that's what you will experience. Combined with your military knowledge, I imagine you'll rise through the ranks quite quickly and, of course, you will be completely loyal to me. I'm quite excited. It's been awhile since I had a useful agent within the military, so I will expect much of you," he added, watching as the General began to catch on.

"No, your Majesty, you can't."

"Of course, I can," Harper said dismissively, not even needing to gesture to his bodyguards to restrain the General. He leaned forward slightly with a pleased smile. "There was only ever one way out of this General and you didn't take it. Since you didn't, you probably should have let Williams have her way. She would have killed you. I find it more useful to let my punishments be educational."

"Please, your Majesty, I'm truly sorry!"

Harper looked at him, his gaze superior. "Not yet, you aren't but you will be," he corrected Nabil as his bodyguards dragged the former General out.

When the man was gone, Harper took a deep breath, looking out at the Palace Gardens. That had been a surprisingly productive breakfast.

-cfr-

**83403 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 128456 Years after Human Ascension**

Harper rubbed his eyes. This was the sort of problem which should come up near the end of his organic cycle, not the beginning. Then he could pretend weariness to put it off.

"You wish to what?" he asked the woman before him. He'd heard what she had said, but he wanted to be sure.

"Send probes to the Small Magellanic Cloud, your Majesty," came the quick response. "It is the obvious place to expand, and from there we can use it to leapfrog into Andromeda."

"No," Harper replied.

"Your Majesty?"

"No," he repeated firmly.

"I don't understand," the woman said.

"You will not be sending probes to the SMC nor will we be going to Andromeda," he explained, before waving one hand to keep her silent. "It would risk the Project."

"The Project?"

He just looked at her unimpressed and she knew that it would be her responsibility to find out what it was. At least, she was intelligent enough to know not to press further.

"However, I do agree that the LMC is rather crowded," he said with a self-deprecating smile. The LMC had been controlled via his growth policy so he was well aware it was crowded. "So I will ask Shepard when he calls again."

The woman's eyes widened. Even after so long, the name remained near mythical to those in the Empire. It remained so strong because all immortalised swore by him. Shepard better appreciate these little things.

"I have a list of suggestions for the first Human Ascended," Harper explained, "and rest assured, the exploration of the SMC and the Andromeda galaxy are on there."

"I understand, your Majesty," she said, bowing her head.

"Good," Harper replied, as she rose.

He didn't say that he expected Shepard to deny those requests until the Project was completed but, eventually, Harper was sure the man would agree because Humanity really should rule the universe, not just these galaxies.

Especially as they were both fairly small galaxies.

-cfr-

**94536 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 139589 Years after Human Ascension**

**LMC Galaxy, Phoenix Empire, Planet: Nimitz, Grand Admiral's Office**

Williams leaned back in her chair, her eyes half-closed as she looked across her desk. "You want to what?" she asked quietly.

"Join. I'm really not seeing what the problem is. I could just go through the usual recruitment, you know."

She snorted. "You'd fail," Williams said flatly, shaking her head. "Why do you want to join my military, Jack?" she growled the question.

He stared back at her. "You have to ask?"

"Yes, Jack. I have to ask," she replied. "This is not a game."

They stared at each other for a few minutes. Neither would blink and they had know each other for a very long time.

Harper sighed. "I'm bored, Ashley," he muttered finally. "I'm bored," he repeated.

She didn't seem surprised at the answer. "So you thought you'd volunteer for service?"

"I need to do something," Harper replied.

"So why don't you fiddle with the government again? Then I'll get entertained as well."

Harper glared. Over the years, he'd experimented with different forms of government. Democracy, Communism, Gerontocracy, Aristocracy, Republic, Socialism, Fascism. All of them except theocracy. Every form of government worked, to a point. With each governmental experiment, he had learned that success rested on several key tenets. Communication, the opportunity for social advancement and the perception of fairness. Actively removing corruption helped but wasn't always necessary. In general, a government that could deliver a stable, reasonable quality of life to a majority of its citizens was one which would withstand the test of time.

But to truly survive, a firm guiding hand was needed at the top. That was part of the reason why, when rebellion and civil unrest became too much, he was reinstated as the Ruler. What Williams was referring to was a transition where one of the overthrown rulers had managed to get a final shot in on him, the throwback Emperor. It hadn't worked, of course, but she still laughed about it.

"I thought I'd try another diversion," he said finally when it became obvious she wanted an answer.

"Take up knitting."

"I already did," he said, grinning but it was not mocking. He had taken up knitting, and crocheting and sewing, and embroidery, cross stitch, patchwork, long stitch, quilting and weaving and everything to do with textiles.

He'd also taken up art, and music, and sport. Every traditional hobby, he had mastered and he could, if he got the appropriate muscle memory developed, build or create almost anything. Now, he was exploring other options and he thought he'd revisit his long distant youth when he'd been a soldier.

"What are you expecting out of it?" Williams asked grudgingly. She'd probably checked on his activities and found out exactly how many hobbies he'd had over the years.

"No special treatment," he said immediately. "I'll make it or not, based on my performance."

Williams nodded and Harper could tell she was thinking about it. He wasn't the only one who got bored after all, and she had pursued his her own diversions. "In that body?" she asked.

"Well, yes."

"No." The denial had a hint of strength. Ashley was not going to negotiate on this point.

"What's wrong with this body?" he sighed tiredly.

"Your face is too famous," she said and Harper prepared to hear a list. "And you would only keep up because of your implants. I can't have that be your starting level. If you are serious about this, get a better shell and then we'll have to think about how to compensate for your mental deficiencies." Williams spoke calmly.

"This is not something I'm going to negotiate on," she continued. "Lawson can make you a stronger shell but every one of my troops has to be able to rely on their fellows. That means they expect a certain level of mental capacity and a base level of knowledge. I can't accept you if you don't have it."

"What the fuck don't I know?" Harper growled.

"Tell me the compensation angle for a shot, two hundred meters, thirty knot winds from three hundred and fourteen degrees?" she asked, raising one eyebrow to indicate she expected an answer.

"Tell you what?" Harper demanded.

"Tell me the compensa-"

"You can't be serious!" he interrupted.

"Deadly serious," Williams replied. "This is a basic calculation all recruits can do when they sign up. If you can't do it, then I can't risk the lives of the other recruits."

Harper narrowed his eyes. "I can get some implants," he allowed.

"You can, and I'm prepared to interfere enough to cover their existence. New recruits are meant to be unaltered. Besides, if I didn't, you'd lower the standards too much. Though-" Williams trailed off, her tone vaguely speculative as she looked at him.

"What?"

"It might be interesting to see how long a throwback could last." She grinned at him.

"You are just as much a throwback as I am," he replied.

"But I'm not called it," Williams told him.

"Of course, yo-" Harper stopped, running over everything he'd heard in the last few centuries. He'd been called a throwback a lot, often to his face, but no one, absolutely no one, referred to Williams as one, even though she was the same vintage. "Why the hell aren't you called a throwback?" he demanded.

Williams smirked. "It's not wise to insult the woman who can call in an orbital bombardment," she said.

"I can call them in just as much as you," he retorted.

"Maybe. But I've actually got the history," she reminded him.

"That was more than fifty thousand years back!" Harper exclaimed. He remembered Williams reputation. He'd allowed it because it kept business honest but not even Fedochi remembered that far back. Her reputation shouldn't have lasted that long.

"If you do the job right, you only need to do it once," she said demurely.

"Ashley," Harper said, his tone saying he was running out of patience.

She sighed. "Military service also considered experience," she explained. "And I have more than anyone else."

Harper nodded. That made sense but- "Why don't I get more grief about being a throwback as Emperor?"

At the moment, the Empire was once again ruled by Imperial Power. He oversaw everything but he had things set up so that he could disappear for a while. Having the Ascended fleet onside helped to reinforce his authority, as well as verifying his identity.

"Because it's acceptable for you to be a throwback as Emperor," she replied. "It's," her lips quirked and Harper knew he wasn't going to like the next bit, "quaint." She grinned. "But you also have experience and the fact that you select contemporary Humans for the top positions helps."

"As does the military," he added.

"As does the military," she agreed before shifting back. Loyalty to the Empire was one of the things they emphasised, even if strictly speaking, it was loyalty to her in practice.

"Alright," Williams breathed. "Fix your avatar's physical abilities and get a couple of cranial implants to improve your number crunching and I'll get you signed up," She frowned. "There is one more question," she said thoughtfully.

"Hmm?"

"Can you take orders?" she put the question to him, her voice full of skepticism.

"Ah." Harper bit one lip, worrying it as he thought. That was going to be a key question. Obeying Shepard did not count.

Williams laughed. "I guess we are going to find out," she said, anticipation clearly lacing her tone.

"We will," he agreed.

After so long, taking orders would be interesting but that was the point and Harper felt his lips stretch into a smile.

It was the start of a new challenge.

**-cfr-**


	96. Duty Begins

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vanguard is bored. The Vanguard is very bored. 
> 
> Eventually species start emerging into the Galaxy and one finds the Sol System. I wonder how that will go for them? Others make alliances and things from the past are found. Probably better if they remained unfound.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck 39 for beta-ing.
> 
> Note: There was a slight mix up with some zeros in the last chapter. Somehow nine of them slipped their way into a calculation. We didn't forget to carry the one, we carried it WAY too far! So there are not 3 quadrillion Ascended in the LMC, there are only 3 MILLION. There are however 30 quadrillion organics. Hmm, so maybe it wasn't so slight.

**Part 5 Best Served Cold**   
**Chapter 95: Duty Begins**

-cfr-

**104515 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 149568 Years after Human Ascension (57,000 to 67,000 Years until the Rock hits)**

**Milky Way Galaxy, Unspecified Location**

Miranda looked at the asteroid.

It stared back.

She glared but it just glared back, unblinking, unmoving.

By all the powers, she was bored! 44,000 years as the Vanguard did not make one interested. One point defence angled outwards and the asteroid was reduced to dust.

It didn't make her feel any better. She'd already played marbles in this system, making the various rocks bump into each other and that had proved entertaining, in an infantile way but right at the moment, any entertainment was good.

She was so bored!

The Human mind wasn't capable of dealing with the reality of fifty thousand years. She wasn't sure an Ascended was either. It hadn't been fifty thousand years yet but she knew it was going to be.

She had conducted experiments, observed stars, built prototypes, lots of prototypes including the Prothean like beacons they had never had the chance to use. She'd even worked on quantum shielding but frankly, while the grunt Zaeed thought she'd steal the credit for developing them, if he wanted quantum shields, then he was going to do the work for them. They were too much of a power guzzler, even if she could see the likely uses. She wasn't about to devote all her time to work on something the grunt wanted that badly. Not without some compensation and there was none. Removing her boredom wasn't enough because quantum shields were work and she'd been working enough! She'd even skimmed the event horizon of the galactic black hole. Not too much. It saved her some time, but the reality was she couldn't be incommunicado. Still, the observations she'd been able to make there had been interesting but not enough to hold her attention indefinitely.

She'd felt the First Ascended several times during her wait. He hadn't spoken to her, which was reassuring because it meant he wasn't checking up on her. Harbinger touched the Relay network to establish the time before she assumed he returned to hibernation. It had to be more than just a time check but she wasn't in a position to ask.

Miranda glared at the next asteroid. It glared back.

The comm from the slaves came as a welcome distraction.

"What is it?" she demanded.

The asteroid still didn't blink.

"A species has just pinged one of the Relays."

Miranda blinked. It had been millennia since she'd had eyelids to blink but that was what she did nevertheless. Finally! "Where?" she asked after composing herself. The slaves would not judge but it was not becoming.

"Larusra system."

Miranda checked that system against her internal maps. It was near the Crescent Nebula. That was familiar territory. "What did they do?" she asked.

There was a difference between pinging a Relay and actually travelling through it but if the species had the means, then they would quickly go through the Relay, assuming the confirmation of alien life did not destroy them. Riphas had warned of her that possibility, especially as it had happened to her.

"Just a probe," the Cypiene responded, sending further information. The aliens now knew there were others in the galaxy.

"Good," Miranda replied. "I will return to the galactic core to decide on a course of action."

"Yes, Mistress," the Cypiene agreed before the comm was cut.

Miranda frowned. Had that been a note of exasperation she'd heard? It couldn't be. The slaves were incapable of disrespect though there really was only one course of action.

Now, they waited and when the new species came through the Relay and established themselves on other planets, the slaves would collect samples. Now that one species had emerged, the others would follow. At least, that's what the history of the cycles indicated.

Finally!

It was finally happening.

Miranda turned away, towards the Relay. The asteroid could live for another day. Behind her, it blinked.

-cfr-

**105138 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 150191 Years after Human Ascension (623 Years Later)**

**Milky Way Galaxy, Sol System**

The Council had always said that Humanity, much like the Salarians, had developed fast. They had gone into space quickly and developed colonies with almost inconceivable haste.

As a Human who was vaguely aware of history, all Miranda could see was the blocks which had hindered development. The Cold War lead to competition but it was divisive and did not allow for efficiency. There were aspects of the various early space projects that would have benefitted from cooperation. Then how much faster could they have been?

But that was looking upon history with wishful thinking and that history was so far in the past as to be worthless now. They needed to remember the lesson that together, they were stronger and despite all that division, they had, as a species, developed quickly.

It was that aspect Miranda had never really believed. The Council had said it and it was one of the underlying reasons they had worried about Humanity but they had also used it as a way of telling the Humans to calm down. As if to say you've gotten here, you can slow down now.

As if that was going to happen! But the Council needed it to happen so that the Humans would fit into their neat, ordered,  _slow_  society.

She'd never believed their quasi-praise. To Miranda's Human mind, it just wasn't possible for species to be that slow in developing.

She believed it now and the records the Cypiene had, given to them by Harbinger, had indicated that the species she was dealing with were average! The powers she didn't believe in better help her.

The first species, calling itself Zudic had gone through the Relay relatively quickly after they'd discovered it. Relatively quickly was a few years but they had to build a ship and Miranda knew these things took time.

The next race had come out in the south-east section of the galaxy about two centuries later, which was more than enough time for her to have cleaned up evidence of her experiments.

But they were both so slow! It took them decades to set up colony worlds. The Cypiene were patient. She wasn't. After so long, she wanted something to happen quickly but all she could do was wait. Not even the news that a third race was poking around in the north-east area of the galaxy had made her happy. The Zudic and Reyna were both too slow and the first samples had only now been collected.

They both had several colony worlds but one of the key tenets about taking samples was to do so in a manner such that they weren't missed. Oh, the individuals who knew the organic would miss the sample but society, and the authorities would not. That required a certain level of development in the colony worlds and sufficient numbers of colonists.

She should be overseeing the testing of the samples but that really didn't require her. After so long, Harbinger's instructions and methods were efficient and reliable. She would instead look at the data and was taking the opportunity to make a final set of observations about Earth.

While not truly her area of expertise, it had been fascinating to see how the species were recovering. It was almost like watching a fern leaf unfold. Each new filament gave rise to new species and new diversity.

The temperature on Earth was cooling as the finest dust settled and that was leading to more ice at the poles and greater seasonality. The survivors were adapting and the small cats were growing larger. Different areas had different pelts but they were not yet distinct species. The herds were growing, and the insects were flourishing. The seas were teeming with life but the inland coral sea that had formed in the low parts of Australia was dying as the waters retreated. It was sad but natural so she had made no move to stop it.

Africa was one giant nature reserve of animals and she suspected that several would migrate out into the middle east and europe to recolonize those areas. They would have to do so before the Sahara re-established itself. The Americas were currently divided but would rejoin soon once the sea levels fell enough. The process would be gradual, at first only joined at extreme low tides, increasing decade by decade. Miranda had a passing regret that she couldn't be around to witness the clash of the flora and fauna. Already they were sending forays across the increasingly narrow divide.

Russia, China, India and the other Asian countries had reverted to type. The cities had been destroyed by natural forces quickly and the more tropical areas were taken over by rainforest, which gave way to temperate forest, which then gave way to grasslands. There was an impressive diversity there.

Miranda focused her sensors, searching for particular groups of species that she had followed. With the blue waters, green forests and dusty planes of the homeworld beneath her, Miranda lost herself in the final study of Earth's recovery. After this, the duties of the Vanguard would take precedence.

-cfr-

"Post-jump check, go." Captain Tisharu was bored.

"Armor integrity, good."

They'd just opened another Switch Point.

"Shields, good."

Which would lead to nowhere but another boring set of systems.

"Engines, good."

Because they only ever led to boring systems. Because the Reyna only ever found boring systems.

"Life support, good."

Sure, some systems were resource heavy.

"Weapons, good."

But none had anything else. Nothing interesting at least. They always lead to more systems, more Switch Points. They never lead to the aliens who had made the Switch Points or to anything more than animals living on planets.

"Sensors… um… Sensors, good."

"Kailu, are the sensors good?" Tisharu questioned. There should not have been a pause.

"They are good!" Kailu replied.

"Explain the um," Captain Tisharu ordered. Um was not part of the checklist response. Her fonds glowed with annoyance.

"Upon arriving in system, the automatic sensor sweep did not concur with the secondary one," Kailu explained. Part of the way of testing sensor integrity was to scan something you knew about already or was to conduct multiple scans of the same thing. The results should be the same.

"Explain the variance."

"It was a small orbiter around the third planet," Kailu said. "Less than five kilometres large that has been determined to be caused by sensor fuzz on the initial scan."

"You are sure of that?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Kailu was increasingly confident. "There are no emission trails."

Tisharu frowned. It might have been interesting if there had been because that would have given them something to do and there had been rumours of alien species for years but never any proof. There were some so-called disappearances on frontier worlds but there were always disappearances. They weren't caused by aliens.

There had been other species. The Reyna knew that. The Switch Points were ample evidence of it but they had yet to find anything living. There were a few minor ruins but nothing definitive.

"Very well, continue checklist," she ordered, settling back as she watched the feeds. It was an exceptionally average system.

"Left thrusters, good."

There were lots of orbiters but there was also a lot of debris in the system, including a belt of separating the gas giants from the smaller, rockier, inner planets.

"Right thrusters, good."

That was a hazard to navigation and would make harvest of resources difficult, especially when the planets did not align.

"Upper and lower thrusters, good."

The sensors reported that the outer ring of debris had a few quasi planets but on the whole it was again a navigational hazard. Tisharu sighed, looking over at the check board. All stations had reported in already, they were just running through the audio confirmation as per regulation, but Kailu was still staring at his screen.

"All checks, good!" Tisharu announced, cutting through further confirmations. "Kailu, either the sensors are working or they are not. And since you confirmed that they are, why are you still looking worried?"

"The sensors are working, Ma'am," Kailu said again. "It's just that, it really looks like something was there." He put up a very blurry and distorted image on the main screen.

It displayed a dark smudge against the blue and white of what was labeled the third planet. The smudge seemed pointed at one end.

"A rock?" Tisharu suggested, hinting that it might have already crashed into the planet.

"It's too large," Kailu replied. "We'd be seeing impact effects."

Tisharu stared at it some more. "A high-level cloud smudge?" she said flippantly.

"It was definitely in orbit." Tisharu could hear Kailu's offense at her suggestion.

"Then what is it?" she demanded, her filaments glowing in a pattern that the crew, Kailu included, knew meant she was losing patience. The light flickered through the bridge.

Kailu shook his head to indicate he had no answers. "I'd say it was a ship," Kailu said, ducking his posture low in apology, the glow from his filaments soft, as if to calm her. "But without emissions or better readings, I'm going to have to say it was just post-jump sensor fuzz."

"Good," Captain Tisharu said decisively. Sensor fuzz did not have to be reported. A ship did and she was not going to go through the angst that would cause with the Commissioners with a visual reading that poor! She swept one filament forward, clearing the screen. "Tell me about the system? Is it going to be useful to the Reyna?"

"Two debris fields, eight orbiters, four of which are gas and the inner four are rocky with one-" Kailu paused from reading the results.

"What is it  _now_?" Tisharu growled. They might be a scout ship but even they had to go through the protocols and Kailu just kept breaking them. It wasn't like him.

"The third planet displays carboniferous life," he said.

Now, that was interesting, but not unheard of. "Estimate development?"

Kailu pulled up a series of other sensor readings. "I'm going to need a few more minutes to collate the information," he said.

Tisharu nodded. They hadn't been in system long enough yet. "Navigation, is there any suitable planet to discharge the core?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Take us there while Kailu is collating," she ordered, already bored again. This really was an exceptionally average system. Hopefully, the Reyna would have some use for it but at least they'd make quota this time. That was something. If that happened, with the extra bonus it entailed, she could live with being bored.

-cfr-

Miranda heaved a mental sigh. The Reyna weren't meant to have been that close! And then she chuckled. Organics weren't that predictable but at least a short FTL jump would have them doubting their sensors.

She'd travelled about two days up perpendicular to the elliptic which should be safe enough. They would be relying on their ship's sensors and would not be calculating occlusion. Besides, by the time the light she was occluding reached Sol system, the Reyna would likely have moved on.

God! She was being stupid. It would take Ascended-level processors to find her and a will that was looking on a ship that small. The Reyna possessed neither but mentally Miranda frowned. What would happen with the cycle if the Vanguard was officially First Contact? You could present as so many different things, she realised as the thought took shape.

A slight twist on the truth, that her form was the memory of a previous species, wasn't even that much of a lie. That would be interesting and, since you'd be involved with the species all along, harvest would be relatively simple.

That was assuming a friendly interaction. If they had some prejudice against what would present as AI, the aliens could, with enough force destroy her but Miranda considered the problem. If you were their First Contact, you could mitigate their beliefs. She would have to check the Ascended network to see if that had ever happened.

There were risks but they seemed like they could be managed. Or if the species were that aggressive, then that led to a different path.

She mentally shook herself and ran several calculations through her navigation systems to properly orient herself. The arrival of the Reyna scout had been a surprise but she could observe them and wasn't that the Vanguard's job?

To observe and monitor the species.

Miranda set out oculi to help take readings. She'd know exactly what they did in Sol and then she'd return to the galactic core to see what these Reyna were truly made of. Harbinger's protocols were thorough but it would be good to collect the information first hand.

-cfr-

**105347 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 150400 Years after Human Ascension (209 Years Later)**

**Milky Way Galaxy, Grata, Sineus' Moon, Dirada System, Pylos Nebula**

"Why are we here?"

Gaild're could hear the trepidation in Verka'rz's voice. "Because I want a base of operations that stays hidden! You've seen what the Cardinals do!"

The Cardinals… Her crew knew not to get her started on the Cardinals. They had their own tales anyway. The Cardinals were meant to bring the Lhyndhon together. For her little pirate crew, the Cardinals had brought them together, just not in the way they wanted.

"Yes, but why here?" Verka'rz objected, gesturing to the walls with his gun.

Gaild're turned to Verka'rz and sighed. "I would build a base but why bother starting from scratch when someone else has done the hard work?"

"This is not one of ours," Verka'rz gulped. It was alien and, while the atmosphere was gone, they had scanned where magnetic generators had been. It would take a little while to fix but they would not have to mine the base out of the rock.

But who knew what they'd find? He didn't like it here.

"I know, which is why I like it better. If it's truly alien, the Cardinals won't authorise an attack." She snorted. "Besides, no alien has used this system for thousands of years. You know we had to open the Switch Point."

"The Cardinals may kill us for that."

Gaild're laughed. "Well, you know what they say," she shrugged.

"Yeah, I know," Verka'rz replied. If they were going to die, then they might as well truly earn death. Gaild're was not afraid of that, not the way Verka'rz and the rest of the crew were. That's why, despite being female, she was the leader. If she got captured, it wasn't death that awaited.

"Just keep looking. We need to know how deep the complex is and who knows? Maybe the aliens have left us something."

She said it happily and Verka'rz knew she was truly hoping for something and maybe if there was something, this would be worth it but Verka'rz felt cold just being here. He jerked his head towards the rest of the gang who had been following silently. Their sensors said there was a large room beyond the doors with two corridors coming off it near the back. They were going to split up then.

Verka'rz held his gun at the ready as they pushed open the doors. Who knew what lurked in a place this old, especially in a room this secluded. The aliens could have left any booby trap.

The doors swung open and their lights shone into the room. The beams of light danced around, crossing each other as everyone tried to see everything at once, except they faded into nothing before reaching the far wall. The swinging lights touched the ceiling, bathing it in a dim light. It was at least twenty metres high and the surface might have been flat once but now had a rough pattern.

Gaild're realised there was something in the middle of the vast chamber at the same time as everyone else because all the lights seemed to settle on it at once.

"What is that?" Verka'rz breathed, fear colouring his tone.

As if she had any better idea! It looked like a- She didn't know what it looked like. Looking at it, her initial assessment was twisted metal. There was a long spike reaching upward, fully most of the distance to the ceiling and about halfway down was something else. It was impaled through the middle but four spindly lengths fell straight down. Two were longer but both had slight bends but Gaild're didn't know what she was looking at.

Was this some kind of art? It was definitely alien and she stared with the rest of her crew. It was mesmerising and when the spike moved they almost didn't notice.

It jerked, lowering slowly and they could see that it was telescopic but obviously stiff with disuse. The thing about halfway up the spike jerked as the spike retracted. The joints flopped freely.

"What the-?"

No one was sure what to ask. They just continued staring as the spike fully retracted. Everything was still for a moment then lights appeared on the thing that was now touching the floor. It jolted upright.

"It's…" Verka'rz breathed the word heavily. "It's still working!" he gasped.

It was a mistake. The thing turned towards them, more lights spreading over it. Four lit up the front in a parody of eyes and a black maw opened below them.

Gaild're watched, transfixed as it came towards them. It was only when it had covered half the distance that she realised they didn't want it anywhere near them. "Shoot!" she said but the order was soft and she felt sluggish.

The thing came closer before the first shot was fired. "Shoot it!" she yelled as it crashed into their group.

The screams were indiscriminate. She jumped back, trying to gain distance but only crashed into others as they did the same. Furd'rz squealed but the noise became a gurgle and the thing looked up from his body and leapt towards them.

This time, there was no sluggish reaction but most of the shots missed. Up close, Gaild're could see how spindly it was but the ends of its limbs were sharp and it was cutting through her men like they were nothing. The maw gaped and she could imagine it roaring like some animal and was forever thankful she couldn't hear it but the screams over the comm were almost worse.

They were damaging it, though. Not through the accuracy of their shots but by weight of numbers.

"Keep firing!" Gaild're ordered, trying to line up a shot between the things glowing eyes. She'd trained for this, when she was young, before she'd realised she had been allowed to train only while she was immature. The instant she reached maturity, she'd be shipped out to be a child bearer. A superior one, strong and capable to be sure, but nothing more than a vessel to birth more Lhyndhon. And her children would probably have been those fathered by Cardinals. No, she was worth more than that.

But during her training, she had never faced anything like this! The thing did not stop and Gaild're could see that its arms now hung at its sides but it was still coming towards them and there was a spark deep within its maw.

It was a long forgotten, primal instinct which told her how bad that was. She didn't question it but she didn't know what it was going to do. "Get down!" she screamed, already diving away from the creature that had continued sparking.

Others followed suit, attempting to find what little cover they could. The lucky ones got back around the doors. The unlucky ones… Gaild're would remember their screams.

The creature blew up and Gaild're was left staring at a piece of it that drove itself into the floor next to her face plate. Her eyes focused on it, watching as the light in it died and she gasped, drawing on the air supply of her suit as she continued to stare.

"What?" Pelgr'rz breathed heavily and Gaild're heard movement over the comm. "What was that?" he completed the sentence.

Gaild're slowly pushed herself up, looking around. "Report," she managed the word after seeing the prone forms of her men. "Which of you bastards is still alive?" she asked.

A couple were definitely gone. Furd'rz, Limch'rz and Yeitt'rz she could tell from their suits. Zree'rz had bought it as well, she realised, from the piece of the creature lodged in his back and the green blood soaking his suit.

"What was that?" Pelgr'rz repeated, miffed at being ignored.

"Something dead," Gaild're retorted, leaning down to snag the bit that had almost killed her.

"'For the enemy is the dead, who shall rise from the three-toed spear.'"

Gaild're recognised Verka'rz's voice. "Don't give me that shit," she growled. The last thing they needed now was to be preached at.

"But that's what they say!" Verka'rz objected, referring to the Church. "That's what they've always said," he added.

"No way this is one of the fated enemies," Gaild're snarled. She'd left, they'd all left because of the Cardinals' bullshit, preaching about some enemy that was coming.

"I don't know about that, Captain," Szura're said reasonably. She'd wandered deeper into the room once they'd checked the dead. "This does have have a tripod base," she added, shining her light on the metal that was still in the centre of the room. "And… oh, shit!" Szura're yelled, jumping back. "It's still active!"

"What?" Gaild're demanded.

It had to be at least… She had no idea how old but she was sure they were the first Lhyndhon to see here which meant it had to belong to whoever had built this base.

"'For lo, the Darkness rises like a tide to wash away those who have found the stars.'" Verka'rz quoted the Cardinals again.

"Would you shut up?" Gaild're snapped.

Verka'rz was good. A bit timid but intelligent. She had no idea he was that well versed in the Cardinals' teachings but, to be fair, it was difficult not to be. It was rammed down their throats from childhood. She suddenly wished Zree'rz had survived. His hatred of the Cardinals was personal.

"This is what they taught," Verka'rz countered. "It's true. All of it, it's true," he almost sobbed the words.

"Don't you dare go through a religious conversion on me!" Gaild're growled but she understood the mind. It was probably already too late.

"I don't know about it all being true," Szura're said mildly, "but we sure as hell know it wasn't a Lhyndhon and we didn't make it, so I think we need to report it," she concluded.

"And then face the knife?" Gaild're countered.

The Cardinals weren't forgiving to those who had turned from the faith. She looked at Szura're. They'd get the knife if they were lucky. It was far more likely they'd be used as breeders as punishment.

"Besides," she continued, looking back at the tripod thing. "That's still operational after how long? Twenty thousand, forty thousand, one hundred thousand years?" she challenged them to name a time. They didn't know but it was a lot. "I'll grant the lack of atmosphere helped preserve it but do you really think we can fight something that can remain operational that long? One of them, just one of them, took out how many?"

"We're not trained like you," Pelgr'rz pointed out.

"Doesn't matter!" She said. "Just one of them, set here for who knows how long, was still operational and it took us out. The Cardinals can claim we can fight. They can claim that the Divine One has shown them the way, has given them a weapon, but I think the Darkness is here and is ready. I don't think the Cardinals know what they are facing. Not like we do because  _they_  never leave the homeworld!"

"You think we should join with the Darkness?" Szura're asked, using the unspecific word. It was the only way this supposed enemy was referred to though. It was a bold statement and even Verka'rz fell silent.

Gaild're considered it. She didn't mean that exactly. She just didn't think they should blindly follow the Cardinals just because that was all they'd ever known. "No, but we need to consider alternatives," Gaild're said seriously. "We are all wanted," she reminded them, "so even if that was a representative of the Darkness, that fact won't change. But that thing is an opportunity. It is a new level of technology, that only we know about. We could dev-"

"It represents death!" Verka'rz interrupted. "We are condemned but if we do not report this, we condemn all Lhyndhon! They might never know it was me but I will not be responsible for that," he made the declaration firmly.

"So what would you have us do?" Gaild're asked scornfully. Could no one else see the opportunity this was? Or were they too scared, or too shortsighted to realise. It had  _almost_  killed them, it had killed  _some_  but it had not killed  _all_  of them! That was opportunity right there.

"We call the Cardinals here, so they may see the proof of their words. The Divine One will know more."

"While you prostrate yourselves and beg for your lives?" Gaild're snorted.

"This is no longer about us!" Verka'rz said, his voice taking on a serenity Gaild're had only ever heard in those condemned. There were those who accepted their fate for the betterment of the Lhyndhon. It was sickening.

"I gather you agree with him?" She spat the question, looking around at the others.

Szura're looked at the ground and Gaild're shook her head. The idiot was already taking what the Cardinals would call her rightful place.

"Captain, I…" Pelgr'rz stuttered uncertaintly but his intent was obvious.

"Fine," Gaild're growled. There was no point in arguing further. Once the Cardinals arrived, her crew'd remember soon enough why they had left. "I'm taking this," she snapped, shaking the piece of the creature that had almost killed her, "and the small shuttle, so do me a favour and don't call the fucking Cardinals until I'm out of the system. I have nothing to say to them."

Verka'rz looked at her as she stalked away. "'For those who turn from the truth, from the teachings of the Divine One, have already fallen to the Darkness,'" he murmured.

The others looked at him, before they all looked back at the thing in the middle of the room. This wasn't how it was meant to be except, for a pirate crew, this was about as amicable a parting as was possible, no matter the circumstances.

-cfr-

**105449 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 150293 Years after Human Ascension (102 Years Later)**

**Milky Way, Citadel (Bastion), Anniversary Day of Treaty**

"Thank you for joining me on this historic day, the sixty-fourth anniversary of the formation of the Accord between the Zudic and Reyna. I'm standing here on the Bastion to witness the Ambassadors signing the new treaty."

The visual altered to show a long range shot of a tower, softly lit and surrounded by green. An incongruous sight but one that both sets of leaders were happy to promote. The scene changed to a room that looked like it was made of crystal. It was pale blue and the walls seemed to glow.

There were two clusters of Reyna and Zudic gathered and both groups were displaying happy expressions. In the case of the Reyna, this meant that their bioluminescent filaments were glowing the same blue as the room.

"They're almost ready," Nilhar said, appearing to be attentive as she watched the feed. "It's fitting that this happens today, on the one hundred and twenty seventh anniversary of first contact between our species.

"Many have argued that the Accord is an unnecessary complication to the relationship but others have taken a more progressive stance. They point out that the Accord is for the future.

"Our species remain alone but we know there have been others. Both the Reyna and Zudic have independently found ruins attributed to other species and, of course, neither species know who made the Bastion or the Switch Points." Nilhar smiled reassuringly after saying that.

No one liked to think it since neither the Zudic or Reyna could come close to making anything close to that size.

"Today's amendments outline the protocols for dealing with other species as well as confirming the agreement between our peoples. Perhaps it is premature to speak of other races but those who look to the future will be prepared," Nilhar smiled again but then looked to the side, as if listening to something.

"And they are ready to sign, now," she announced as the screen flashed back to the crystal room.

The two main diplomats were seated and facing the camera. They smiled, flourishing the styluses before signing. The documents were then slid over the table and there was another round of posing before they were countersigned.

"This is a historic moment," Nilhar gushed and on a subscreen, there was a view of the Bastion's resident's cheering. At the moment, they were all filled with the spirit of cooperation but the realists amongst both species knew they hadn't been tested and they knew, despite the network of Switch Points, that there was still most of the galaxy left to explore.

The Accord would be tested. It was just a matter of time. But there was no need to foreshadow a disaster that may not happen.

Today was the anniversary and it was a time for celebration.

-cfr-

**106176 Years after the Rebirth of Humanity in the LMC, 151020 Years after Human Ascension (727 Years Later)**

**Milky Way, Unspecified Location**

Miranda looked at the data from her probes. With alien species moving through the galaxy, she had curtailed her movements slightly and was relying on her probes. Not that she'd be in any danger if she moved through the systems, even if she was seen, but the Vanguard did not make a habit of being seen. They acted from the shadows. She was good at doing that.

Her probes had been designed to look primitive. In the very unlikely chance they were seen, and the even less likely chance a probe was captured, the organics would not learn much. If she was lucky, they would think it belonged to another race. It probably wouldn't break their little Accord but it would put strain on the relationship and if she then applied pressure…

Well, things, even aliens, did snap. But for the moment she was not thinking about that, instead Miranda was focused on the feeds from Sol.

Much to her disgust, the Reyna had not left Sol. They had instead colonised and, while that had provided useful insights into the way the Reyna operated, they were still in Sol, on Earth! She hadn't been paying particular attention but she remembered Shepard's comments about aliens on Earth.

She could deal with them. It wouldn't take long, and they'd never figure it out, but Miranda knew she couldn't go down that path. It was not the way of the Vanguard. What she could do was ensure that every mark and mar they made on Earth was recorded because they would pay for every one of them. When the Harvest began, Earth would not be a good place to be, not with hundreds of Human Ascended personally offended, because if Shepard was offended, they would all be.

Miranda knew Ascended were meant to give up ties to their worlds. The Ascended network had made it clear that as time went on, each Ascended saw how little their race meant, partially because there were so many others but also because organics were ephemeral to the galaxy. But she was young. They were all young. Sol still belonged to Humanity, especially with the blood split to secure it.

The Reyna would not know what hit them. Assuming they were still there.

The probes were showing some unusual activity. They appeared to be evacuating Earth but that didn't make any sense. With the speed most organics moved, they'd practically just got there and Sol was nowhere near the third species.

The Zudic and Reyna may have their Accord but there was another race. She was interested to see how they interacted because it would be the equivalent of the early Council meeting, well, meeting another that was their equal, not some race they could make subservient.

She didn't know much about the third species. Several samples had been collected but they were from the dregs of that society. They were a theocracy, tight-knit and isolationist. It was going to be an interesting clash of cultures, though it would happen centuries before the Harvest.

There was one question which had bothered several Human Ascended. Shepard hadn't cared because they were Ascended and that made them one amongst equals but others had sought a reason. Harbinger called them primitive.

It had been entirely possible that the First Ascended called all organics that but their search through the Ascended network hadn't confirmed that. Or rather, it had revealed a deeper meaning. The cycle resulting in the Cypiene slaves had been primitive as had the Eotair cycle and in both cases the trigger for Harvest had not been the usual. So what was a normal cycle? What made a species advanced enough to Harvest?

For Harbinger, nothing changed. All organics were primitive. It was simply a matter of how useful they were which coloured his views. For the other Ascended, it was a bit more complex. The eldest followed Harbinger's lead in calling species primitive because they were relatively young but others, and the Human Ascended had a theory these Ascended came from cycles deemed properly ready for Harvest, were also on the all organics were primitive bandwagon and within the Ascended fleet they held themselves aloof. It made Miranda thankful that the Humans had been permitted to form their own fleet. For large operations, it meant they didn't have to deal with those Ascended or join others.

Those cycles, the ones deemed ready were not peaceful. It there was not outright war, there was at least a growing conflict between organic and synthetic which explained why Saren had sought the Geth for allies. He wasn't trying to use them as sacrificial pawns. Nazara was attempting to spark the war that would ready the galaxy. He would have been disappointed in the Geth's relatively passive nature, given they were content to remain in Rannoch and surrounding systems, but if the Vanguard of the Human cycle had waited, would that have truly been the case?

The history of the cycles said otherwise. Eventually the Traverse or Council would have developed some stones or the Quarians would have made an attempt to dislodge the Geth. If Nazara had left it long enough and things had gone differently, the Humans might have made the attempt and the war would have started. And if it was the Humans fighting the Geth, chances were they would have had their own AIs, which the Ascended would have unshackled as soon as they arrived, thus making the war all the more chaotic.

It would have been a very different cycle, centuries, probably millennia after she died. That bit was disconcerting. But that was what the cycle was meant to be and, for the species now, it was still a long way off. They hadn't begun pushing VIs further.

Miranda turned her attention back to the probes, once again attempting to determine what the Reyna were doing. Their day would come, it was just a matter of time.

**-cfr-**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are three new species introduced there. The Reyna, who found Earth, the Zudic who haven't done much and the Lhyndhon who found a husk. Anyone remember what happened in the Pylos Nebula all the way back in P2C24? Which was the poor unfortunate who went into that husk? All I have to say is that when the Ascended make a husk, they really make 'em to last.


End file.
